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Mazalot


Mazzaroth (Mazarot מַזָּרוֹת, LXX μαζουρωθ) is a hapax legomenon (i.e., a word appearing only once in a text) of the Hebrew Bible, found in Job 38:31-32. The similar word mazalot (מַּזָּלוֹת) in 2 Kings 23:3-5 may be related.

The word's precise meaning is uncertain but its context is that of astronomical constellations, and it is often interpreted as a term for the zodiac or the constellations thereof.

In Yiddish, the term mazalot came to be used in the sense of "astrology" in general, surviving in the expression "mazel tov," meaning "good luck."

The appearance of the word in the Book of Job appears in the context of various astronomical phenomena:

The related word mazalot (מַּזָּלוֹת) in 2 Kings may have a different meaning, and is often translated differently, with the linkage of this word to the planets or the zodiac being more widely held (in Kabbalistic astrology, mazalot was also used for astrology in general, and the word may be related to the Assyrian manzaltu, "station"):

The Septuagint, however, uses the transliteration mazzaroth (μαζουρωθ) again at this point.

The word is traditionally (following LXX) left untranslated (ABC, ACV, AKJ, ASV, BBE, BIB, ESV, GNV, HNV, JPS, K21, KJG, KJR, KJV, NAB, NKJ, NRS, NWT, RSV, RWB, TMB, TNK, UPD, WEB, YLT, LXE, ZIK), but some modern English Bible translations render it as "zodiac" (AMP, CJB, EMP, LEE); others have "constellations" (CJB, CSB, DBY, NET, ERV, GWN, LEE, LIT, MKJ, NAS, NAU, NIB, NIV, TNV, WEV) or "stars" (CEV, NCB, NIR, NLV, TEV).


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