Marieke Dhont | University of Cambridge (original) (raw)
Articles by Marieke Dhont
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 2022
Eupolemus, a Jewish historian generally dated to the second century BCE, is often dismissed as a ... more Eupolemus, a Jewish historian generally dated to the second century BCE, is often dismissed as a poor Greek writer. This lack of competency is linked to the assumptions that, as a Jew, he had limited Greek-language education and that he lived in Palestine, where Greek supposedly would have been marginal. The example of Eupolemus is illustrative of two issues in the study of Hellenistic Judaism. First, it calls into question the methods used for determining standard language and the measures by which we assess the style and ability of an ancient writer. Second, it calls for an assessment of the language situation in Palestine in the Hellenistic period. Advances in the study of the history of Greek have enabled a renewed appreciation of post-classical Greek, while twentieth century discoveries have allowed for a better understanding of the extent to which Greek was used in this region. In addition, the study of multilingualism in antiquity has progressed significantly, so that we are able to obtain a more nuanced understanding of Palestine as a multilingual environment where Jews, too, would use Greek alongside Hebrew and/or Aramaic in varying registers and for different purposes. In this article, I describe Eupolemus’s style against the background of post-classical Greek and reassess the link between linguistic proficiency, identity, and provenance.
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2020
The style of the Jewish-Greek historiographers Eupolemus and Demetrius has often been evaluated a... more The style of the Jewish-Greek historiographers Eupolemus and Demetrius has often been evaluated as "bad Greek." This is generally seen as evidence of their lack of education. The negative views on the language of Demetrius and Eupolemus are illustrative of a broader issue in the study of Hellenistic Judaism: language usage has been a key element in the discussion on the societal position of Jews in the Hellenistic world. In this article, I assess the style of the historiographers in the context of post-classical Greek, and conclude that their language reflects standard Hellenistic Greek. The linguistic analysis then becomes a starting point to reflect on the level of integration of Jews in the Greek-speaking world as well as to consider the nature of Jewish multilingualism in the late Second Temple period.
Vetus Testamentum, 2019
No two translations within the Septuagint corpus are the same: some texts have been translated "l... more No two translations within the Septuagint corpus are the same: some texts have been translated "literally," others "freely," some are written in "good," others in "Hebraizing" Greek. Scholars studying the translation technique of the Septuagint have generally been focusing on individual books, or on groups of books that appear to be closely related, such as the Pentateuch or the Minor Prophets. The diverse character of the books in the Septuagint has made it difficult to see these translations as part of a literary corpus in which texts all relate to one another. However, these books all belong
broadly to the same context, namely that of Greek-speaking Jews in the Hellenistic era. I propose a new approach to understand how we can understand the diversity regarding style and translation technique in the Septuagint corpus, by looking at the way in which Jews developed their own literary traditions in Greek.
In: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Geschichte – Wirkung – Relevanz. 6. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 21.–24. Juli 2016 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck (forthcoming).
Published in: Ezra (2016) 44-53
Published in: in: W. Kraus, M. Meiser & M. van der Meer (eds.), XV Congress of the International ... more Published in: in: W. Kraus, M. Meiser & M. van der Meer (eds.), XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Munich 2013 (Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies), Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 2016, 357-374
Published in: in: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Orte und Intentionen. 5. Internatio... more Published in: in: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Orte und Intentionen. 5. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 24.–27. Juli 2014 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 361), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016, 475-490
Published in: R. Burnet, H. Derroitte & É. Gazieux (eds), La transition, un concept théologique? ... more Published in: R. Burnet, H. Derroitte & É. Gazieux (eds), La transition, un concept théologique? (Études de théologie et d'éthique), Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2016
Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies 47, 2014
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 126 (pp. 111-116), 2014
This note takes a new look at the LXX rendering of Job 20,25, and proposes to explain the transla... more This note takes a new look at the LXX rendering of Job 20,25, and proposes to explain the translational divergence on the basis of the translation technique of LXX Job.
Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint (ed. E. Bons & J. Joosten)
Associatie KULeuven. ...
Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint (ed. E. Bons & J. Joosten)
Indian Theological Studies 50 (pp. 133-152), 2013
Ezra 18 (pp. 44-57), 2013
Ancient Worlds in Film and Television. Gender and Politics (Metaforms, 1), 2012
Associatie KULeuven. ...
Byzantion 81 (pp. 203-211), 2011
This article focuses on an anonymous ascetic text which is unpublished until now, and offers the ... more This article focuses on an anonymous ascetic text which is unpublished until now, and offers the critical edition of this short work containing a series of recommendations to Athonite monks, alphabetically organized and ending with the letter gamma; the text is preserved in two manuscripts: Athous, Dionysiou 269, of the XVth c., and Athous, Lavra K 116, of the XVIth c.
Boekman Cahier 84 (pp. 57-65), 2010
Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 2022
Eupolemus, a Jewish historian generally dated to the second century BCE, is often dismissed as a ... more Eupolemus, a Jewish historian generally dated to the second century BCE, is often dismissed as a poor Greek writer. This lack of competency is linked to the assumptions that, as a Jew, he had limited Greek-language education and that he lived in Palestine, where Greek supposedly would have been marginal. The example of Eupolemus is illustrative of two issues in the study of Hellenistic Judaism. First, it calls into question the methods used for determining standard language and the measures by which we assess the style and ability of an ancient writer. Second, it calls for an assessment of the language situation in Palestine in the Hellenistic period. Advances in the study of the history of Greek have enabled a renewed appreciation of post-classical Greek, while twentieth century discoveries have allowed for a better understanding of the extent to which Greek was used in this region. In addition, the study of multilingualism in antiquity has progressed significantly, so that we are able to obtain a more nuanced understanding of Palestine as a multilingual environment where Jews, too, would use Greek alongside Hebrew and/or Aramaic in varying registers and for different purposes. In this article, I describe Eupolemus’s style against the background of post-classical Greek and reassess the link between linguistic proficiency, identity, and provenance.
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2020
The style of the Jewish-Greek historiographers Eupolemus and Demetrius has often been evaluated a... more The style of the Jewish-Greek historiographers Eupolemus and Demetrius has often been evaluated as "bad Greek." This is generally seen as evidence of their lack of education. The negative views on the language of Demetrius and Eupolemus are illustrative of a broader issue in the study of Hellenistic Judaism: language usage has been a key element in the discussion on the societal position of Jews in the Hellenistic world. In this article, I assess the style of the historiographers in the context of post-classical Greek, and conclude that their language reflects standard Hellenistic Greek. The linguistic analysis then becomes a starting point to reflect on the level of integration of Jews in the Greek-speaking world as well as to consider the nature of Jewish multilingualism in the late Second Temple period.
Vetus Testamentum, 2019
No two translations within the Septuagint corpus are the same: some texts have been translated "l... more No two translations within the Septuagint corpus are the same: some texts have been translated "literally," others "freely," some are written in "good," others in "Hebraizing" Greek. Scholars studying the translation technique of the Septuagint have generally been focusing on individual books, or on groups of books that appear to be closely related, such as the Pentateuch or the Minor Prophets. The diverse character of the books in the Septuagint has made it difficult to see these translations as part of a literary corpus in which texts all relate to one another. However, these books all belong
broadly to the same context, namely that of Greek-speaking Jews in the Hellenistic era. I propose a new approach to understand how we can understand the diversity regarding style and translation technique in the Septuagint corpus, by looking at the way in which Jews developed their own literary traditions in Greek.
In: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Geschichte – Wirkung – Relevanz. 6. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 21.–24. Juli 2016 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck (forthcoming).
Published in: Ezra (2016) 44-53
Published in: in: W. Kraus, M. Meiser & M. van der Meer (eds.), XV Congress of the International ... more Published in: in: W. Kraus, M. Meiser & M. van der Meer (eds.), XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Munich 2013 (Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies), Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 2016, 357-374
Published in: in: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Orte und Intentionen. 5. Internatio... more Published in: in: S. Kreuzer et alii (eds.), Die Septuaginta: Orte und Intentionen. 5. Internationale Fachtagung veranstaltet von Septuaginta Deutsch (LXX.D), Wuppertal 24.–27. Juli 2014 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 361), Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2016, 475-490
Published in: R. Burnet, H. Derroitte & É. Gazieux (eds), La transition, un concept théologique? ... more Published in: R. Burnet, H. Derroitte & É. Gazieux (eds), La transition, un concept théologique? (Études de théologie et d'éthique), Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2016
Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies 47, 2014
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 126 (pp. 111-116), 2014
This note takes a new look at the LXX rendering of Job 20,25, and proposes to explain the transla... more This note takes a new look at the LXX rendering of Job 20,25, and proposes to explain the translational divergence on the basis of the translation technique of LXX Job.
Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint (ed. E. Bons & J. Joosten)
Associatie KULeuven. ...
Historical and Theological Lexicon of the Septuagint (ed. E. Bons & J. Joosten)
Indian Theological Studies 50 (pp. 133-152), 2013
Ezra 18 (pp. 44-57), 2013
Ancient Worlds in Film and Television. Gender and Politics (Metaforms, 1), 2012
Associatie KULeuven. ...
Byzantion 81 (pp. 203-211), 2011
This article focuses on an anonymous ascetic text which is unpublished until now, and offers the ... more This article focuses on an anonymous ascetic text which is unpublished until now, and offers the critical edition of this short work containing a series of recommendations to Athonite monks, alphabetically organized and ending with the letter gamma; the text is preserved in two manuscripts: Athous, Dionysiou 269, of the XVth c., and Athous, Lavra K 116, of the XVIth c.
Boekman Cahier 84 (pp. 57-65), 2010
The discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the middle of the 20th century, and of the Cairo Geni... more The discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the middle of the 20th century, and of the Cairo Genizah, at the end of the 19th century, have shed new light on the question of divergent textual forms, not only for the texts that constitute the Hebrew Bible, but also for cognate ancient Jewish literature. While 19th century scholars addressed the problem of divergences between textual witnesses through the concept of an alleged Urtext, this response is no longer satisfactory. New paradigms are needed to accommodate textual plurality and textual development. While such a problem has been mainly dedicated to the study of the history of the biblical text, the present conference aims to focus on the so-called non-biblical texts from the Dead Sea Scrolls and their development in antiquity (or on texts in the margin of the biblical canon). We are perfectly conscious that the distinction between biblical and non biblical texts is ar-tifi cial in the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and that the conference will focus precisely on texts on the border of what will become the biblical canon (as Jubilees, the Temple Scroll, or the Reworked Pentateuch, etc.). The aim of this project is to rethink the textual plurality and to theorize the phenomenon and its theological, legal , political, social and cultural implications. Papers of this conference will address the following issues: (1) divergent textual witnesses from the same linguistic tradition ; (2) when divergences implicate to stop considering texts as a " copy " of another text and start to be a " new " composition; (3) the phenomenon of translation and cultural transfers it entails; (4) semantic and conceptual transformation through transition from one language to another, from one socio-cultural identity to another; (5) implications of textual variants between the diff erent witnesses , but also with comparison to rabbinical and pa-tristic traditions; (6) in-depth study of scribal practices, at codicological level: paratextual elements, corrections, marginal notes as witnesses of a hermeneutical process through text transmission. Obviously, the transmission of the text is intertwined with its transformation, under the impact of scribes, translators, and commentators.
Textual Plurality beyond the Biblical Texts. Université de Lorraine (Metz, October 17–19, 2017)
Being Jewish, Writing Greek. University of Cambridge (Cambridge, September 6–8, 2017).
Bread and Soup Lecture Series, St. John's College, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, 8 March 2017)
Septuaginta Deutsch, Sixth International Conference on the Septuagint, Wuppertal, 21-24 July 2016
Presented at the 2016 British Association for Jewish Studies Conference (University of Birmingham... more Presented at the 2016 British Association for Jewish Studies Conference (University of Birmingham), "The Texture of Jewish Tradition: Investigations in Textuality"
LXX Job is undebatedly considered as a ‘free’ translation. However, the different aspects of this... more LXX Job is undebatedly considered as a ‘free’ translation. However, the different aspects of this ‘freedom’ have not yet been studied thoroughly. Moreover, if we agree with i.a. Konkel (2011:140), LXX Job is a literary creation in its own right, of which literary aspects can henceforth be studied in se. Nevertheless, these aspects have not been studied systematically either. In this regard should additionally be noted that since the LXX remains a translation after all, these features cannot be discussed disregarding the Hebrew text completely, as has sporadically been done in the past (e.g. Gerleman 1946; Gammie 1987:13-31). I argue that in some cases, certain qualitative translational differences can be explained on the basis of the use of stylistic features in Greek. The aim of this paper is to investigate a striking literary device of both the Hebrew and the Greek version of Job, namely chiasm, in order to demonstrate that the different ways in which the LXX translator of Job handles chiasm constitute a relevant aspect of his ‘freedom’. This fact can be helpful in the characterization of the book’s translation technique, but yet, it simultaneously illustrates that the Greek text can be considered to have a poetic style of its own.
The word δίαιτα occurs frequently in classical Greek literature, as well as its related verb διαι... more The word δίαιτα occurs frequently in classical Greek literature, as well as its related verb διαιτάω. The noun covers a variety of meanings. According to the LSJ, δίαιτα means “way of living, mode of life, dwelling, abode, prescribed manner of life, state, condition, arbitration, the office of arbiter, discussion, investigation”. However, it is noteworthy that within the LXX, diaita occurs only thirteen times, of which twelve occurrences are found in the book of Job and one in the book of Judith. The verb διαιτάω occurs only twice, once in 4Macc and once in Job. The question thus arises how and why this word is used in the LXX, especially in the book of Job. The aim of this paper is to investigate this question, thereby touching upon the questions how δίαιτα relates to the Hebrew text and what specific connotation it could carry.
Revue de Qumran Textual Plurality beyond the Biblical Texts Volume 30, issue 2 numéro 112, 2018
In Style and Context of Old Greek Job, Marieke Dhont offers a new understanding of the linguistic... more In Style and Context of Old Greek Job, Marieke Dhont offers a new understanding of the linguistic and stylistic diversity in the Septuagint corpus. To this end, the author innovatively uses Polysystem Theory, which has been developed in the field of modern literary studies.
After discussing the appropriateness of a systemic approach to understanding Jewish-Greek literature, the author reflects on the Jewishness of Greek-language texts. Dhont then presents a thorough literary analysis of the Old Greek version of the book of Job. On this basis, she explains the dynamics that produced the translation of Old Greek Job and its position within the development of a Jewish-Greek literary tradition.
James Aitken (Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge) and Marieke Dhont (Center for Helleni... more James Aitken (Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge) and Marieke Dhont (Center for Hellenic Studies, Harvard) are pleased to announce the 2021 International Septuagint Series, the successor to last year’s Cambridge Septuagint Series. Starting April 28th, we will meet online every Wednesday at 4pm BST for 6 weeks to read through LXX Proverbs 1–9. These meetings are informal and meant as an opportunity to get together and expand our familiarity with LXX Proverbs. No preparation required. Please email Marieke Dhont (md790@cam.ac.uk) for more information and to register.