Die Septuaginta

"2. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 23.-27.7.2008."

The question of the extent to which the Septuagint reflects an evolution in messianic belief in comparison with the Masoretic Text has come into prominence in recent years, and in view of the role played by messianism in Jewish belief of the late Second Temple period and in early Christianity it seemed very appropriate that "The Septuagint and Messianism" should be chosen as the theme of the 2004 Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense. This volume contains the papers given at the Colloquium, which are concerned both with methodological issues and with the interpretation of specific texts (in practice the majority of the texts in the Septuagint for which a messianic interpretation has been claimed). The papers are very far from all reflecting the same approach, and it has frequently happened that the same texts have been treated by different contributors from very different viewpoints. But the fact such different viewpoints are expressed is a proper reflection of the complexity of the issues involved in the question of the extent of messianic belief in the Septuagint, and of the fact that the question requires a nuanced answer. It is in any case hoped that the varied approaches reflected in the papers will serve to make clear the underlying reasons for the differences between those who take a "minimalist" and those who take a "maximalist" view on the subject of the Septuagint and Messianism.

Die vielfältigen Aspekte der Sprache der Septugainta The language of the Septuagint is a complex field of research at the crossroads of Classics and Biblical studies. It is also a field in motion with a steady supply of new data - papyri, inscriptions - and a constant renewal of approaches. It may appear daunting to non-specialists, yet linguistic analysis is vital for textual interpretation of the Greek Bible. In the present volume 36 experts introduce various aspects of linguistic research on the Septuagint in a way that it is at once accessible and representative of the state of the art. Die Sprache der Septuaginta ist ein komplexes Forschungsgebiet am Schnittpunkt von Klassischer Philologie und Bibelwissenschaft. Bedingt durch das stetig wachsende Material - vor allem Papyri und Inschriften - und die Einführung neuer Methoden hat sich dieses Forschungsgebiet in den letzten Jahren ständig weiterentwickelt. Wenn es auch auf den ersten Blick selbstverständlich erscheinen mag: Die sprachliche Analyse ist für die Interpretation des Textes der griechischen Bibel unerlässlich. Die insgesamt 36 Beiträge führen ein in unterschiedliche Aspekte der sprachlichen Erforschung der Septuaginta. Dabei fassen sie den aktuellen Stand der Forschung zusammen und sind auch für Nicht-Fachleute verständlich.

The Septuagint is the term commonly used to refer to the corpus of early Greek versions of Hebrew Scriptures. The collection is of immense importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The renderings of individual books attest to the religious interests of the substantial Jewish population of Egypt during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and to the development of the Greek language in its Koine phase. The narrative ascribing the Septuagint's origins to the work of seventy translators in Alexandria attained legendary status among both Jews and Christians. The Septuagint was the version of Scripture most familiar to the writers of the New Testament, and became the authoritative Old Testament of the Greek and Latin Churches. In the early centuries of Christianity it was itself translated into several other languages, and it has had a continuing influence on the style and content of biblical translations. The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint features contributions from leading experts in the field considering the history and manuscript transmission of the version, and the study of translation technique and textual criticism. The collection provides surveys of previous and current research on individual books of the Septuagint corpus, on alternative Jewish Greek versions, the Christian 'daughter' translations, and reception in early Jewish and Christian writers. The Handbook also includes several conversations with related fields of interest such as New Testament studies, liturgy, and art history.

Ein Überblick über die zentralen Felder der Septuaginta-Forschung Die Septuaginta enthält sehr unterschiedliche Textformen und -gattungen, innerhalb derer viele Aspekte in unterschiedlicher Art und Weise dargestellt sind, und die zu verschiedenen Zeiten an unterschiedlichen Orten entstanden sind. »Die« Theologie »der« Septuaginta gibt es deshalb nicht. Der vorliegende Band ist der Versuch, die theologischen Hauptthemen des Alten Testaments zu identifizieren und auf die spezifischen Eigenheiten in der LXX hin zu beleuchten. So wird herausgearbeitet, wie die Themenfelder »Gott«, »Das Gesetz Gottes«, »Kult«, »Prophetie«, »Der Mensch«, »Weisheit«, »Volk und Bund« sowie »Verheißung« in den verschiedenen Teilen des Alten Testaments, Pentateuch, Propheten, Weisheitsliteratur, Geschichtsbücher und Psalmen von den Autoren der LXX verstanden und entsprechend übersetzt wurden. Deutung durch Übersetzung

Essential reading for scholars and students This volume presents English and German papers that give an overview on important stages, developments, and problems of the Septuagint and the research related to it. Four sections deal with the cultural and theological background and beginnings of the Septuagint, the Old Greek and recensions of the text, the Septuagint and New Testament quotations, and a discussion of Papyrus 967 and Codex Vaticanus. Features: A complete list of Kreuzer’s publications on the text and textual history of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint Criteria for analysis of the Antiochene/Lucianic Text and the Kaige-Recension A close examination of the origins and development of the Septuagint in the context of Alexandrian and early Jewish culture and learning

This volume presents original research on the historical context, narrative and wisdom books, anthropology, theology, language, and reception of the Septuagint, as well as comparisons of the Greek translations with other ancient versions and texts.

The essays of this revised and expanded collection were written by Prof. Anneli Aejmelaeus over a period of 25 years. The thread that runs through all these essays and holds the collection together is translation technique, which is characterized as a central aspect of methodology rather than an object of study. Only by tracing the trail of the Septuagint translators is it possible to gain a reliable picture of the different translators and of the Hebrew Vorlage their work was based on. The themes dealt with in the individual essays range from the study of syntactical features of the Greek language used in the Septuagint to the quest for the correct understanding of the underlying Hebrew, from the overall description of the translation character of certain biblical books to the application of translation technical data in textual criticism of the Hebrew text, and from methodological questions to the discussion of theological interpretation by the translators, reflecting the ongoing discussion in the international field of Septuagint studies and representing a significant and distinctive critical position in it.

A reexamination of the Pentateuch in light of the complex social, religious, and political conflicts of the Persian period During the last several decades, scholars in pentateuchal studies have suggested new compositional models to replace the Documentary Hypothesis, yet no consensus has emerged. The ten essays in this collection advance the discussion by shifting the focus of pentateuchal studies from the literary stratification of different layers of the texts to the social, economic, religious, and political agendas behind them. Rather than limiting the focus of their studies to scribal and community groups within Persian Yehud, contributors look beyond Yehud to other Judahite communities in the diaspora, including Elephantine and the Samaritan community, establishing a proper academic context for setting the diverse voices of the Pentateuch as we now understand them. Contributors include Olivier Artus, Thomas B. Dozeman, Innocent Himbaza, Jürg Hutzli, Jaeyoung Jeon, Itamar Kislev, Ndikho Mtshiselwa, Dany Noquet, Katharina Pyschny, Thomas Römer, and Konrad Schmid.

A new association for the study of the Septuagint was formed in South Africa recently. The present collection is a compilation of papers delivered at the first conference of this association, as well as other contributions. The volume addresses issues touching on the Septuagint in the broad sense of the word. This includes the Old Greek text (Daniel, Proverbs, Psalms and Lamentations) as well as the reception of the LXX (NT, Augustine and Jerome, etc.). A few contributions that may be regarded as miscellanea are nevertheless related to matters Septuagintal (Aristeas, Peshitta, Eunochos).