SNG intro

bobj commented

2019-11-29 14:37:36 +00:00

Current content in SNG intro:

How many characters are in the Song of Songs?

The two main characters in this book are the man and the woman, who love each other. The woman also speaks to a group of women called the "daughters of Jerusalem," and these women make comments. However, it is possible that the group of women is not real and the woman is only imagining them.

Some interpreters believe there may be more characters than these, but this is not certain. Because no one is certain how many characters are in the book and because the ULB includes only the text that appears in the Hebrew, neither the UDB nor the ULB indicate who is speaking.

What are the lines about people speaking?

The Song of Songs is a poem that shows the thoughts and words of a man, a woman, and the woman’s friends. Throughout the poem, the author does not identify the speakers and their audience. So to help readers understand the poem, some translations attempt to identify the speaker and the audience. It is not always certain who the speaker is, so sometimes translations disagree about who is speaking.

Before each speech, the ULB identifies the speaker and the audience like this: "The woman speaking to the other women," "The woman speaking to the man," "The man speaking to the woman," or "The woman speaking to herself." Translators are encouraged to include these ways of identifying the speaker and the audience, and to format them differently from the scripture text. The translators should also include a note explaining that these explanations are not actually part of the scripture.

Issue: The second sentence in the second paragraph is contradicted by the entry that follows (and what is currently in the ULB and UDB texts). Suggest changing first entry above to read:

How many characters are in the Song of Songs?

The two main characters in this book are the man and the woman, who love each other. The woman also speaks to a group of women called the "daughters of Jerusalem," and these women make comments. However, it is possible that the group of women is not real and the woman is only imagining them. Some interpreters believe there may be more characters than these, but this is not certain.

**Current content in SNG intro:** #### How many characters are in the Song of Songs? The two main characters in this book are the man and the woman, who love each other. The woman also speaks to a group of women called the "daughters of Jerusalem," and these women make comments. However, it is possible that the group of women is not real and the woman is only imagining them. Some interpreters believe there may be more characters than these, but this is not certain. Because no one is certain how many characters are in the book and because the ULB includes only the text that appears in the Hebrew, neither the UDB nor the ULB indicate who is speaking. #### What are the lines about people speaking? The Song of Songs is a poem that shows the thoughts and words of a man, a woman, and the woman’s friends. Throughout the poem, the author does not identify the speakers and their audience. So to help readers understand the poem, some translations attempt to identify the speaker and the audience. It is not always certain who the speaker is, so sometimes translations disagree about who is speaking. Before each speech, the ULB identifies the speaker and the audience like this: "The woman speaking to the other women," "The woman speaking to the man," "The man speaking to the woman," or "The woman speaking to herself." Translators are encouraged to include these ways of identifying the speaker and the audience, and to format them differently from the scripture text. The translators should also include a note explaining that these explanations are not actually part of the scripture. **Issue: The second sentence in the second paragraph is contradicted by the entry that follows (and what is currently in the ULB and UDB texts). Suggest changing first entry above to read:** #### How many characters are in the Song of Songs? The two main characters in this book are the man and the woman, who love each other. The woman also speaks to a group of women called the "daughters of Jerusalem," and these women make comments. However, it is possible that the group of women is not real and the woman is only imagining them. Some interpreters believe there may be more characters than these, but this is not certain.