I slept, but my heart was awake: the verbs here are participles in the Hebrew and serve to describe her present dream-like state. Although she is sleeping, her heart is awake. The heart is where human emotions stir. It is surprising that the word heart is not mentioned more often in these poems (but see 4.9); the term used more frequently is one generally rendered as “being.” As the Hebrew term for heart can also indicate a person’s mind, the young woman here seems to be saying that her mind was awake or alert. Some see this as a state of half-sleep, where she is keeping her ears open for the arrival of her lover. We can translate rather literally, or we can say “I was half asleep, but my mind was working,” “I was asleep but my mind was alert,” or perhaps “Though I was asleep, I was waiting, listening.”
Hark! my beloved is knocking: the opening words in Hebrew, Hark! my beloved, are identical to those used in 2.8, “The voice of my beloved.” Refer there for further comments. Here, however, the context seems to suggest more of a descriptive usage, namely “the sound of my lover.” In some languages this abrupt introduction to the woman’s speech will be acceptable, in which case we can say “Listen! it’s my lover.” In others we may have to add an introductory clause, “I heard the sound of my lover.” Again when Good News Translation says “I dreamed my lover knocked at the door,” it goes beyond what the text says.
The Hebrew word translated knocking has a basic meaning “push.” Here we have a noun clause, so an appropriate verb needs to be supplied; for example, “I heard my lover knocking” (New American Bible), or “… signaling to me,” or “… entreating me.” Good News Translation follows the Septuagint, which adds “at the door” to the Hebrew text. Although this is an addition to the original text, in some languages “door” or something similar will have to be included as the object of the verb “knock.”
Suggested translations are “I heard my lover knocking” or “I heard my lover pleading.”
Open to me: the impression given by the text is that the young woman, half asleep, hears her lover trying to attract her attention. While not wanting to wake the entire family, he calls for her to let him into her room. Open is one of the keywords in this first part of the section (see also verses 5 and 6). Although it is a request that she open the door, there is probably a double meaning in which sexual activity is meant. “Open up” or “Let me come in” are possible translations.
This phrase represents a quote within a quote; the young woman is speaking and quoting the young man’s words. This can be presented as in Hebrew, where a direct quote can occur with no introduction whatsoever. In many languages, however, an introductory formula will have to be supplied. We can say “He said, …” or “I heard him say, ….” Good News Translation takes a different approach by changing the marginal note to “The Man.” This is one possible way of handling the text, though it does not show that the young woman is actually repeating the man’s words. The translator will have to decide what is the best way to indicate that this is reported speech.
My sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one is a series of four endearment terms. For my sister see comments on 4.9. For my love refer to 1.9 notes. My dove is a term from 2.14. Another previous reference in 1.15 was to the dove-like quality of her eyes. My perfect one describes her as a person of complete integrity; it is not necessarily a reference to her physical beauty, though that may also be included. It may be difficult for the translator to find four equivalent terms to convey the thought here. However, these should be preserved if possible. This string of endearment terms emphasizes the young man’s longing to see his loved one. Since these are vocatives they can be placed before the request to open, if this represents a more natural order.
For my head is wet with dew suggests that the young man has spent a long time outside, either because he has traveled a long way to see her, or because he has been forced to wait outside a long time in hopes of seeing her. Is wet with renders the Hebrew idiom “is full of.”
My locks with the drops of the night: a rare Hebrew term is translated locks. It occurs only here and in verse 11. The root from which it comes is difficult to define. Because it is parallel with head, it seems logical to assume it means “hair.” This is the meaning of the form used in the Jewish Mishnah as well. Equally unusual is the phrase translated drops of the night, as its root form is rarely used in biblical Hebrew. It applies to something getting wet, while related languages have similar roots used to mean “rain lightly,” “sprinkle.” The noun form here must describe something like dew. “Mist” is the Good News Translation suggestion, but since mist is not confined to nighttime, we should at least say “night mist.” The verb wet with in the previous clause serves also as the verb for the noun “hair” in this clause. This allows us to translate the phrase as “my hair [is wet] with the night mist.”
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 .