My beloved: see notes on 1.13.
On gazelle see comments in 2.7. In describing the beloved in this way, this verse forms the opening element of an inclusio that brackets this section. The inclusio ends in verse 17. The expression young stag is literally “young of stags.” The word stag is the masculine counterpart of the form used in 2.7, “hinds.”
If deer-like animals are not known, we may want to substitute another animal, especially one that represents the best in male qualities. But we must be very careful that the imagery of the poem is preserved. We are asked to imagine these animals as they are seen against the sky, standing on the craggy mountains and then leaping and bounding away. The features of speed, agility, beauty, and perhaps even freedom may come into the picture. An inappropriate choice, such as a panther, for example, could undermine the joyful spirit of the Song. So we may have to use a general expression, “like a graceful, swift animal,” even though this robs the poem of an important figure.
A translation model is “My lover is like the wild deer.”
Behold, there he stands behind our wall: in verse 8 we noted the use of the interjection “Behold”; we see it again here with the participle form of the verb following. Her lover has reached her home but apparently dares not enter; he waits outside in the hope of catching a glimpse of her. Translating Behold as “Look” does not fit the context here. We know that this is an emotive word, so we should look for some way to show how close to her he is now, and how excited she is. We may use a demonstrative, “Here he is….” A word like “just” may stress the closeness: “Here he is, just outside….” Behind our wall means “outside the wall” of the house as she looks out from inside. The Hebrew term translated wall is used only this once in the Old Testament. It probably refers to the wall of the house.
Gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice: here a balanced pair of phrases follows the “behold” construction as in verse 8. Windows and lattice refer to openings in the wall, with lattice indicating the decoration inside the window frame. As with so many terms in this section, this word occurs only here in the entire Old Testament. It can be rendered “screen.” When translating such items the translator should be as general as possible; that is, we should avoid referring to items that could not have existed at the time the Song was written, or that do not belong to the ancient Israelite culture.
The Hebrew verbs used, rendered as gazing and looking, are rare terms. We understand them to suggest that the young man is “peering in,” looking for the young woman. Since these forms are participles in Hebrew, we need to find a verb form that stresses present action. Some languages have particles that mark sentences as being highlighted or especially intense in emotion.
These two phrases form parallel lines, so if we cannot find terms for both “window” and “lattice,” and for “gazing” and “looking,” it is best to reduce the two items in each clause to one. If we do this, however, we will lose some of the rhythm that is characteristic of the passage.
For translation we may suggest:
• There he stands now, outside the wall, peering in at the windows, looking through the lattice [or, screen].
• Here he is! Just outside the wall!
Peering through the windows,
Gazing through the screen.
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 .