Conceptual stratification in LXX Prov 26,11: Toward identifying the tradents behind the aphorism

This study is concerned with tracing the ideational development of the aphorism in Prov 26,11: »As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,« which is expanded in the Septuagint counterpart to, »As when a dog goes to his own vomit and becomes abominable, so is a fool who returns in his wickedness to his own sin. [26, 11a] There is a sense of shame laden with guilt and a shame that merits honor and respect.« The additional clause of LXX-Prov 26,11a finds a verbal parallel in the declaration of two kinds of bōšœt 〉shame〈 in Sir 4,20-21. We wish to demonstrate that the ideational transformation of the biblical aphorism in the Greek version stemmed from its different conception of the 〉fool〈 as ασεβης 〉ungodly〈 (cf. Prov 1,22.32; 3,35; 13,19). This in turn attracted the appended declaration about two types of bōšœt 〉shame〈 attested to in Sir 4,20-21. The literary affinities between LXX-Proverbs 26,11 and the Ben Sira passage reflect the imprint of schools of sages who contributed to the conceptual stratification and moralizing tendency of the wisdom teachings of Proverbs.