Present Perspectives of Septuagint Research

Open Access | Peer-Reviewed Journal | ISSN 1337-6411

TESTIMONIA THEOLOGICA, XII, 1 (2018): 21-39

FEVTH.UNIBA.SK/VEDA/TESTIMONIA-THEOLOGICA/

PRESENT PERSPECTIVES OF SEPTUAGINT RESEARCH

apl. Prof. Dr. Martin Meiser ______

Abstract: Der Aufsatz benennt kritische Ausgaben und Hilfsmittel zum Septuagintastudium, beschreibt die Organisation der Septuagintaforschung und führt in einige ihrer wichtigen Fragen ein (Definition der Septuaginta; historischer Hintergrund; jüdische Tradition; Philologie; Theologie und Hermeneutik; Rezeptionsgeschichte; Rezensionen; Tochterversionen)

Keywords: Septuagintaforschung; Jüdische Tradition; Theologie; Tochterversionen

Research on Septuagint is research within a wide and fascinating field including aspects of Textual Criticism, History, Philology, and Theology. The following paper does not offer an own thesis concerning this or that point, but offers an overview.

1. Critical Edition, Bibliographies, Concordances The critical edition of the Septuagint used worldwide is made in Goettingen by the Septuaginta Unternehmen based on all available manuscripts. Today ca. 2000 manuscripts are known – sometimes we are fortunate enough to find of a new manuscript.1 The editors photographed and conferred the manuscripts in order to edit a text, which comes close to a possibly original text. They preferred this procedure over a so-called diplomatic edition of one of the leading manuscripts. The Unternehmen began 1908, the first Volumes were published in 1931 (Psalms) und 1936 (First Maccabees). Until 2015, the Torah, the Prophets (exception: Daniel) and most of Wisdom Literature was published. In 2015, the Unternehmen was closed. Mostly researchers from other countries continue to publish the missing volumes based on the manuscripts and photographs, which are collected in

1 P.Oxy 5101, Rahlfs-Nr. 2227: written 50-150 C.E., containing Psalms, the divine name written in paleo-Hebrew characters.

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Goettingen.2 A Manual, developed by Alfred Rahlfs and emendated by Robert Hanhart, is available since 2006.3 Concordances,4 bibliographies5, grammars,6 and lexica7 are indispensable instruments for Septuagint research. Some “Introductions”8 and “Handbooks”9 were also published.

2. Progress of Research on Septuagint Until the Sixties or Seventies of the past century, researchers studied the Septuagint mainly with regard to issues of Old Testament textual criticism. The discovery of the

2 https://adw-goe.de/en/research/completed-research-projects/akademienprogramm/septuaginta-unter nehmen/publications/septuaginta-vetus-testamentum-graecum/. See further Reinhard Gregor Kratz and Bernhard Neuschäfer, ed., Die Göttinger Septuaginta: Ein editorisches Jahrhundertprojekt (Berlin/Boston: de Gruyter, 2013). 3 Alfred Rahlfs and Robert Hanhart, Septuaginta: Id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interpretes ed. Alfred Rahlfs, Editio altera, quam recognovit et emendavit Robert Hanhart, Duo volumina in uno (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006). 4 Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath, A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (Including the Apocryphal Books), 2 vols (Oxford: Clarendon, 1897; repr. Graz: Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt 1954; Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 1998); Takamitsu Muraoka, Hebraic/Aramaic Index to the Septuagint: Keyed to the Hatch-Redpath Concordance (Grand Rapids: Bakers 1998, ²2001); id., A Greek-Hebrew/Aramaic Two-way Index to the Septuagint (Leuven/Paris/Walpole, MA: Peeters 2010); Natalio Fernández Marcos, Índice Griego- Hebreo del Texto Antioqueno en los Libros Históricos, Vol. 1: Índice general (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 2005). 5 Sebastian P. Brock and Charles T. Fritsch, C.T. and Sidney Jellicoe, A Classified Bibliography of the Septuagint, ALGHJ 6 (Leiden: Brill 1973); Cécile Dogniez, Bibliography of the Septuagint: Bibliographie de la Septante (1970-1993), VTSup 60 (Leiden: Brill, 1995); Alexis Léonas, The Septuagint in Premodern Study: A Bibliography, BIOSCS 41 (2008), 93-113. See also www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/secondlit.htm. 6 Frederick C. Conybeare and George William Joseph Stock, Grammar of Septuagint Greek with Selected Readings, Vocabularies, and Updated Indexes (Boston 1905, rev. ed. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 1995); Rudolf Helbing, Grammatik der Septuaginta: Laut- und Wortlehre (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1907=1979). 7 Johan Lust and Erik Eynikel and Katrin Hauspie, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1992, ²2003; Takamitsu Muraoka, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint: Chiefly of the Pentateuch and the Twelve Prophets, 2. Aufl. (Leuven: Peeters, 2002). See also Eberhard Bons and Jan Joosten, eds., Die Sprache der Septuaginta/The Language of the Septuagint, LXX.H 3 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2016). 8 Marguerite Harl and Gilles Dorival and Olivier Munnich, La Bible grecque des Septante: Du judaïsme au christianisme ancien, Initiations au christianisme ancien 5; (Paris: Cerf, 1988, 2nd ec. 1994); Folker Siegert, Zwischen Hebräischer Bibel und Altem Testament. Eine Einführung in die Septuaginta, Münsteraner Judaistische Studien 9 (Münster u.a.: Lit Verlag, 2001); Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London/New York: T&T Clark, 2004); James Aitken, ed.), The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2015 ; Martin Meiser, Septuaginta, inkulturáció és az identitás örzése. Bevezetés a görög Ószövetségbe (Cluj-Napoca/Kolozsvár: Verbum, 2017). 9 Handbuch zur Septuaginta (LXX.H), Vol. 1: Einleitung in die Septuaginta, ed. Siegfried Kreuzer, LXX.H 1 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2016); Vol. 3: Die Sprache der Septuaginta/The Language of the Septuagint, ed. Eberhard Bons and Jan Joosten, LXX.H 3 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2016). 22

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Qumran Scrolls and the eagerness to perceive Second Temple Judaism in its variety inseminated a new inquiry of the Septuagint as part of Second Temple Judaism. In 1968, some scholars founded the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS)10, which organizes international conferences in a three-years-term. Additionally, they publish a Journal11 und prepares a commentary series. The Jubilee Volume 50 (2017), published in 2018, presents reports on Septuagint research from Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, Russia, Spain, and USA. In any case, Israel has to be added to the list of countries where Septuagint research is flourishing, represented by Zipora Talshir12 and Emanuel Tov.13 New interest in Judaism caused translation projects in modern languages. Adnoted translations in French14, Spanish15, English16, Romanian17, Italian18, German19 are

10 See Leonard Greenspoon, “The IOSCS at 25 Years,” in VIII Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Paris 1992, ed. Leonard Greenspoon and Oliver Munnich, SBLSCS 41 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995), 171-181. 11 Bulletin of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, since 2011 Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies (Publisher: Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, USA; from 2018 on: Peeters, Leuven). 12 Zipora Talshir, “Double Translations in the Septuagint,” in VI Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Jerusalem, 1986, ed. Claude E. Cox (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987), 21-63; Zipora Talshir, The Alternative Story of the Division of the Kingdom 3 Kingdoms 12:24a-z, Jerusalem biblical studies 6 (Jerusalem: Simor, 1993). 13 Emanuel Tov, The Septuagint Translation of Jeremiah and Baruch: A Discussion of an Early Revision of Jeremiah 29-52 and Baruch 1:1-3:8, Harvard Semitic monographs 8, (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars Press, 1976); Emanuel Tov, “Die griechischen Bibelübersetzungen,” in Aufstieg und Niedergang des römischen Weltreiches II 20/1, 1987, 121-189; Emanuel Tov, The Text-critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research, Jerusalem Biblical Studies 8 (Jerusalem: Simor, 1981, 21997); Emanuel Tov, The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint, VTSup 72 (Leiden/Boston/Köln: Brill, 1999); Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress/Assen: Van Gorcum, 1992, 22001; Emanuel Tov, Scribal Practices and Approaches Reflected in the Texts Found in the Judean Desert, Studies on the texts of the desert of Judah 54 (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2004); Emanuel Tov, Hebrew Bible, Greek Bible, and Qumran. Collected Essays, TSAJ 121, (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008). 14 Vde. https://www.editionsducerf.fr/librairie/cat/les-bibles/bible-d-alexandrie and https://bda.hypothe ses.org/. 15 La Biblia Griega. Septuaginta. I. El Pentateuco, ed. Natalio Fernández Marcos and María Victoria Spottorno Díaz-Caro, Biblioteca de estudios Bíblicos 125 (Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2008); II. Libros históricos, ed. Natalio Fernández Marcos/María Victoria Spottorno Díaz-Caro, Biblioteca de estudios Bíblicos 126 (Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2011); III. Libros poéticos y sapienciales, ed. Natalio Fernández Marcos/María Victoria Spottorno Díaz-Caro, Biblioteca de estudios Bíblicos 127 (Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2013), IV. Libros propheticos, ed. Natalio Fernández Marcos/María Victoria Spottorno Díaz-Caro, Biblioteca de estudios Bíblicos 128 (Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 2015). 16 Albert Pietersma and Benjamin G. Wright, eds., A New Translation of the Septuagint and the Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under that Title (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2007). = NETS. 23

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published, similarly a new commentary series by the Dutch publisher Brill. Translations into Hungarian and Serbian are planned. Commented translations and commentaries are motors of current progress.

3. What is the Septuagint? The Septuagint is a collection of translations and other texts added in many manuscripts in which these texts were included as biblical or as deuterocanonical texts. Nobody in ancient times gave a definition concerning the content of Septuagint and the organization of the distinct parts. Scholarship on Septuagint has drawn more and more attention to fundamental problems. The Septuagint is not one book but a collection of writings made by different translators or authors at different times and different places.20 Are there translators who translated not only (part of) one book? Some scholars suggested that the translator of the Minor Prophets also translated (parts of) Jeremiah21 and/or Ezekiel22 or discussed cross-references between the translations of Isaiah and Daniel,23 but there is no consensus within Septuagint scholarship. Further, we cannot give an exact chronological history of Old Greek translations of Israel’s sacred Scripture beyond the Pentateuch. Concerning the post-Pentateuchal books, no one has initiated a scientific project that includes processes of translation and redaction of the whole corpus. Date and regional provenance of the distinct books within the Septuagint are sometimes undisputed; in other cases, there is no certainty.24 Many scholars would agree to the thesis that at least

17 Bartolomeu Valeriu Anania, ed., Biblia sau Sfanta Scriptura, (Bucuresti: Editura Institutului sic de Misune al Bisericii Orthodoxe Române, 2001; Cristian Badilita et al., eds., Septuaginta (Bucuresti: Polirom, 2004-2011). 18 La bibbia dei LXX, 1. Il Pentateuco a cura di Luciana Mortari (Roma: Dehoniane, 1999). 19 Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, eds., Septuaginta Deutsch. Das griechische Alte Testament in deutscher Übersetzung (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2009) = LXX.D; Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, eds., Erläuterungen und Kommentare zum griechischen Alten Testament (2 Vols., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft 2011) = LXX.E. 20 Emanuel Tov, “Reflections on the Septuagint with Special Attention Paid to the Post-Pentateuchal Translations,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 3-22 (16-17). 21 Henry St John Thackeray, “The Greek translators of the prophetical Books,” JThSt 4 (1903): 578-585 (579). 22 Michael Konkel, “Ezechiel/Jezekiel. Einleitung,” in LXX.E, 2849-2854 (2850). 23 Arie van der Kooij, “Isaiah and Daniel in the Septuagint: How Are These Two Books Related,” in Florilegium Lovaniense. Studies in Septuagint and Textual Criticism in Honour of Florentino García Martínez, ed. Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn and Marc Vervenne, BETL 224 (Leuven: Peeters, 2008), 465-473. 24 Emanuel Tov, “Reflections on the Septuagint with special Attention Paid to the Post-Pentateuchal Translations,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 3-22 (9-11). 24

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some of the translators of the post-Pentateuchal books used the translation of Pentateuch in both semantics and techniques of interpretation. However, the debate on some literary dependencies within the post-Pentateuchal books did not achieve a consensus. To give just one example: Did the translator of Isaiah use the translation of the Twelve,25 or did the Translator of the Twelve use the translation of Isaiah,26 or are the translations independent from one another?27 But why translations at all? Why translations at a distinct period?28 Are there similar reasons for translation with regard to the distinct genres (Torah29, historical books30, prophets31, Psalms, Wisdom literature32)? What about the hermeneutics e.g. on prophetic books?33 There is some plausibility to reconstruct the interests on these different

25 Isaac Leo Seeligmann, The Septuagint Version of Isaiah. A Discussion of Its Problems, Mededelingen en Verhandelingen van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap “Example Oriente Lux” 9 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1948; repr. in id., The Septuagint Version of Isaiah and Cognate Studies, ed. Robert Hanhart and Hermann Spieckermann; FAT 40 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004), 119-294 (226). 26 Takamitsu Muraoka, “Isaiah 2 in the Septuagint,” in Isaiah in Context, FS Arie van der Kooij, ed. Michaël N. van der Meer et al., VTSup 138 (Leiden: Brill 2010), 317-340 (319). 27 Cécile Dogniez, “L’indépendance du traducteur grec d’Isaïe,” in Isaiah in Context, FS Arie van der Kooij, ed. Michaël N. van der Meer et al., VTSup 138 (Leiden: Brill 2010), 229-246 (230). 28 See Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint, ed. Michael Knibb (London/New York: T&T Clark, 2004), 50: “What suddenly stimulated interest in these books (viz. the prophetical books) around the mid- second century bce?” In her view, the answer lies in the different historical situation. Whereas the third century was a relatively stable time, the second century “was marked by struggles between the Ptolemies and Seleucids and the Maccabean Revolt.” According to W. Edward Glenny, perhaps this time of “turmoil, uncertainty and conflicting loyalties [...] within and without Judaism” caused the new generation to feel a need for the old prophecies to speak to them” (W. Edward Glenny, Hosea. A Commentary Based on Hosea in Codex Vaticanus, Septuagint Commentary Series [Leiden: Brill, 2013], 19). 29 See Gilles Dorival, “New light about the origin of the Septuagint?,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 36-47. 30 Perhaps these books were translated as source texts for sakes of education; see Sir 44:2; 1 Macc 2:51- 60. 31 According to Arie van der Kooij, the books of the prophets are translated because their announcements became truth, see Arie van der Kooij, “The Old Greek of Isaiah and Other Prophecies Published in Ptolemaic Egypt,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 72-84 (76). A similar hypothesis could be made for the book of Jeremiah, see 2Chr 36:22. J. Ross Wagner, Reading the Sealed Book. Old Greek Isaiah and the Problem of Septuagint Hermeneutics, FAT 88 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013), 234, states the supposed setting in worship and study of the Hellenistic synagogue. We do, however, not know anything on regular reading of Haftarot at this time. 32 These books were translated as source texts for sakes of education; see Sir, prol., 36. 33 See Arie van der Kooij, “The Septuagint of Isaiah and the Mode of Reading Prophecies in Early Judaism. Some Comments on LXX Isaiah 8-9,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Kontexte, Lebenswelten, eds. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, WUNT 219 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 597-611 (598): “The (ancient) prophecies were considered to be a source of hope which was based on a reading of the prophecies ‘as fulfilled in contemporary (or imminently expected) events’ of one’s own day.” Arie van der Kooij bases his thesis on Sirach 36,13-20; Tobit 14,3-5; Dan 9; 1QpHab vii, 4-5 (598-601). 25

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parts in Second Temple Judaism and to conclude from these possible interests to the process of translation. Perhaps translators translated prophetic books due to actualizing tendencies, historic books and Wisdom literature due to necessities of education. Parts of Second Temple literature are lost, and the literature that survived does not convey the broadness of Jewish Life in Israel or Egypt or elsewhere.

4. The Historical Background of the Septuagint – Jews in Egypt According to Isa 19:18, Jews are living in “five cities” in Egypt. We can corroborate this biblical reference by epigraphic and archeological material. Jews lived in Elephantine, Leontopolis, Herakleioupolis34, Tricomia and Samaria35 (in Fayyum), and Alexandria. There was a temple36, a “place of prayer” (προσευχή), and a cemetery where Jewish names are found, in Leontopolis.37 In some of these cities, Jews had restricted rights of self- administration; the form of organization was the πολίτευμα. Other ethnic groups within the Egyptian Empire were organized in the same way.38 Jews lived as merchants, craftmen, or peasants, but also as soldiers39 and police officers. I suggest that the restricting rules concerning food and Sabbath in this epoch was not obligated for them, at least for this special group.40 The Septuagint presupposes the validity of Sabbath and food laws. Whether Jews in Egypt spoke a distinct “Jewish Greek”, is still issue of debate though we do not have other early Egypt Jewish texts beside the Septuagint. Aramaic loanwords like πασχα or and σαββατα expressions as well as

34 James M.S. Cowey and Klaus Maresch, Urkunden des Politeuma der Juden von Herakleopolis (144/3 - 133/2 v. Chr). Papyrologica coloniensia 29 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2001) = P.Polit. Iud.; Rob Kugler, “Uncovering Echoes of LXX Legal Norms in Hellenistic Egyptian Documentary Papyri: The Case of the Second-Century Herakleopolite Nome,” in XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Helsinki 2010, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 59 (Atlanta: SBL, 2013), 143-153. 35 See Clemens Kuhs, Das Dorf Samareia im griechisch-römischen Ägypten. Eine papyrologische Untersuchung, Heidelberg 1996

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formulaic αμην or αλληλουια are probably part of their sociolect, but also εἴδωλον which has a religious connotation only in the Septuagint.41 Jews lived under a non-Jewish rule, in Israel as well as in the diaspora. Until 201 B.C.E., the home country Israel was part of the Ptolemaic kingdom, then part of the Seleucid Empire. The Maccabaean revolt 167-164 B.C.E. resulted in the re-conquest of the temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabaeus, but it was 141 B.C.E. when Israel again had its own sovereignty. In the diaspora, Jews had to live under non-Jewish rule in any way. There was, however, a latent and sometimes visible anti-Judaism in antiquity, witnessed at first in Est 3:8, then in Josephus, Contra Apionem but also in many works not quoted by Josephus.42 Jews had to suffer just due to their Jewish way of life. In Judaism, there are diverse kinds of reaction. On the one hand, we find some renderings that depict Jewish religion as a peaceful one, especially in the Septuagint of the Torah. In Exod 22:27 [28], the first part forbids any blasphemy also to foreign deities – the is מלך ,by the plural θεούς.43 In Deut 17:14 אלהים translator rendered the plurale tantum rendered as ἄρχων – the Jewish community does not question the rule of the Egyptian kings. On the contrary, we find also tendencies of dissociation, especially in the עמי מצרים ,Septuagint of prophetic books, written after the Maccabean revolt. In Isa 19:25 “my nation Egypt” is rendered by ὁ λαός μου ὁ ἐν Αἰγυπτοῖς, “my nation within Egypt”. ,is rendered as Ἰουδας, an allusion of the first Maccabaean chief יהודה ,In Zech 14:14 Judas Maccabaeus. It would be useful to compare both tendencies with reactions on political events within the Qumran group in order to reconstruct Jewish political discourse in this epoch.

5. The Septuagint and Jewish Tradition 5.1. Remarks on the Chronology of the Septuagint The Torah was the first to be translated, beginning with Genesis, in the midst of the third century B.C.E. Perhaps the books of Numbers and Leviticus were the last ones to be

41 Jan Joosten, “Septuagint Greek and the Jewish Sociolect in Egypt,” in Die Sprache der Septua- ginta/The Language of the Septuagint, eds. Eberhard Bons and Jan Joosten, LXX.H 3 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 2016), 246-256. 42 Menachem Stern, “The Jews in Greek and Latin Literature,” in The Jewish People in the First Century. Historical Geography, Political History, Social, Cultural and Religious Life and Institutions, eds. Samuel Safrai and Menachem Stern, Vol. 2, CRINT I/2 (Assen/Amsterdam: Van Gorcum 1976), 1101-1159. 43 The reception history of Exod 22:27[28] underlines this interpretation; see Josephus, Contra Apionem II 204. 27

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translated one of the Torah. This thesis would explain the harmonizations to the Translation of Deuteronomy. At the end of the third century B.C.E., the translation of Torah was finished. At this time, the divergent strands of the Pentateuch were incorporated in a thoroughgoing work, the book of Chronicles was finished, the book of Baruch came into being, the book of Daniel was not yet written. The translation of Ben Sira, written ca. 130 B.C.E., presupposes the translations of the Pentateuch, 1 Reigns, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve, and possibly Chronicles. Further, the Greek Joshua, 2-4 Reigns, and Proverbs did not seem to have been known to Ben Sira’s grandson.44

5.2 Septuagint and Literary History of the “Biblical” texts In some cases, the Septuagint or its Hebrew source text itself is part not within literary history in general but part of literary history of the texts, which were not biblical texts from their beginning but became biblical texts later on. In 3 Reigns, the Septuagint includes some so-called ‘Miscellanies’ which have no counterpart in MT on the one hand; on the other hand, some small pieces of MT do not have any counterpart in the Septuagint. In general, there is no consensus whether the Vorlage of the Septuagint45 or the MT is prior.46 Is this a greater degree of harmony a proof for originality or for secondary revision? The debate has not reached any consensus. The same holds true for the book of Jeremiah.47

44 George B. Caird, “Ben Sira and the Dating of the Septuagint,” in Studia Evangelica VII. Papers Presented to the Fifth International Congress on Biblical Studies Held at Oxford, 1973 , ed. Elizabeth A. Livingstone, TU 126 (Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 1982), 95-100 (100). 45 See Adrian Schenker, Älteste Textgeschichte der Königsbücher, OBO 199 (Fribourg: Adademic Press/ Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004); Philippe Hugo, Les deux visages, d‘Élie. Texte massorétique et Septante dans l’histoire la plus ancienne du texte des 1 Rois 17-18, OBO 217 (Fribourg: Adademic Press/ Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2006). 46 See Percy S.F. van Keulen, Two versions of the Solomon Narrative. An inquiry into the relationship between MT 1 Kgs 2-11 an LXX 3 Reg 2-11, VTSup 104 (Leiden: Brill 2005); Zipora Talshir, “The Miscellanies in 2 Reigns 2:35a-o, 46a-l and the Composition of the Books of Kings/Reigns,” in XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Helsinki 2010, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 59 (Atlanta: SBL, 2013), 155-174. 47 See Georg Fischer, “Die Diskussion um den Jeremiatext,” in Die Septuaginta. Texte, Kontexte, Lebenswelten, ed. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, WUNT 219 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008, 612-629) u.ö.), on the one side, Hermann-Josef Stipp, “Gottesbildfragen in den Lesartendifferenzen zwischen dem masoretischen und dem alexandrinischen Text des Jeremiabuches,” in Text-Critical and Hermeneutical Studies in the Septuagint, ed. Johann Cook, Hermann-Josef Stipp; VTSup 157 (Leiden: Brill, 2012), 237-274, on the other. 28

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5.3 Septuagint and Halacha Lev 24:16LXX is an example for the influence of valid halakha on Septuagint: In Lev 24:16, God’s command is altered according to this custom: Not only cursing God’s name, but also spelling God’s name is forbidden. In general, it is useful to ask whether the translation presupposes or reinforces halakhic observance in western diaspora Judaism.48 In any case, Sabbath laws and food laws are regarded an obligation. In Lev 11:17, the translator adds the “Ibis”, a sacred bird in Egypt, to the list of forbidden food. This addition would not make sense if there would not be any food laws for Jews in the diaspora.49 In some cases, the need of harmonization results in reformulation of halakha.50 In some cases, the source text of the translation includes passages that already are altered in comparison to the Masoretic text.51 In some cases, however, we have to regard divergence of religious practices in the home country and in Egypt.52

6. Philology Centers of Philological Studies are in Belgium, France, Finland, the Netherlands, and USA. For lexicographic studies, the dictionaries mentioned above are the basis; studies on single roots enrich our insight. Phenomena of the Septuagint grammar are studied mainly in Finland; Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen53 inaugurated a scientific tradition existing until today, represented by Raija Sollamo,54 Anneli Aejmelaeus,55 Anssi Voitla56, and others. The

48 Concerning halakha in the Septuagint, see in general Leo Prijs, Jüdische Tradition in der Septuaginta (Leiden: Brill, 1948 = Hildesheim, Olms, 1987). 49 For the validity of food laws in the first century B.C.E. in Egypt see EpArist 138-142. 50 See e.g. Jan Joosten, “Legal Hermeneutics and the Tradition Underlying Septuagint,” in XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Munich 2013, eds. Wolfgang Kraus et al., SBLSCS 64 (Atlanta: SBL, 2016), 555-563. 51 Lawrence H. Schiffman, “The Septuagint and the Temple Scroll: Shared ‘Halakhic’ Variants,” in Septuagint, Scrolls and Cognate Writings. Papers Presented to the International Symposium on the Septuagint and Its Relations to the Dead Sea Scrolls ad Other Writings (Manchester 1990), ed. George J. Brooke, Barnabas Lindars, SBLSCS 33 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992), 277-297. 52 Jan Joosten, “Divergent cultic practices in the Septuagint. The “shoulder” (βραχίων) of the priest,” JSCS 48 (2015): 27-38. The substation of the shoulder for the hind leg in passages defining the priestly portion of sacrificial victims (Lev 7:34) refers to a practice common not in Israel, but in Egypt Judaism. 53 Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen, Die Textformen der Septuaginta-Übersetzung des Richterbuches, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae B 72/1 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1951); Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen, Die Infinitive in der Septuaginta, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae B 132/1 (Helsinki: Suomalaisen Tiedeakatemia, 1965); Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen. Studien zur Septuaginta-Syntax. Zu seinem 70. Geburtstag am 4. Juni 1987. FS Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen, eds. Anneli Aejmelaeus and Raija Sollamo, AASF Series B 237 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1987). 54 Raija Sollamo, “The LXX Renderings of the Infinitive Absolute Used with a Paronymous Finite Verb in the Pentateuch,” in La Septuaginta en la Investigación Contemporánea. V Congreso de la IOSCS, 29

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colleagues in Belgium concentrate on wordplays57, proper names,58 toponyms,59 hapax legomena60 etc. Scholars debate whether the Torah translations also influenced the translation of the post-Pentateuchal books in Semantics or Style61 but there is no consensus at all. Ten years ago, the so-called Interlinear Model caused a vigorous debate. The doyen of NETS, Albert Pietersma, and some of his pupils stated that the translators of the Septuagint estimated their own work as a subsidiary work intended to lead the readers to the Hebrew parent text.62 Their opponents claimed that the translators intended to

ed. N. Fernández Marcos; Textos y Estudios “Cardenal Cisneros” 34 (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1985), 101-113. 55 Aejmelaeus, Anneli, Parataxis in the Septuagint. A Study of the Renderings of the Hebrew Coordinate Clauses in the Greek Pentateuch, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae Dissertationes Humanarum Litterarum 31 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1982); Anneli Aejmelaeus, “The Significance of Clause Connectors in the Syntactical and Translation-Technical Study of the Septuagint,” in Sixth Congress of the IOSCS, Jerusalem, 1986, ed. Claude E. Cox; SBLSCS 23 (Atlanta: SBL, 1987), 361-380; Aejmeleaus, Anneli, On the Trail of the Translator. Collected Essays. Revised and expanded edition, CBET 50, (Leuven/Paris/Dudley MA: Peeters, 2007). 56 Anssi Voitila, “The Use of Tenses in the L- and B-Texts in the Kaige-Section of 2 Reigns,” in Die Septuaginta – Entstehung, Sprache, Geschichte, eds. Siegfried Kreuzer and Martin Meiser and Marcus Sigismund, WUNT 286 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 213-237. 57 Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn and Valérie Kabergs, “The Study of Aetiological Wordplay as a Content-Related Criterion in the Characterization of LXX Translation Technique,” in Die Septuaginta – Entstehung, Sprache, Geschichte, eds. Siegfried Kreuzer and Martin Meiser and Marcus Sigismund, WUNT 286 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 273-294. 58 Ausloos, Hans, “LXX’s Rendering of Hebrew Proper Names and the Characterization of the Translation Technique of the Book of Judges,” in Scripture in Transition: Essays on Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, and Dead Sea Scrolls, FS Raija Sollamo, ed. Anssi Voitila and Jutta Jokiranta, VT.Sup 126, (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 53-71. 59 Hans Ausloos, “The Septuagint’s Rendering of Hebrew Toponyms as an Indication for the Translation Technique of the Book of Numbers,” in Florilegium Complutense. Textual Criticism and Dead Sea Scroll Studies in Honour of Julio Trebolle Barrera, JSJSup 157, ed. Andrés Piquer Otero and Pablo Torijano Morales (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2012), 35-50. 60 Hans Ausloos and Bénédicte Lemmelijn, “Rendering Love. Hapax Legomena and the Characterisation of the Translation Technique of Song of Songs,” in Translating a Translation. The LXX and its Modern Translations in the Context of Early Judaism, eds. Hans Ausloos et al., BETL 213 (Leuven/Paris/Dudley, MA: Peeters, 2008), 43-61. 61 See Jennifer Dines, “Was LXX Pentateuch a Style Setter for LXX Minor Prophets?,” in XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Helsinki 2010, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 59 (Atlanta: SBL, 2013), 397-411. 62 Albert Pietersma, “A New English Translation of the Septuagint,” in Proceedings of the IXth Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Cambridge July, 1995 ed. Bernard A. Taylor, SBLSCS 45 (Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1997), 177-187; id., “A New Paradigm for Addressing Old Questions: The Relevance of the Interlinear Model for the Study of the Septuagint,” in Bible and Computer: The Stellenbosch AIBI-6 Conference, ed. Johann Cook (Leiden: Brill, 2002), 337-64; Cameron Boyd-Taylor, “The evidentiary value of Septuagintual usage for Greek lexicography,” BIOSCS 34 (2001): 47-80. Their work was based on Gideon Toury, Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond, Benjamins Translation Library 4 (Amsterdam: J. Benjamins, 1995). On this controversial decision, see a panel discussion as reported in Xth Congress of the International 30

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produce a text, which should be understandable by common Greek semantics, and referred to the lack of existence of Hebrew-Greek bilingual manuscripts, which would have been useful in Jewish schools for teaching the Hebrew Bible.63 Especially philologists underline the embedding of the Septuagint Semantics in common Koine-Greek.64 Some so-called neologisms, in former times reclaimed in order to emphasize the originality of this translation work, are by no means neologisms but witnessed also by Egyptian papyri written in Greek. Lexicography on Septuagint proceeds by using the new provided sources from epigraphy and papyrology but there is still a lot of work to do. Stylistic comparisons between the Septuagint and popular literature of the Koine-Greek reveal that even the paratactic style of the Septuagint, obviously caused by the Hebrew source texts, was by no means absolutely uncommon in Greek texts. From my point of view, we should distinguish between the style of the literal translations where not only the syntax but also the semantics is influenced by the Hebrew “Vorlage”65 and a more free rendering in accordance to pure Greek semantics. However, the presuppositions of the real world are not proven.

7. Theology and Hermeneutics Johann Cook,66 Martin Rösel67 and Jan Joosten68 are specialists in this field. In general, we have to be cautious. I first give some methodical remarks, then some examples of theologically motivated exegesis.

Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies: Oslo, 1998, ed. Bernard A. Taylor, SBLSCS 51 (Atlanta, GA: SBL, 2001), 181-261 (panelists: M. Harl, C. Dogniez, A. Pietersma, A. van der Kooij, N. Fernandez Marcos). 63 Jan Joosten, “Reflections on the ‘Interlinear Paradigm’ in Septuagintal Studies,” in Scripture in transition: Essays on Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honour of Raija Sollamo, ed. Anssi Voitla and Jutta Jokiranta, JSJSup 126 (Leiden: Brill, 2008) 163-178, 170: “Absence of proof is not proof of absence, but as long as no other evidence is forthcoming the hypotheses will remain mere speculation.” 64 See e.g. Takamitsu Muraoka, “Recent discussions on the Septuagint lexicography with special reference to the so-called interlinear model,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Kontexte, Lebenswelten, eds. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, WUNT 219 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 221-235 (229); Christoph Kugelmeier, “Voces biblicae oder voces communes?: Zum Sprachgebrauch der Septuaginta im Lichte neuerer Papyrusforschungen,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 340-356. participates in the Hebrew usage יד I give just one example: In 2Regn 18:18, the rendering χεῖρ for 65 which also includes “monument”. 66 Johann Cook, The Septuagint of Proverbs Jewish and/or Hellenistic Proverbs. Concerning the Hellenistic Colouring of LXX Proverbs, VTSup 69 (Leiden: Brill, 1997); “Theological Perspectives in Septuagint Proverbs,” in Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz, ed. Martin Meiser et al., WUNT 405 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018), 601-617. 31

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1. The translators intended to translate their source texts, not to write new texts with a theology on its own. Especially the very literal translations reveal hermeneutic consciousness: The translators intended to observe the sacred character of their source texts by imitating the Hebrew in semantics and syntax. Sometimes they also imitated the grapheme surface, at the cost of a good or even correct Greek.69 2. When we describe theologically motivated exegesis we should be conscious of our own theological options. We tend to idealize the translators by supposing our own wishes and anxieties concerning proper religious life to them. Studying the Septuagint, we should ask first whether alterations in the source text, pure linguistic needs or special customs of the distinct translators are responsible for translation.70 3. When we ask for theologically motivated exegesis, we should ask about Jewish, not about Christian theology, and we should compare the Septuagint with surrounding Jewish literature of this epoch. Tendencies of harmonization and Torah orientation are common in this period, harmonization with regard to antagonistic biblical texts, Torah orientation with regard to the stylizing post-Mosaic biblical figures. Jesus Sirach 44-49 and 1Macc 2:49-60 illustrate possible re-telling of biblical motives and figures. The following examples of theologically motivated exegesis concern the notion of God, of his transcendence and benignity. In the Septuagint of Exodus, the idea of God’s dwelling in Exod 25:7 is replaced by the notion of God’s appearance, in Exod 29:45-46. by the motive of human invocation of God.71 The connection of “dwelling” with the glory of

67 Martin Rösel, Übersetzung als Vollendung der Auslegung. Studien zur Genesis-Septuaginta BZAW 223 (Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 1994); Martin Rösel, Theo-logie der griechischen Bibel. Zur Wiedergabe der Gottesaussagen im LXX-Pentateuch, VT 48 (1998): 49-62; Martin Rösel, Towards a “Theology of the Septuagint”, in Septuagint Research. Issues and Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and R. Glenn Wooden, SBLSCS 53 (Atlanta: SBL, 2006), 239- 252. 68 Jan Joosten, “Une théologie de la Septante? Réflexions méthodologiques sur l’interprétation de la version grecque,” RThPh 132 (2000): 31-46; Jan Joosten, “To See God. Conflicting Exegetical Tendencies in the Septuagint,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Kontexte, Lebenswelten, eds. Martin Karrer and Wolfgang Kraus, WUNT 219 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 287-299. 69 Siegfried Kreuzer, “Das frühjüdische Textverständnis und die Septuaginta-Versionen der Samuel- bücher. Ein Beitrag zur textgeschichtlichen und übersetzungstechnischen Bewertung des Antioche- nischen Textes und der Kaige-Rezension an Hand von 2Sam 15,1-12,” in La Septante en Allemagne et en France/Septuaginta Deutsch und Bible d’Alexandrie, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Olivier Munnich, OBO 238 (Fribourg: Universitätsverlag/Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009), 3-28. 70 Anneli Aejmelaeus, “Von Sprache zur Theologie: Methodologische Überlegungen zur Theologie der Septuaginta,” in The Septuagint and Messianism, ed. Michael N. Knibb, BETL 195 (Leuven: Peeters, 2006), 21-48. .by ἐπικληθῆναι is not imitated in the Septuagint שכן The replacement of 71 32

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God is replaced in Exod 24:16 by the motif of descending,72 in Exod 40:35 by the motif of overshadowing. Due to this emphasis of God’s transcendence, any definition of physicality or containment of God is avoided.73 This interpretation is supported by the unifying tent of meeting) or) אהל מועד translation σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου (tent of the testimony) for Tent of the testimony); also in this case the translator made a selection) אהל עדות emphasizing the transcendence of God. In the Septuagint of Deuteronomy, the idea that Hi.)75, is שים) Hi.)74 or “puts” his name there שכן) God let his Name “dwell” in Jerusalem fundamentally replaced by the formulation76 “wherever the Lord [...] may choose for his name to be called there” (ἐπικληθῆναι).77 Ex 29:45-46. served like a role model.78 Within the Book of Numbers, however, a tendency to water down God’s presence on earth is present only in a very reduced way. The translators of the Septuagint by no means changed every phrase contradicting the philosophical axiom of God’s benignity.79 The obstacles of Exod 17:16 (πολεμεῖ κύριος ἐπὶ Ἀμαλὴκ ἀπὸ γενεῶν εἰς γενεάς); Am 3:6 (Εἰ ἐστιν κακία ἐν πόλει, ἣν κύριος οὐκ ἐποίησε); Isa 11:4; 45:7; Jer 13:14 are retained without any alteration. The difference between Exod 15:3MT and Exod 15:3LXX is often emphasized. This difference, however, is not to be understood in a pacifistic sense: God is ending war by his victorious activity including violence (see Jdt 9:7; 16:12).80 God’s warning for judgement does not raise any problems: Ancient exegetes emphasizes that God warns

72 Philo of Alexandria, qu. Exod. II 45 (LCL Philo, Appendix), ed. Ralph Marcus (London: Heinemann, 1959), 89, however, feels the necessity to defend even this notion: There are no movements of place or of change in the Deity. It is the glory of God, which descends, not God himself. 73 Martin Rösel, “Tempel und Tempellosigkeit. Der Umgang mit dem Heiligtum in der Pentateuch- LXX”, in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 447-461 (454). 74 Deut 12:11; 14:23; 16:2.6.11; 26:2. 75 Deut 12:21; Deut 14;24 Cod. B etc. 76 In 2Esdr 6:12; 11:9, the translation is offered that one would expect in Deuteronomy: οὗ κατασκηνοῖ τὸ ὄνομα ἐκεῖ (2Esdr 6:2)/τὸν τόπον ὃν ἐξελεξάμην κατασκηνῶσαι τὸ ὅνομά μου ἐκεῖ (2Esdr 11:9). Hi., encounter sequentially. The verb ἐπονομάσαι, in שכן Hi. and שים ,In Deut 12:5, both elements 77 probably is used in a free way, in order to avoid ,קרא the Septuagint otherwise the equivalent of duplication. 78 Anneli Aejmelaeus, “The Septuagint of Deuteronomy,” in Deuteronomy and its interrelations, ed. Timo Veijola, SESJ 62 (Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia/Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996), 1-22 (13). 79 Plato, rep. II 379a. 80 See Johan Lust, “Septuagint and Messianism, with a Special emphasis on the Pentateuch,” in Theologische Probleme der Septuaginta und der hellenistischen Hermeneutik, ed. Henning Graf Reventlow VWGTh 11 (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 1997), 26-45, 36; Eberhard Bons, “The Lord is the One Who Crushes Wars”. A Fresh Look at the Septuagint Translation of Exod 15:3,” in Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz, ed. Martin Meiser et al., WUNT 405 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018), 158-167. 33

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in order to avoid the realization of the pronouncements.81 In some other cases, however, there are changings, which can be systematized. אולי In Am 5:15, God’s reaction on human repentance is at stake. The Hebrew (“perhaps”) does not exclude any arbitrariness. In Isa 63:5LXX, the notion of God’s appearance in clothes red of blood is avoided; further, God does not save himself but others (Isa 63:3LXX diff. MT). In Isa 6:9-10LXX, the theory of divine hardening is avoided.82 The translator of Ezekiel altered Ezek 21:3,4 [8,9]. According to MT, God will destroy the righteous and the wicked whereas the Septuagint alters: God will destroy the unrighteous and the wicked.

8. Reception History 8.1 Aristobul and Philo of Alexandria Aristobul and Philo of Alexandria are Greek-speaking Jewish authors who were important in several regards. Aristobul transferred both “Questions and answers-Style” and allegorical interpretation on biblical texts, and Philo wrote both literal and allegorical commentaries especially on Genesis but also “Questions and answers-literature” on Genesis and Exodus.83 Alexandrinian philologists on Homer developed the “Questions and answers-literature” in order to solve problems within the Iliad and the Odyssey. Philo imitates this genre and asks “Why did Moses say this or that”. Research on Philo is concentrated on his philosophical ideas but also on the biblical text that he used.84 Sometimes his writings are witnesses for text forms otherwise unknown to us. We have no proof that he was able to read Hebrew.

81 John Chrysostom, In illud Isaiae, Ego Dominus Deus feci lumen etc.6, PG 56,151; Theodoret of Cyrus, in Jon, PG 81:1736cd (both in commenting on Jona 3,10). Jer 18:7-10 was the biblical basis for this notion, see John Chrysostom, hom. in Mt. 64.1, PG 58:609-610. 82 Jerome, in Is., CC.SL 73:91. 83 On Philo of Alexandria see Jutta Leonhardt-Balzer, Jewish Worship in Philo of Alexandria (TSAJ 84 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2001); Jutta Leonhardt-Balzer, “Philo und die Septuaginta,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien und Einflüsse, eds. Martin Karrer, Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Meiser, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 623-637. 84 Gert J. Steyn, “A Comparison of the Septuagint Textual Form in the Torah Quotations Common to Philo of Alexandria and the Gospels of Mark and Matthew,” in XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Helsinki 2010, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 59 (Atlanta: SBL, 2013), 605-623. One of the leading specialists on Philo is David Theunis Runia, see Exegesis and Scripture: Studies on Philo of Alexandria (Aldershot: Variorum, 1990); id., Philo of Alexandria: an Annotated Bibliography 1937-86, VigChrSup 8 (Leiden: Brill, 1988); id., Philo of Alexandria: an Annotated Bibliography 1987-96, VigChrSup 57 (Leiden: Brill, 2000); id., Philo of Alexandria On the Creation of the Cosmos according to Moses: Translation and Commentary, Philo of Alexandria Commentary Series 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2001). 34

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On Josephus, there is a vivid debate which biblical texts he used.85

8.2 New Testament The textual state of New Testament quotations for the textual history of the Old Testament is an issue of debate.86 Many quotations within the New Testament are conform to the textual tradition known to us, but there are also many quotations where the New Testament readings are witnessed only by a part of Old Testament manuscripts. In former times, scholars presupposed that the New Testament text form, introduced by the activity of the New Testament author, was also responsible for distinct readings found in Old Testament manuscripts.87 Nowadays New Testament authors are evaluated not simply as authors but as witnesses on distinct text forms. The main problem is to find criteria convenient to general characteristics of late-antique scribes on the one hand and to distinct manuscripts on the other.88

8.3 Patristic Literature Patristic writings are often rich of arguing quotations and biblical style. In critical use, they allow to reconstruct the usage of distinct text-forms in specified regions. In comparison to former research, their quotations and allusions are evaluated as valuable testimonies but we have to ask for criteria of quotations and non-quotations in order to achieve a proper portrait of the transmission of the biblical text in late antiquity.89 But we should be cautious. In a series of closely argued studies concerning the superscriptions of

85 On Josephus see e.g. Josephus, the Bible, and History, eds. Louis H. Feldman and Gohei Hata (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989); Louis H. Feldman, Josephus’ Interpretation of the Bible (Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 1998). 86 See Dietrich-Alex Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des Evangeliums. Untersuchungen zur Verwendung und zum Verständnis der Schrift bei Paulus, BHTh 69 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1986); Gert Jacobus Steyn, Septuagint Quotations in the Context of the Petrine and Pauline Speeches of the Acta Apostolorum, CBET 12 (Kampen: Kok Pharos, 1995); Florian Wilk, Die Bedeutung des Jesajabuches für Paulus, FRLANT 179 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998); Maarten J.J. Menken, Matthew’s Bible. The Old Testament Text of the Evangelist, BETL 173 (Leuven: Peeters, 2004) etc. 87 See Siegfried Kreuzer, “Zur Relevanz editorischer Prinzipien,” in Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz, ed. Martin Meiser et al., WUNT 405 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018), 130-145. 88 In every case, the semantic of the New Testament writings is shaped by the Septuagint. 89 See Tuukka Kauhanen, “Using Patristic Evidence: A Question of Methodology in the Textual Criticism of the LXX,” in XIV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Helsinki, 2010, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 59 (Atlanta: SBL, 2013), 677-690; Martin Meiser “Quotations of Jewish Scriptures in Greek and Latin Texts,” in The Text of the Hebrew Bible and Its Editions. Studies in Celebration of the Fifth Centennial of the Complutensian Polyglot, eds. Andrés Piquer Otero and Pablo Torijano Morales in Association with Armin Lange and Julio Trebolle, Supplements to the Textual History of the Bible 1 (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2016), 512-548 (518-526). 35

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the Psalms, Pietersma has demonstrated that factors internal to the transmission of the Greek Psalter were responsible for textual accretions within these superscriptions.90

8.4 Late-antique and medieval Judaism The Septuagint in rabbinic and medieval Judaism is the subject of research of Nicholas de Lange91 in Cambridge and Cameron Boyd-Taylor92 in Canada.

9. Recensions: Date, Provenance, and Hermeneutics Already the oldest witnesses concerning the Septuagint discuss whether the translation should be improved or not. In this point, the evidence of manuscript corroborates literary tradition. Already in pre-Christian times, revisers corrected the text of the Twelve Prophets towards a closer nearness to the Hebrew text.93 In the second century C.E., Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus represent similar traditions. Recent scholarship emphasizes that at least Kaige-Theodotion is not a monolithic recension, nor even a group of revisers.94 Origen collected these variant readings in his so-called Hexapla. The critical edition of Frederick Field in 187595 was a milestone in hexaplaric research but meanwhile some additions are made whereas some adscriptions are questionable due to Church

90 Albert Pietersma, “David in the Greek Psalms,” VT 30 (1980): 213-226; id., “Exegesis and Liturgy in the Superscriptions of the Greek Psalter,” in Taylor, ed.), Tenth Congress, 99-138; id., “Septuagintal Exegesis and the Superscriptions of the Greek Psalter,” in The Book of Psalms: Composition & Reception , eds. Peter W. Flint and Patrick D. Miller (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 443-475. 91 Nicholas de Lange, “Jewish Transmission of Greek Bible Versions,” in XIII Congress of the International Oprganization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Ljubljana, 2007, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 55 (Atlanta : SBL, 2008), 109-117; Nicholas de Lange, Julia Krivoruchko and Cameron Boyd-Taylor eds., Jewish Reception of Greek Bible Versions (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2009); Nicholas de Lange, “The Greek Bible Translations of the Byzantine Jews,” in The Old Testament in Byzantium, eds. Robert S. Nelson and Paul Magdalino (Washington: Dumbarton Oaks, 2010), 39-54. 92 Cameron Boyd-Taylor, “The Greek Bible among Jews and Christians in the Midddle Ages: The Evidence of Codex Ambrosianus,” in XIII Congress of the International Oprganization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Ljubljana, 2007, ed. Melvin K.H. Peters, SBLSCS 55 (Atlanta: SBL, 2008), 27-39; Cameron Boyd-Taylor, “Echoes of the Septuagint in Byzantine Judaism,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, ed. Wolfgang Kraus, Martin Karrer and Martin Meiser, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 272-288. 93 See Dominique Barthélemy, Les Devanciers d’Aquila. Première Publication Intégrale du Texte des Fragments du Dodecapropheton trouvés dans le désert de Juda, précédée d’une étude sur les traductions et recensions grecques de la Bible réalisées au premier siècle de notre ère sous l’influence du Rabbinat Palestinien, VTSup 10 (Leiden: Brill, 1963). 94 Peter Gentry, “The Greek Psalter and the καίγε Tradition: Methodological Questions,” in Old Greek Psalter: Studies in Honour of Albert Pietersma, eds. Robert Hiebert, Claude Cox and Peter Gentry (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 74-97, here 85-86. 95 Frederick Field, Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt; sive veterum interpretum graecorum in totum vetus testamentum fragmenta (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1867, 1874; 2 vols; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1964). 36

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Father’s mistakes. Peter Gentry rightly warns that many of the questions raised by the Hexapla have yet to be satisfactorily resolved; there is ongoing debate regarding the number of columns for any particular book, their textual character, arrangement, and layout on the page.96 Concerning the text of 1-4 Reigns, there is a vivid debate on inner-Greek variants in the Books of Kings. The state of Antiochenian Text is questioned: Is it a late strand within the Greek development, caused by the intention to improve the awkward biblical style97 or does it represent the so-called Old Greek later revised towards the Hebrew?98

10. Daughter Versions The Bible texts in Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, are versions not from the Hebrew but from the Greek. Also the so-called ‘Vetus Latina’ is a translation from the Septuagint, not from the Hebrew text. Specialists of Armenian are Claude E. Cox99, Peter Cowe100, and Jouni Harjumäki101, specialists on Georgian are Anna Kharanauli102 and Natja Dundua103, specialist on ‘Vetus Latina’ is Julio Trebolle Barrera,104 specialist on Coptic is

96 Peter Gentry, “Old Greek and Later Revisers,” in Scripture in Transition. Essays on Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, and Dead Sea Scrolls in Honour of Raija Sollamo, ed. Anssi Voitila and Jutta Jokiranta (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 126) (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 301-327 (304-305). The textual character of some of the columns remains altogether uncertain. See also Harry M. Orlinsky, “The Columnar Order of the Hexapla,” JQR n.s. 27 (1936-1937): 137-149. 97 Alfred Rahlfs, Der lukianische Text der Königebücher (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1911). 98 See Kreuzer, “Das frühjüdische Textverständnis“; id., “Älteste Septuaginta und hebraisierende Bearbeitung. Old Greek und Semi-kaige im nicht-kaige-Text von 2Samuel (mit einer Analyse von 2Sam 4,1-5),” in Die Septuaginta – Text, Wirkung, Rezeption, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Siegfried Kreuzer, WUNT 325 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 73-88. 99 Claude E. Cox, The Armenian Translation of Deuteronomy, University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies 2 (Chico: Scholars Press, 1981); id., Armenian Job. Reconstructed Greek Text, Critical Edition of the Armenian with English Translation, Hebrew University Armenian Studies 8 (Leuven: Peeters, 2006). 100 Peter Cowe, The Armenian Translation of Daniel, University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies 9 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1981); id., “La versión armeia,” in 1-2 Samuel, vol. 1 of El Texto Anioqueno de la Biblia Griega, ed. Natalio Fernández Marcos and José Ramón Busto Saíz (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1989), LXXI-LXXIX. 101 Jouni Harjumäki, “The Armenian 1. Samuel,” in XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Munich 2013, eds. Wolfgang Kraus et al., SBLSCS 64 (Atlanta: SBL, 2016), 179-188. 102 Anna Kharanauli, “Battling the Myths: What Language Was the Georgian Amos Translated From?,” in XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Munich 2013, eds. Wolfgang Kraus et al., SBLSCS 64 (Atlanta: SBL, 2016), 241-265. 103 Natia Dundua, “The Textual Value of the Old Georgian Version of Ecclesiastes,” in XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Munich 2013, eds. Wolfgang Kraus et al., SBLSCS 64 (Atlanta: SBL, 2016), 231-239. 104 See Julio Trebolle Barrera, “From the Old Latin Through the Old Greek to the Old Hebrew (2Kgs 10,25-28),” Textus 11 (1984), 17-36; id., “Textual Criticism and the Literary Structure and 37

MARTIN MEISER

Melvin Peters,105 specialist of Gothic is Marcus Sigismund.106 Nowadays, daughter versions are interesting with regard to divergent aspects: 1. How should we describe the interdependency of some of these translations? I give just one example: Former scholars presupposed that the Georgian Old Testament was translated from the Armenian biblical text; Anna Kharanauli and Natia Dundua suggest the Greek text as basis for the Georgian Bible. 2. Which biblical text was at home in these language communities and regions? Though the relatively late coming-into-being of these translations, some scholars discuss whether they did use also pre-Hexaplaric text-forms.107 We have to remind, that in 301 C.E. Armenia became a Christian country, even before the Roman Empire. Armenia, Georgia, and the Coptic Egypt are treasures also concerning the so-called Para-Biblical Literature. 3. How could we describe the translation technique in these versions? Are there differences between the transmission and the translations of Old Testament and New Testament texts? 4. How could we describe the influence of Septuagint Greek on modern European languages and modern European art? To begin with the latter: Job’s resurrection is a theme within art history which exists only due to the Septuagint’s conclusion of the book of Job. There would be a lot of work in the field of the (South-)East European languages.

Composition of 1-2Kings /3-4 Reigns. The Different Sequence of Literay Units in MT and LXX,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 55-78; id., “From Secondary Versions through Greek Recensions to Hebrew Editions. The Contribution of the Old Latin Version,” in The Text of the Hebrew Bible and Its Editions. Studies in Celebration of the Fifth Centennial of the Complutensian Polyglot, eds. Andrés Piquer Otero/Pablo Torijano Morales in Association with Armin Lange and Julio Trebolle, Supplements to the Textual History of the Bible 1 (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2016), 180-236. 105 See Melvin K.H. Peters, A Critical Edition of the Coptic (Bohairic) Pentateuch, Vol. 5, Deuteron- omy, SBLSCS 15 (Chico: Scholars Press, 1983), Vol. I, Genesis, SBLSCS 15 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985), Vol 2, Exodus, SBLSCS 22 (Chico: Scholars Press, 1986); Melvin K.H. Peters, “The Use of Coptic Texts in Septuagint Research,” in Die Septuaginta – Entstehung, Sprache, Geschichte, eds. Siegfried Kreuzer and Martin Meiser and Marcus Sigismund, WUNT 286 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 38-54. 106 Marcus Sigismund, “Anmerkungen zu alttestamentlichen Zitaten in der gotischen neutestament- lichen Bibelüberlieferung,” in Die Septuaginta – Texte, Theologien, Einflüsse, eds. Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Karrer, WUNT 252 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2010), 289-310. 107 See Andrés Piquer Otero, “The Secondary Versions of Kings. Variants and Renderings Between Vorlagen and Ideology,” in Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz, ed. Martin Meiser et al., WUNT 405 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018), 244-255 (247-249). 38

PRESENT PERSPECTIVES OF SEPTUAGINT RESEARCH

Kontakt na autora: apl. Prof. Dr. Martin Meiser Fachrichtung Evangelische Theologie Universität des Saarlandes Campus A 4 2 66123 Saarbrücken Nemecko Email: [email protected]

Peer reviewed by: [Published online November 6, 2018] prof. Mgr. František Ábel, PhD. Mgr. Jiří Lukeš, Th.D.