Ronald L. Troxel, «Economic Plunder as a Leitmotif in LXX-Isaiah», Vol. 83 (2002) 375-391
The translator of LXX-Isaiah is known to have perceived in the prophet’s words presages of events in his day and to have expressed those in his translation. Some such themes recur often enough to merit designating them leitmotifs. Such is the case with the description of the people’s plunder through taxation as portrayed in 3,12-15; 5,5.17; 6,13; 9,3-4. Each of these descriptions arises through a unique construal of Hebrew syntax or an assumption of novel semantic ranges for Hebrew lexemes. The appearance of this theme in each of these otherwise unrelated passages merits designating it a leitmotif.
husk"54. This image is commensurate with the description of the people as "gleaned" in 3,12.
While these observations provide grounds for concluding that the translator’s choice of ei)j pronomh/n for r(bl was determined by his fascination with the theme of economic plunder55, the most convincing substantiation is provided by the only other verse in the LXX where r(b is translated with a word meaning "plunder", Isaiah 5,5.
V. Isaiah 5,5
5
a)felw= to_n fragmo_n au)tou= kai_ e!stai ei)j diarpagh/n,
kai_ kaqelw= to_n toi=xon au)tou= kai_ e!stai ei)j katapa/thma5
I will remove its wall and it shall be for plunder,
and I shall tear down its wall and it shall be for trampling.
While the translations of rsh by a)felw= and of Crp by kaqelw= are due to target language concerns (cf. S, )N) rQ(, )N) 9rtw; V, auferam, diruam; and T, qyls), (rty)) 56, the relationship between ei)j diarpagh/n and r(bl is more opaque.
Strikingly, we find a similar semantic equivalent in the other versions: S reads )tzBL )whNw, while V has et erit in direptionem, and T reads zbyl Nwhyw. On these grounds we might be inclined to posit that G’s Vorlage contained zbl rather than r(bl 57.
However, while diarpagh/ and diarpa/zein translate -zzb elsewhere in the LXX (e.g. Num 14,3, 31), the translator of Isaiah never employs these equivalents for zzb 58, preferring pronomh/ (10,2.6; 24,3; 33,23;