The lexeme ἀνατμητικός, which is a hapax legomenon in the entirety of Greek literature, occurs in LXX Psalm 54:22.[1] The relevant part of the verse reads in Hebrew (Psalm 55:22c–d) as well as in the Septuagint (Psalm 54:22c–d):
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LXX Ps 54:22, ed. A. Rahlfs |
MT Ps 55:22, ed. H. Bardtke (BHS) |
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διεμερίσθησαν ἀπὸ ὀργῆς τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἤγγισεν ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ· ἡπαλύνθησαν οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον, καὶ αὐτοί εἰσιν βολίδες. |
חָלְק֤וּ מַחְמָאֹ֣ת פִּיו֮ וּֽקֲרָב־לִ֫בּ֥וֹ רַכּ֖וּ דְבָרָ֥יו מִשֶּׁ֗מֶן וְהֵ֣מָּה פְתִחֽוֹת׃ |
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English translation by NETS: |
English translation by NJPS: |
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They were divided due to the anger of his face, and his heart drew near; his words became smoother than oil, and they are missiles. |
his talk was smoother than butter, yet his mind was on war; his words were more soothing than oil, yet they were drawn swords. |
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German translation by LXX.D: |
German translation by Elberfelder: |
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Sie wurden aufgeteilt vor dem Zorn seines Angesichts, und sein Herz nahte sich; seine Worte wurden weicher als Öl, und doch sind sie Geschosse |
Glatter als weiche Butter ist sein Mund, und Feindschaft ist sein Herz; geschmeidiger als Öl sind seine Worte, aber sie sind gezogene Schwerter. |
1. Hexaplaric Attestation for LXX Ps 54:22d
The Hexaplaric attestation for LXX Psalm 55:22d is as follows:
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LXX Ps 54:22d |
MT Ps 55:22d |
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LXX |
MT |
α′ |
σ′ |
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καὶ αὐτοί εἰσιν |
וְהֵמָּה |
– |
ὄντες Field |
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βολίδες |
פְּתִחוֹת |
λόγχαι Field |
ἀνατμητικοί [sc. λόγοι] Field |
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missiles |
drawn swords |
spears |
fit for cutting up [sc. words] |
The Masoretic Text reads פְּתִחוֹת. This is the feminine plural of the hypothecial noun פְּתִיחָה*, “drawn sword,” which goes back to the root פתח1.[2] This noun is attested only twice: besides its occurrence in our Psalms passage, it appears in Micah 5:6, where an emendation of the Hebrew בִּפְתָחֶיהָ (“in her entrances”) to בַּפְּתִיחָה (“with a drawn sword”) seems plausible.[3] A review of the Septuagint of Micah 5:6 and its Jewish recensions reveals that the divergent interpretations of this verse have ancient origins, with the textual tradition essentially divided into three categories:
- The Septuagint reading ἐν τῇ τάφρῳ αὐτῆς (“with her ditch,” NETS)[4] suggests that the translator was working from a corrupted reading, פְּחָתֶיהָ, likely resulting from consonantal metathesis.[5]
- Symmachus and Theodotion, on the other hand, relate the Hebrew text to פֶּתַח (entrance).[6]
- The Quinta (ε′), Naḥal Ḥever (Ra 943), and the Achmimic and Sahidic versions agree on the reading ἐν παραξιφίσιν αὐτῶν (“with their swords”);[7] Aquila aligns with this by rendering the phrase as ἐν λόγχαις αὐτῆς (“with her spears”),[8] as does the Vulgate with the reading in lanceis eius. It may be inferred that, as in the case of Psalm 54:22 LXX, the hypothetical noun פְּתִיחָה* underlies these readings.
The LXX of Psalms uses the noun ἡ βολίς (“the missile”) for its rendering (LXX: βολίδες). Aquila uses – similar to or like his reading of Micah 5:6 – the noun ἡ λόγχη (“the spear”) for his rendering (α′: λόγχαι). However, Symmachus reads the adjective ἀνατμητικός (σ′: ἀνατμητικοί).
The testimony of the Göttingen Hexapla Database is so far based on Field’s data. Field refers to Nobilius (but this only for Ps 54:22ab)[9] and cites as sources Eusebius’ commentary on the Psalms, Theodoret’s commentary on the Psalms, and the Syrohexapla.[10]
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Eusebius’ commentary on the Psalms |
Montfaucon I, 238 (PG 23, 488); (Bandt, Eusebius X/2,1.), 44–46 |
σ′ Ps 54:22a–d |
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Theodoret’s commentary on the Psalms |
(Sirmond, Theodoreti Opera.), 611; (Schulze, Theodoreti Opera.) I, 969 (PG 80, 1280–81); cf. the Göttingen praeliminary edition[11] |
α′ Ps 54:22e[12]; σ′ Ps 54:22a–b[13] |
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Syrohexapla |
Ceriani (facsimile) |
σ′ Ps 54:22a–d |
A refined representation of the reading in question and its attestation looks like this:
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LXX Ps 54:22d |
MT Ps 55:22d |
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LXX |
MT |
α′ |
σ′ |
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καὶ αὐτοί εἰσιν |
וְהֵ֣מָּה |
– |
ὄντες (Eusebius) |
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βολίδες |
פְתִחֽוֹת |
λόγχαι (Thdt) |
ἀνατμητικοί [sc. λόγοι] (Eusebius; cf. Syh: ܡܓܙܪܐ)[14] |
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missiles |
drawn swords |
spears |
fit for cutting up [sc. words] |
2. Patristic Evidence for ἀνατμητικός (σ′ Ps 54:22d)
Eusebius of Caesarea interprets this passage as follows (Bandt, Eusebius X/2,1), p. 45,14–21):
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Ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ· |
Instead of |
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καὶ ἤγγισεν ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ. ἡπαλύνθησαν οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἔλαιον, καὶ αὐτοί εἰσι βολίδες, |
“And his heart drew near. His words were smoother than oil, and they are arrows,” |
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σαφέστερον ἡρμήνευσεν ὁ Σύμμαχος εἰπών· |
Symmachus translated more clearly:
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»λειότερα βουτύρου τὰ στόματα αὐτῶν, πολεμεῖ δὲ ἡ καρδία ἑκάστου αὐτῶν· ἁπαλώτεροι οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ἐλαίου ὄντες ἀνατμητικοί.« |
“Their words are smoother than butter, but the heart of each one of them fights. His words are smoother than oil, but they are fit for cutting up.” |
After that, Eusebius provides two more times (46,6–7; 46,23–24 Bandt) Symmachus’ interpretation of Ps. 54:22cd. Refering to this passage, Field writes in the footnote: “Euseb., cujus Cod. Colb. ἀποτμητικοὶ habet.”[15]. He obtains this information allegedly from the Eusebius edition of Montfaucon (1707), that he states to use in his In librum Psalmorum monitum[16] and that actually gives this indication[17]. However, in volume 23 of the Patrologia Graeca, where Migne (1857) reprints the Montfaucon edition, we find another reference: “Colb. habet ἀπονμητικοὶ”[18]. Independently of the incorrectness of both readings, the mentioned Cod(ex) Colb(ertinus), namely the Parisinus gr. 463 (Colbert. 646, 17th century), reads correctly ἀνατμητικοί (not only in this passage [f. 193v] but also in the other two [ff. 193v-194r])[19]. In any case, its (limited) importance within the manuscript tradition of Eusebius’ commentary on Psalms has since been recognized by scholars. For comparison, Codex Coislinianus 44 (10th century), which directly preserves Eusebius’ commentary on Psalms 51–95 as the only witness,[20] reads ἀνατμητικοί (not only in this passage – ff. 16r–28r, here: f. 26r, col. A – but also in the following two [f. 26r, col. B; f. 26v, col. A]) and this reading is also confirmed (in all three instances) by the other manuscripts of the catenae tradition employed by Bandt, alongside Cod. Coisl. 44, for her recent critical edition. However, instead of ἐλαίου ὄντες, only Cod. Coisl. 44 in this passage erroneously reads ἐλεοῦντες (ἁπαλώτεροι οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ἐλεοῦντες ἀνατμητικοί “His words are softer, evoking compassion, but cutting.”)[21].
3. Analysis of σ′ ἀνατμητικοί
According to its form, the lexeme ἀνατμητικοί is a nominative plural masculine of the adjective ἀνατμητικός. It has been included in dictionaries since Biel/Mutzenbecher (1779), which as already mentioned served as the basis for Schleusner’s Thesaurus (1820), but is neither mentioned in Muraoka’s Lexicon (2009) nor in Lust-Eynikel-Hauspie’s Lexicon (11992/96, 22003, 32015), which is a clear shortcoming:[22]
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(Biel and Mutzenbecher, Thesaurus.) I (1779), 115 |
Ἀνατμητικὸς, dissecans […] stricti gladii. Symm. Psalm. LIV,22 ἀνατμητικοί. |
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(Schleusner, Thesaurus. 1–5.) I (1820), 257; (Schleusner, Thesaurus ed. altera. 1–3.) I (1822), 207 |
ἈΝΑΤΜΗΤΙΚΟ`Σ, dissecans […] stricti gladii. Symm. Ps. LIV.22 bene quoad sensum. |
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(Stephanus, Thesaurus II. 2.) (1865), 591 |
[Ἀνατμητικὸς, ὴ, ὸν, Dissecans. Symm. Ps. 54, 22.] |
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(Bailly, Dictionnaire.) (2000; first published in 1895), 143 |
ἀνατμητικός, ή, όν, propre à couper en haut, Symm. Ps. 54, 22 (ἀνατέμνω) |
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(Dimitrakos, Λεξικόν.) I (1933), 464 |
ἀνατμητικός -ή -όν μτγν. ἀνατέμνων: Συμ. Ψαλμ. 54,22 || ὁ κατάλληλος εἰς ἀνατομήν |
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(Liddell and Scott, Lexicon.) (1996)[23], 123 s.v. ἀνα-τμήγω, = ἀνατέμνω |
ἀνα-τμητικός, ή, όν, fit for cutting up, Sm. Ps. 54(55).22. |
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(Adrados, et al., DGE I–VIII. 1–8.), here: vol. II (2003), 273 |
ἀνατμητικός, ή, όν, cortante de las palabras, Sm.Ps.54.22.[24] |
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(Montanari, GI.) (2013)3, 240[25] |
ἀνατμητικός -ή -όν [ἀνατμήγω] pronto a tagliare VT. (Sym.) Ps. 54.22. |
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(Montanari, Dictionary.) (2015), 158 |
ἀνατμητικός, -ή, -όν [ἀνατμήγω] ready to cut VT (Sym.) Ps. 54.22. |
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(Montanari, Wörterbuch.) (2023), 150 |
ἀνατμητικός, -ή, -όν [ἀνατμήγω] bereit zu schneiden VT. (Sym.) Ps. 54.22. |
The adjective ἀνατμητικός is a compound of the preposition ἀνά and the relatively common adjective τμητικός, ή, όν, “able to cut, cutting.”[26] The latter is not attested in a biblical context. However, the related adjective τμητός is biblically attested (Ex 20:25). Both adjectives derive from the verb τέμνειν, such as the adjective ἀνατμητικός, as Chantraine says.[27] Moreover, Bailly already indicated ἀνα-τέμνειν as the etymological root for ἀνατμητικός, as we have seen;[28] and Dimitrakos[29] too links this adjective to ἀνατέμνω. Montanari postulates the derivation of ἀνατμητικός from ἀνατμήγω. The scholar indicates ἀνατμήγω as part. aor. pass. of ἀνατέμνω[30], presumably based on what Chantraine says. Anyway, Chantraine indicates τμήγω as a verb derived from τέμνω.[31] Symmachus uses ἀνατμητικοί instead of βολίδες (LXX) to render the Hebrew פְתִחוֹת.
Within the context of the Greek Psalter (Psalmi cum Odis), the term βολίς appears once more in Ode 4:11, corresponding to Hab 3:11 (βολίδες σου, MT חִצֶּיךָ).[32] Otherwise, βολίς predominantly serves as the rendering of חֵץ in the Septuagint.[33] Regarding the Hebrew root פתח, this is typically rendered in the Septuagint with the verb “to open,” and semantically, it is also connected to translations involving the nouns “gate” or “door.” However, the situation in the Greek Psalter is somewhat different; while the verb ἀνοίγω (“to open”) is indeed the most frequent translation, there are several instances where the translation varies depending on the context.[34] In one particular instance, the Greek exhibits a similar semantic range as in Ps 54:22d LXX (55:22d MT), namely in the translation of Ps 37:14 MT: חֶרֶב פָּֽתְחוּ רְשָׁעִים. The Septuagint renders this as (Ps 36:14 LXX): ῥομφαίαν ἐσπάσαντο οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί (“a sword the sinners drew,” NETS).[35] Unfortunately, no Hexaplaric material has survived that could be used for comparison. However, comparable to Ps 36:14 LXX (37:14 MT) is Ezek 21:33, where σπάω is also used to render the Hebrew פתח.[36] Otherwise, in the Septuagint, σπάω is typically used to translate the Hebrew שׁלף (“to draw [a weapon; τὴν μάχαιραν or ῥομφαίαν]”).[37]
[1] Cf. Busto Saiz, Traducción, 467.
[2] Wilhelm Gesenius, Hebräisches und Aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. Begonnen von R. Meyer […], bearbeitet und herausgegeben von H. Donner, 18th ed (Berlin et al.: Springer, 2013), 1093 s.v. פְּתִחוֹת: “gezückte Schwerter, Dolche od. dgl.”; David J. A. Clines, ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993–2011) VI, 810–811 s.v. פְּתִיחָה “drawn sword.”
[3] As proposed by Anthony Gelston, ed., The Twelve Minor Prophets, BHQ 13 (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2010), 104*.
[4] Cf. Muraoka, Lexicon, 672 s.v. τάφρος “irrigation ditch.”
[5] Cf. Michael Segal and Shemaryahu Talmon z"l, The Twelve Prophets, The Hebrew University Bible (Jerusalem: The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2024), on Mic 5:5 with note 23.
[6] Symmachus reads ἐντὸς πυλῶν αὐτῆς. Theodotion provides a similar reading (according to the Syro-Hexapla) or a slightly different one (according to Jerome): in portis eorum (ἐν πύλαις αὐτῶν, Frederick Field, Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt sive veterum interpretum Graecorum in totum Vetus Testamentum fragmenta, vol. 2 [Oxonii: E typographeo Clarendoniano, 1875], 995).
[7] Cf. Dominique Barthélemy, Les devanciers d’Aquila. Première publication intégrale du texte des fragments du Dodécaprophéton trouvés dans le désert de Juda, précédée d'une étude sur les traductions et recensions grecques de la Bible réalisées au premier siècle de notre ère sous l'influence du rabbinat Palestinien, VTSup 10 (Leiden: Brill, 1963), 228–229. Quinta, Ra 943, and Achmimic/Sahidic represent the καίγε tradition in the Twelve Prophets; see Felix Albrecht, “Textual Plurality in the Greek Book of Habakkuk. The Psalm of Habakkuk (Hab 3),” in Pharaonen, Mönche und Gelehrte. Auf dem Pilgerweg durch 5000 Jahre ägyptische Geschichte über drei Kontinente. Heike Behlmer zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. Diliana Atanassova, et al., Texte und Studien zur Koptischen Bibel 4 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2023), 31: “[…] the Quinta tradition attested in Jerome agrees with the Naḥal Ḥever tradition, just as the Achmimic (Sahidic) tradition seems to witness the Quinta tradition.”
[8] The retroversion of Aquila’s reading of LXX Mic 5:6 from Syriac (Syro-Hexapla) or Latin (Jerome) as “ἐν σειρομάσταις (s. ζιβύναις) αὐτῆς” (Joseph Ziegler, ed., Duodecim prophetae 3rd ed., Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis editum XIII [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1984], 218, without accents) or “ἐν ζιβύναις (s. σειρομάσταις) αὐτῆς” (Field, Origenis Hexaplorum fragmenta II, 995) should be corrected to ἐν λόγχαις αὐτῆς; this is further supported by Aquila’s reading in LXX Ps 54:22. The readings of Aquila in LXX Mic 5:6 and LXX Ps 54:22 are also compared by Segal and Talmon z”l, Twelve Prophets, on Mic 5:5 with note 24.
[9] Field, Origenis Hexaplorum fragmenta II, 180 with notes 41–42.
[10] Field, Origenis Hexaplorum fragmenta II, 180, note 41, provides the information that Jerome attests lanceae. This is indeed the reading iuxta Hebraeos, cf. Psalmi iuxta Hebr.: lanceae (ed. Robert Weber and Roger Gryson, eds., Biblia sacra iuxta vulgatam versionem. Editionem quartam […] praeparavit R. Gryson 4th ed. [Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994], 837). Jerome, however, does not ascribe this reading to Aquila.
[11] https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/theodoret/basetext/54/ (last access: 31.07.2024).
[12] Καὶ ἐῴκει μὲν τὰ ῥήματα ἐλαίου καὶ βουτύρου λειότητι· τὰ δὲ βουλεύματα, βέλεσι καὶ δόρασιν ὀξυτάτοις. Λόγχαι γὰρ μᾶλλον ὑπῆρχον αἱ βολίδες αὐτῶν· λόγχας γὰρ ὁ Ἀκύλας τὰς βολίδας ἡρμήνευσεν. Cf. https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/theodoret/basetext/54/ (last access: 31.07.2024). The sentence Λόγχαι – βολίδες αὐτῶν does not appear in the codices antiquissimi (verified in manuscripts Ra 9049, 9050, and 9077) and is absent from Sirmond’s edition. However, Schulze incorporated it into his edition, reprinted in the Patrologia Graeca, based on Codex Monacensis gr. 478, one of the three manuscripts he relied upon.
[13] Οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Σύμμαχος ἡρμήνευσε· Λειότερα βουτύρου τὰ στόματα αὐτῶν· πολεμεῖ δὲ ἡ καρδία ἑκάστου αὐτῶν. Τούτῳ δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐπαγόμενον συμφωνεῖ. Cf. https://septuaginta.uni-goettingen.de/theodoret/basetext/54/ (last access: 31.07.2024).
[14] The word ܡܓܙܪܐ is listed as a masculine noun with the meaning “knife” in Michael Sokoloff, A Syriac Lexicon. A Translation from the Latin, Correction, Expansion, and Update of C. Brockelmann's Lexicon Syriacum (Winona Lake/ Piscataway: Eisenbrauns/ Gorgias Press, 2009), 708. In my opinion, it should be interpreted here as a participle of the root ܓܙܪ “to cut”, cf. Sokoloff, Lexicon, 226.
[15] Field, Origenis Hexaplorum fragmenta II, 180, n. 42.
[16] Cf. Field, Origenis Hexaplorum fragmenta II, 83.
[17] Cf. Bernard de Montfaucon, Collectio nova patrum et scriptorum Graecorum, Eusebii Caesariensis, Athanasii & Cosmae Aegyptii. Haec nunc primum ex manuscriptis codicibus Graecis Italicis Gallicanisque eruit, Latine vertit, notis et praefationibus illustravit, vol. 1, Eusebii Pamphili Caesariensis episcopi Commentarii in psalmos (Paris: sumptibus Claudii Rigaud, 1707), 238, in adn.
[18] Cf. PG 23,488, in adn.
[19] Diktyon Number 50037. Online available via Gallica: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b52503078v (last access: 31.07.2024)
[20] Diktyon Number 49186. Online available via Gallica: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b11004562j?rk=944210;4 (last access: 31.07.2024). The text transmitted in the manuscript has some gaps, which are not affecting Ps 54 (cf. Robert Devreesse, Bibliothèque Nationale. Département des manuscrits. Catalogue des manuscrits grecs II. Le Fonds Coislin [Paris: Imprimerie nationale, 1945], 39).
[21] Then, in 46,6–7 (ed. Bandt), manuscript Coisl. 44 reads – like the manuscripts of the catena tradition – ἁπαλώτεροι οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ὄντες ἀνατμητικοί.
[22] This lemma is also not attested in e.g. Geoffrey William Hugo Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexikon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961).
[23] However, the lemma is not included in Franz Passow, Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache. Neu bearbeitet und zeitgemäß umgestaltet von V.C.F. Rost und F. Palm, 5 ed, vol. I/1 (Leipzig: Fr. Chr. Wilh. Vogel, 1841), “which the Oxford scholars took as the basis of their work” (Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and Augmented Throughout by S. Jones et al. With a Revised Supplement [Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996], preface 1925, p. iii). It is therefore clear that LSJ have adopted this lemma from the revised TLG, which in turn is based on Schleusner.
[24] Spanish “cortante de las palabras” (Francisco R. Adrados, Elvira Gangutia, and Javier López Facal, Diccionario Griego-Español, vol. 1–8, Diccionario Griego-Español I–VIII [Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1980–2019], II, 273) means in English “cutting words”.
[25] GI 1995, 190; GI 2004, 199.
[26] Cf. Wilhelm Pape, Griechisch-Deutsches Handwörterbuch (Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1902) s.v. τμητικός: “schneidend, zerschneidend, trennend.” According to TLG, it is documented 26 times (it is unranked and appears fewer than 50 times).
[27] Pierre Chantraine, Dictionnarie étymologique de la langue grecque. Histoire des mots, avec un Supplément (Paris: Klincksieck, 1999), 1104: τέμνω: […] Thème II τμη- reposant sur *tmeə1- ou *tmeə2- : sur ce theme on a, en liaison avec la conjugaison : 1. adj. verbal τμητός (att.) et une quarantaine de composés […] et τμητικός «coupant, capable de couper» (Pl., Arist.), aussi avec ἀνα- et ἐπι- (tardifs). Cf. idem, Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της αρχαιας Ελληνικής. Αναθεωρημένη και συμπληρωμένη έκδοση, επιμέλεια Γιώργος Παπαναστασίου, Δημήτρης Χρηστίδης (Thessaloniki: Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών, 2022), 1096–1098.
[28] Cf. Anatole Bailly, Dictionnaire grec-français. Rédigé avec le concours de E. Egger. Édition revue par L. Séchan et P. Chantraine […] (Paris: Hachette, 2000), s.v. ἀνατμητικός, with the indication of ἀνατέμνω as the etymological root.
[29] Cf. D. Dimitrakos, Μέγα Λεξικὸν τῆς Ἐλληνικῆς Γλώσσης, 9 vols. (Athens: εκδόσεις Πιρόγα, 1933–1950), s.v. ἀνατμητικός.
[30] Cf. Franco Montanari, GI. Vocabolario della lingua greca. Greco-Italiano, 3rd ed. (Turin: Loescher, 2013), and then idem, The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek (Leiden et al.: Brill, 2015), such as idem, Wörterbuch Griechisch-Deutsch. Herausgegeben von Michael Meier-Brügger und Paul Dräger (Berlin et al.: De Gruyter, 2023), s.v. ἀνατμητικός, with the indication of ἀνατμήγω as the etymological root.
[31] Chantraine, Dictionnarie, 1104: “τμήγω […] Ce verbe est bâti sur le thème II de τμητός, τέτμημαι, etc. ; un suffixe -γω pourrait être ancient come le pense A. Meillet, BSL 26, 1925, 3 ; toutefois on peut estimer que le système résulte d’une analogie, Güntert, Reimwortbildungen 132, évoque comme modèle θήγω «aiguiser» ; peut-être vaudrait-il mieux partir des aoristes τμῆξαι, 3e pers. pl. pass τμάγεν (inf. τμαγῆναι), cf. ῥῆξαι «briser», ῥαγῆναι ; c’est sur τμάγεν qu’aurait été créé l’aor. thématique διέτμαγον (hapax Od. 7, 276) ; voir encore Risch, Wortb. der homer. Sprache § 96.” Cf. Chantraine, Λεξικο, 1097.
[32] The Barberini version deviates slightly from this but also employs the lexeme βολίς, not only in Hab 3:11 (βολίδων) but also earlier in 3:9 (βολίδας). In the latter case, however, it is unclear which Hebrew Vorlage underlies this Greek translation. Interestingly, Hab 3:11b–c (εἰς φῶς βολίδες σου πορεύσονται, εἰς φέγγος ἀστραπῆς ὅπλων σου – “your missiles will go into the light, into the brightness of the lightning of your weapons”, NETS) may be alluded in Wis 5:21a (πορεύσονται εὔστοχοι βολίδες ἀστραπῶν – “well-aimed shafts of lightning will fly out”, NETS). See also the syntagma ἀστραπὴ βολίς in Zech 9:14.
[33] Num 24:8; 1 Sam 14:14; Ode 4:11 = Hab 3:11; Zech 9:14; Jer 9:7; 27:9; Ezek 5:16. Exceptions include Exod 19:13 (root ירה, “to shoot”); Num 33:55 and Josh 23:13 (צְנִינִם, “thorns”); Neh 4:11 (שֶׁלַח, “weapon”); and Cant 4:4 (שֶׁלֶט, “shield”).
[34] The Hebrew root פתח is 21 times used in the Greek Psalter. It is mostly rendered by the verb ἀνοίγω (Ps 5:10; 37:14; 38:10; 48:5; 50:17; 77:2.23; 103:28; 105:17; 108:2; 117:19; 145:16), and in addition by διαρρήγνυμι (Ps 29:12; 104:41; 115:7), ἀφίημι (Ps 104:20), and λύω (Ps 101:21). Furthermore, the nouns πύλη (Ps 23:7.9) and δήλωσις (Ps 118:130) occur.
[35] Cf. Ps 151:7: ἐγὼ δὲ σπασάμενος τὴν παρ’ αὐτοῦ μάχαιραν – “But I, having drawn the dagger from him” (NETS). Unfortunately, this verse section is absent in the Hebrew text from Qumran (11Q5).
[36] In two other instances in the Greek book of Ezekiel where σπάω occurs, a different Hebrew source text is underlying: Ezek 21:33 LXX reads ῥομφαία ῥομφαία ἐσπασμένη εἰς σφάγια καὶ ἐσπασμένη εἰς συντέλειαν; MT reads: חֶרֶב חֶרֶב פְּתוּחָה לְטֶבַח מְרוּטָה לְהָכִיל. Ezek 26:15 LXX reads ἐν τῷ σπάσαι μάχαιραν; MT reads: בֵּהָרֵג הֶרֶג.
[37] This usage is found, for instance, in Num 22:23.31; Josh 5:13; Judg A-Text 8:10.20; 9:54; 20:2.15.17.25.35.46 (Judges B-Text employs this verb in 8:10.20 and in 9:54, while in chapter 20, Judges B-Text instead uses the verb ἕλκω); 1 Sam 31:4; 2 Sam 24:9; 2 Kgs 3:26; 1 Chr 10:4; 21:5(bis).16; and Sir 22:21 (Hebrew manuscript C, cf. Renate Egger-Wenzel, ed., A Polyglot Edition of the Book of Ben Sira with a Synopsis of the Hebrew Manuscripts. Incorporating contributions by Ingrid Krammer, Stefan C. Reif, Friedrich V. Reiterer and Aho Shemunkasho, CBET 101 [Leuven: Peeters, 2022], 274–275). An exception is found only in 1 Chr 11:20, where the root עור is used.
