Σῶμα / “gĕwiyyâ” (Na 3,3b) alla luce delle versioni antiche

[Autom. eng. transl.] After the review of the TM and LXX of Na 3.3 ("Estudios Bíblicos" 54 [1996], 145-164), we study here the rest of the old versions to identify their contribution to the reconstruction of the Hebrew original of this passage. There are two groups of texts: the TM, and then the Targum and the Peshitta; the LXX, with the Arabic version and the "Vetus Latina" (the Vulgata holds a place apart). In a general way, the first group offers an unequivocal interpretation, because their context presupposes a Hebrew term meaning clearly "dead body", that is to say "corpse"; the TM is concordant, although it uses "gĕwiyyâ," which in the Hebrew Bible normally refers to the "person". In the second group, we find an interpretation that presupposes a different "Vorlage", but here the meaning of σῶμα is "dead body." We know that from Hesiod, σῶμα always means "living body" and not more "corpse," as in Homer. However, the primitive meaning is taken up in Na 3,3bα.β, since σῶμα refers here to the corpses trampled and carried away by the cavalry who is trying to resist the enemy in desperation. A confirmation comes from the Arabic translation and the "Vetus Latina", which correspond exactly to the LXX; however, the LXX and related versions present a critically uncertain text. The Hebrew "Vorlage" of the TM, Targum and Peshitta seems preferable, because here the noun "gĕwiyyâ" means "corpse," as σῶμα in the corresponding passage of the LXX.