In verse 4 the young man uses three adjectives to describe the young woman, each linked to a parallel comparison.
You are beautiful … my love: see comments on 1.15 and 4.1. The adjective beautiful appears at the beginning of the clause and is thus emphasized. There is no verb “be” used in Hebrew here, only the emphatic pronoun You. In somewhat stilted English, we might translate “Beautiful you are….”
The pronoun You occurs only once in this verse but is the subject of each of the adjectives listed. In some languages the pronoun may have to be repeated, though this may rob the verse of some of its poetic character: “You are beautiful like Tirzah; you are lovely like Jerusalem; you are….”
As Tirzah … as Jerusalem: Tirzah was an ancient capital of northern Israel, and Jerusalem the continuing center of the nation. By comparing his lover with these two cities, the young man must be thinking of some abstract qualities about them which remind him of her. Tirzah became Jeroboam I’s capital when he separated Israel from the southern tribes (1 Kgs 14.17; 15.33). Other descriptions in the Song also use place names in a similar manner (1.5; and especially 7.4, 5). Jerusalem became David’s capital. Both Tirzah and Jerusalem were regarded as special because of their royal associations. On the adjective comely see comments in 1.5, 10.
In translation the simile should make clear that Tirzah is also a city, not a person. Good News Translation says “… as lovely as the city of Tirzah.” Additionally translators can aim to express the point of the comparison, namely that like royal cities there is something special and noble about her. “You have the regal beauty of such royal cities as Tirzah and Jerusalem” is one way of conveying that sense, or “you are as beautiful as the royal cities Tirzah and Jerusalem.”
Terrible as an army with banners: binding this subsection together (6.4-10) is an inclusio, the first part of which appears in this phrase. It follows the pattern of the previous two phrases, namely an adjective with the preposition “like” introducing the comparison, then the item being compared. However, in this third example it is not a city which the woman is compared to, but something called nidgaloth. Good News Translation gives the impression that she is likened to the cities themselves when it suggests she is “as breathtaking as these great cities.” The term nidgaloth occurs only in this phrase in the Old Testament, so its meaning is not easy to determine. Strangely New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible omit the phrase, but this is hardly the way to solve the problem. Some commentators believe the word is borrowed from verse 10 and inserted here, but that still leaves us with our basic question about its meaning. One ancient Jewish scholar, Ibn Ezra, suggests it refers to “banners.” Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, and others accept this suggestion, associating this with armies or troops. Perhaps there is a foreign influence present here. In Akkadian the root means “look,” leading to a meaning “something distinguished or astonishing.”
The phrase follows the adjective terrible. In Hebrew this term means something that strikes awe or deep respect in a person (see also Hab 1.7, “Dread”). From this point of view the young woman’s beauty so captivates the young man that he is awestruck. A possible translation then is “something wonderful to behold,” or “to see you is to be totally captivated by you,” or even “when I look at you my heart melts.” Some commentators, pointing to various mythical goddesses of love, suggest that “terrible” (in the sense of causing great fear) is part of the description here, but this hardly fits this context. We recommend avoiding words such as “terrible” or “formidable,” which are too negative and in no way complimentary. Clearly there is no way we can determine with certainty what the final phrase means. To omit it, however, as some do, is no solution to the problem. Translators can make an informed guess as to what it means and attempt to put that understanding into words. We shall need to have some kind of footnote to alert readers to the fact that the text is extremely difficult to translate adequately.
For translation we may suggest:
• My darling, you are as beautiful
As the royal city of Tirzah,
As lovely as Jerusalem,
And totally captivating!*
Footnote: * Hebrew uncertain
In order to preserve the literary inclusio of this unit, the same translation of the phrase terrible … banners should be adopted in the final verse (verse 10) as well.
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 .