Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Song of Solomon calls the bride down from the peak of mount Amana. The Greek translation misunderstood it as the word for faithfulness and changed it to “the beginning of faith,” with the summit now a spiritual starting point.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Song of Solomon 4:8
Song of Songs
Hebrew Bible
7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling! There is no blemish in you! 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions’ dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards. 9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride! You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
LXX Song of Songs 4:8
Septuagint
7 You are altogether beautiful, my close one, and you are flawless.b 8 Come from Lebanon, bride, come from Lebanon! You shall come, and you shall come across from the beginning of faith, from the top of Senir and Hermon, from the lions’ dens, from the leopards’ mountains. 9 You have heartened us, my sister, my bride; you have heartened us with one of your eyes, in a single woman, in the treasure of your necks.c
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Notes and References
... Hebrew has two words shwr (homonyms), one meaning 'look, look down,' the other 'travel, journey, descend, climb down' (BDB 1003b; HALOT 1449b), a verb of motion is preferable here, since, as the first part of the verse shows, the man is asking the woman to come with him, and nothing in the context indicates that he wants her to look at the scenery. None of the ancient versions understands the verb as 'look'; the Septuagint reads eleuse kai dieleuse apo arches pisteos ('you shall come and pass from the top [or "beginning"] of faith'); the Vulgate translates veni coronaberis de capite Amana, 'come, you will be crowned [or "surrounded"] from the peak of Amana.' ...
* 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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