A collop of fat or the Pleiades

מאת: אבנר רמו

אל: avnerramu @ aol.com

In the Book of Job we read: עשה-עש כסיל וכימה - “Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades” (Job 9:9). The Greek translated these words as: “Who makes Pleiades and Venus and Arcturus.”

Similarly we read in the Book of Amos: עשה כימה וכסיל - “Him that makes the Pleiades and Orion” (Am 5:8).

Yet in the Book of Job we also find: ויעש פימה עלי-כסל - “and [He] made collop of fat on his loins” (Job 15:27).

It is not clear how the English translator determined that the Hapax legomenon פימה עלי-כסל (pimah a’lay chasel) means: “collop of fat on his loins.” This interpretation is not supported by the Greek translator. However, the comparison between these verses suggests that:
פימה עלי-כסל (pimah a’lay chasel) is a misspelled: וכסיל כימה עש (kimah a’sh vechasil) - “Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades” (or: “Pleiades and Venus and Arcturus”).