en_tn/sng/05/intro.md

999 B

Song of Solomon 05 General Notes

Structure and formatting

Verses 2-7 describe a dream the woman had.

Special concepts in this chapter

Beauty

The woman is described as the epitome of beauty in ancient Israel. Not all cultures share the same standards of beauty.

Important figures of speech in this chapter

Metaphors

In the ancient Near East, it was common to describe a woman using metaphors involving animals. In many cultures today, this can be considered offensive. Different metaphors of beauty are used in different cultures. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)

Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter

"My sister, my bride"

The woman described is not the sister of her husband. They are not related. Instead, this is a reference to a woman who is a fellow Israelite.