[Avodah] Saviv vs S'chor S'chor

Akiva Miller akivagmiller at gmail.com
Thu Mar 17 18:25:51 PDT 2022


When the Chumash uses the word "saviv" (samech beis yud beis, usually
translated as "around"), Onkelos usually translates this as "s'chor s'chor"
(samech ches vav resh).  (Examples abound. Vayikra 8 has it in pesukim 15,
19, and 24.)   Perhaps he even does this all time - I haven't noticed any
exceptions, but if someone is aware of such, please let me know.

My question is about the meaning of the single word "s'chor", and why does
Onkelos double it so often. My wild guess is that "s'chor" indicates a mere
circular motion, while "s'chor s'chor" indicates a complete circle; if so,
Onkelos is (as usual) providing a valuable perush on the precise
implications of "saviv" (especially if there indeed cases where he opts for
just a single "s'chor"). But that's just a wild guess.

Can anyone offer other ideas?

Akiva Miller
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