Barrick, "Early Versions & Psalm 23"
ETS -- November 2005
© William D. Barrick 2005
5
meaning of the Hebrew root
lhn
that Moses also employed in Genesis 47:17 (
~x,L,'B; ~leÛh]n:y>w:
, "then he provided them with food").
15
Both the Aramaic and Syriac chose the connotation of leading.
16
3a
bbe_Avy> yviîp.n:
th.n yuch,n mou evpe,streyen
anmb bytyy yvpn
!ynwyspw
yNP) y$PN
animam meam
convertit [refecit]
b
qd<c,©÷-yleG>[.m;b. ynIxEïn>y:)
w`dh,ghse,n me evpi. tri,bouj
dikaiosu,nhj
twklhb ynrbd
yqydc aqdc
])t$wQ yLYB*$B yNrBdw
deduxit me super
[duxit me per]
semitas iustitiae
c
`Am*v. ![;m;äl.
e[neken tou/ ovno,matoj auvtou/
`hymv trwbg lwjm
kM$ L+M
propter nomen suum
Verse 3
3a: Although most commentators tend to ignore the problem, the translator and exegete must determine the meaning of
bWv
in
the first line of verse 3.
17
evpe,streyen in the LXX clearly indicates the sense of "convert" (from evpistre,fw)--clearly reflected in the
Gallican Psalter by convertit. One could argue that the Peshitta followed the LXX with its translation employing the Aphel of
)NP
(
yNP)
).
)NP
is the verb employed in the phrase
yNP)
)YrM twL
("turn to the Lord"), but Smith lists "to restore the soul" (perhaps
derived from this verse?) as well.
18
The Hebrew Psalter, however, changes the Latin to refecit (reficio, "restore"). Such is also the
obvious meaning of the Targum, since it adds "with manna and quail" (
19
!ynwyspw anmb
). Symmachus, favoring "he revived me,",
translated the clause, avnekth,sato, me (with avnakta,omai).
20
3b: All of the ancient versions translate this line of verse 3 with the same meaning and very similar phraseology.
15
Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, electronic ed., rev. by Walter Baumgartner and
Johann Jakob Stamm, trans. and ed. by M. E. J. Richardson (Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2000),
lhn
, pi. 2.
16
Leading is also the meaning conveyed by Aquila's diabasta,xeij. Symmachus chose to follow something nearer to "nourish" by translating it as
evthme,lhse, me
("cared for me" or "looked after me")--Field, 2:120.
17
For a commentator who does deal with the problem, see Derek Kidner, Psalms 172, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity
Press, 1973), 110: "the two senses ["convert" and "restore"] evidently interact, so that the retrieving or reviving of the sheep pictures the deeper renewal of the
man of God, spiritually perverse or ailing as he may be."
18
J. Payne Smith, ed., A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1903), 450.
19
A Greek loanword normally meaning "pheasant" (Stec, 61).
20
Field, 2:120.