Abstract
Aejmelaeus, Anneli and Tuukka Kauhanen (eds.), The Legacy of Barthélemy: 50 Years after Les Devanciers d'Aquila (De Septuaginta Investigationes, 9; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017), pp. 230. €130.00. ISBN 978-3-525-54062-6.
Most of the essays in this collection were papers presented at a symposium held at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, in July 2013 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Les Devanciers d'Aquila by Dominique Barthélemy, and to discuss the present state of ‘kaige studies’. All the essays are in English. A. Schenker assesses the aims and achievements of the Palestinian Recensions, and adds some biographical notes on Barthélemy's life, career and work. P. Hugo examines the Old Greek, Kaige and the Antiochene Text in the Books of Kingdoms. A. Aejmelaeus contributes two essays: one on the presence of theological motivation in some recensional changes (‘Does God Regret?’) and one on the presence of kaige readings in a non-kaige section in 1 Samuel. A. Piquer Otero examines the Minuses of the B 509 Manuscript Group in 3–4 Kingdoms. P. Torijano examines the question of how much hexaplaric material entered into the Antiochene textual tradition. J. Trebolle considers readings of the Old Latin (Beuron 91-95) which might reflect ‘additions’ of the Antiochene text in 3–4 Kingdoms. T. Kauhanen examines textual citations of Kings made by Lucifer of Cagliari and finds them free from kaige influence, enabling them to be used as a witness for the Old Greek in passages where new kaige readings may be detected in Kings. R. Wirth examines the treatment of tenses in the Kaige section of Samuel. G.J. Norton assesses the legacy of Barthélemy's book for the study of the Greek Psalter, and his contribution also contains a number of biographical notes on Barthélemy. The volume includes an Introduction of seven pages by the editors, a Bibliography of thirteen pages, and an Index of biblical passages and other ancient sources. These essays amply attest the seminal influence of Barthélemy's work. Barthélemy himself modified his position in the course of time, and further modifications have subsequently become necessary. It is also very apparent that a number of cases are susceptible of more than one explanation. There is clearly a great deal of work still to be done, and this valuable collection of essays will be an indispensable resource for any serious work on the Septuagint, quite apart from the very considerable contributions to knowledge already contained here.
Anthony Gelston
Birdsong, Shelley L., The Last King(s) of Judah: Zedekiah and Sedekias in the Hebrew and Old Greek Versions of Jeremiah 37(44):1–40(47):6 (FAT, II/89; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017), pp. xvii + 256. €84.00. ISBN 978-3-16-153888-9.
In this revised doctoral dissertation, B.'s introduction and review of scholarship (ch. 1) prompts her to begin her own study with a close reading of the MT(OG) of Jeremiah 37(44).1–40(47).6 through the lens of Bakhtinian dialogism (cf. the work of Mark Biddle on Jer. 7–20) (ch. 2). This close reading of Hebrew and Greek texts and further scrutiny of their characterization of the ill-fated king (ch. 3) suggests Sedekias (OG) as cunning, unpredictable, unafraid of his enemies and concerned with himself but not responsible for Jeremiah's mistreatment. By contrast Zedekiah (MT) is more fully drawn, more human, fearful, unwilling to heed the Lord and—thanks to the tale found only in the MT—emblematic of the sin and suffering of his comrades and his city. B.'s form-critical analysis (ch. 4) sees the MT's large plus (39.4-13) and resulting displacement of Jeremiah as suggesting Zedekiah as the anti-hero of an Antilegende (cf. Andrés Jolles). A final consideration of the formation, transmission and translation of the Jeremiah traditions leads B. to confirm the majority view that the Greek reflects a pre-MT version with the addition of MT Jer. 39.4-13 moving Zedekiah to centre-stage (so also Hermann-Josef Stipp) as an example of the tragic consequences of a failure of obedience and nerve. B.'s locating of such a revision in the Persian period to discourage the returnees from following Zedekiah's example finds support in her intriguing observation that Zedekiah crumples in the face of his fear (Jer. 38), while Nehemiah faces his own head-on (Neh. 6).
David Shepherd
Brady, Christian M.M., The Proselyte and the Prophet: Character Development in Targum Ruth (Supplements to Aramaic Studies, 14; Leiden: Brill, 2017), pp. xii + 185. €102.00/$112.00. ISBN 978-9-0043-2967-6.
While this volume's focus is on the Aramaic version of Ruth, B. begins by offering a brief summary of the Hebrew, the value of which lies in his attention to characterization. This is followed by a similarly brief but helpful introduction to the Targum, summarizing the manuscript tradition, noting the characteristically ‘targumic’ quality of the translation, its continuities and discontinuities with the rabbinic movement, and its probable origins in the synagogue. B. then offers on facing pages a transcription of the earliest manuscript witness and his own English translation of the Aramaic which follows the useful convention of italicizing those words lacking an obvious equivalent in the Hebrew and is accompanied by notes referencing textual, exegetical and translational matters. Both the transcription and the translation are then included again in their entirety in a third chapter along with an exegetical commentary which attends to the translation's transformation of the Hebrew book. A final chapter demonstrates the ways in which the Targum interprets the book of Ruth as an illustration of the rabbinic ideals of obedience and conversion, doing so through its treatment of various characters including Ruth as a virtuous proselyte and mother of the Messiah and Boaz as pious rabbinic exemplar. In B.'s capable hands, the Targum of Ruth offers a fine example of the interpretive riches of the targumic tradition.
David Shepherd
Byun, Seulgi L., The Influence of Post-Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic on the Translator of Septuagint Isaiah (LHBOTS, 635; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017), pp. xiii + 265. $122.00. ISBN 978-0-5676-7238-4.
Examples have long been noted where what we might think of as a mistranslation in the Septuagint is the result of the translator reading a word in his Vorlage as if it were Aramaic or, in cases where Hebrew words developed or changed their meaning over time, as if the word had the same meaning in the translator's day as it did when originally written. In this lightly revised Cambridge doctoral dissertation B. seeks to follow Jan Joosten's attempt to establish criteria whereby such a translation feature may be certainly detected. Examples found in LXX Isaiah are discussed in considerable detail, with care taken to explore and to reject (with caution where necessary) alternative ways of explaining the phenomena. Most of the possible examples have been briefly noted before, so that the distinctive contribution here is to have gathered and evaluated them by strict criteria. Although there are instances here and there where some may favour different explanations, most of the examples seem convincing. This represents a technical study of a particular detail of Septuagint studies, competently done.
H.G.M. Williamson
Driesbach, Jason K., 4QSamuela and the Text of Samuel (VTSup, 171; Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. xii + 353. €148.00/$162.00. ISBN 978-90-04-32250-9.
Here we have a revised doctoral thesis completed at the Hebrew University in 2014 under the supervision of Emanuel Tov. The title suggests that it re-evaluates the text-critical value of 4QSamuela (4Q51), but it does much more than that. Though now a book, it maintains the form of a thesis, beginning with three chapters typical of the genre: nature of the problem, research up to 2013, and method. The heart of the volume is a meticulous evaluation of every significant difference between 4QSama and the other major witnesses (MT, LXXB, LXXL), divided into five types: textual error, linguistic exegesis, harmonization, clarifying exegesis, and content exegesis. (The last category is amorphous and unfamiliar, the others being traditional to text-critical discourse; it is the author's shorthand for ‘scribal changes that result in differences in the content and meaning of a text’—a porous category, overlapping significantly with the others.) What makes this study stand out from others is the author's pursuit of genetic relationships between witnesses and its attempt to locate 4QSama within the stream of the book's evolution and transmission. In his conclusions, D. sums up the relationships between the witnesses: their characteristic features, agreements, disagreements, and literary development. The work concludes with two appendixes that present the neutral and ambiguous evidence. In all, this is a welcome study. All the witnesses to Samuel are fraught with errors, plusses, minuses and substitutions. Worse, scholarly opinion is divided on the value of each witness, not just for textual criticism but also for reconstructing the book's literary history. A meticulous re-evaluation of the relationships of the major witnesses to one another was long overdue.
William A. Tooman
Eidsvåg, Gunnar Magnus, The Old Greek Translation of Zechariah (VTSup, 170; Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. xii + 270. €104.00/$135.00. ISBN 978-90-04-30271-6.
With this revision of his Stavanger PhD dissertation (supervised by Magnar Kartveit), E. has given us a ground-breaking study of OG Zechariah, building on but going beyond previous work. His aim is to gain a firmer grasp of the historical context and theological viewpoint of the translator emerging from a thorough analysis of translational practice. The book has two parts. Part I provides the most thorough treatment of translation technique in OG Zechariah to date and is a model for other books of the Minor Prophets; E. upholds the one-translator hypothesis. He concludes that the translator ‘adopted a literal translation approach’ but ‘was careful to use words and expressions that made the text intelligible’ (p. 123). Nothing startling there, but the meticulous, scholarly discussions provide an important underpinning and demonstrate how the translator's apparently erratic combination of ‘literal’ and ‘free’ features rests on a coherent basis. Part II examines a selection of motifs which could indicate the translator's setting and viewpoint (Zion/Jerusalem, Day of the Lord, Festival of Booths, a probable Maccabean background and an anti-Oniad critique). The findings are checked against similar material in the rest of the Minor Prophets: if treatment is consistent, a translational viewpoint probably exists. Whether or not one agrees with all the conclusions, the standard of the discussions and the quality of the writing are impressive. This is a major contribution not just to OG Zechariah but also to our understanding of OG Minor Prophets as a whole.
Jennifer Dines
Finsterbusch, Karin and Norbert Jacoby, MT-Jeremia und LXX-Jeremia 1–24. Synoptische Übersetzung und Analyse der Kommunikationsstruktur (Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament, 145; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Theologie, 2016), pp. viii + 271. €49.00. ISBN 978-3-7887-2995-0.
This monograph constitutes a preparatory study to the BK Jeremiah commentary in preparation by Finsterbusch and Armin Lange. After an introduction, most of the study is devoted to a German translation of the MT (according to the Leningrad Codex) and the Göttingen LXX of Jeremiah 1–24, showing the differences by a series of sigla. Although a couple of studies (one as long ago as 1924) have compared the Hebrew and Greek texts, this is aimed at a broader audience. The Introduction gives a general overview of study of both the MT and LXX texts of the book. There is then a lengthy discussion of the sigla, different type faces, etc., used to mark differences in the text, along with helpful examples. There is also a discussion of how the communication structure of the MT and LXX at times differ in Jeremiah. Scholarly studies will of course need to compare the original texts, but this will serve to give an overview and a quick reference to the differences between the two texts for anyone who reads German. A second volume is planned on Jeremiah 25–52.
Lester L. Grabbe
Gauthier, Randall X., Gideon Kotzé and Gert Steyn (eds.), Septuagint, Sages, and Scripture: Studies in Honour of Johann Cook (VTSup, 172; Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. xviii + 394. €148.00/$162.00. ISBN 978-90-04-32382-7.
This volume in honour of Johann Cook is a celebration not just of his many scholarly contributions, especially on the wisdom books of the Septuagint, but also of his term as President of IOSOT (2013–16). E.G. Dafni compares human sacrifice in the Greek Bible (Gen. 22; Judg. 11) and the reception of those narratives in ancient Greece (Iphegenia at Aulis). A. Evans reads Gen. 1.1-7 as about division rather than as dualistic. G.R. Kotzé gives examples of the varied syntactical practices of the translator of LXX Genesis. D. Büchner presents a commentary on LXX Lev. 19.11-15. J. Rogers undertakes spatial and sensory searches for Wisdom. J. Joosten sees some idioms in LXX Proverbs as dependent on LXX Psalms. R.X. Gauthier analyses possessive pronouns and adjectives in LXX Proverbs. K. Atkinson links LXX Prov. 28.4 with Josephus variously writing on observing the Sabbath. H. Ausloos examines Job 14.12 in Hebrew and Greek for hints of resurrection. M. Witte comments on LXX Job 42.17, especially in relation to Genesis 36. C. Cox considers how the Old Greek of Job 42 conforms to Job 1–2. A. van der Kooij rethinks the role of the sôfer in Ben Sira as both scholar and official. C.L. Miller-Naudé and J.A. Naudé expound the ideology of Ben Sira as presented in the Geneva Bible and the kjv. H.F. van Rooy studies the translation of Wisdom, especially in Ezekiel. M. Rösel considers how the OG of Daniel enhances and revises the book. G.J. Steyn offers some important notes especially on Philo's non-scriptural proverbial idioms. W. Kraus comments on the use of Prov. 3.11-12 in Heb. 12.5-6. M.N. van der Meer re-examines the references to Sumkhos ben Joseph in the Mishnah, Tosefta and Talmudim. All 18 high-quality contributions make valuable points, but my favourites were the essays by Witte, Rösel and Steyn. There are detailed source and subject indexes.
George J. Brooke
Glenny, W. Edward, Micah: A Commentary based on Micah in Codex Vaticanus (Septuagint Commentary Series; Leiden: Brill, 2015), pp. x + 246. €120.00/$152.00. ISBN 978-90-04-28539-2.
This is G.'s third contribution to the Septuagint Commentary Series, after his commentaries on Hosea and Amos (both published in 2013). Micah (the third book in the Greek order of the Minor Prophets) follows the normal pattern for the series: an introduction, the text of the chosen manuscript, here, as before, Vaticanus (B) with G.'s literal, but sensible, translation on facing pages, and a detailed commentary followed by bibliography and indexes. The introduction defines the aim: to tease out what sense ‘an early Greek reader who did not know Hebrew’ might have made of the text of Micah in B. Close attention is paid to B's chapter and verse divisions and these ancient reading conventions are interestingly followed in the commentary (although not, surprisingly, in the Greek text and translation which follow the divisions of Swete and NETS). The Hebrew of Micah is notoriously difficult and this is naturally reflected in the places where the translator's solutions affect the meaning (and perhaps provide interpretational hints). G. discusses the implications for the readers of B (modern as well as ancient) but, where obscurities remain, is not afraid to leave problems unresolved. For the most part, however, the sense of the translation as it might have been understood by a 4th-century ce (Christian) reader and as it can be understood by a 21st-century one, is well foregrounded. G. has made a good job of a challenging text and provided a welcome contribution to the study of LXX Micah.
Jennifer Dines
Grütter, Nesina, Das Buch Nahum. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung des masoretischen Texts und der Septuagintaübersetzung (Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament, 148; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Theologie, 2016), pp. xiv + 312. €49.00. ISBN 978-3-7887-3068-0.
This product of a doctoral project (Basel and Strasbourg, 2015) on LXX Nahum confirms previous research in the view that the Vorlage of LXX Minor Prophets was close to the consonantal text of the MT. Most differences between LXX and MT Nahum stem from the translation process itself and from different reading traditions of the consonantal text, sometimes reflecting different coping strategies to overcome the difficulties present in the text. The analysis of the LXX text proceeds in six sections, each focusing on a different aspect (poetic features in 1.1-8; minor quantitative differences in 1.9–2.6; semantic understanding of Hebrew roots in 2.7-11; differences of interpretation in 2.12-14; translating titles and designations in 3.1-7; text-pragmatic, syntactical and stylistic aspects in 3.7-19). The author then offers a synoptic comparison of MT, LXX and the (reconstructed) consonantal texts on which each is based. Especially noteworthy are differences in 1.12; 3.8 (LXX plus) and 3.15 (MT plus) which are given detailed text-critical examination and interpretation in subsequent chapters. While the text of 1.12 remains obscure, G. concludes that the plusses in Nahum 3 result from the conflation of parallel readings in Hebrew manuscripts and demonstrate that LXX reflects an earlier edition of the Twelve than MT, lacking final redactional changes designed to facilitate a coherent reading of the prophetic text in the Hellenistic period which, she believes, is also evident in 3.6, even if otherwise no clear reading strategies are evident in either LXX or MT. Rich in detail, this is an insightful study.
Thomas Renz
Kraus, Matthew A., Jewish, Christian, and Classical Exegetical Traditions in Jerome's Translation of the Book of Exodus: Translation Technique and the Vulgate (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, 141; Leiden: Brill, 2017), pp. xiv + 266. €114.00/$131.00. ISBN 978-90-04-34297-2.
This is apparently the first English monograph on Jerome's translation of a book of the Pentateuch. Although his focus is on the extent to which Jerome draws on exegetical traditions, especially Jewish ones, in Exodus, K. seeks to characterize the Vulgate trans– lation in the round: application of recentiores-rabbinic philology (use of rabbinic sources in close association with the Minor Versions), employment of the LXX and Old Latin, utilization of grammatical categories from Late Antiquity, and the influence of classical and late antique Latin literature. After an introduction that surveys translation studies and translation technique in general, he has separate chapters on recentiores-rabbinic philology, translation technique of the Vulgate (especially the question of literal versus free translation and the types of free translation), Hebrew text and grammar, use of the LXX and versions, exegetical translation technique and Late Antiquity, and the classical Latin tradition in Late Antiquity. The result is a demonstration of Jerome's critical method, situating his translation work and translation in its literary and cultural milieu and giving many examples of where Jerome has embedded Jewish, Christian, and classical sources in his translation of Exodus. K. emphasizes the importance of a ‘holistic reading’ of Jerome's techniques and sources. This is an important contribution to studies on the Latin Bible.
Lester L. Grabbe
Kreuzer, Siegfried, The Bible in Greek: Translation, Transmission, and Theology of the Septuagint (Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 63; Atlanta, GA: SBL Press, 2015), pp. viii + 323. $44.95. ISBN 978-0-8841-4094-8.
This volume gathers 14 previously published articles (11 in English, 3 in German). First, K. considers the Septuagint's Hellenistic cultural and theological background, suggesting that the origins of the Greek Pentateuch lie in a need felt within the third-century bce Alexandrian Jewish community rather than the intervention of Ptolemy Philadelphus. In the Pentateuch and in subsequently translated books, the Hasmonean era fixing of a proto-Masoretic Hebrew text form led to corresponding revisions of the Old Greek. Several articles deal with the various Greek text forms of the historical books. From examination of individual passages (e.g. 2 Samuel 6 and 15; 1 Kings 19; and 2 Kings 6), K. argues against Sebastian Brock that the Antiochene text does not arise from late recensional activity by Lucian (d. 312 ce) but usually represents a good witness to the Old Greek. Moreover, the Pauline quotations from the Minor Prophets give useful data for LXX textual history, because they derive from the Old Greek rather than the kaige recension. Finally, after introducing Papyrus 967 with comments on Ezekiel and Daniel, K. analyses Vaticanus, where large sections contain the kaige revision. Each article has its own bibliography, and the volume ends with indexes of ancient texts and persons, and of modern authors. Despite the occasional repetition of material, these wide-ranging articles are valuable for being well informed and full of detail.
Jeremy Corley
Perttilä, Elina, Sahidic 1 Samuel—A Daughter Version of the Septuagint 1 Reigns (De Septuaginta Investigationes, 8; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017), pp. 254. €110.00. ISBN 978-3-525-54057-2.
This Helsinki doctoral thesis (supervisors A. Aejmelaeus and R. Sollamo) examines one of the more neglected LXX versions, the Sahidic Coptic version of 1 Samuel (LXX 1 Reigns). It aims to examine the translation technique of the Sahidic version and then to apply the results to discovering the affiliations of the Sahidic to the Greek textual versions and the affiliations of the Sahidic manuscripts among themselves. A thorough introduction to the manuscripts and state of research on the Sahidic version in general and the translation of the book of 1 Samuel in particular is given in chapter 1. The heart of the study in chapter 2 is the examination of the translation technique of the Sahidic version, focusing on clause structure and on ‘additions’ (where the Coptic text has additional material not found in the Greek). A further chapter compares the Greek with the Coptic text of different Sahidic manuscripts in selected short passages, and chapter 4 gives conclusions. Candidly admitting that a much more thorough analysis of the translation technique, using other criteria, is needed (p. 227), P. argues that all Sahidic witnesses indicate a single translation from an Old Greek textual version, probably in the 3rd century ce, and that no thorough revision according to further Greek manuscripts had been made. Thus, it has potential for helping to reconstruct the Old Greek text. The ‘Helsinki school’ continues to produce a stream of important studies that help to throw light on the translation and development of the Septuagint.
Lester L. Grabbe
Piquer Otero, Andrés and Pablo A. Torijano Morales (eds.), The Text of the Hebrew Bible and its Editions: Studies in Celebration of the Fifth Centennial of the Complutensian Polyglot (Supplements to the Textual History of the Bible, 1; Leiden: Brill, 2017), pp. xx + 576. €178.00/$194.00. ISBN 978-90-04-33498-4.
This collection of essays is the fruit of the 2014 congress in Madrid convened to mark the 500-year anniversary of the Complutensian Polyglot. The papers cover a wide variety of text-critical topics ranging from the historical background of the Complutensian Polyglot itself to issues surrounding modern as-yet-unpublished editions of the HB. After an introductory preface by the editors, the essays are presented in four parts as follows: Part 1, ‘The Polyglot and Other Approaches to Editing the Bible’: ‘The First Polyglot Bible’ (N. Fernández Marcos), ‘From Polyglot to Hypertext’ (R.S. Hendel), ‘Methodological Considerations in the Preparation of an Edition of the Hebrew Bible’ (M. Segal), ‘The Conundrum of Scriptural Plurality: The Arabic Bible, Polyglots, and Medieval Predecessors of Biblical Criticism’ (R. Vollandt), ‘Electronic Scripture Editions (With an Appendix Listing Electronic Editions on the Internet [2014])’ (E. Tov); Part 2, ‘The Hebrew Texts and the Translations’: ‘A Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible between the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Masoretic Text’ (A. Lange), ‘How Old Is the Targumic Tradition? Traces of the Jewish Targum in the Second Temple Period, and Vice Versa’ (J. Joosten), ‘Textual History of the Septuagint and the Principles of Critical Editing’ (A. Aejmelaeus), ‘From Secondary Versions through Greek Recensions to Hebrew Editions: The Contribution of the Old Latin Version’ (J. Trebolle Barrera), ‘Glimpses into the History of the Hebrew Bible through the Vulgate Tradition, With Special Reference to Vulgate MS θG’ (M. Graves), ‘Prolegomena to a (Critical) Edition of Syrohexapla’ (I. Carbajosa Pérez), ‘A “New Field” for the Twenty-First Century? Rationale for the Hexapla Project, and a Report on its Progress’ (A. Salvesen); Part 3, ‘The Textual Plurality of Biblical Books’: ‘Deuteronomy as a Test Case for an Eclectic Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible’ (S.W. Crawford), ‘The Textual Plurality of the Book of Joshua and the Need for a Digital Complutensian Polyglot Bible’ (K. De Troyer), ‘םיבלמ, Βασιλειων, Reges: Textual Plurality as a Constellation Cluster and the Challenge of Editing a Star-Map’ (A. Piquer Otero and P. Torijano Morales), ‘Jeremiah Amid Actual and Virtual Editions: Textual Plurality and the Editing of the Book of Jeremiah’ (R.D. Weis), ‘The Hebrew Bible Critical Edition of Isaiah 40:1-12’ (E. Ulrich), ‘Textual Issues for an Edition of the Minor Prophets’ (R.E. Fuller), ‘Compositions and Editions in Early Judaism: The Case of Daniel’ (A. van der Kooij), ‘Problems and Poetics in the Text History of Job’ (B.A. Strawn); Part 4, ‘Quotations of Jewish Scriptures and the Critical Editions’: ‘Quotations of Jewish Scriptures in Hebrew Texts’ (A. Lange and R.E. Fuller), and finally ‘Quotations of Jewish Scriptures in Greek and Latin Texts’ (M. Meiser). Each essay has its own bibliography, and the volume is ended with indexes of ancient sources and of modern authors. Crucially, many of the essayists have produced (or are producing) critical editions of biblical texts in different series such as the recently completed Discoveries in the Judaean Desert or the forthcoming The Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition. Because of this, the essays often discuss the unnoticed difficulties editors encounter when constructing a critical edition of a biblical text; the laudable candor with which the authors discuss such issues is revealing, and those who regularly consult critical editions would do well to take note of their ruminations. In sum, this collection is a worthy addition to any biblical scholar's library, and the essays are on the whole of a high quality (though additional English copyediting would have been useful).
Bradley J. Marsh Jr
Screnock, John, Traductor Scriptor: The Old Greek Translation of Exodus 1–14 as Scribal Activity (VTSup, 174; Leiden: Brill, 2017), pp. xvi + 214. €114.00/$125.00. ISBN 978-9-0043-3620-9.
This book is a revision of a doctoral thesis written at the University of Toronto (supervised by Sarianna Metso). It is a well-argued work which brings new theoretical perspectives (such as intralingual translation) to bear on the processes involved in scribal practice and thereby illuminates the continuities between the transmission and translation of biblical texts. In ch. 1, S. discusses the basic methodological issues which are of relevance to his study, namely textual criticism, OG translation technique, and the use of the OG in textual criticism. The second chapter explores the theoretical issues involved in understanding the conceptual overlap between transmission and translation of texts. S. argues that many of the differences observed in the OG may be explained as the result of an intermediary ‘mental’ stage distinct from the physical Vorlage and the written translation. This ‘mental’ version of the Hebrew text may or may not be identical with the written Vorlage used by the translator; consequently, in instances where the OG isomorphically represents grammatically correct Hebrew it is impossible to tell whether observed differences are due to written Vorlage or scribal invention. The similarity in translation and transmission are illustrated in the following two chapters: ch. 3 analyses scribal errors and individual variants from Exodus 1; and ch. 4 focuses on large-scale variants in Exodus 1–14. Chapter 5 contains the conclusions of the study and its implications for text-critical research. Two appendixes helpfully categorize and tabulate the textual data of variants found in Exodus 1 from the OG and Hebrew witnesses.
Alun Morton Thomas
Tov, Emanuel, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Qumran, Septuagint: Collected Essays, vol. 3 (VTSup, 167; Leiden: Brill, 2015), pp. xxiv + 540. €168.00. ISBN 978-90-04-27013-8.
Following two earlier volumes of collected essays (reviewed in B.L. 2000, p. 62, and 2010, p. 73 respectively), this master of biblical textual criticism and of Qumran and Septuagint studies now brings together a further 33 essays that were published in various settings between 2008 and 2014 and have here been revised and updated. Eighteen essays come under the umbrella of ‘Textual Criticism’, covering such topics as the many forms of Hebrew Scripture (and their translations) in antiquity, the kinds of scribal and translational practices that can be observed, and the various materials—ancient, medieval, and modern—that are available to text critics; the transmission of the Torah in general and of the genealogical lists and patriarchal stories in Genesis in particular, as well as aspects of Joshua and Esther, come under special scrutiny, and such projects as W. Gesenius's Dictionary, A. Tal and M. Florentin's edition of the Samaritan Pentateuch, and N. Fernández Marcos's Biblia Hebraica Quinta volume on Judges are reviewed. Nine essays comprise the section on ‘Qumran’, including T.'s observations on the possibilities and impossibilities in the analysis of ancient scrolls; his assessments of various scribal features in the scrolls and of the relationship of the Qumran material to the MT, the LXX, and the Samaritan Pentateuch; and his thoughts at the close of the Discoveries in the Judean Desert publication project (of which he was editor-in-chief in its latter stages). Finally, six essays constitute the ‘Septuagint’ section, with investigations of the personal names in LXX Isaiah, the post-Pentateuchal translations in general, the Jewish and Christian origins of the LXX, and three studies on aspects of LXX Genesis. Indexes of ancient sources and of modern scholars complete the volume, which is a treasure trove of highly significant contributions to the three interrelated fields that T.'s formidable scholarship encompasses.
John Jarick
Verwijs, Petra, The Peshitta and Syro-Hexapla Translations of Amos 1:3–2:16 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. viii + 292. €102.00/$112.00. ISBN 978-9-0041-6407-9.
In the tradition of detailed studies on select passages of the versions of the HB, V. has produced this comparative analysis of the two extant Syriac versions of Amos. The opening chapter explains the methodology that V. has adopted from Arie van der Kooij and others, though it is unclear why this is preferable to any other. The second chapter launches into the detailed data for the Peshitta, followed by a chapter for the Syro-Hexapla, whose translation procedures have rarely been afforded the careful study lavished on the Peshitta. In her conclusions, V. confirms that MT is the true Vorlage of Peshitta Amos but that Greek versions were also influential, whereas renderings that it has in common with the Targums may be accounted for by a common tradition. The translation itself, like that of the rest of the Peshitta, is clear and well communicated in the receptor tongue. The Syro-Hexapla's ancestry is established as genuinely Origenic, though with an admixture of ‘proto-Lucianic’ readings. Its translation style is, as expected, marked by a concern for verbal and formal consistency and Hellenizing renderings, yet V. also finds some instances of a more thoughtful translation style which makes more supple use of the range of Syriac syntax. Despite occasional lapses into confounding words with concepts in the semantic analyses and a sometimes excessively prolix explanation of transparent data, V. succeeds in painting a detailed picture of what the Peshitta translator is up to and how he accomplished his work.
Daniel King
Vollandt, Ronny, Arabic Versions of the Pentateuch: A Comparative Study of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Sources (Biblia Arabica, 2; Leiden: Brill, 2015), pp. xviii + 329. €120.00/$152.00. ISBN 978-90-04-28991-8.
This work is V.'s Cambridge doctoral thesis undertaken under the supervision of Geoffrey Khan. The first part of the study reviews the evidence for the earliest Arabic translations of the Pentateuch, finding that: (1) there is no evidence of any kind for the existence of an Arabic translation of the Pentateuch prior to the 8th century ce; (2) the reports of such translations in the 8th century are open to diverse interpretation, (3) the reports of the 9th century suggest that various translations could have been in circulation amongst Christians, Jews and Muslims in the 9th century; (4) manuscript evidence confirms that this was undoubtedly the case in the 10th century. V.'s contribution to scholarship lies less in the confirmation of this consensus opinon and more in his wide use of extant manuscripts, most notably a number of Judeo-Arabic texts from the Cairo Geniza. As with others before him, V. determines that Arabic translations of the Pentateuch are not relevant to the textual criticism of the HB, but are very relevant to its reception history. In line with this conclusion, Part Two of his study explores the mind behind the translation decisions of the earliest attested Arabic version of the Pentateuch (which is a translation of the Peshitta into Arabic). V. finds that this Syriac-Arabic translation, like that of the subsequent Hebrew-Arabic translation of Sa‘adia Ga'on, frequently works on the principle of ‘dynamic equivalence’. The text was, therefore, most probably much more than a gloss for the explanation of the Syriac text amongst Arabic-speakers.
Daniel J. Crowther
Note also the following books reviewed in other sections of this Book List:
De Vos, J. Cornelis, Rezeption und Wirkung des Dekalogs in jüdischen und christlichen Schriften bis 200 n.Chr. — see p. 128
Karner, Gerhard et al. (eds.), Texts and Contexts of the Book of Sirach / Texte und Kontexte des Sirachbuches — see p. 228
Lortie, Christopher R., Mighty to Save: A Literary and Historical Study of Habakkuk 3 and its Traditions — see p. 86
Matusova, Ekaterina, The Meaning of the Letter of Aristeas: In Light of Biblical Interpretation and Grammatical Tradition, and with Reference to Its Historical Context — see p. 232