Why does the LXX translate דֹּדֶ֖יךָ as μαστοί in Song of Songs 1:2?

Question

Song of Songs 1:2

Hebrew: יִשָּׁקֵ֙נִי֙ מִנְּשִׁיקֹ֣ות פִּ֔יהוּ כִּֽי־טֹובִ֥ים דֹּדֶ֖יךָ מִיָּֽיִן׃

KJV: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.

LXX: φιλησάτω με ἀπὸ φιλημάτων στόματος αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἀγαθοὶ μαστοί σου ὑπὲρ οἶνον

Brenton Septuagint Translation: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine.

Why might the LXX translators have chosen to render דֹּדֶ֖יךָ as μαστοί σου, when this seems to be an inaccurate translation?

I have observed the following interesting points which might be "clues"

• דֹּדֶ֖יךָ is gramatically plural (which is why Young's Literal Translation says "better are thy loves than wine.")
• דּוֹד doesn't just mean "love." It can also mean "uncle" or "beloved".

What's interesting is that forms of דּוֹד appear throughout Song of Songs but the LXX doesn't always translate them in the same way. (compare 1:2 with 7:11, for instance)

Answer 1

The consonantal text, דדיך, can be read דַּדַּיִך, from דַּד "nipple" (Ezekiel 23:3,8,21). This was the reading used in translating דדיך as μαστοί σου.

The meaning "beloved" is consistently spelled דּוֹד in Song of Songs. The lack of the letter ו in this and all other cases in the book (1:4, 4:10, 7:13) renders all of them ambiguous between "love" and "nipple."

Answer 2

Pascal I have made the same observation and I was stunned to see how the LXX consistently translates דדיך to "breasts" rather than "love". However, the LXX in my opinion goes too far, and I cant help but think that the MT's version is superior than the LXX (in this particular instance). So while I agree that the term alone is ambiguous as @ba has pointed out, I think from the context it is pretty clear that it is to be translated as "love" and not "breasts". And I give my reasons below:

In 1:2 it is clearly the woman speaking (about her lover), so the LXX is forced to break up the verse in the middle - She: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. He: For thy breasts are better than wine. This makes the verse awkward and barely readable. Whereas according to the MT everything runs smoothly and the woman is just saying that his love is better than wine.

I think 7:12 makes no sense according to the LXX but reads smoothly according to the MT. This is the translation of the LXX:

Let us go early into the vineyards; let us see if the vine has flowered, the blossoms have appeared, if the pomegranates have blossomed; there will I give thee my breasts.

Breasts is not something you can give to your lover (If it means to let her lover kiss her breasts, it would still not be expressed in such a manner), whereas "love", like a kiss, is something you can give. I think this is compelling evidence that the LXX's choice of translation is inferior to the MT.

Furthermore, in the bible playing with an unmarried woman's breasts and nipples is considered a promiscuous act, the act of a whore (see Ezekiel 23:3). As the song is supposed to portray the perfect bride and groom and the paradigm of a loving relationship, it is hard to accept the LXX reading which suggests rather a licentious relationship.

The only place that the LXX readable is plausible is 4:10

How delightful is your love/are your breats, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love/are your breasts than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!

This is the only time that the LXX and MT versions are equally sustainable. So while the LXX reading is possible is some places, I think that it went too far by sticking to one reading and not acknowledging that there are other variant readings.

Answer 3

In the scriptures, many body parts are referred to as shorthand for the locus of various mental, emotional and volitional processes. In English we speak of the "heart" as the seat of "love"; however in Hebrew/Aramaic it seems to be that the "bosom" (the area between the shoulders) was where love, hate, passion etc. existed whereas the "heart" was where one's inner thoughts, counsel and even saving faith occurred.

Depending on the context it can refer to the affection you feel for your uncle or the passion you feel for your lover. The protagonist's sexual passion is undoubtedly aimed at Solomon, not her uncle.

Perhaps the LXX translators selected mastoi because they were trying to maintain "formal equivalence" in preference to "dynamic equivalence". They rendered the word literally and perhaps the Hebrew idiom did not translate so well by the time it got to English.

But the big danger here seems to take it either overly literal or under-literal. If we take it overly literal it just seems like she wanted physical stimulation. No doubt but we are to be more impressed by the strong attraction she has to this "love god", Solomon.

Answer 4

Just from an understanding of the flow of the poem I would say that love is the better translation and not breasts. They aren't married until 3:11 so to have this type of intimate language sooner wouldn't fit so well.
Also, she is talking about the king. and I doubt it would be his literal breasts she is talking about.