Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Song of Solomon describes a king held captive in the flowing locks of the woman’s hair. The Greek translation misunderstood the rare word meaning “to run” and translated it “galleries,” with the king bound in a corridor.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Song of Solomon 7:5
Song of Songs
Hebrew Bible
4 Your neck is like a tower made of ivory. Your eyes are the pools in Heshbonby the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus. 5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. The locks of your hair are like royal tapestries—the king is held captive in its tresses! 6 How beautiful you are! How lovely, O love, with your delights!
LXX Song of Songs 7:5
Septuagint
4 your neck is like a tower of ivory. Your eyes are like the pools in Heshbon, by the gates of the daughter of many. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, watching the face of Damascus; 5 your head upon you is like Carmel, and the braid of your head is like purple, a king bound in galleries. 6 How lovely have you become, and how sweet, my love, in your delights?
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Notes and References
... In 7.6, the translator appears to have interpreted the hapax legomenon [...] ('tress, flowing lock'?) on the basis of a root known from Aramaic with the meaning 'to run', translating it by [...] 'running beside' (LEH: 'corridor, gallery'); consequently the strange phrase has been variously interpreted by ancient commentators: 'a king is bound by retinues', NETS; in place of the Masoretic Text: 'a king is held captive in the tresses', NRSV. ...
Auwers, Jean-Marie
"Canticles (Song of Songs)" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(pp. 374-375) 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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