[B-Greek] SEIRAS as 'braids' in Judges 16:13-19?

Yancy Smith yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Thu Jun 24 14:14:22 EDT 2010


This problem of conventional meaning while avoiding "'reference' by definition" is, of course a serious problem in translation that the rare exceptions underscore, often painfully, for the interpreter, exegete, translator, or person who desires to turn text into concrete practice. One example I have been struggling with in Bible translation is how to determine the "conventional meaning" (which I assume is any verbal calc that two or more lexicographers can agree on) of the phrase translated in the LXX in two distinct ways.

1 Sam 17:7 καὶ ὁ κοντὸς τοῦ δόρατος αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ μέσακλον ὑφαινόντων
		KAI hO KONTOS TOU DORATOS AUTOU hWSEI MESAKLON hUFAINONTWN
2 Sam 21:19 καὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ δόρατος αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀντίον ὑφαινόντων
		KAI TO XULOU TOU DORATOS AUTOU hWSEI ANTION hUFAINONTWN

The lexicographer can be content with providing definitions that like the squiggles on the page MESAKLON or ANTION with some implement associated with weaving and weavers that is beam like. The user of the lexicon can be happy with this, perhaps assuming that an expert at weaving would be able to identify which particular part of the loom is being referred to.

The translator concerned with meaningful communication, however, might be puzzled. Is the comparison to a MESAKLON or ANTION a comparison to size, shape, or function?

Looking at a loom that preserves ancient practices only makes the issue more acute. See http://www.rugreview.com/155beni2.htm or, for ancient pictures, see http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25731/25731-h/25731-h.htm. 

In terms of the either Hebrew or LXX text, a variety of possibilities of understanding get stirred up:

Yigael Yadin’s reading of the “the spear as a weaver’s beam” as an Aegean-Style javelin. (Y. Yadin, “Goliath’s Javelin and the מנור ,ארגים ,” PEQ 1955, pp. 58-69; the UBS Handbook also seems to favor this reading.).    

Steve McKenzie (King David, 74-75) comments about Goliath’s spear: "Such javelins had a loop or thong in the middle to increase leverage and therefore hurling distance. It was this loop that supposedly made Goliath’s spear 'like a weaver’s beam.' But weaver’s shuttles (YWS, not Yadin's idea) have many more than one loop. The reason for the comparison of Goliath’s spear to a weaver’s beam seems to be size, especially considering the next statement about the weight of its tip. Six hundred shekels of bronze is conservatively estimated to be about fifteen pounds, which indicates that the weapon was not intended for hurling.

Alternately, Halpern (David’s Secret Demons, 8) comments regarding “like a weaver’s beam”:
The last phrase refers not to the shaft’s weight, but to a rope wrapped around the butt to serve as a  handle: the spear Goliath carried was a thrusting weapon, not a ballistic one, with a 15-lb. iron tip.

So, I would argue that "conventional meaning" is not really what lexicographers give us either, rather, a conventional calc. Meaning is something that is quite beyond that. The calc serves as a clue in the search for meaning. But when you go to a Lexicon, until you factor in context (relevant cognitive environment) it is best to be humming along with Bono in U2, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for."





Yancy Smith
Yancy W. Smith, PhD
World Bible Translation Center
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yancy at wbtc.org

Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.






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