Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content
Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content
156 Tova Forti and Zipora Talshir mean that, according to the translator’s understanding, she is about to sacrifice and invites the lad to participate. The verbal modification hardly justifies burdening the translator with far-reaching intentions, let alone endow the Hebrew with the meaning attributed to the Greek. As she goes on, both the Hebrew and the Greek are very clear about her intentions, which are plainly sexual. Verse 15 ! %( * ( ! * + *.1 " E+ + +! *( " Having payed her dues, she went out to look for him. goes back to v. 10 , where she first met him. Is this just a figure of speech or did she know him before and is now resolved to consummate their acquaintance? The translator renders the verse faithfully, except for the participle that replaces the infinitive (. FG Verse 16 a b * a’ b’ * & *1 &4/ 9 " %" H" " $ *#=( In the MT, the first stich mentions that she has decked her couch with covers, while the second provides new information regarding these bedcovers: they are said to be of colored (()fine linen () from Egypt. 66 The translator probably did not know the meaning of either ( or . FG For the particular ( the translator found the appropriate, rarely used in the LXX, verb ( ‘desire, be anxious to do’. 66 Different etymological explanations have been suggested for these words; the Egyptian context suggests that they are of Egyptian provenance.
Proverbs 7 MT and LXX 157 Inventive as he is, he added a verb to the second stich, 67 creating a synonymous parallelism of his own: “I have spread my bed with sheets, and I have covered it with double tapestry from Egypt.” 68 Verse 17 a b c * FI . " b’ c’ * . * MT: I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. #8 LXX: I have sprinkled my bed with saffron // and my house with cinnamon. The Massoretic division has an Etnah under . A more plausible division would be: // , the first stich offering a complete idea while the second complements it with additional information, just as in v. 16. 70 The Greek advocates this division of the verse. The second stich is constructed differently, creating a parallelism not extant in the Hebrew (cf. vv. 12, 16). 71 The translator is obviously working within 67 The verb added, 1 , is used in Job 17:13 $ %"! 1 . In v. 12, he similarly created a parallelism by freely adding a verb. 68 The Greek verb is hardly a good enough reason to correct the Hebrew text (BHS), nor is it an etymological rendering () of either of the Hebrew words; Toy, Proverbs, 154. FI The verb is derived from 2 ‘to sprinkle’ (HALOT). The translator must have been familiar with this verb, since he offers an exact equivalent, ‘to sprinkle’. 70 As noted in the BHS, some Hebrew MSS read , with a conjunction (also in the translations), suggesting that the second stich of the verse began with , rather than with . 71 Gerleman, Studies, 24, offers other such examples in which “the corresponding lines are balanced and made congruent one with another in a manner reminding of the paridosis of ancient rhetoric.” In our verse, however, the translator is hardly after rhetoric patterns. He has a problem to solve.
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156<br />
Tova Forti <strong>and</strong> Zipora Talshir<br />
mean that, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the translator’s underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g, she is about to<br />
sacrifice <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>vites the lad to participate. The verbal modification hardly<br />
justifies burden<strong>in</strong>g the translator with far-reach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tentions, let alone<br />
endow the Hebrew with the mean<strong>in</strong>g attributed to the Greek. As she goes<br />
on, both the Hebrew <strong>and</strong> the Greek are very clear about her <strong>in</strong>tentions,<br />
which are pla<strong>in</strong>ly sexual.<br />
Verse 15<br />
! %( *<br />
( ! *<br />
+ *.1 "<br />
E+ + +! *( " <br />
Hav<strong>in</strong>g payed her dues, she went out to look for him. <br />
goes back to v. 10 , where she first met him. Is this just a<br />
figure of speech or did she know him before <strong>and</strong> is now resolved to<br />
consummate their acqua<strong>in</strong>tance?<br />
The translator renders the verse faithfully, except for the participle that<br />
replaces the <strong>in</strong>f<strong>in</strong>itive (. FG<br />
Verse 16<br />
a b * <br />
<br />
a’ b’ *<br />
& *1 &4/ <br />
<br />
9 " %" H" "<br />
<br />
$ *#=(<br />
In the <strong>MT</strong>, the first stich mentions that she has decked her couch with<br />
covers, while the second provides new <strong>in</strong>formation regard<strong>in</strong>g these bedcovers:<br />
they are said to be of colored (()f<strong>in</strong>e l<strong>in</strong>en () from Egypt. 66<br />
The translator probably did not know the mean<strong>in</strong>g of either ( or .<br />
FG For the particular ( the translator found the appropriate, rarely used <strong>in</strong> the<br />
<strong>LXX</strong>, verb ( ‘desire, be anxious to do’.<br />
66 Different etymological explanations have been suggested for these words; the<br />
Egyptian context suggests that they are of Egyptian provenance.
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