A Lexicon of Symmachus' Translation of the Psalms

A LEXICON OF SYMMACHUS' TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS

Symmachus' translation was one of the early revisions of the Septuagint included in Origen's Hexapla. In ancient times his version was much appreciated for giving the sense of the Hebrew clearly and with reasonable elegance1. Jerome relied on it frequently for his own translation, the Latin Vulgate. Eventually, with the disap- pearance of the Hexapla, Symmachus' translation got lost. Only a few manuscript fragments, marginal manuscript readings, and patristic citations remain. The large majority of these remainders contain parts of the Psalms. Most of the direct evidence of the manuscript fragments of the Psalms has been published successively by C. Taylor (1900)2, C. Wessely (1910)3, and G. Mercati (1958)4, after the completion of F. Field's standard work on the Hexapla5. The editions of Taylor and Wessely were limited to a few verses, Ps 21,15-24 and 68,30-33; 80,11-14 respectively. The materials published by Mercati, in an impressive volume, are much more substantial: 17,26-48; 27,6-9; 28,1-3; 29,1-13; 30,1-10.20-25; 31,6-11; 34,1-2.13- 18; 35,1-6; 45,1-12; 48,1-15; 88,26-53. Recently the whole lot has been collected in a critical edition by J.R. Busto Saiz6. Additional fragments were published by A. Schenker7: Ps 77,30-66; 78,1-13; 79,5-20; 80,8-16; 81,1-8; 82,2-16. Recent studies of Symmachus' translation techniques have been produced by J.R. Busto Saiz for the Psalms, J. González Luiz for the Major Prophets8, and A. Salvesen for the Pentateuch9. The latter offers a more general introduction into Symmachus, giving a critical reassessment of the exegetical peculiarities in his translation and of his religious identity, topics researched in the earlier works of A. Geiger10, H.J. Schoeps11, and D. Barthélemy12.

1. For these introductory remarks see especially A. SALVESEN, Symmachus in the Pen- tateuch (JSS Monographs, 15), Manchester, 1991, pp. V-VII. 2. C. TAYLOR, Hebrew-Greek Cairo-Genizah Palimpsests, Cambridge, 1900. 3. C. WESSELY, Un nouveau fragment de la version grecque du Vieux Testament par Aquila, in Mélanges offerts à M.E. Châtelain, Paris, 1910, pp. 224-229. 4. G. MERCATI, Psalterii hexapli reliquiae, Rome, 1958. 5. F. FIELD, Originis Hexapla quae supersunt, sive veterum interpretum graecorum in totum Vetus Testamentum fragmenta, vol. II, Oxford, 1875. During the Rich Seminar on the Hexapla, held at Oxford in 1994, it was agreed that a new collection of Hexapla fragments was a desideratum. Field's impressive work is no longer up to date, if only because new sources have come to light since then. 6. J.R. BUSTO SAIZ, La traducción de Simaco en el libro de los Psalmos (Textos y Estudios “Cardenal Cisneros”), Madrid, 1978 (doctoral dissertation). 7. A. SCHENKER, Hexaplarische Psalmbruchstücke. Die hexaplarischen Psalmenfrag- mente der Handschriften Vaticanus graecus 752 and Canonicianus graecus 62 (OBO, 8), Freiburg – Göttingen, 1975. 8. J. GONZÁLEZ LUIZ, La Versión de Símaco a los Profetas Mayores, Madrid, 1981 (doctoral dissertation). 9. See n. 1. 10. A. GEIGER, Symmachus der Übersetzer der Bibel, in Jüdische Zeitschrift für Wis- senschaft und Leben 1 (1862) 39-64. 11. H.J. SCHOEPS, Symmachusstudien I-III (CNU, 6), Uppsala, 1942; Biblica 26 (1945) 100-111; 29 (1948) 31-51; reprinted in Aus frühchristlicher Zeit. Religionsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen, Tübingen, 1950, pp. 82-119. 12. D. BARTHÉLEMY, Qui est Symmaque?, in CBQ 36 (1974) 451-465. About the identity of Symmachus see also A. VAN DER KOOIJ, Die alten Textzeugen des Jesajabuches 88 J. LUST

1. Vocabulary

Symmachus often uses a vocabulary different from, and more accurate than, that of the Septuagint. Many of his words do not occur in the Septuagint, and some of them are neologisms. There is no up-to-date Lexicon of this interesting vocabulary. In as far as they were available in his days, J. Schleusner incorporated the readings of Symmachus, Aquila, and Theodotion in his Thesaurus13. It should be clear that his work is in need of revision, not only because of the new data that have been discovered after the publication of the Thesaurus, but also because it translates the Greek vocabulary into Latin, which is not much of a help for many modern scholars and students. The Concordance to the Septuagint of E. Hatch and H.A. Redpath (1897)14 lists a good deal of the new materials, especially in the third part of the Supplement published in 190615. The use of these data, however, is not without problems. First of all, the Concordance does not give a translation of the vocabulary. Second, in as far as the hexaplaric materials are concerned, no contexts are given, and the Hebrew equivalents are not provided. In our Lexicon16 we confined ourselves to the vocabulary of the Septuagint, postponing the treatment of the vocabulary of “The Three” to a later occasion. Now that the first edition of that lexicon has been completed, “The Three” call for renewed attention. According to our planning, the lexicon of “The Three” has to list all the words used in these revisions that do not occur in the Septuagint. The reason for the limitation to this special vocabulary is purely pragmatic. For the vocabulary shared with the Septuagint, the reader is referred to our Lexicon. Of course, “The Three” may have given new meanings to some of these terms, meanings that are not dealt with in the Septuagint lexicon. The treatment of these nuances is, however, to be confided to the editors of a more complete and final Lexicon of the Septuagint and its revisions. As a rule, for each word the following data will be provided: (1) the reference to the passages in the Psalms where the lemma occurs, together with its Hebrew equivalent; (2) the immediate context in which the term occurs (s'), as far as available, with the Septuagint rendition of that context (o'); (3) an English equivalent based on the use of the term in its context. Some of these elements are to be left open in cases where the context is lacking. When the Greek lemma and its context are known only through retro-translation from the Syro-hexapla by

(OBO, 35), Freiburg – Göttingen, 1981, pp. 221-230; ID., Symmachus, “de vertaler der Joden”, in NTT 42 (1988) 1-20. 13. Novus thesaurus philologico-criticus sive Lexicon in LXX et reliquos interpretes graecos ac scriptores apocryphos Veteris Testamenti, Leipzig, 1820-1821 (re-editions: Glasgow, 1822; London, 1829). Anastatic reprint of the edition of 1822: Turnhout, Brepols, 1995, with an Introduction by J. Lust: J.F. Schleusner's Lexicon of the Septuagint. See also J. LUST, J.F. Schleusner and the Lexicon of the Septuagint, in ZAW 102 (1990) 256-262. 14. A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testa- ment (including the Apocryphal Books), 2 vols., Oxford, 1897. 15. Supplement by H. REDPATH, Part III: Additional Words and Occurrences of Words in Hexaplaric Fragments, Oxford, 1906, pp. 199-216. 16. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint. Part 1: A–I. Part 2: K–W (in collaboration with E. EYNIKEL and K. HAUSPIE), Stuttgart, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1992, LIII-217 p. and 1996, LXVI-311 (= pp. 218-528) p. Cf. ETL 69 (1993) 118-124 (Part I), and above, pp. 83-86 in this fascicule. SYMMACHUS' TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS 89

Field17, then the whole text is italicized. Lemmas with a context preserved in the direct manuscript evidence are marked with an asterisk (*)18. Lemmas that also occur elsewhere in “The Three” are signalled by an exclamation sign (!). The numbering of chapters and verses is that of the Septuagint in the edition of Rahlfs. The translation of the Psalms was chosen as a test case. The reasons for that selection are double. First, most of the direct evidence pertains to the domain of the Psalms. Second, a lexicon of “The Three” for the Psalms may be a useful instrument for those who prepare the critical edition of the Septuagint of the Psalms. The test case is limited to the vocabulary of Symmachus. The reasons are again twofold. First, the in-depth studies of his Psalms translation by G. Mercati, A. Schenker, and J.R. Busto Saiz present an excellent basis for a lexicographical investigation. Especially the lists dressed by Busto Saiz come in very handy. Second, Symmachus' vocabulary is most interesting because of the judicious character of his selection of equivalents for the Hebrew words.

2. Samples

The following samples represent the first eight lemmas of the special vocabulary lexicon:

âbébaiov unreliable fma-al (hifil) 77,8 s' genea aproairetov tjÇ kardiaç kai abebaiov prov ton ‡eon twç pneumati twç eautjv o' genea jtiv ou katju‡unen tjn kardian autjv kai ouk epistw‡j meta tou ‡eou to pneuma autjv ägíwv holy ›dq 133,2 s' agiwv o' eiv ta agia âgláﬂsma! ornament wvwm 47,3 s' ap arxjv afwrismenwç aglaismati pasjv tjv gjv o' eurihwn agalliamati pasjv tjv gjv hraph 88,18 s' oti aglaisma ajttjton autwn ei su o' oti to kauxjma tjv dunamewv autwn ei su âglaﬂsmóv! ornament fvww 44,8 s' elaiou aglaismou para touv etairouv sou o' elaion agalliasewv para touv metoxouv sou âdjmonéw! to be sorely dismayed, to be in anguish uty (qal) 60,3 s' en twç adjmonein tjn kardian mou o' en twç akjdiasai tjn kardian mou zph (qal) 115,2 s' kai eipon adjmonwn pav an‡rwpov diaceudetai o' egw de eipa en tjÇ ekstasei mou pav an‡rwpov ceustjv

17. See n. 5. 18. The texts in question have been collected and published by BUSTO SAIZ, La traducción de Simaco (n. 6), pp. 401-426. 90 J. LUST

âjttjsía that which is unconquerable zvym 30,5 s'* oti su ajttjsia mou o' oti su ei o uperaspistjv mou kurie âßttjtov unconquered, not beaten zy 88,18 s' oti aglaisma ajttjton autwn ei su o' oti to kauxjma tjv dunamewv autwn ei su aî‡ßr! ether, heaven qc‹ 35,6 s' j bebaiotjv mexri twn ai‡erwn o' j alj‡eia sou ewv twn nefelwn 56,11 s' kai mexri tou ai‡erov o' kai ewv twn nefelwn 67,35 s' en twç ai‡eri o' en taiv nefelaiv 76,18 s' jxon edwken ai‡jr o' fwnjn edwkan ai nefelai 88,7 s' tiv gar en ai‡eri antipara‡jsei twç kuriwç; ezisasei twç kuriwç en uioiv ‡ewn o' oti tiv en nefelaiv isw‡jsetai twç kuriwç; kai tiv omoiw‡jsetai twç kuriwç en uioiv ‡eou 88,38 s'* wv j mjnj edraia aiwniwv o de diamarturomenov en ai‡eri pistov o' kai wv j seljnj katjrtismenj eiv ton aiwna kai o martuv en ouranwç pistov

Among these samples only two are preserved in the direct manuscript tradition: âjttjsía in Ps 30,5, and aî‡ßr in Ps 88,38, both marked with an asterisk. Four, marked with an exclamation point, are also attested elsewhere in Symmachus, but none of them occur in Theodotion, and only one in Aquila: âdjmonéw (to be sorely dismayed, to be in anguish). The full list of the preserved attestations of âdjmonéw is as follows: Aquila, Jb 18,20; Symmachus, Ps 60,3; 115,2; Eccl 7,17; Ez 3,15. In Ps 60,3 Symmachus uses the verb as a translation of uty, to faint, to languish; in 115,2 (Hebr. 116,11) it renders zph, which, according to KBL, means to hurry away in anguish. In the two remaining occurrences in Symmachus, and in the one in Aquila, it is employed as an equivalent of forms of jmw, to be appalled. It is not surprising to see that Symmachus renders three different Hebrew expres- sions by the same Greek word: uty, zph, jmwm. Our translator does not seek to give a wooden translation in which each Greek word does always correspond to the same Hebrew, nor does he always seek to render the same Hebrew word by the same Greek. His main preoccupation is to provide an accurate equivalent. On the other hand, his use of aî‡ßr demonstrates that at times he seems to be more sys- tematic in his replacement of Septuagint terminology. Although our concern is with lexicography and not with grammar and style, it may be useful to note that Symmachus often prefers a more elegant Greek style avoiding the semiticizing character of the Septuagint. The first sample may illustrate this to a certain extent. It refers to Ps 77,8 where Symmachus uses the adjective âbébaiov to render a hiphil of the verb fma combined with the negation al. SYMMACHUS' TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS 91

3. Symmachus' Use of âdjmonéw

In most cases, if not in all, the translation of Symmachus is more accurate or closer to non-translation Greek than that of the Septuagint. A brief investigation of the passages in which Symmachus uses âdjmonéw may illustrate this. In 60,3, the Septuagint uses âkjdiáw, a neologism derived from the substantive âkjdía known from classical Greek medical texts, and referring to a state of apathy in illness19. The context in Ps 60 shows that the fainting (uty) of the heart is caused by fear of the enemy. Symmachus does not see the need for a neologism to render this state of the heart since the semantic field of the existing verb âdjmonéw covers the meaning of uty in this context. In Ps 115,2 the Septuagint has the substantive ∂kstasiv for the Hebrew verb zpc20. This verb does not occur frequently in the Old Testament (9 times). With reference to Dt 20,3; 2 Sm 4,4; 2 Kgs 7,15 (qere); Ps 30(31),23; 115,2 (116,11); Jb 40,23, the meaning of the qal is usually said to be to hurry away (in alarm, freight)21. It should be noted, however, that the connotation of hurrying seems to be totally absent from our text. Similarly, in the other instances in which the verb occurs, perhaps with the exception of 2 Sm 4,4, this meaning does not seem to be prominent. The basic connotation is that of fear, anguish. ˆAdjmonéw adequately renders this meaning of the verb in its context of Ps 115,2 (116,11). The lexicographical choice of the Septuagint is not wrong. The term ∂kstasiv has the connotation of fear, terror, but then mostly when this emotion is inspired by something awful and super- natural or divine. In Ps 115,2 the fear appears to be caused by threatening and untrustworthy people. In this context, âdjmonéw is to be preferred. The verb âdjmonéw is a good equivalent of Hebrew jmw in the remaining three instances where it is used by Symmachus and Aquila. The most difficult and remarkable passage of these three is perhaps Ez 3,15 where the prophet is said to sit among the exiles during seven days, “desolate, in anguish” (jmwm). The Septuagint has ânastrefómenov, a passive or medial participle of ânastréfw, a verb usually functioning as an equivalent of bvw, to turn. Followed by ên méswç the expected meaning of the Greek participle is conversant among. This is con- firmed by Ez 19,6 where a lions' cub is said to converse among the adult lions22. That Greek expression does not seem to be an adequate rendition of the Hebrew in 3,15. Symmachus' âdjmon¬n is much more accurate. There is no reason to assume that the translator read another Hebrew word, by mistake. It is to be noted,

19. See M. HARL, Y a-t-il une influence du “grec biblique” sur la langue spirituelle des chrétiens?, in La Bible et les Pères, Paris, 1971, pp. 243-262; = ID., La langue de Japhet. Quinze études sur la Septante et le grec des chrétiens, Paris, 1992, pp. 183-202. 20. The same Hebrew expression occurs in Ps 30(31),23, with the same translation in the Septuagint; in that context Symmachus replaces ekstasiv by ekpljziv, another word that does not occur in LXX. 21. See, e.g., L. KÖHLER – W. BAUMGARTNER, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libros, Leiden, 1958, p. 320; L. KÖHLER – W. BAUMGARTNER, Hebräisches und aramäisches Lexicon zum Alten Testament, Lief. I, Leiden, 31967, p. 326: “(in Angst) forthasten”; D.J.A. CLINES, The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, Vol. III, Sheffield, 1996, p. 286: “make haste, hurry away, be alarmed”. 22. In the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible, the participle is exclusively used in Ezekiel: 3,15; 19,6; 22,7.29.30. The translation of the passages in chapter 22 is rather free. In 22,29 Symmachus appropriately uses sukofantew to render q‹y, and in 22,30 oikodomounta fragmon for MT rdg rdg (“to build a wall”). 92 J. LUST however, that, in this context, the Septuagint does not refer to any angry or bitter emotions of the prophet. That is already so in the foregoing verse 14. According to MT, at the end of his vision, the prophet says “I went in bitterness (rm), my spirit raging (icvr hmcb)”. The Septuagint has no equivalent for rm, and has ên örm±Ç (in the impulse) for hmcb: “I went in the impulse of my spirit”. Again Symmachus gives a more accurate version of MT: pepikrámmenov ‡úmwç (embit- tered with anger). It is not obvious why the prophet should have been bitter and angry after his vision that filled his mouth with a “taste sweet as honey” (3,3). This may explain why the Septuagint translator avoided all references to such negative feelings in this context.

Conclusion

These samples illustrate the need and the usefulness of a lexicon of “The Three”. The lexicon should not only provide a translation or an interpretation of the words used exclusively by “The Three”, it should also give the data that are lacking in the concordance of Hatch and Redpath: the context of each word and its Hebrew equivalent.

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