Annotatio CIII

”He saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers sticking fast by the horns.” — Genesis 22:13

The error of Eusebius of Emesa — though a slight one — Jerome, in the Hebrew Questions, thought should be pointed out:¹ namely, that while he was expounding the present passage according to the Septuagint edition (in which is read, “A ram was held fast in the thicket Sabek by its horns”), he wrote a ridiculous thing, saying that “Sabek” means “a he-goat,” which is lifted up on high by its straight horns to crop the foliage of the tree. Occasion for this error was given him by the Septuagint interpreters, who left in their edition the noun סבך Sabek — which signifies “entanglement” [perplexity] — as if it were the proper name of some place, or animal, or plant: Ἰδοὺ κριὸς εἷς κατεχόμενος ἐν φυτῷ σαβὲκ τῶν κεράτων, that is, “Behold, one ram caught at the tree Sabek by its horns.” Therefore Eusebius, placing a mark of distinction [a stop] before the word Sabek, thought it should be read appositively, σαβὲκ τῶν κεράτων — that is, “a he-goat of horns,” or “the horned one.” To which he was perhaps also led by the likeness of the word, which some among the Syrians report signifies “he-goat,” and which the Italians too call Becco, and the Germans Steinbock.