Question on Psa. 39:7 LXX

Maurice A. O'Sullivan mauros at iol.ie
Wed Mar 15 19:43:48 EST 2000


At 13:59 15/03/00, Robert W Meyers wrote:
>If so, what is the meaning of the Hebrew word thus
>tr'd by the LXX?

The medieval rabbis had no doubt that the Hebrew term mean " the Scroll of 
the Book".
Radak taught that " now that I have completely recovered from my illness [ 
v.3 ] I scrupulously observe every commandment of the Law, recorded _on the 
scroll of the book_.This form of dedicated service surpasses all sacrifice."

OTOH, Ibn Ezra held that " when David was wracked with pain and sacrifice 
he vowed to compose a new song to God if he survived [v.4 ] . To make his 
vow more binding he had his solemn oath recorded on a _scroll_. Now as he 
sings ' the new song ' he is fulfilling that obligation which he had 
inscribed in the scroll.

Sforno, however," observes that David is referring to that special Torah 
Scroll which the king must write for himself "

Just what form this "Sefer Torah" must -- or could -- take is the subject 
of a debate in the Talmud ( Sanhedrin 21b ) but I think maybe that's a bit 
beyond the scope of your query and this list <g>.

But none of these great commentators were in any doubt that it was a scroll 
which the psalmist had in mind.

Hope this helps

Maurice

Maurice A. O'Sullivan  [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros at iol.ie

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