ABSTRACT
Lust thinks that there once existed two independent histories of David. E. Tov's study of the translation techniques that produced LXXB persuaded his colleagues as well as himself that the translator would not have shortened the parent text. Tov's argument for the carefulness of the translation is very strong, well based on text-critical data, and supported by literary arguments. In this case of the David and Goliath story, as it happens, the MT pluses can be mapped onto the corresponding parts of the story of Saul's emergence. 'In general, formal criteria should be given precedence over arguments based on possible biases in the context of the text or on its artistic qualities'. The MT pluses not only depict a purposeful David, they emphasize his doing a wonder as well: when he kills Goliath, 'there is no sword in the hand of David'.
