Psalm 32/Notes/Lexical.v. 9.733947

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v. 9 – For the infinitive לִבְל֑וֹם, only occurring here in the Bible, the LXX provides "to squeeze," or "to strangle, throttle" (ἄγχω ; LSJ), while Aquila contains "to turn" (whether transitive and intransitive).[1] Jerome provides constringe "squeeze" in both of his translations,[2] while Targum Psalms has "to be silenced ➞ muzzled" (לאיתחסמא). Likewise, the lexicons supply appropriate glosses, according to the context, of "curb, hold in" (BDB), "bind" (DCH), "restrain" (HALOT), and "to block, obstruct" (לַחְסוֹם; Kimḥi, SeferHaShorashim).

The nearest passage we have in the Bible to a similar form is that of Job 26:7: "He it is who stretched out Zaphon over chaos, Who suspended earth over emptiness (עַל־בְּלִי־מָֽה)" (JPS). The maqqef (hyphen) in בְּלִי־מָֽה points unambiguously towards the interpretation of "without something," though there is Talmudic play on this as the same root—silenced/muzzled (as discussed in Jastrow 1903, 173; see Ḥullin 89a). Furthermore, such a sense developed in other Talmudic collections, such as Yalḳuṭ Num. 743: "the mouth of the people of Moses is tied up (we dare not talk); but can he tie up (disable) (יכול הוא לִבְלוֹם) the nail of any of them (the Canaanites)?" (Jastrow 1903, 173), in similar manner to the Modern Hebrew לִבְלוֹם "hold back, stop, obstruct."

Nevertheless, there is a well-attested Aramaic verb of the same root with significant significant historical depth: balāmu is attested even in late Assyrian texts borrowing from Official Aramaic.[3] In the end, although there is very little support within the Biblical Hebrew corpus, later Rabbinic developments and early Aramaic evidence as attested in late Assyrian texts support the sense of "bind, restrict."

  1. ↑ Either τοῦ› πε(ρι)στρέψαι (Ra 264) or επιστρέψαι (Ra 1098).
  2. ↑ This is similar to the LXX (≈ CPA Psalms ܡܫܬܚܩܝܢ "be constricted"; Sokoloff 2014, 424).
  3. ↑ See, e.g., ša ib-lim'-mu-šu ina da-na-ni "whose mouth they had forcibly bound" (as discussed in van Soden 1968, 269-270) and even "gag" (see van Soden 1977, 185).