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In the Hebrew version of Ruth, Naomi imagines marrying and having sons that very night. The Greek Septuagint removes the words that very night, toning down the blunt idea that she could take a husband and conceive at once.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ruth 1:12
Hebrew Bible
11 But Naomi replied, “Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me. I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! 12 Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, 13 surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry. Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! No, my daughters, you must not return with me. For my intense suffering is too much for you to bear. For the Lord is afflicting me!”
LXX Ruth 1:12
Septuagint
11 But Naomi said, “Turn around now, my daughters, for what reason do you come with me? Do I still have sons in my belly who would become your husbands? 12 Turn around then, my daughters; for I have grown too old to belong to a man; because I said that I have a plan to belong to a man and I will bear sons, 13 would you wait for them until they have grown up? Or would you hold back for them and not take another husband? Surely not, my daughters, for it has been a point of grief to me, on your behalf, that the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.”
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Notes and References
... Three small deletions remove from the text elements that perhaps could be regarded as scandalous (for details see De Waard, ‘Translation Techniques’, pp. 511–12; Bons, ‘Septuaginta-Version’, pp. 213–15). Thus, no equivalent is given in Ruth 1:12 for הלילה ‘[still] in [that] night’, in the testimony that Naomi could have sons by any man. In 3:7 it is not stated Boaz had been drinking, in case he be accused of acting irresponsibly as a result of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, the translation at 3:7 is silent on whether Ruth ‘lay down’ or not—suspicion is avoided that Ruth provoked a sexual encounter with Boaz. ...
Bons, Eberhard
"Ruth" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(p. 124) Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015
* 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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