Texts in Conversation
The Greek Septuagint translation of Proverbs 6 adds a long note praising the bee for hard work and wisdom, expanding the Hebrew text that mentions only the ant. The added praise stands out because other Hebrew writings often portray bees only as threats.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 6:8
Hebrew Bible
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe her ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, 8 yet it would prepare its food in the summer; it gathered at the harvest what it will eat. 9 How long, you sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, 11 and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man.
Date: 600–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Proverbs 6:8
Septuagint
6 Go to the ant, sluggard; and see, and emulate his ways, and become wiser than he. 7 For whereas he has no farm, nor any one to compel him, and is under no master, 8 he prepares food for himself in the summer, and lays by abundant store in harvest. 8a Or go to the bee, and learn how diligent she is, and how earnestly she is engaged in her work; 8b whose labors kings and private men use for health, and she is desired and respected by all: 8c though weak in body, she is advanced by honoring wisdom.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Proverbs 6:8 ... This section on the bee is remarkable, not only because it gives a positive evaluation of an animal which elsewhere in the Old Testament is depicted in rather negative terms (see Deuteronomy 1:44, Psalm 117:12, Isaiah 7:18), but also because it is an extensive addition to the canonical text, having no counterpart in the Hebrew ..."
Albert M. Wolters, Septuagint Commentary Series: Proverbs (Leiden: Brill, 2020), 150.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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