Psalms 38 and 145 of the Septuagint Version (Old Greek): an Inception Oriented Exegetical Study
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PSALMS 38 AND 145 OF THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION (OLD GREEK): AN INCEPTION ORIENTED EXEGETICAL STUDY by Randall Xerxes Gauthier Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biblical Languages at the University of Stellenbosch Promoter: Johann Cook Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Department of Ancient Studies December 2010 ii Declaration I, the undersigned, R X Gauthier, hereby declare that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it at any university for a degree. Signature: Date: Copyright © 2010 University of Stellenbosch All rights reserved iii Abstract The present dissertation is a commentary on Psalms 38 and 145 in the Septuagint (LXX) version, or more accurately, the Old Greek (OG) version. Specifically, this dissertation attempts to understand the semantic meaning of these psalms at the point of their inception, or composition, i.e. as translated literary units derivative of a presumed Semitic Vorlage. Stated differently, this dissertation sets out to understand how these psalms were interpreted in translation by the translator(s). With the task of interpretation comes the assumption that the “original” or “oldest” verifiable text can be first established since neither the OG nor its Vorlage are known to be extant. To this end it is necessary to begin with the best critical editions available while also attempting to reconstruct a viable representative of the OG and Vorlage in the light of standard text-critical criteria and translation technique. Although the Old Greek text is the object of study, the transmission history and related history of interpretation for both the Greek and Hebrew are selectively examined insofar as they are necessary as comparisons for the LXX at the point of its inception, and the Vorlage from which it was derived. This work assumes – in accordance with the way translation may be understood generally – that the translator(s) of the Psalms were attempting to communicate his/her Vorlage to a new audience. In this respect translation may be viewed as communication that crosses a language boundary. As such, both lexical replication and idiomatic representation fall within the scope of interpretation. Both phenomena occur in Ps 38 and 145 in varying degrees and both phenomena comprise aspects of the translator’s cross-lingual communication. Chapter 1 establishes preliminary concepts regarding translation in terms of isomorphic and isosemantic representation, textual criticism of the Psalter, and select MSS and witnesses used throughout the study. Chapter 2 surveys key modern translations of the Septuagint as well as certain trends in Translation and Communication Studies for methodological and hermeneutical approaches. Chapter 3 derives working methodological principles based upon the discussions in chapters 1 and 2. Chapters 4 and 5 are detailed, word-by-word, clause-by-clause, commentaries on Psalms 38 and 145 respectively. Chapter 6 offers a summary and conclusions. iv Opsomming Hierdie verhandeling is ‘n kommentaar op Psalm 38 en 145 in die Septuagint (LXX), of meer bepaald, die Oud Griekse (OG) weergawe. Die navorsing poog in besonder om die semantiese betekenis van hierdie psalms ten tyde van hul ontstaan of samestelling te verstaan, dit wil sê as vertaalde literêre eenhede wat vermoedelik op ʼn Semitiese Vorlage gebaseer is. Anders gestel: Hierdie verhandeling is daarop uit om te begryp hoe die vertaler(s) van hierdie psalms die tekste vertolk het. Die taak van vertolking behels die veronderstelling dat die ‘oorspronklike’ of ‘oudste’ verifieerbare teks eers bepaal kan word. Sover bekend het nóg die OG weergawe nóg sy Vorlage egter behoue gebly. Daarom is dit nodig om met die beste beskikbare kritiese uitgawes te begin, en terselfdertyd ʼn lewensvatbare weergawe van die OG teks en Vorlage te probeer rekonstrueer aan die hand van standaard- tekskritiese maatstawwe en -vertaaltegnieke. Hoewel dit hoofsaaklik die OG teks is wat bestudeer word, word die oorlewerings- en verwante geskiedenis van vertolking vir sowel die Grieks en Hebreeus ook selektief ondersoek in soverre dit vergelyk kan word met die ontstaansvorm van die LXX sowel as die Vorlage waarop dit gebaseer is. In pas met die waarskynlike algemene opvatting oor vertaling, gaan hierdie navorsing van die veronderstelling uit dat die vertaler(s) van die psalms sy/haar/hul Vorlage aan ʼn nuwe gehoor wou probeer oordra. In dié opsig kan vertaling as kommunikasie oor taalgrense heen beskou word. As sodanig val sowel leksikale duplisering as idiomatiese verteenwoordiging binne die bestek van vertolking. Albei verskynsels kom in wisselende mate in Psalm 38 en 145 voor en albei behels aspekte van die vertaler se intertaalkommunikasie. Hoofstuk 1 lê voorlopige konsepte met betrekking tot vertaling vas wat betref isomorfiese en isosemantiese verteenwoordiging, tekstekritiek op die Psalter, en uitgesoekte manuskripte (MSS) en getuienisse wat deur die hele studie gebruik word. Hoofstuk 2 ondersoek kern- moderne vertalings van die Septuagint sowel as bepaalde tendense in Vertaling en Kommunikasiestudie vir metodologiese en hermeneutiese benaderings. Op grond van die besprekings in die eerste twee hoofstukke, lê hoofstuk 3 metodologiese werksbeginsels neer. v Hoofstuk 4 en 5 bevat uitvoerige, woord-vir-woord-, sinsdeel-vir-sinsdeel-kommentaar op Psalm 38 en 145 onderskeidelik. Hoofstuk 6 sluit af met ʼn samevatting en gevolgtrekkings. vi Acknowledgements As with any lengthy project whose progress cannot be accurately gauged on a daily basis, the present work is the culmination of years of intensive work, however obscured by clouded vision and uncertainty along the way. Those who were most instrumental in my earliest days of undergraduate study have continued to motivate me to this day. Thanks go to Ronald Sauer for instilling in me a love for the Greek language and encouraging me to dig deeper. To Jon Laansma, I give thanks for taking me to the next step. His academic rigor and incisive mind always remind me of how far I have yet to go. He helped me think through countless issues during my undergraduate and graduate work, and provided numerous helpful responses to technical Greek questions involved with my doctoral project. Through it all, my love for the Psalms has only increased over the years, having been first stoked in the fires of my first Hebrew exegesis classes under Andrew J. Schmutzer so many years ago. To him I owe perhaps my greatest and sustained gratitude for nursing me along from my earliest steps right up to the present. In him I have found not only an exemplary scholar, but have gained a life-long friend and mentor. Indeed, without Andrew I would have never made it to the doctoral level. Special thanks go to Gideon Kotzé, who not only read and commented on earlier drafts of my dissertation, but regularly brought serious textual issues to light. As iron sharpens iron I owe him thanks for his careful reading of my work, his expertise in textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible, as well as his assistance to me in translating German! My research is the better for him. I also give special thanks to my external examiners, Robert J. V. Hiebert and Harry F. van Rooy, and my internal examiner, Johan C. Thom, for bringing numerous errors to the light and for providing substantial feedback. Notwithstanding, all of the views expressed are my own as well as any errors that linger. Without a doubt my doctoral promoter, Johann Cook, deserves my heart-felt thanks for reasons too many to count. His scholarly output, interest, specialization, and promotion of the Septuagint attracted me to Stellenbosch in the first place. During my vii brief stint in Stellenbosch from September 2007 to April 2010, I have learned that Johann is always positive, warm, jovial, witty, open-minded, networking, planning, writing, teaching, and working. His well-deserved and hard-earned reputation as a continental scholar is the result of his tireless work ethic in his research pursuits and in the tasks he performs in conjunction with the many hats he wears in South Africa. Thanks go to Johann, Marie, and Herman-Peter for the personal invitations to their home, the warm hospitality extended to me and my family, and for many wonderful braai experiences. Through it all I continually made use of Prof. Cook’s open office door and even had the privilege of taking intensive courses from him in biblical and extra-biblical Aramaic, Syriac, and Coptic. I was also able to participate in academic conferences in South Africa and Namibia, at the expense of his own research fund. Thanks go to the SANRF for making research funds possible and to Prof. Cook for channeling a generous portion of these funds to me through a research assistantship. Thanks go to the University of Stellenbosch for the generous merit bursary that I benefitted from for two years. Without this financial support the present research would not have been possible. I thank the staff of the Gericke library and especially the interlibrary loan office, which I put to a great deal of work. Finally, I wish to thank my family for prayerful and financial support for so many years, and most recently, to my parents for their gracious help in the transition of our repatriation. I give thanks to my wife, Heather, most of all, for the daily support and strength to move forward. We moved from Texas to Chicago and on to South Africa where our son was born. Without Heather’s willing and adventurous spirit I would have gone