[B-Greek] Gen 3:16b LXX: t'shuqah (desire) => APOSTROFH (turning)

Albert Pietersma albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
Tue Jan 5 13:21:17 EST 2010


While from a Hebrew lexicographical perspective one would certainly  
want examine the three passages in which TShQH occurs, I don't think  
it is particularly relevant for APOSTROFH. Instead, one might better  
look at the nineteen occurrences of APOSTROFH in the LXX. Muraoka  
(2002) has the following entry: 1. return, comeback; 2. turning to  
somebody for companionship and intimacy. Ge 3.16; 4.7. Given the fact  
that component 2. is (apparently) solely based on the two Genesis  
passages, one may well question its lexicographical legitimacy.
What seems reasonably clear is that the Genesis translator did not  
know what TShQH meant. Why, in that case, he opted for APOSTROFH is  
anybody's guess (might he be pointing back to 2:21-23??). But as far  
as we can tell, it wasn't because it suited the Greek context.  
Potentially, reception history would have field day with it, but that  
is a different story.
Al



On Jan 5, 2010, at 11:45 AM, Iver Larsen wrote:

> 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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—
Albert Pietersma PhD
21 Cross Street,
Weston ON Canada M9N 2B8
Email: albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
Homepage: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~pietersm




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