I’m sure there’s no translation error that could go from baculum to rib. Those are very different things. That “theory” sounds like someone just grasping so they don’t have to question the accuracy of their magic book.
The Hebrew noun translated as "rib’', tzela (tzade, lamed, ayin), can indeed mean a costal rib. It can also mean the rib of a hill (2 Samuel 16:13), the side chambers (enclosing the temple like ribs, as in 1 Kings 6:5,6), or the supporting columns of trees, like cedars or firs, or the planks in buildings and doors (1 Kings 6:15,16). So the word could be used to indicate a structural support beam. Interestingly, Biblical Hebrew, unlike later rabbinic Hebrew, had no technical term for the penis and referred to it through many circumlocutions. When rendered into Greek, sometime in the second century BCE, the translators used the word pleura, which means side, and would connote a body rib (as the medical term pleura still does). This translation, enshrined in the Septuagint, the Greek Bible of the early church, fixed the meaning for most of western civilization, even though the Hebrew was not so specific.
Thanks for the additional information. I still don’t buy it. Yeah, even today we use “rib” to refer to structural pieces of buildings that resemble ribs. I don’t know the languages so I can’t actually check myself, but it seems like a stretch to just go from that information to penis, then from that to the “mistranslation” of Greek side rib. Why would the Greek translation do that if the Hebrew didn’t say it?
I know there are some really strange translation errors in the Bible, but regardless this one seems strange. I’m sure if you want to grasp you could make an argument for many other parts of the body too, with no way to falsify any of them. It’s a fun but of trivia to know though, so thanks again.
Translation is weird, especially when long periods of time are involved, even more so when you’re dealing with a text largely composed of symbolic or metaphorical language. Often times one word in language A corresponds to multiple words in language B, and you rely largely on context to decide which meaning was intended. Another biblical example is “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven”. In Aramaic, the words for “camel” and “thick rope” are nearly identical. Hebrew in particular has a lot of terms that refer to multiple thematically similar concepts.
I’m sure there’s no translation error that could go from baculum to rib. Those are very different things. That “theory” sounds like someone just grasping so they don’t have to question the accuracy of their magic book.
Or so goes the claim.
Thanks for the additional information. I still don’t buy it. Yeah, even today we use “rib” to refer to structural pieces of buildings that resemble ribs. I don’t know the languages so I can’t actually check myself, but it seems like a stretch to just go from that information to penis, then from that to the “mistranslation” of Greek side rib. Why would the Greek translation do that if the Hebrew didn’t say it?
I know there are some really strange translation errors in the Bible, but regardless this one seems strange. I’m sure if you want to grasp you could make an argument for many other parts of the body too, with no way to falsify any of them. It’s a fun but of trivia to know though, so thanks again.
Translation is weird, especially when long periods of time are involved, even more so when you’re dealing with a text largely composed of symbolic or metaphorical language. Often times one word in language A corresponds to multiple words in language B, and you rely largely on context to decide which meaning was intended. Another biblical example is “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven”. In Aramaic, the words for “camel” and “thick rope” are nearly identical. Hebrew in particular has a lot of terms that refer to multiple thematically similar concepts.