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I'm a ben Noach. I was studying the use of the word בר in the Mishlei Shlomoh and I noticed that many important translations translate Proverbs 31:2 as follows:

"What, my son? and what, son of my womb? and what, son of my vows?"

(This is the Koren Jerusalem Bible, for example)

But I found that בר in Hebrew means "pure" or "chosen". It means "son" only in Aramaic.

Indeed if I translate the verse: "What, my chosen? What, chosen of my womb? And what, chosen of my vows?" not only makes sense, but it also fits much better with the explanation of the Talmud (Sanhedrin 70b:3-4):

“And what, son of my womb?” That is to say: With regard to all of the women of your father’s house, once they conceive they no longer see the face of the king, but I pushed myself in and entered the king’s chamber while I was pregnant, so that I might have a son who is strong and fair-skinned. There are times during a woman’s pregnancy when intercourse is beneficial for the development of the fetus. Bathsheba was telling Solomon: I did my utmost to ensure that you have extra strength and beauty, and now you use that strength and appeal to pursue drink. “And what, son of my vows?” That is to say: With regard to all of the women of your father’s house, they would take vows while they were pregnant, saying: Let me have a son who is fit to be king. But I, by contrast, took a vow and said: Let me have a son who is diligent and filled with knowledge of the Torah and fit for prophecy.

(The William Davidson Talmud)

Rabbi Yochanan seems to say that the words בַּר־בִּטְנִי (son/chosen of my womb) and בַּר־נְדָרָי (son/chosen of my vows) indicates that her son was better than the children of the other women, and he also explains how. But if the word just means "son" why should it state that her son is different from the others? The translation "chosen" in the sense of "better", "excellent" is similar in my eyes to Songs 6:9: בָּרָה הִיא לְיוֹלַדְתָּהּ "she is the pure/chosen/excellent one of her mother". Therefore, I don't understand why they translate "son" even in the Talmud. I tried to read some commentary on the Talmud (using Sefaria), but they are not translated in English and I can't understand properly, I'm not so skilled in Hebrew. What do you think about that? I need a little help. Thank you for the eventual answers :)

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  • This passage in Proverbs, where the mother of Lemuel (traditionally taken as a nickname for Solomon) reprimands him, is generally thought to include a bit of Aramaic (including the final word of 31:3, "מְלָכִין"). Note, though, that there is an interpretation that translates בר in this pericope as the Hebrew "pure" (Ha'meik Sh'ala, Kidmas Ha'Eimek 3:9, "What, my pure one, what, pure one of my womb..."), which may be supported by the Hebrew "בְּנֵי" ("sons of") used in verses 5 and 8.
    – Fred
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 1:59
  • Contrast this, for example, with Psalms 2:12, where almost all commentaries (with the exception of Ibn Ezra) translate בר as a Hebrew word, given that there's no evidence of Aramaic elsewhere in this Psalm nor anywhere else in the book of Psalms (unlike Proverbs, where there appears to be other Aramaic in that selfsame pericope, in 31:3).
    – Fred
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 2:10
  • Welcome to MiYodeya and thanks for this first question. Great to have you learn with us!
    – mbloch
    Commented Jan 30, 2023 at 4:32
  • @Fred Thank you so much! Ha'meik Sh'ala, Kidmas Ha'Eimek was enlightening! On Sefaria I found a commentary about this passage of Talmud: Chidushei Agadot. I don't understand very well 'cause it's not translated, but it seems to me that also its author supports my point. He uses the word ברור to explain the verse, that means "chosen", "best".
    – user32242
    Commented Feb 4, 2023 at 15:42
  • Bar is an acronym for for Beit Rosh.
    – David
    Commented Mar 13 at 7:01

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