This verse draws a sharp contrast. Note how the inclusio surrounds the main point of the passage.
Thus in a very graphic way this passage shows how poetic devices combine to emphasize the message of the text. Here we see the young woman surrounded on all sides by many women, but she outshines them all.
My dove, my perfect one, is only one: the young man has called his beloved dove and perfect one on a previous occasion. See notes on 5.2. Only one does not mean that she is the only child in the family. The contrast between the large number of women in the previous verse and his beloved is to show that his lover is unique and special. Though he is exaggerating, he is stressing how wonderful he thinks she is.
The darling is literally “she is one” and repeats the clause as it appears in the first line; this shows where the focus in this verse lies. It speaks powerfully of her unique beauty. The term “one” should be presented in such as way as to draw attention to it. Some languages can follow the Hebrew order by beginning the sentence with the word “one” or “unique,” although this is somewhat awkward in English. New Jerusalem Bible has “Only one is my dove….” If this is not possible the use of the conjunction “but” may help to draw out the contrast. Revised English Bible has a good suggestion: “But there is one alone….” New International Version “But my dove, my perfect one is unique” is also a good model.
The darling of her mother is literally “she is one to her mother.” Good News Translation and New English Bible suggest that she is the only child or only daughter of the mother, but this is not necessarily correct. The numeral “one” contrasts with the previous numbers “sixty” and “eighty” representing vast numbers; so “one” indicates uniqueness. We suggest that the focus is on the woman being without equal, and on the fact that her mother regards her as very special.
Flawless to her that bore her: the young man describes his beloved using a term whose meaning is not obvious. For some versions (for example Septuagint, Syriac) and some commentators the adjective is regarded as coming from the root meaning “choose,” hence it means “chosen,” and thus “favorite.” Others treat the adjective as coming from the root “pure,” “clean,” as in Isa 52.11 and Jer 4.11. In the context of a love poem, the idea of “favorite” is preferred.
Her that bore her provides a neat parallel to her mother from the previous clause. If such repetition is not appreciated, it can be eliminated. However, a better method is to link the phrase closely to its parallel mother: “her mother, the one that bore her, considers her precious.”
Good News Translation has a different view of the meaning here when it says “But I love only one, and she is lovely as a dove.” Bible en français courant agrees: “For me, there is only one woman in the world; it’s my dove, my treasure….” Both of these are quite poetic but focus more on the young man’s feelings about his lover than on her own uniqueness. We recommend a translation that follows the original a little more closely: “But my dove, my perfect one is without equal; she is unique to her mother, favored by the one who gave birth to her,” or “Unique is my beloved, my dove who is perfect; to her mother who bore her, she is also truly special, her favorite.”
The maidens saw her and called her happy: in Hebrew the noun “girls” (or “daughters”) is used here for maidens. We presume they are the same young women identified as the “maidens” in verse 8. This kind of general expression really means “every girl” or “all women” as in Good News Translation. The point here is to indicate that it is not only the young man who thinks his beloved is outstandingly beautiful, but that even other women have the same opinion. We can follow Good News Translation or use the same term or one similar to that used in verse 8; for example, “young women,” “maidens.”
Called her happy is a phrase used in Pro 31.28 (“call her blessed”), where it is also in parallel to the verb “praise.” The use of an imperfect verb form means they regularly “pronounced her to be happy.” They recognized how happy and blessed she was, and certainly envied her. Translating literally will probably convey little meaning, so an alternative may need to be found. Good News Translation simply uses “praise” in this line and “sing her praises” in the second. This is acceptable. We can also turn the phrase into direct speech: “And they said, ‘How lucky [or, fortunate] she is!’ ”
The queens and concubines also, and they praised her: this repeats the thought of the previous line and concludes the inclusio. Their praise of the young woman meant they acknowledged how beautiful or wonderful she was. This same verb describes how Sarah was commended to Pharaoh in Gen 12.15. When using the verb “praise” it may be necessary to supply an object in some languages. The most natural one here is “her beauty.” In a freer translation we may say “they recognized how beautiful she was!”
We suggest rendering verses 8 and 9 in a way that will bring out the beauty and message of the passage. The translator will have to consider which poetic features can be transferred and which must be replaced by others. The verses may look like this:
• Yes, there may be sixty queens, eighty concubines,
and young women without number!
Yet, my dove is perfect, she stands alone!
Her mother’s favorite, her special one!
Yes, the young women saw her and said,
“How fortunate she is!”
The queens and concubines praised her beauty too.
By combining the two verses we make sure the inclusio is clearly seen.
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 .