תַּלְפִּיָּוֹת

From the study of Song of Songs 4:4

Range of meaning

This word appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, and its meaning is unknown. Proposals include: (1) "armoury," a place for weapons; (2) "courses, layers" of stonework, perhaps from an Arabic word meaning to arrange in rows; (3) "battlements" or turrets; (4) a place name or a decorative term ("for trophies," "for display"). None has decisive support.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT read "armoury." BSB, ESV, NASB and NIV read "rows/courses of stone." The Vulgate reads "with bulwarks/battlements." The Greek Septuagint did not translate it and simply spelled it out in Greek letters (thalpiōth). The confident English renderings hide the fact that translators are guessing.

How it drifted

The "armoury" rendering fits the shields in the next clause, and it was probably influenced by Jewish interpretation. Modern versions moved to "courses of stone" because of a proposed Arabic connection. Neither rendering rests on clear evidence.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Babylonian Talmud (Berakhot 30a) plays on the word as tel (mound) + piyyot (mouths): "the hill toward which all mouths turn," and applies it to the Temple, where Israel faces in prayer. This is a sermon-style wordplay, not a derivation. The ancient Greek translators were evidently as unsure as modern ones.