LXX οι δε ελθοντες προς αυτον φιλοι VL Nam qui venerunt ad eum amici eius hii fuerunt: del Nam qui venerunt ad eum amichi eius hic fuerunt: Sophar Israel gam Nam qui venerunt ad eum amici eius hii fuerunt: Sofar filius alf Nam qui venerunt ad eum amici eius hii fuerunt: Sofar filius bet Nam qui venerunt ad eum amihi eius hii fuerunt: Sofar filius ελιφας των ησαυ υιων θαιμανων βασιλευς Elifaz, de filiis Esau Themanorum rex; Elifaz, de filiis Esau et Temanorum uxor filiis Elifaz, de filiis Esau et Themanorum uxor et filiis Elifas, de filiis Esau et Temanorum uxor filiis Elifaz et Hemanorum uxor filiis βαλδαδ ο σαυχαιων τυραννος Baldad sauceorum tirannus; Ammon qui fuit Ar-auce tiranni Ballenon filii Ballac et filiis Amon qui fuit Cobar-auce tiramni Balenon filii Ballac uxor filiis Amon qui fuit Chobar-aucce tiranni Balexion uxor filiis Amon qui fuit Bar-auce tiranni σωφαρ ο μιναιων βασιλευς Sophar mineorum rex et Themas de filiis Elifaz dux Idumee et Heman filius Elifaz dux Idumee et Temans filius Elifaz dux Idumee et Themas filius Elifaz dux Idumee
The six texts are: the Septuagint, the Vetus Latina and the Great Stemma's delta, gamma, alpha and beta recensions. This text does not appear in modern bibles, as it has never been incorporated into the Masoretic or Vulgate versions, and must therefore be referenced as LXX Job 42:17e.
The context is that Job sits on his dung-heap, owning just a broken bit of pottery to wipe the discharge from his ulcers, lamenting and asking God what's up.
A trio of guys -- Eliphaz of Teman (a town in Edom); Bildad of Shuah; and Zophar of Naamath -- show up and make the snarky kind of unhelpful remarks that guys always make, to the effect that it might just be Job's own fault. We men tend to brutality.
Rabbis must have often been asked what rank these guys had. One suspects the three names are simply some kind of impenetrable humour, but a midrash which claims they are monarchs is recorded in the Septuagint.
Here is how the New English Translation of the Septuagint renders the midrash: Now the friends who came to him were: Eliphaz of the sons of Esau, king of the Thaimanites; Baldad, the tyrant of the Sauchites; Sophar, the king of the Minites.
The repetitious, inflated mess this turns into in the Great Stemma was first spotted by the great Yolanta Zaluska. I want to mention the passage in my planned book. It's a dilemma deciding which nonsense version to translate and how to render it. Here's one of the more absurd possibilities:
- Sofar the son of Elifaz of the tribe of Esau
- the wife of the Thaimanites
- the sons of Balenon's son Ballac
- Amon who was tyrant of Chobar-auce
- Themas son of Elifaz, duke of Edom
