Language Studies

Aramaic Thoughts

The Peshitta of the Old Testament - Part 18

Judges 13-16 tells the story of Samson. In 14:12-14, Samson poses his riddle for the Philistines, with the requirement that they be able to explain the riddle in seven days. The end of vs 14 and the beginning of vs 15 read (ESV), “And in three days they could not solve the riddle. On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife.” However, the Masoretic text, the Targum, and the Vulgate read, “On the seventh day they said to Samson’s wife.” Where the Masoretic text reads “seventh,” the Peshitta and the Septuagint read “fourth.” The KJV, ASV, and NKJV all follow the Masoretic text at this point, while most modern versions follow the Peshitta and the Septuagint. All of the newer versions have a footnote marking the discrepancy. Which is the correct reading? Given the data that we have, it is impossible to tell. The original text may have deliberately skipped from the third to the seventh day to emphasize the desperate situation the Philistines faced. Or the original may have read as the Peshitta and the Septuagint do, giving time for the other events that are narrated concerning the riddle and its eventual explanation. A scenario using the data of the text may be created that is consistent with either reading. That is probably why the modern versions indicate the alternate reading—it is simply not possible to solve the dilemma.

Judges 18:30 does not present us with a text where the Peshitta differs from the Masoretic text. But it does give us a nice little textual variation to consider. The ESV of the verse reads, “And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.” Most Hebrew manuscripts read “Manasseh” instead of “Moses,” while other Hebrew manuscripts, the Septuagint and the Vulgate, read “Manasseh.” The difference between the two readings is as follows. Most Hebrew manuscripts have mnsh (the consonants for Manasseh, as well as the accompanying vowels). However, the n is elevated above the level of the rest of the letters, suggesting that it might not properly belong there. If the n is eliminated, that leaves the consonants msh, which are the consonants for the name Moses. The usual explanation for the situation which I quote here is taken from the Stone Edition of the Tanach, presenting the common rabbinic explanation.

In the Masoretic text, the letter n of mnsh, Manasseh, is suspended above the line. This implies that the remaining letters are to be read as an independent word, msh, Moses. The Talmud therefore identifies the Jonathan of our verse as the son of Gershom son of Moses (see Exodus 2:21-22), but out of respect for Moses a letter was added to mask his name.

If this explanation is correct, it would indicate that these events occurred very early in the period of the judges, shortly after the death of Joshua. This show how quickly at least some Israelites fell into idolatry following their entry into the land.

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