Deut 6:8 Translation Issue

[Barry Hofstetter]

Dt 6:8 Vulgate:

et ligabis ea quasi signum in manu tua eruntque et movebuntur inter oculos tuos

Literally, "and you will bind them as a sign on your hand and they will be and they will move between your eyes. 

The LXX:

καὶ ἔσται ἀσάλευτον πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου... And they will be unmovable before your eyes...

Hebrew:

וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ  

My question: is there similar Hebrew word to or something that can be done with the vowel pointing of 

לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת

To explain the renderings of the versions, or are we likely looking at a different Vorlage altogether?

[Daniel Semler]

I am seriously out of my depth here and paddling furiously but perhaps the following is of use.

The Hebrew uses a noun. The Latin (I have none to be fair) and Greek appear to try to describe what the thing is rather than name it. I wondered if they were both attempting to describe something on one's forehead and arrived at apparently contradictory expressions - immovable wrt to the eyes, and moved when one moves the head (and hence eyes), either way always before the eyes. Not sure. Anyhow I went poking about for differing texts.

In LXX Cambridge Apparatus:

Deuteronomy 6:8 [Main Apparatus]           om και 1°-σου 1° d | αφαψεις] αφαψης i : αφαψη N : alligate Or-lat : obligate 𝔏 : γραψεις x : scribetis 𝔅v : scribere ℭ | εις σημερον] om Or-lat : om εις 𝔄 | επι-σου 1°] super manum uestram Or-lat : super manus uestras 𝔅 | om και 2°-σου 2° f✱ | εσται] εστωσαν fai : om F✱ub2ℭ Spec-cod1/2 | ασαλευτον BAghnqv(mg)a2𝔄-ed 𝔈(uid)] ασαλευτα FMNfav(txt) rell 𝔄-codd 𝔅ℭ𝔓 Chr Thdt : σειομενα Phil : mobilia 𝔏 Or-lat Spec (om cod1/2) | προ οφθαλμων σου] coram oculis uestris 𝔅 Or-lat

https://accordance.bible/link/read/LXXC_Apparatus#6260

Or-lat = works of Origen extant only in Latin translations.
Speculum, i.e. Liber de Divinis Scripturis, quod fertur Augustini. Weihrich.

That led me to look up Philo:

“τὰ δίκαια, φησὶν ὁ νόμος, ἐντιθέναι δεῖ τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ ἐξάπτειν εἰς σημεῖον ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς καὶ εἶναι σειόμενα πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν, αἰνιττόμενος διὰ τοῦ προτέρου, ὅτι χρὴ μὴ ὠσὶν ἀπίστοις παρακατατίθεσθαι τὰ δίκαια πίστις γὰρ ἀκοαῖς οὐκ ἔνεστιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἡγεμονικωτάτῳ τὰ πάντων ἄριστα μαθημάτων ἐντυποῦν καὶ ταῦτα χαράττοντα σφραγῖσι δοκίμοις·”
(Νομων 4·137 PHILO-T)
https://accordance.bible/link/read/PHILO-T#Spec_4:137

Thx
D

[S Walch]

My question: is there similar Hebrew word to or something that can be done with the vowel pointing of 

לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת

To explain the renderings of the versions, or are we likely looking at a different Vorlage altogether?

I don't think we're looking at different Vorlages here, as the parallel passage in Deut. 11:18 also repeats the same:

MT:
וְשַׂמְתֶּם֙ אֶת־דְּבָרַ֣י אֵ֔לֶּה עַל־לְבַבְכֶ֖ם וְעַֽל־נַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם וּקְשַׁרְתֶּ֨ם אֹתָ֤ם לְאוֹת֙ עַל־יֶדְכֶ֔ם וְהָי֥וּ לְטוֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֵיכֶֽם

LXX:
καὶ ἐμβαλεῖτε τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα εἰς τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν καὶ εἰς τὴν ψυχὴν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀφάψετε αὐτὰ εἰς σημεῖον ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἔσται ἀσάλευτον πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ὑμῶν·

Though this may not be true for the Vulgate, which has:

Vulgate:
Ponite hæc verba mea in cordibus et in animis vestris, et suspendite ea pro signo in manibus, et inter oculos vestros collocate.

collocate = placed/set etc., I believe.

Have checked the DSS, and 4QDeutp only has some of Deut. 6:8 extant, with the only difference being the plene form of our word in question:
לטוטפות

The same is true of 4QDeutc, which only has a bit of 11:18 extant, and has the exact same plene form as above.

Same is also true for Exodus 13:16 in Heb/LXX, though again the Vulgate produces a slightly different text again:

Erit igitur quasi signum in manu tua, et quasi appensum quid, ob recordationem, inter oculos tuos : eo quod in manu forti eduxit nos Dominus de Ægypto.

quasi appensum quid ob recordationem = (lit.) like a thing hung/suspended of remembrance.

Not sure whether we're looking at a different Vorlage for the Latin, or more different translators who've had difficulty with the word: the translation of Exo. 13:16 seems to be the best way the translator was able to get across what the phylactery was.

[Barry Hofstetter]

After interacting with a colleague who has his Ph.D. in OT, I'm leaning toward the "they just had difficulty with the rare Hebrew word" explanation.