The Word Δίαιτα in the LXX (original) (raw)

The Exegetical Function of the Additions to Old Greek Job (42,17a-e)

2019

In the Masoretic Text (MT), the book of Job ends with a clear-cut — one might even say natural — closure: Job’s death 1. Notwithstanding this sharp ending, the Old Greek (OG) version adds two short notes: Job 42,17a foretells Job’s future resurrection, while v. 17b-e provides details on Job’s genealogic and geographic provenance 2. Both additions are introduced by references to written sources. The aim of this article is to show that the placement of the additions after the end of the narrative and their introduction by references to other texts give evidence of their particular function in the late phase of canonization 3. Secondly, I want to demonstrate that the additions aim to resolve ambiguities in the book they conclude. And thirdly, I will try to outline the method of authoritative interpretation that is observable in the two OG additions. As we will see, these three aspects — the position at the borderline between the canonical text and its reception; the tendency towards di...

"The Text of Old Greek Job: a History of its Transmission"

Traces the textual developments of OG Job from the time of its translation, through the Hexaplaric and Lucianic recensions; asserts that all the major developments were in place by the 5th century. Concludes with Ziegler's edition (1982). Updated Mar. 3, 2015. This paper has not appeared in print (11.10.2023).

Theology and Translation Technique in the Old Greek Version of Job 28

Towards a Theology of the Septuagint, ed Johann Cook and Martin Rősel (Atlanta GA: SBL Press), 2020

Working within the broad consensus that Septuagint Job is a relatively free translation of a Hebrew Vo r l a g e similar to MT, I conduct a reading of the unasterisked text of LXX Job 28, which is taken reliably to reflect OG Job. The study proceeds as a comparison of the Hebrew and the Old Greek, minimizing the theological import of those changes that are more easily explained as misreadings, driven by literary considerations, or examples of translation technique. I approach OG Job 28 not as a discrete wisdom poem but as the second part of Job’s speech that begins in Job 27:1. The focus is on the one major plus in LXX Job 28:4, with the minuses largely attributed to an abbreviating tendency evident in the translator’s rendering of the majority of the speeches in the book and driven by stylistic more than theological concerns. The change from third- to first-person pronominal suffix (“my eye”) in 28:10 alters the theology of the passage but is nevertheless not indicative of theological tendenz, since it is more likely a misreading of the Vorlage. I suggest that, for OG Job, emulation is a more helpful model than interlinear translation for interpreting the changes made by the translator. Emulation allows for an integrated reading that respects the text of OG Job as an adaptation of Hebrew Job, an adaptation that is both a translation and a work of literature in its own right.

How the Translator of Old Greek Job Understood Job's Suffering

This paper analyzes the translator's treatment of Iob's suffering under the headings: 1. G's enhancement of the general and religious portrait of Iob; 2. The Lord's ways in the world, in a larger sense; 3. G's portrayal of the friends' role, antagonists; 4. G's presentation of Iob's suffering and of his response to it; 5. The Lord's concern for Iob in his suffering. It is now in print: “How the translator of Old Greek Job understood Job’s suffering,” in XVII Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studes. Aberdeen, 2019. Edited by Gideon R, Kotzé, Michaël N. van der Meer, and Martin Rösel. SBLSCS 76. Atlanta; SBL Press, 2022. Pp. 636-63.