7:4a
Your neck is like a tower made of ivory: Here the man compared the woman’s neck to a tower, as he also did in 4:4. In 4:4 he compared her neck to the tower of David. Here he compared it to an ivory tower. Ivory is smooth and beautiful, so the comparison indicates that the woman’s neck was beautiful. A tower is straight and strong, and that comparison implies that she had a good character. She was firm and dignified.
Some other ways to translate the comparison are:
Your neck is as beautiful as an ivory tower (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Your neck is like a tower made of ⌊precious/pure⌋ ivory
7:4b
your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon: In this clause the man compared the woman’s eyes to pools (of water) of Heshbon. The text does not specify how her eyes were like pools. It may imply that her eyes reflected light like the water in the pools reflected it. The light shines on the water and makes it sparkle, and her eyes also sparkled like that. Here is another way to translate this:
Your eyes are like the sparkling pools in Heshbon. (New Living Translation (2004))
Heshbon: Heshbon was a city located in the land of Moab. It was east of the Jordan River valley. It may be helpful in your translation to indicate that Heshbon is a city. For example:
in the city of Heshbon (Good News Translation)
7:4c
by the gate of Bath-rabbim: The phrase by the gate of Bath-rabbim is part of an extended metaphor that describes the pools in Heshbon in 7:4b. This phrase does not describe the woman’s eyes. It tells where the “pools of Heshbon” were located. They were near the city gate called Bath-rabbim.
Some other ways to translate the phrase by the gate of Bath-rabbim are:
by the Bath-rabbim gate
-or-
near the ⌊city⌋ gate that ⌊people⌋ ⌊call⌋ Bath-rabbim ⌊Gate⌋
7:4d-e
your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus: The clause your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus is a simile. It compares the woman’s nose to a tower in a particular place. Scholars have different views about what the word tower refers to here:
(1) It refers to a particular tower at or near Damascus. For example:
Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus. (New International Version)
(2) It refers to any tower in Lebanon that overlooks Damascus. For example:
Your nose is like a Lebanese tower facing Damascus. (God’s Word)
(3) It refers to a mountain near Damascus. For example:
Your nose is like the mountain of Lebanon that looks down on Damascus. (New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), along with most English versions. Notice that the author also used a tower to describe the woman’s neck in 7:4a. There he referred to any tower made of ivory, but here in 7:4d he probably referred to a specific tower.
your nose is like the tower of Lebanon: Here the author compares the woman’s nose to a particular tower in the region of Lebanon. If a person stood on the tower, he could see the city of Damascus.
The author did not tell how the woman’s nose is like that tower. However, the tower was probably elegant, beautiful, and majestic. In some languages it may be necessary to make the comparison more explicit. For example:
Your nose is as fine as the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Your nose is as ⌊lovely as⌋ the tower of Lebanon that stands guard at Damascus.
tower of Lebanon: The phrase tower of Lebanon refers to a tower in the region of Lebanon. The word tower was used in 4:4. For more information on how to translate this word, see the note there.
Lebanon: Lebanon is mentioned in 3:9; 4:8, 11, 15; and 5:15. You should spell it in the same way in each of these places. For more information about Lebanon, see the note on “from Lebanon” in 4:8a–b.
facing toward Damascus: The phrase facing toward Damascus describes the tower of Lebanon, not the woman’s nose. This phrase indicates that the tower of Lebanon was near the city of Damascus so that people could look down from the tower and see the city. It may imply that the tower helped citizens to guard Damascus. When they climbed the tower, they could see whether an enemy was coming. Other ways to translate the phrase are:
from which ⌊guards/protectors can⌋ look down on ⌊the city o?⌋ Damascus
-or-
that stands guard at Damascus (Good News Translation)
-or-
where ⌊a soldier/person⌋ can see ⌊if enemies are coming⌋ and warn ⌊the people of⌋ Damascus
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