opobalsamum (balsam; balm)

The Hebrew word bosem, which is often rendered “balm” (derived from “balsam”), can refer to any type of aromatic healing substance, but it also designates the product of a particular tree, the balsam or opobalsamum Commiphora gileadensis. Arabs call it balasam or balasham. In the Talmud it is called afarsimon. Excavations near En Gedi have uncovered an ancient processing plant for balsam oil.

The opobalsamum tree likes a desert or semi-desert climate. It grows to 2‑3 meters (7‑10 feet) tall and has small, wrinkled, three-part leaves, white flowers, and pea-sized red berries that have a fragrant yellow seed inside. The bark of younger branches is gray, turning brown with age. The resin appears by itself in green droplets from the stems and branches, but collectors also make cuts in the branches to speed the process. The droplets turn from green to brown, clump together, and fall to the ground, where they are collected.

In Bible times, balsam oil was used in holy anointing oil, as medicine, and as an ingredient of perfume.

A generic word or phrase for sweet-smelling substances is appropriate to render bosem, although where a specific name for the balsam tree is available, as in southwestern Arabia and Somalia, this could also be used. At least one hundred species of the genus Commiphora are spread throughout dry areas of the world. Translators in some areas will know the plants; others may know only the dried resin of Commiphora sold in spice markets.

Balsam tree, Photo by Nigel Hepper

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Song of Solomon 6:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Song of Solomon 6:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “My beloved has gone down to his garden,
    where there are things used to season food.
    He walks around grazing (animals) there in his garden
    and he is gathering flowers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “My beloved has gone to his garden
    where the trees of fragrant spices are planted.
    Delighting himself, he has gone
    to cut some lilies.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “My beloved went to his garden/field, which (is) full of plants which are-made into perfume. He has- his animals/livestock -graze there, and gather lilies/[liryo].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The one who loves me has now come to me, who am like his garden,
    He has come to enjoy my charms/physical attractions which are like spices,
    to enjoy cuddling up to me ,
    and kissing my lips, which are like lilies.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("go")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ik-are-ru (行かれる) or “go” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Song of Songs 6:2

In 6.2-3 the young woman responds with a beautiful poem, featuring parallelism, repetition, assonance, alliteration, rhythm, and rhyme.

We first note the repetitive sounds o, i, sh, and m, and the repetitive words and roots dodi “lover,” gan “garden,” raʿah “to shepherd, pasture,” and shoshannim “lilies.” There is grammatical parallelism: “to his garden”—“to beds of spices”; “to shepherd”—“to gather”; and a chiastic structure in the first part of the third line based on the word “my lover.” In the second line there is internal rhyme, with the repetitive li … ot … im. The final words in each line also have similar sounds.

It will certainly not be possible for every one of these features to be conveyed in the translation, but the translator should be aware of the poetic nature of the woman’s response. There is something triumphant about her declaration, and the poetic devices clearly play a role in creating this feeling. These two verses must be translated as a unit, and an attempt should be made to render them in an appropriate poetic form.

In verse 2 the young woman responds to the question of verse 1 in a rather puzzling way. Her lover is not lost after all but is with her, clearly enjoying the delights she offers. As noted above, there seems to be a note of triumph in this declaration; she is with him, and no one else can have him. The question in verse 1 sets up the young woman’s response. Whether the young man has suddenly appeared or he simply was not lost, this verse should be translated with the understanding that the young man is present.

My beloved has gone down to his garden: on My beloved see earlier comments in 1.13. When she says he has gone down or “come down” to his garden, the young woman is certainly using a metaphor or a euphemism to speak about their lovemaking. If stating the direction down seems unnatural, we can omit this detail and translate quite generally, as Good News Translation does with “has gone to his garden.” On his garden see 4.12; 5.1. Since the woman is using these phrases to refer to herself, we can clarify the meaning by adding the prepositional phrase “to me,” giving a rendering “My lover has come to me, his garden,” or “My love is with me, here in his garden.”

To the beds of spices: the same expression was used in 5.13. We note that in both places the word “lilies” also occurs nearby. In the earlier verse the young man’s cheeks (or beard) were compared to beds of spices, but here there is no reference to any particular body part. Furthermore, in this context beds of spices appears to be used by the young woman to refer to herself. It has the same sense as “garden”—itself a metaphor. More literal translations such as New International Version and New Jerusalem Bible translate these expressions in exactly the same way, thus preserving the literary link between the verses. Good News Translation on the other hand translates these expressions in two different ways: “full of herbs and spices” (5.13) and “where the balsam trees grow” (6.2). Even though these may be referring to different parts of the body, we should use the same expression in both places to preserve the literary style of the poem.

To pasture his flock in the gardens is literally “to pasture in the gardens.” Revised Standard Version supplies his flock as the object of the verb pasture, as do Good News Translation and Jerusalem Bible. New English Bible, however, understands the verb to mean “delight in.” Although in 1.7 the verb appears to have its basic and concrete meaning, “to shepherd,” here and in verse 3 it is metaphorical for enjoying the delights of “the garden,” the young woman’s body. Gardens is a plural form in Hebrew but can be rendered as singular, for it refers to the young woman herself. We can say “He is delighting in this garden” or “He enjoys this garden of mine.”

To gather lilies: gather or “pluck” is another metaphor for enjoying what the garden offers. References to lilies connects us back to 5.13 and numerous other places in the Song (2.1; 4.5; 7.2) where the young woman’s beauty is described. Like the previous reference to enjoying the garden, here too there is a sexual meaning present.

Although both these latter expressions are purpose clauses using infinitive forms, they can be translated either in that manner or as independent clauses describing what the young man is doing: “He is enjoying the garden. He is gathering lilies.” In many languages we can combine these two for a more poetic rendering, “He is enjoying the garden, as he picks the lilies [growing there].”

For translation we suggest the following:

• My lover has gone down to his garden,
To the place where spices grow.
He delights in the garden,
Picking lilies there.

• My beloved has come to me,
To his garden where spices grow.
He enjoys its delights,
Picking the lilies.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Song of Songs 6:2

6:2–3 The woman responded to the women of Jerusalem

It is uncertain how the woman discovered where her beloved was. In 5:8 she did not seem to know where he went. She may have realized where he was while she sang her song to praise him. However, the Song is poetry (and it may describe a dream), so such details are not necessary to understand it. The woman was not just telling a story. She was praising her beloved and telling about their love for each other. Her song in 6:2–3 is especially poetic and beautiful.

6:2a–b

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices: Literally, this clause indicates that the man went down to his garden where there were flowers and spice plants. The phrases in 6:2a–b do not indicate that he went to two different places. The word garden and the phrase beds of spices refer to the same place. The beds of spices probably refers to a specific part of the garden.

Some other ways to translate 6:2a–b are:

My darling has gone down to his garden of spices (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
My beloved has gone down to the beds of spices in his garden
-or-
My dear one has descended to his garden where the spice plants are.

My beloved has gone down: The author probably used the word down here because most people’s gardens were located on a lower level than their houses. They often planted gardens near sources of water like springs or streams, which were in a valley. In some cultures it may be confusing to use the word down here. If that is true in your language, you may omit it. For example:

My beloved went to his garden (God’s Word)

his garden: The phrase his garden is used here as a metaphor to refer to the young woman herself. In 4:12–5:1 the man described the woman as a “garden.” In 4:16–5:1 she is described specifically as the man’s garden, and in 6:2–3 it is clear that their love is mutual.

It is not clear whether the text implies that the man and woman had sexual relations at this time. During her dream (5:2–7) she feared that she had lost her beloved and that maybe he had stopped loving her. But this metaphor implies that their love for one another was still strong. That is clear from her statement in 6:3a–b, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”

the beds of spices: The phrase the beds of spices is parallel to “his garden” (6:2a). beds of spices further describes “his garden.”

6:2c

to pasture his flock in the gardens: Here the Berean Standard Bible has supplied the phrase his flock, which is not in the Hebrew text. There are different ways to interpret the phrase to pasture…in the gardens :

(1) It is a figure of speech to refer to the man himself “grazing” or “browsing” in the garden. For example:

to browse in the gardens… (New International Version)

(2) It has the literal meaning that the man pastures his flock in the garden. For example:

He is feeding his flock in the garden (Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Earlier in the Song (2:8–9; 2:17) the author compared the man to a gazelle. In the similar phrase in 2:16b the Notes also recommended the meaning “graze,” as in interpretation (1) here. Because the Berean Standard Bible follows interpretation (2), the New International Version will be used as the source text here in 6:2c.

(New International Version) to browse in the gardens: The clause to browse in the gardens is a metaphor. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it probably implies that the man will enjoy the woman and experience the delight that she will give him. Other ways to translate the metaphor are:

to delight in the gardens (Revised English Bible)
-or-
to enjoy his gardens

(New International Version) in the gardens: Here the word gardens is plural, but in 6:2a the author used a singular form to refer to his garden. Both forms probably refer to the same garden. They do not imply that there were many gardens. If a plural form is confusing here in your language, it is fine to refer to only one “garden,” as in the Good News Translation.

6:2d

and to gather lilies: The phrase to gather lilies is a metaphor. The word lilies probably refers to the delights that the woman gave. (In 2:1–2 she compared herself to a lily of the valley, and the man responded that she was like a lily among thorns.) It is uncertain exactly what gather lilies implies here. However, its meaning is similar to 6:2c, which refers to the man loving the woman and enjoying her love for him.

Some other ways to translate the metaphor are:

and take some of its ⌊sweet-smelling⌋ flowers.
-or-
and pick some of the ⌊beautiful⌋ lilies.

lilies: As in 2:1b, the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lilies refers here to a common wildflower that was usually red or purple.

© 2017 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.