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Song of Songs 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/jit/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.