2:9a–b

In this clause the woman continued the comparison that she began in 2:8c. In 2:9 she mentioned two animals that her beloved was like. In some languages it may be helpful to mention the animals earlier in 2:8. See the General Comment on 2:8–9 after the notes on 2:9c for an example.

My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag: Here the author used a simile to compare the man to a gazelle and a young stag. The man moved fast and gracefully like a gazelle and a stag move. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit how the man was like a gazelle or stag. For example:

My beloved is ⌊as fast/strong and graceful⌋ as a gazelle, as a young stag.

In other languages it may be more natural to use a metaphor. For example:

My love is a gazelle, a wild stag.

a gazelle or a young stag: The words gazelle and stag refer to two animals that belong to the antelope family. A stag is a male deer. The female deer, called a “doe,” was mentioned in 2:7. Gazelles and stags are fast, graceful, and beautiful. If two similar animals like these are unknown in your area, you can compare the man to one animal with these characteristics. For example:

My beloved is like a young deer.

In some cultures there are no animals like the gazelle and stag. If that is true in your language, some ways to translate the words are:

• Use a general word that refers to a graceful animal that runs and jumps on rocky hillsides. For example:

like a fast-moving, beautiful animal
-or-
like an animal that is swift and beautiful

• Use a loan word from the national language with a descriptive word. For example:

a graceful gazelle

• Substitute an animal with similar characteristics that is known in your area. It should also fit the joyful tone that the woman used to describe the man. Some dangerous animals (like lions) are fast and graceful, but they would not fit this context.

Gazelles were also mentioned in 2:7b, but their specific characteristics were not in focus.

or a young stag: There is an ellipsis in the phrase or a young stag. The full form is:

or ⌊he is like⌋ a young stag.

The word or introduces an animal that is similar to the gazelle in 2:8. The woman implied that her beloved was like both a deer and a young stag. Comparing him to both of these animals emphasizes the comparison. Other ways to connect 2:9a and 2:9b are:

like a gazelle, like a young stag (Good News Translation)
-or-
like a deer, a ⌊beautiful⌋ deer

2:9c

Look, he stands behind our wall: In this clause the woman was excited and joyful that her beloved was there, standing near the wall of her house. She emphasized this excitement by using the word Look. Some other ways to translate her excitement are:

Behold, there he stands behind our wall. (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
There he is standing behind our wall!

The phrase Look, he stands is similar to “Look! Here he comes” in 2:8b. It is good to translate these two phrases in a similar way. That emphasizes the contrast between the man’s leaping on the hills as he comes to the woman (2:8b–d) and his quiet waiting as he stands by her window (2:9d–e).

he stands behind our wall: Here the woman continued to compare the man to a gazelle or stag. She thought of him and the gazelle/stag at the same time.

In some languages it may be difficult to refer to both a man and a deer in the same way (as English does with the pronoun he). If you must choose to refer either to the man or the deer, it is better to refer to the man. It is he who stood outside and invited the woman to come with him. For example:

There my beloved stands behind our wall

behind our wall: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wall occurs only here in the Old Testament. It probably refers to a wall of the house rather than to a courtyard wall. The phrase behind our wall indicates that the man was outside the house near one of its walls. The woman was inside the house. In 2:9d–e the man spoke to her from outside the wall of the house near her window. The house was probably her family’s home.

Some other ways to translate behind our wall are:

outside the wall ⌊of our (excl.) house⌋
-or-
beside the ⌊house⌋ wall

The wall probably refers to a wall in her family’s home. Be careful not to imply that the house belonged to the man and woman. In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning more explicit. For example:

the wall ⌊of my family home⌋

General Comment on 2:8–9

In 2:8–9 the woman compared her beloved to a gazelle or young stag. However, she did not mention those animals until verse 9. In some languages it is clearer to introduce the animals in verse 8. One way to do this is to combine 2:8–9 and move 2:9a–b before 2:8c–d. For example:

8a Listen! My beloved approaches. 9a My beloved is like a gazelle 9b or a young stag. 8b Look! Here he comes

8c leaping upon the mountains,

8d bounding over the hills.

2:9d–e

There is parallelism in 2:9d and 2:9e:

9d
gazing through the windows,

9e
peering through the lattice.

The lines have similar meanings. The parallel parts are marked in similar ways. In some languages it may be more natural to express the meaning only once. For example:

9d-e looking in through the window

windows…lattice: The Hebrew words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as windows and lattice (2:9e) are both plural in Hebrew. There are at least two ways to interpret these plural forms:

(1) It is a special use of the plural form in Hebrew, and it should be translated as singular. For example:

He looks in at the window, (New Jerusalem Bible)

he peers through the opening.

(2) It indicates that the man was moving around the house looking into different windows and lattices. He was trying to see the woman. For example:

peeking through the windows, (New Century Version)

looking through the blinds.

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The text says that the man was standing there. It does not indicate that he was moving from one window to another. However, both (1) and (2) have support from versions and commentaries, and either is acceptable.

Since the Berean Standard Bible follows interpretation (2), the Notes will use the NET Bible as the source line for 2:9d.

2:9d

(NET Bible) gazing through the window: The phrase gazing through the window indicates that the man was looking through the window into the house. The author had just compared the man to a gazelle or stag, so readers can imagine either the man or a curious gazelle or stag standing beside the window.

The man looked into the window to attract the woman’s attention. He wanted to invite her to come outside and be with him. There was nothing improper in his actions.

(NET Bible) gazing: The Hebrew word that the NET Bible translates as gazing means “staring at” or “looking at intently.” The man stood outside the house and looked through the window into the inside of the house. He hoped to see the woman there.

2:9e

peering through the lattice: This phrase has almost the same meaning as 2:9d. For a suggestion on combining these parts of the verse, see the General Comment on 2:9d–e at the end of the notes for 2:9e.

peering: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as peering occurs only here in the Old Testament. It means “to gaze” or “to peer.” It has almost the same meaning as “gazing” in 2:9d. The Hebrew verb form implies that the man was peering through the window as the woman spoke.

lattice: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lattice occurs only here in the OT. A lattice is a small framed opening in the wall. It has almost the same meaning as windows in 2:9d. Sometimes, a lattice had small wooden bars across it to make it stronger.

General Comment on 2:9d–e

The lines in 2:9d–e have similar meanings. In some languages it may be more natural to combine the two parallel lines into one line. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

Now he stands outside our wall, (2:9c)

looking in through the window (2:9d–e)

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