"... Isaiah 11:3 has been interpreted in different ways, reflecting the ambiguity of the word ַוהֲִריחוֹ (smell, spirit). Scholarly treatments have especially dealt with the lexical ambiguity, particularly with regard to whether ַוהֲִריחוֹ should be understood in relation to the meaning of ‘spirit’ or ‘scent.’ This paper follows Ian D. Ritchie in suggesting that the translation choice reflects cultural attitudes towards the sense of smell. In his paper, “The Nose Knows: Bodily Knowing in Isaiah 11:3,” Ritchie contrasts the interpretation of the Septuagint with that of the Babylonian Talmud. In the Septuagint the phrase, ַוהֲִריחוֹבְִּיְראַתְיהָוה is translated as “The spirit of the fear of God will fill him,” while in the Babylonian Talmud (henceforth: Bavli), Rava suggests that the verse means that the messiah will judge by smelling (b. Sanhedrin 93b). Ritchie contends that these divergent interpretations reflect different cultural contexts. The Bavli came together in the third through sixth centuries ce, in Sasanian Babylonia, while the Septuagint originated in the third through second centuries bce in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Bavli’s interpretation should be understood within a context where the sense of smell was treated as reliable, whereas the Septuagint reflects one where it was often considered suspect ..."

Wolkenfeld, Meira "Cultural Attitudes towards Scent in the Interpretation of Isaiah 11:3" in Strauch Schick, Shana, and Yaakov Elman (eds.) Land and Spirituality in Rabbinic Literature: A Memorial Volume for Yaakov Elman (p. 239–259) Brill, 2022