Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content

152
Tova Forti and Zipora Talshir
have guessed the meaning, providing a picturesque description of her
“causing the hearts of youngmen to flutter,” an image perfectly suited to
the context. 52 The ‘youngmen’ are thus his own contribution. This
completely upsets the balance between the two stichs. However, the
translator did not use it as an opportunity to introduce a new idea or
advance nuances that are not already there in his Vorlage.
Verse 11
&
1 *-
+& 7
+ @"$. 1
> *
Verse 11 goes on with the characterization of the woman. She is described
as & (RSV: “loud and wayward”; NJPS: “bustling and restive”)
(11a), traits that result in her never being at home (11b). 53
The contents and structure of the verse are fairly reflected in the
translation. The translator on his part found particular definitions for this
type of a woman: & “and she is fickle and
debauched.” 54 For ‘dwell’ he introduces *- ‘rest’, which may
52 Again, one does not need to look for a variant text in order to understand how
the translator came up with the picture he chose to draw. Mezzacasa, Proverbi, 130,
offers the reading from , ‘to fly’. Lagarde, Anmerkungen, 26, thinks of
. See also Baumgartner, Étude critique, 76–78. The Vulgate, reading: parata ad
capiendas animas, ‘ready to catch hearts’, may be explained as derived from
‘besiege’ or % ‘hunt’. See also the imagery that describes the woman as setting
traps in Qoh 7:26 and Sir 9:3; 26:22.
53 The stupid woman is similarly defined as ‘bustling about’ in Prov 9:13.
54 & ‘animate’, is used in the LXX again only in Cant 6:5 ‘For
they overwhelm me’. ‘unruly’—used only here in the LXX—is perfectly
suitable as counterpart for &. Commentators have suggested that & should be
corrected into &; cf. Song 3:2 ( &
“I must rise and roam the town, Through the streets and through the
squares; I must seek the one I love.”