Symmachus uses the lexeme ἐγκατάδυσις in his translation of Psalm 48[49]:2. This verse reads as follows in the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text:

Hexaplaric Evidence for ἐγκατάδυσις (σ' Ps 48:2b)

The Göttingen Hexapla Database, which is in its Beta version, gives the following information for Psalm 48[49]:2b:

The second reading in the Quinta (ε') column (οἰκουμένη(ν)) is from Sexta (ϛ'). In Ra 1098, the fifth column is enriched with Sexta readings.[1]

MT

In Psalm 49[48]:2, the Tiberian Masoretic Text uses the noun חֶלֶד (pausal form: חָלֶד; cf. Secunda: ολδ).[2] This wordoccurs just five times in the Masoretic Text – four times in Psalms and once in Job.[3] In three instances, it appears to describe a human “lifespan” (Pss 39:6; 89:48; Job 11:17), while in the remaining two instances, including the present passage, it appears to describe the “world” (Pss 17:14; 49:2).[4] Thus, in Psalm 49:2, the Targum and the Peshitta use the normal Aramaic word for “earth” (ܐܪܥܐ/ארעא).[5]

            An early Rabbinic tradition connects the word חֶלֶד in Psalm 49:2 to the word for “mole” or “weasel” (חֹלֶד; cf. Lev 11:29). A baraita in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Hullin 127a) says, “Our rabbis taught on Tannaite authority (תנו רבנן): Every [kind of creature] that there is on dry land, there is a counterpart in the sea except for the weasel (החולדה). Said R. Zira, “What scriptural basis is there for this? ‘Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world (חלד)’ (Ps 49:1).”^[6] Similarly, a passage in the Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 14:1) reads as follows:[7]

It is written, hear this all nations, listen all who dwell like moles (כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד) [Ps 49:1]. Rebbi Aha said, Rebbi Abbahu and the rabbis. One said, why does he compare all creatures to a mole (בְּחוּלְדָּה)? Only because everything that exists on dry land exists in the sea, but there are many species in the sea which are not on land, and there is no mole (חוּלְדָּה) in the sea. But the other said, why does he compare all creatures to a mole (בְּחוּלְדָה)? Like this mole (הַחוּלְדָּה) which drags and deposits and does not know for whom it deposits, so are the creatures, they always drag and collect and do not know for whom they collect; he piles up and does not know for whom he assembled it [Ps 39:7].

Modern scholarship rejects these etymological connections and instead connects חֶלֶד to a Semitic root (ḫld) that means “remain, continue (for a long time).”[8] Nevertheless, as will be seen below, the perceived connection to “mole” (חֹלֶד) and to the verb “burrow” (חלד) most likely underlies the translation choice of Symmachus (also Aquila and Quinta).[9] The vocalization of the Secunda (ολδ instead of αλδ) might also reflect this interpretation.[10]

            The following chart shows each occurrence of the biblical Hebrew word חֶלֶד, together with its attested Greek translation equivalents.[11]

LXX

In Psalm 48[49]:2, the Septuagint translates the word חֶלֶד with the Greek word οἰκουμένη (a substantival medio-passive participle derived from the verb οἰκέω). Muraoka glosses it as “world,”[12] and Bauer’s lexicon defines it as “the earth as inhabited area, exclusive of the heavens above the nether regions, inhabited earth, the world.”[13] The Greek Psalms translator uses this word some sixteen times, almost always to render the Hebrew word תֵּבֵל (Pss 9:9; 17:16; 18:5; 23:1; 32:8; 49:12; 88:12; 89:2; 92:1; 95:10, 13; 96:4; 97:7, 9), once for אֶרֶץ (Ps 71:8), and once for חֶלֶד (Ps 48:2).

Symmachus

According to the Göttingen Hexapla Database (Beta), Symmachus reads “τὴν ἐγκατα.” This reading is based on Ra 1098. Yet, as the database also notes (in the ἄλλος column), Field has a different reading for Symmachus: τὴν κατάδυσιν (so also Aquila).[14] In support of this reading, Field cites “Euseb. Syrus affert: ܐ. ܣ. ܒܥܘܡܩܐ.. Cf. ad Psal. xvi. 14.”[15]For the “other” (ἄλλος) readings in this passage – Ἄλλος 1: τὴν ἐγκατάδυσιν; Ἄλλος 2: τὴν κατάδυτον – Field cites “Chrysost., qui et Hebraeam vocem Graecis literis affert [ὄλδ].”[16] In sum, recovering Symmachus’s translation involves four sources: (1) Ra 1098, (2) Eusebius, (3) Chrysostom, (4) the Syro-Hexapla. The following section explores the readings in each of these sources.

Manuscript Attestation and Patristic Evidence

Ra 1098

Ra 1098, a direct witness to Origen’s Hexapla, presents the Bible text in five columns: (1) Secunda, (2) Aquila, (3) Symmachus, (4) Septuagint (enriched with readings of Theodotion in the margins), (5) Quinta (enriched with readings of Sexta in the margins).[17] The second row of Fragment XII.5 (Fol. 30), supplemented with headings for each column, reads as follows.[18]

The third column (= Symmachus) reads “τὴν ἐγκατα.” 

Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, O. 39 sup. (Ra 1098), Fragment XII.5, f. 30

 The form is strange for at least two reasons. First, the word ἔγκαταis a neuter plural, while the article here is feminine singular (τὴν). Second, the word ἔγκατα, which means “inwards, entrails,” would be a very strange translation of the Hebrew word חֶלֶד.[19] It could be that the reading “τὴν ἐγκατα” is a mistake. It is much more likely, however, as Mercati argues, that “ἐγκατα” is an abbreviated form, to be completed according to the word in the previous column, κατάδυσιν.[20] In fact, there might even be a light horizontal dash above the τα in ἔγκατα (now mostly obscured by the over-text), which would explicitly mark this form as abbreviated.[21] If Ra 1098 is interpreted in this way, then its reading for Symmachus would not be τὴν ἐγκατα, but rather τὴν ἐγκατάδυσιν.

Chrysostom

The reading τὴν ἐγκατάδυσιν is also found in John Chrysostom’s commentary on the Psalms, though he does not attribute this reading to Symmachus. Instead, as is his practice, he attributes it to “another” (ἄλλος).[22] There can be little doubt, however, in light of Ra 1098 (see above), that Symmachus is the source of this reading. The relevant passage, according to the Göttingen preliminary edition, reads as follows:[23]

Eusebius

The text of Eusebius’s commentary on Psalm 48 is only preserved indirectly, through catena manuscripts. The relevant passage, according to Villani’s preliminary edition, reads as follows:[24]

One of the most important witnesses to this passage is the ninth century manuscript of the Palestinian Catena, Ra 1121. The Hexaplaric quotations appear as follows in this manuscript:

Oxford, Bodleian Library, Barocci gr. 235 (Ra 1121), f. 435r

Whereas Ra 1098 has different readings for Aquila (κατάδυσιν) and Symmachus (τὴν ἐγκατά[δυσιν]), Eusebius ascribes the same reading to both of them: κατάδυσιν. It could be, however, that Eusebius (or whoever has preserved his work) is being imprecise. Perhaps he recognized that κατάδυσις and ἐγκατάδυσις were largely synonymous, and so, rather than provide both readings separately, he conflated them and used the more common form to represent both.[25]

Syro-Hexapla

Like Eusebius, the Syro-Hexapla also presents one reading which it attributes to both Aquila and Symmachus. Instead of ܥܡܖ̈ܝ ܡܬܥܡܪܢܝܬܐ (= LXX οἱ κατοικοῦντες τὴν οἰκουμένην), “Aquila and Symmachus” (ܐ.ܣ.) read ܒܥܘܡܩܐ. According to Brockelmann, the basic meaning of the noun ܥܘܡܩܐ is “depth” (profunditas, altitudo), though it can also refer specifically to a valley, the hull (of a ship), or depth of detail (subtilitas).[26] The reading appears as follows in Ceriani’s facsimile of Codex Ambrosianus:[27]

Codex Ambrosianus (Syro-Hexapla) f. 16v

Although the reading is ascribed to both Aquila and Symmachus, the remainder of the marginal note reflects the wording of Symmachus (cf. Ra 1098).[28] It is especially important to note the beth preposition prefixed to the noun (ܒܥܘܡܩܐ), which probably represents the prefixed preposition ἐν- (ἐγ-) in Symmachus’s translation.[29] Thus, the Syro-Hexapla provides support for the Symmachus reading τὴν ἐγκατάδυσιν.

Jerome (iuxta Hebr.)

Indirect evidence for Symmachus’s reading might come from Jerome’s Hebrew-based translation. Jerome often followed Symmachus in his translation, and he appears to have done so here, translating יֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד as habitatores occidentis(“inhabitants of the west”).[30] The word occidentis (nominative: occidens) means “west,” though it literally describes the “region or quarter in which the sun sets” (related to the verb occidō², “[of heavenly bodies] to sink below the horizon, go down, set”).[31] The Greek verbs καταδύνω and ἐγκαταδύνω (to which the noun ἐγκατάδυσις is related) can similarly refer to the setting of the sun.[32]

Refined Representation of Hexaplaric Evidence (σ' Ps 48:2b)

A refined representation of the reading in question and its attestation looks like this:

Analysis of ἐγκατάδυσις (σ' Ps 48:2b)

The word ἐγκατάδυσις (noun, feminine, singular, third declension), which Symmachus uses in Psalm 48[49]:2 to translate the Hebrew noun חֶלֶד, is a hapax legomenon in all of Greek literature. Morphologically, it consists of (1) the prefixed preposition ἐν, (2) the prefixed preposition κατά, (3) the stem δυ(ν)-, (4) and the suffix -σις.

            Most of the lexica consulted do not include the word.[33] The lexica which do include the word treat it as follows:

The only modern lexicon to include the word is the Diccionario Griego-Español, and it glosses it as “West” (poniente, el oeste). Jerome, who uses the lexeme occidens, also appears to have interpreted (ἐγ)κατάδυσις in this sense (see above). Nevertheless, although the meaning “sunset > west” is plausible (cf. ἐγκαταδύνω), it is probably a misinterpretation of what Symmachus meant by ἐγκατάδυσις. The translation of the Syro-Hexapla (ܒܥܘܡܩܐ: “in the [place of] depth”) and the exposition of Eusebius (ἐν οἷς καταδύνουσιν: “in which they burrow down”) are closer to the mark.

            Fortunately, enough of Symmachus’s translation has been preserved to allow us to see his use of ἐγκατάδυσις in context. His translation of Psalm 48:2–3, preserved in Ra 1098, reads as follows:

It is unlikely that ἐγκατάδυσις in this context refers to the “west,” because the passage goes on to clarify that the entire human race is being addressed: “humanity as a whole as well as each individual person, rich and poor together.” It would not make sense, in this context, to see ἐγκατάδυσις as a reference to a specific part of the world (“west”). Rather, it is a particular way of describing the world as a whole.

            The Rabbinic tradition of interpreting חֶלֶד in this verse in relation to the word “mole” (חֹלֶד) is the key to understanding Symmachus’s translation (see above). The noun κατάδυσις, to which ἐγκατάδυσις is closely related, even synonymous (see Syro-Hexapla and Eusebius, who conflate κατάδυσις and ἐγκατάδυσις), can describe the “hiding place” or “hole” in which a small animal lives.[34] For example, Philo uses the word to describe a snake hole:

Well then, we say that the woman is Life depending on the senses and material substance of our bodies; that her serpent is pleasure, a crawling thing with many a twist, powerless to raise itself upright, always prone, creeping after the good things of earth alone, making for the hiding-places (καταδύσεις) afforded to it by the body, making its lair (ἐμφωλεύουσαν) in each of the senses as in cavities (ὀρύγμασιν) or dug-outs (χάσμασιν), giving advice to a human being, athirst for the blood of anything better than itself, delighting to cause death by poisonous and painless bites.^[35]

Similarly, Xenophon (Hunting, 5.16) uses the verb καταδύνω to describe a rabbit “going down” or “burrowing” into a hole: “Hares when found by hounds and pursued sometimes cross brooks and double back and slip (καταδύονται) into gullies (φάραγγας) or holes (ἰλεούς).”^[36] Symmachus appears to be using ἐγκατάδυσις in this sense (≈ κατάδυσις), influenced by the Rabbinic interpretation of this verse.[37] An appropriate English gloss, therefore, would be the noun “burrow” – “a hole or tunnel dug by a small animal as a dwelling.”[38]