מצודה ומועקה או מצרה ומצוקה?

מאת: אבנר רמו

In the Book of Deuteronomy we find the phrase: במצור ובמצוק, אשר-יציק לך איבך - “in the siege and in the straitness, wherewith your enemies shall straiten you” (Deu 28:53, 55, 57). The Greeks translated it as: “and your desperate straits and in your affliction with which your enemy shall afflict you.”

In the Book of Zephaniah we read the phrase: צרה ומצוקה - “trouble and distress” (Zep 1:15). The Greek translator wrote here: “affliction and anguish.” Similar phrases are found in the Book of Job: צר ומצוקה - “distress and anguish” (Job 15:24), and in the Book of Isaiah: צרה וצוקה - “trouble and anguish” (Is 30:6; see also: Is 8:22; Pro 1:27). The Greek translator wrote here: “affliction and distress.”

The comparison between these verses suggests that here צר (tsar) is a letter-deletion error of צרה (tsarah) - “distress, or trouble, or affliction” and צוקה (tsuqah) is a letter-deletion error of מצוקה (metsuqah) - “anguish or distress.”

In the Book of Isaiah we read:
המון כל-הגוים הצבאים על-אריאל; וכל-צביה, ומצדתה, והמציקים לה - “And the multitude of all the nations that war against Ariel, even all that war against her, and the bulwarks about her, and they that distress her” (Is 29:7).

The understanding of the Greek (and English) translators of: צביה (tsoveah) as: “[all that] war against her” suggests that they believed that this word is a letter-deletion error of צבאיה (tsoveah). The comparison with צרה ומצוקה - “trouble and distress” (Zep 1:15) suggests that here ומצדתה (umetsodathah) is a letter-substitution error of ומצריה (umetsireiah) - “and those that trouble her.”

In the Book of Kings we read: ותבא העיר במצור - “and the city was besieged” (2 Ki 24:10; 25:2; Jer 52:5).

Now we read in the Book of Psalms: הבאתנו במצודה; שמת מועקה במתנינו - “You did bring us into the hold; You did lay constraint upon our loins” (Ps 66:11).

However, the comparison with the previously cited verses suggests that here במצודה (bametsudah) is a ר (r) - ד (d) exchange error of במצורה (bametsurah) - “into trouble” and that the unique מועקה (mua’qah) is a letter-substitution error of מצוקה (metsuqah) - “distress.”