Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content

Proverbs 7 MT and LXX 151
Verse 10
# 6 *8
.1 '% ( *"=$#
The MT, that last mentioned the woman in v. 5, begins here with
“And
lo...,” creating the effect of the sudden appearance of a woman (10a) whose
provocative nature is described in the second part of the verse (10b). 48 The
Greek, that has not stopped talking about the woman, looses the dramatic
entrance. MT v. 10, then, begins a new section (And behold, a woman...),
while the LXX continues the former verses: ,,, “and the woman...,”
referring to the same woman who has been the subject since v. 5. 49
Three elements create the changeover to a more narrative style in the LXX:
(1) The translator introduces a verb instead of —
“came upon him.” (2) The short nominal phrase “outfit of a
whore,” 50 is replaced with the more general and more prose-like .
1 “having the appearance of a harlot.” (3) The second
concise nominal phrase 51 is expanded and paraphrased into a full
relative clause: ' % ( . The translator probably
read the verb as a causative (e.g., ++), hence the use of . He seems to
48 One may note, in passing, that the surprise is expressed from the point of view
of the wisdom-teacher witnessing the encounter: he sees the woman bursting onto
the scene. As for the lad himself, it is not clear whether he too is surprised at her
appearance or was rather hoping to meet her.
49 Baumgartner, Étude critique. Toy, Proverbs, 150, prefers the definite form and
argues that the he fell out from the Hebrew through haplography ( ). This is
a severe misunderstanding of the relationship between the texts. The indefinite form
belongs in the MT and the definite form goes with the scene as perceived by the
Greek translator. They cannot be exchanged.
50 See Ps 73:6 &( ? “lawlessness enwraps them as a mantle.”
51 HALOT: “with a cunning heart”; NJPS: “with set purpose”; RSV: “wily of heart.”
The phrase occurs only here (in 4:23 functions differently: protect one’s heart).
It should probably be explained from ‘guard, hide’ (cf. Ezek 6:12; Isa 48:6), that
would refer to the manipulative nature of the woman who keeps her seductive
intentions hidden or guarded in her heart.