[B-Greek] Gen 3:16b LXX: t'shuqah (desire) => APOSTROFH (turning)
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Tue Jan 5 11:45:53 EST 2010
Gen 3:16b is one of the verses that can give a bible translator a headache.
First, I would challenge the assumption that "desire" is a good translation of
the Hebrew. The meaning is disputed and the word only occurs 3 times in the
Hebrew Bible.
Maybe we can get a clue if we look at all three places?
Gen 3:16: and to your husband (shall be) your X and he shall rule over you
Gen 4:7: sin is lying (in wait) at the door, and to you is its X, and you shall
rule over it
Song of Songs 7:11(10): I belong to my lover and to me shall be his X
The LXX translates the first two with APOSTROFH and the last with EPISTROFH. I
don't think there is any significant difference between the two. (There is no
reason to suggest a misreading, since the LXX is consistent in the translation
in all three places.)
Brenton translates the first two with submission (with "turning" in a footnote),
and the third with desire (again "turning" in a footnote.)
NETS translates the first two with "recourse" and the third with "attention".
It seems to me that the idea of "turning" or "give attention to" gives a good
sense in all three contexts. I like the way NETS has translated SoS 7:11 with
"attention". The lady is saying to her lover that she belongs to him, but then
his whole attention should be towards her. He must turn his eyes to her and her
alone. He must focus on her and not other women.
Sin is crouching at the door with its full attention on the potential victim.
The woman in Gen 3:16 is to give her attention to her husband.
By using "recourse", NETS is interpreting the purpose of that attention to be
for protection or help, whereas the Vulgate is interpreting the attention to
mean submission, maybe because the second half of the statement indicates that
the husband is to rule over her.
Some commentators have suggested that the attention is for the purpose of
desiring to control the husband. NET and NLT have followed this possibility:
NET: You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.
NLT04: And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.
(NLT04 is probably influenced by NET).
I agree with the NET note that "desire" is unlikely because it does not fit the
context and it does not fit the similar construction in 4:7, so I have been
inclined up till now to follow this understanding.
However, having considered APOSTROFH, I now think it is more likely to mean
"attention, focus, turning one's eyes towards" where the purpose of that
attention is not specified.
In the context of Gen 3:16, it seems most likely that the purpose of the wife
turning her eyes/attention to the husband is to get direction and guidance. This
is precisely what Eve failed to do in the beginning of the chapter. She was more
focused on the serpent and the beautiful tree and its fruits. It was only after
she had eaten of the fruit that she turned to her husband and offered him
something.
If we understand APOSTROFH as "turning" rather than "returning", it makes good
sense.
Iver Larsen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric S. Weiss" <papaweiss1 at yahoo.com>
To: "b-greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 4. januar 2010 21:11
Subject: [B-Greek] Gen 3:16b LXX: t'shuqah (desire) => APOSTROFH (turning)
Can anyone explain why the LXX translates the Hebrew t'shuqah (desire, urge) in
Gen.
3:16b as "turning" (APOSTROFH)? ("Your desire shall be toward your
husband....."). I
cannot find that any of my Hebrew lexicons give "turning" as a meaning for
t'shuqah, and
none of my Greek lexicons give "desire" as a meaning for APOSTROFH; in fact, one
of the
LSJ definitions says it can mean the OPPOSITE of EPIQUMIA (desire, lust) - i.e.,
an
"aversion" (turning away). One source suggests the LXX translator misread
t'shuqah as
t'shubah (return).
Re: Genesis 3:16:
* Philo uses APOSTROFH in Legum Allegoriae III (220) (though translated by C.D.
Yonge
as "desire" - maybe he went with the Hebrew reading/meaning?).
* The Dead Sea Scrolls don't seen to have this verse in the extant scrolls, so
we can't see
what their Hebrew text said.
* An online translation of Jubilees re: this passage also seems to read
"return," but I don't
know if that's based on the Greek or the Ethiopic text of Jubilees.
A related question: Is there a reason Jerome's Vulgate reads:
et sub viri potestate eris et ipse dominabitur tui = "and thou shalt be under
thy husband's
power, and he shall have dominion over thee."
(I can't read Latin, so I have to trust this literal translation I found.)
I.e., Jerome translated either t'shuqah or APOSTROFH as "sub viri potestate"
which
doesn't seem to be the meaning of either the Hebrew or the Greek.
- - -
Eric S. Weiss
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