Job 9:
Brenton Septuagint Translation:
It was guesswork. Pulpit explained:
By the time the English translations were made, these three Greek constellations were well documented in Greek. It was relatively easier for them to translate them to English from the LXX names.
If the LXX names were incorrect translations, the English names would also be incorrect.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:9 He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.
There was not much ancient Hebrew documentation for these constellation names.The Hebrew names are ‘âsh (‘ayish ch. Job 38:32), keseel, and keemah. These names may possibly denote the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades or seven stars; there is, however, considerable uncertainty.
Brenton Septuagint Translation:
How did LXX get these Greek names from their corresponding Hebrew names?Who makes Pleias [Πλειάδα], and Hesperus [Εσπερον], and Arcturus [Αρκτούρον], and the chambers of the south.
It was guesswork. Pulpit explained:
Pulpit gave more details:The rendering of the LXX. (ὁ ποιῶν Πλειάδα καὶ Ἕσπερον καὶ Ἀρκτοῦρον), supported, as it is, by most of the other ancient versions and by the Targums, has caused the stellar character of these names to be generally recognized; but the exact meaning of each term is, to some extent, still a matter of dispute.
It was not 100% certain, but they were reasonable guesses:Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades; literally, which maketh 'Ash Kesil and Kimah. The rendering of the LXX. (ὁ ποιῶν Πλειάδα καὶ Ἕσπερον καὶ Ἀρκτοῦρον), supported, as it is, by most of the other ancient versions and by the Targums, has caused the stellar character of these names to be generally recognized; but the exact meaning of each term is, to some extent, still a matter of dispute.
Great Bear:On the whole, it seems most probable that 'Ash or 'Aish (Job 38:32), designates "the Great Bear," called by the Arabs Nahsh while Kesil is the name of the constellation of Orion, and Kimah of that of the Pleiades.
Orion:The word 'Ash means "a litter," and may be compared with the Greek ἅμαξα and our own" Charles's Wain," both of them names given to the Great Bear, from a fancied resemblance of its form to that of a vehicle.
Pleiades:Kesil means "an insolent, rich man" (Lee); and is often translated by "fool" in the Book of Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 15:20; Proverbs 19:1; Proverbs 21:20, etc. It seems to have been an epitheton usitatum of Nimrod, who, according to Oriental tradition, made war upon the gods, and was bound in the sky for his impiety - the constellation being thenceforth called "the Giant" (Gibbor)' or "the insolent one' (Kesil), and later by the Greeks "Orion" (comp. Amos 5:8; and infra' Job 38:31).
The LXX translators studied these Hebrew names, their meanings, and the related Arab and Oriental traditions. Then, they associated each name with its own Greek constellation name and traditions. It was based on scholarly and somewhat scientific guesswork.Kimah undoubtedly designates "the Pleiades." It occurs again, in connection with Kesil in Job 38:31, and in Amos 5:8 The meaning is probably "a heap," "a cluster" (Lee); which was also the Greek idea: Πλειάδες, ὅτι πλείους ὁμοοῦ κατὰ μίαν συναγωγήν (Eustath., 'Comment. in Hom. II.,' 18:488);
By the time the English translations were made, these three Greek constellations were well documented in Greek. It was relatively easier for them to translate them to English from the LXX names.
If the LXX names were incorrect translations, the English names would also be incorrect.