Smith DTh Thesis (final).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

Chapter 4: Analysis of Psalms 3-8kingdom, and bless his people! The benefit of the Davidiccovenant (see Pss 2 and 132) for Israel is found in theassurance of God’s presence, his promise of deliverance, andhis blessings through the anointed king.4.2 Psalm 44.2.1 Textual variantsIn the Septuagint, verse 3 reads, “O sons of men, how long will you be heavyhearted?Why do you love vanity and seek falsehood?” (my translation). Thedifference between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text seems to be due tounderlying difference in the Hebrew text the translators were using (seeBriggs and Briggs 1906:33; Lust, Eynikel and Hauspie 2003, s.v.βαρυκάρδιος). Where the Masoretic Text reads בודִ‏ י לִ‏ כְ‏ לִ‏ מָ‏ ה ‏,כְ‏ the Greek readingimplies כְ‏ בודֵ‏ י לֵ‏ ב לָ‏ מָ‏ ה (so Briggs and Briggs 1906:33). In the consonantal text,the difference is just one letter, ב for כבודילכלמה—כ becomes ה ‏.כבודילבלמ TheMasoretic Text has better manuscript support and fits the context better. TheSeptuagint reading can be explained as a copying error (so Briggs and Briggs1906:33; cf. Craigie 1998:79).Strong Hebrew manuscript evidence attests הִ‏ ץְ‏ לָ‏ א (“to be wonderful to”) inplace of הִ‏ ץְ‏ לָ‏ ה (“to set apart”) in verse 4. The antiquity of this reading is105