...OK, you may be right. I was following BDB which never suggests a reference to the physical heart, but in a few cases to the breast, a more generalised concept. Was Aaron's breastpiece to be worn asymmetrically over his left side, where his heart is, or symmetrically over the breast? I think the latter is usually assumed.
HH: You can't prove that it doesn't refer to the organ, and there are verses that suggest it, for example Ex 28:29, where the breastpiece is worn over the heart. The Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew gives fifteen verses where they think it means the physical heart, and other five verses where they think it is possible.
The words have only a limited domain of semantic overlap, which certainly does not cover this expression. If you want to preserve the thematic repetition (although a rather weak one if it occurs only one per 8 chapters on average), a better way to do so would be to translate "he said to himself".
HH: In general, LB can be translated heart. That is how the lexicons translate it. ...
... But it can cover a lot of ideas and so context is the key. In this concept of "say in the heart" I don't have a problem with "said to himself" or "thought to himself." But I think there are places where heart might be good, even with this phrase.
Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.