Barrick, "Early Versions & Psalm 23"
ETS -- November 2005
© William D. Barrick 2005
9
v
Hebrew (MT)
Greek Septuagint
Aramaic Targum
Syriac Peshitta
Latin Vulgate
6a
ds,x,äw" bAjÜ Y%a:Ü
ynIWpD>r>yIâ
kai. to. E;leo,j sou
katadiw,xetai, me
atwbyj atbj ~rb
ynnwpdry adsxw
kYMxr{w ktwBY+
]yNwPdr
et misericordia tua sub-
sequitur me [sed et
benignitas et miseri-
cordia subsequetur me]
b
yY"+x; ymeäy>-lK'
pa,saj ta.j h`me,raj th/j
zwh/j mou
yyx ymwy lk
]yYx*d )tM*wY nwhLK
omnibus diebus vitae
meae
c
hw"©hy>÷-tybeB. yTiîb.v;w>
kai. to. katoikei/n me evn
oi;kw| kuri,ou
tybb byta dk
hwhyd avdqm
htYBB rM()d
)YrMd
et ut inhabitem [et
habitabo] in domo
Domini
d
`~ymi(y" %r<aoål.
eivj makro,thta h`merw/n
30
`aymwyd anmwyd adgn
])tM*wYd )rGwN
in longitudinem
[longitudine] dierum
Verse 6
6a: Interestingly, the LXX and both Latin Psalters employ a simple conjunction to begin this verse, rather than to use
something more emphatic to represent
%a;
. On the other hand, the Peshitta leaves the particle out completely, even though the
Aramaic Targum found an emphatic particle to employ (
~rb
). The LXX translator also chose to omit "goodness" (the only one of
these ancient versions to do so
31
). The Gallican Psalter, of course, follows suit. The Peshitta utilizes the root
mxr
for
ds,x,ä
, perhaps to
avoid the more common homonym
)dSX
meaning "reproach," "shame."
6b: No variation exists among the ancient versions.
6c: This section of the psalm is one of the most debated with regard to the identification of the root for
yTib.v;w>
. Is the root
bvy
,
bWv
, or
tbv
? LXX translators understood the first root (
bvy
= katoike,w).
32
Both versions of the Latin Psalter agreed with the LXX
(both habito and inhabito =
bvy
)--the added ut in the Gallican Psalter is the translator's way to reproduce the resultative force of
LXX's infinitival construction (to. katoikei/n me). In addition, both the Syriac Peshitta and the Aramaic Targum took the Hebrew as a
form of
bvy
. The Targum's
avdqm
is an explanatory addition: "the house of the sanctuary of YHWH."
30
Symmachus: eivj mh/koj cro,nou ("for a long time," literally "unto length of time")--Field, 2:121.
31
See Field, 2:121, for the various Greek translations catalogued by Origen, which include "goodness" (including Symmachus, for example).
32
Ibid.; Symmachus has (kai) katoi,khsi,j mou ("and my dwelling").