LXX Psalm 36:7 'hUPOTAGHQI TW KURIW

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Sat Apr 20 00:09:55 EDT 2002


In a message dated 4/19/2002 2:47:34 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
dbielby at juno.com writes:

As I've reflected on this phrase in the English Bibles (Psalm 37:7--LXX Ps
36:7) a few questions popped up.   Is it good to translate this phrase

"Submit yourself to the Lord..."
Or
"Put yourself under the Lord's authority"

Or even "Obey the Lord"

What influenced the translators of the NIV & NLT and other translators to
choose the option "Be still in the Lord's presence" or "Rest in the Lord"

Let me explain my perspective a bit more.  If the Hebrew means "Be still
or be silent" then why is the LXX not matching that?  I don't seem to be
grasping what's going on here.
__________________

"The translators of the NIV & NLT and other translators" would presumably be 
translating from the Hebrew so we must look at the Hebrew (Ps 37.7 in MT) 
which is 

DoWM LaYHWH

This is an imperative of D.fMaM "to be or grow dumb, silent" [BDB].  The 
question thus becomes "Why did the translators of the LXX translate it thus?" 
 

In Ps. 62.2 (LXX 61.2) the Hebrew reads

)aK. )eL_):eLoHiYM D.W.MiY.fH NaF:$iY MiM.eN.W. 
Truly my soul waits in silence for God alone.

The Hebrew word here is a noun meaning "silence" and appears related to DW.M 
which appears originally to mean "to whisper."  It is translated in the LXX 
by [fanfare - silence, waiting with bated breath] - you guessed it - a form 
of hUPOTASSW.  It would thus appear to me that whoever translated the Psalm 
confused his forms in Hebrew and related it to the wrong word.

How to translate this?  If you're translating the LXX, I would say, "Submit 
to the Lord."  If you're translating the Hebrew, "Be silent before YHWH."

gfsomsel



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