This closing verse of the descriptive wasf is carefully put together. It uses very brief poetic phrases without the verb “be.” The Hebrew text uses grammatical parallelism and a rhyming pattern throughout, as well as many similar sounds (alliteration). Thus this is a fitting climax to a very beautiful poem. We set out the Hebrew and a word-for-word translation below so that these features of the poem can be appreciated:
hikku
mamtaqqim
his-mouth
sweetnesses
we-kullu
mahamaddim
and-his-all
desirablenesses
zeh dodi
we-zeh reʿi
this my-lover
and-this my friend
Appropriate poetic devices will allow the translator to produce similar poetic effects.
His speech is most sweet: whether the Hebrew noun should be rendered as speech or “mouth” has to be determined. It describes the inside of the mouth, so it has some connection with both speech and taste.
If this verse, like the concluding phrase in verse 15, is a general summary of the young man’s physical qualities, then “mouth” may well be too narrow a rendering. From this point of view speech (Jerusalem Bible “conversation,” New English Bible “his whispers”) is a better choice. On the other hand the following phrase, which is closely linked with physical longing, may suggest more sexual connotations. In such a case it refers to kisses rather than to his mouth or to what he says.
Most sweet is how Revised Standard Version renders a term that literally means “sweets” or “sweetness.” In Neh 8.10 the word refers to “sweet wine.” A Ugaritic use of the same root clearly relates to kissing.
On balance, then, we suggest rendering Revised Standard Version speech as “kisses” or “embraces.” However, a footnote may be required to show that the original text spoke of “palate” or “mouth.”
He is altogether desirable: altogether, or “all of him,” can also be translated as “he is totally,” the point being that in every dimension he is attractive. Desirable, from a root meaning “to desire” or “take pleasure in,” appears also in 2.3 above. “Altogether lovable” is how Jerusalem Bible puts it. Good News Translation “everything about him enchants me” is more vivid but may be misunderstood in some cultures. Perhaps we also need a stronger expression here to convey the urgent desire the young woman feels for him. We can say “everything about him fills me with desire [for him].”
Possible translation models are:
• His kisses are so sweet; everything about him fills me with desire.
• His kisses are delicious; I long for every part of him.
This is my beloved and this is my friend: the two phrases mean essentially the same thing. On the term beloved see comments in 1.13. The term dodi is one of the inclusios helping mark the limits of this subsection in verses 10-16. Friend is broad in its meaning, including everything from friend to lover. The repeated demonstrative phrase This is … this is provides emphasis and indicates the end of this subunit. The point of the statement is to stress that what she has just said about the young man is a fitting description of what he is truly like. We can highlight the emphasis of the Hebrew text by saying “Truly, this is what my lover is really like.”
O daughters of Jerusalem: on this phrase, its meaning and translation, see comments on 3.5 and 5.8.
Two translation suggestions are:
• Women of Jerusalem, this is what my lover and friend is really like.
• This is what my lover is like, this is what my friend truly is, Women of Jerusalem.
Again a version close to the literal Hebrew may actually convey some of the beauty of the original:
• Daughters of Jerusalem,
His kisses are so sweet!
Every bit of him, desirable!
This is my lover. This is my friend.
These climactic lines bring the wasf to an end.
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Song of Songs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1998. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .