Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content

Proverbs 7 MT and LXX 161
( and ( echo v. 5
the translation.
;this too is lost in
Verses 22–23: The vanquished lad
Again we encounter the author’s calculated use of parallelism in different
parts of his speech. In these verses, for the first time, he chooses a threestich
structure, as if to intensify the lad’s catastrophic reaction. However,
the relationship between the stichs is not altogether clear. In the LXX the
structure is somewhat clearer, but does not contribute to the understanding
of the Hebrew.
Verse 22
( ( ! +(B *#
+ ("+1 +# .
+
3"&$1 +&++ $
MT-NJPS: Thoughtlessly he follows her, Like an ox going to the slaughter,
Like a fool to the stocks for punishment
MT-RSV: All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a
stag is caught fast
LXX: And he followed her, being gently led on, and as an ox is led to the
slaughter, and as a dog to bonds, [v. 23] or as a hart...
(: is generally understood here in its regular sense of
‘suddenly’. This would roughly suit the pictures of disasters that befall
someone suddenly. 78 Others would rather understand the adverb, much
under the influence of the LXX, as ‘in a simple, naive manner’. 79 The biblical
writers seem to employ puns with and synonyms of ; cf. Ps 64:5
& “to shoot from hiding at the blameless
78 E.g. 6:15 % “Therefore calamity will come
upon him without warning; Suddenly he will be broken beyond repair.”
79 Gemser, Sprche, 42; J. Fichtner, in BHS, suggests actually correcting the text to
or on the basis of the LXX (and the Peshitta).