Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva. Invitation to the Septuagint. Grand Rapids:
Baker, 2000. Pp. 352. US $29.99. ISBN: 0-8010-2235-5, 1-84227-061-3.
Synopsis
1.Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva have co-authored a book which is intended
to serve as an introduction to the field of Septuagint studies. Jobes states
in her preface:
This book is intended to be a relatively brief and inviting
introduction for the student who has no prior knowledge of the
Septuagint. It aims to introduce both the history and current
state of scholarly discussion by presenting the terminology,
foundational concepts, and major issues in Septuagint studies.
Nevertheless, those interested in pursuing the technical use of
the Septuagint in textual criticism and biblical studies will also
find resources here to further their understanding. If successful,
this book will serve as a bridge to the more sophisticated
literature produced by scholars working in the field [9-10].
2. Jobes' purpose statement, quoted above, is ambitious. In one and the same
book the authors intend to provide an introduction for those with no prior
knowledge of the LXX, plus some reading material on textual criticism of LXX
and MT, as well as a bridge to the scholarly literature on the LXX. The book
does appear to fulfill all three objectives.
3. To follow this discussion one must first see the general plan of the
book. It is broken into three parts. Part 1 is intended for readers of all
levels. Part 2 contains some challenging material. Part 3 has a mixture of
light and heavy subject matter. The back matter contains the normal indexes
plus a short glossary. The remainder of this review will highlight some
noteworthy chapters and topics.
Table of Contents
Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Map of the Hellenistic Period
Timeline of the Hellenistic Period
Introduction: Why Study the Septuagint?
Part 1: The History of the Septuagint
1. The Origin of the Septuagint and Other Greek Versions
2. The Transmission of the Septuagint
3. The Septuagint in Modern Times
4. The Septuagint as a Translation
Part 2: The Septuagint in Biblical Studies
5. The Language of the Septuagint
6. Establishing the Text of the Septuagint
7. Using the Septuagint for the Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible
8. The Judean Desert Discoveries and Septuagint Studies
9. Septuagint and New Testament
10. Interpreting the Septuagint
Part 3: The Current State of Septuagint Studies
11. Our Predecessors: Septuagint Scholars of a Previous Generation
12. Current Studies in Linguistic Research
13. Reconstructing the History of the Text
14. Theological Development in the Hellenistic Age
Appendixes
A. Major Organizations and Research Projects
B. Reference Works
C. Glossary
D. Differences in Versification between English Versions and the Septuagint
Indexes
Subject
Author
Scripture
LXX and Textual Criticism
4. Reading through the entire book one cannot avoid noticing the topical
prominence of textual criticism. Five full chapters (2, 6, 7, 8, and 13) are
given to this topic. There are also significant sections of several other
chapters with a similar focus. Textual criticism is a major theme throughout
the entire book.
5. In chapter six the authors at several points seem to be writing bits and
pieces of an introduction to textual criticism. The purpose of this is to
show how the canons of textual criticism are applied to the special problems
of the LXX and MT. Jobes' purpose statement defines the first target reader
as "the student who has no prior knowledge of the Septuagint." She does not
state that the student will have no prior knowledge of textual criticism.
Chapter seven contains material that is very similar in detail and
difficulty to E. Tov's writings on the same topic (cf. Tov 1997). The
fragmentary introductory material in chapter six is not going to prepare a
student with no prior knowledge of textual criticism for the material in the
following chapter.
6. Chapter seven introduces an array of complex questions surrounding the
use of the LXX for textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible (HB). There are
some scholars who view the MT as nothing more than one resource for
reconstructing an eclectic text of the HB. Within this school of thought the
LXX or some other ancient version might be given as much weight for a given
textual variant as the MT. Another school of thought uses the MT, more
specifically the Leningrad Codex (L), as the foundation, the text against
which every thing else is tested and measured. The LXX serves here as a
secondary and inferior source to shed light on problems in L. There are
several intermediate approaches which complicate this picture considerably.
7. Jobes and Silva lay down several principles to govern a moderate eclectic
approach. Foremost is the notion that each OT book needs independent
analysis. The quality of L is different for each book and can even vary
significantly within a book. Furthermore the problems associated with the
LXX mss are very different when you compare a book like Genesis to a book
like Daniel. After giving a brief account of several other guidelines the
authors send the reader off to do some reading in Tov (Tov 1997).
8. The heart of chapter seven is the illustration from 3 Reigns (1 Kings)
2:1-5. In this extended example the authors present in some detail the
manifold complexity of using the LXX to reconstruct the HB. The authors
inform their readers that this example will require close reading and that
their effort will be repaid with a fuller appreciation of the problems
attending on this sort of research.
9. Questions related to the language of the LXX are taken up in chapters
five and twelve. The two main issues discussed are lexicography and syntax.
LXX lexicography has some methodological ambiguities which revolve around
what significance is accorded to the Hebrew word being translated. One
school of thought places more weight on the Hebrew word and the other school
places more emphasis on the contemporary Hellenistic usage. Quantitative
syntax analysis is shown as a tool to address problems like the relationship
between the text of Daniel OG and Theodotion's version.
10. In chapter eight we find several illustrations of how the mss from
Qumran can be brought to bear on problems related to the text of the LXX. A
fragment of Leviticus in 4Q119 reads eqn[os] in Lev. 26:12
instead of laos. Jobes and Silva point out that eqnos
and laos have a significant semantic overlap but that there is a
notable tendency in mss like Codex Vaticanus to avoid the use of
eqnos in reference to Israel as a chosen people. Tov is cited as
claiming that the use of eqnos to distinguish the gentiles from
Israel is a characteristic present in the later mss, like Vaticanus, but
absent from the Old Greek (OG).
11. If we take a look at Leviticus in Rahlfs (Codex Vaticanus),
eqnos is used for the gentile nations in contexts where Israel is
being contrasted with the gentiles. Lev. 26:12 probably falls into this
category. However, eqnos is also used sometimes for Israel (e.g.,
Lev. 19:16).
12. Jobes and Silva note an exchange of views on the eqn[os]
reading in 4Q119 between J. W. Wevers and E. Ulrich. Wevers did not adopt
this reading in his Göttingen edition of Leviticus (Wevers, ed. 1986).
However, his notes on the Greek text of Leviticus (Wevers 1997: 443) seem to
indicate that E. Ulrich has subsequently influenced his thinking on this
issue. This example illustrates the difficulties involved with evaluating
textual variants, even by specialists in the field.
13. After finishing Part 2, new students of the LXX will be gasping for
breath. The authors provide a short reprieve in chapter 11, where they give
brief biographical sketches of some major LXX scholars from the 19th and
early 20th centuries. The names include Tischendorf, Hatch, Lagarde, Rahlfs,
Swete, and J. A. Montgomery. This is the only chapter after Part 1 that will
be easy reading for the new student of the LXX.
14. The previous comments show a few samples intended to give the general
flavor of this book. Jobes and Silva have provided a serviceable
introduction to the academic discipline of Septuagint studies. Readers who
are not in need of an introduction will find in Part 2 a useful framework
for exploring some of the more difficult issues related to the text of the
Old Testament.
© TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, 2001.
Bibliography
Tov, Emanuel 1997. The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical
Research. 2nd ed. Jerusalem Biblical Studies, no. 3. Jerusalem: Simor.
Wevers, John William, ed. 1986. Leviticus. Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum
Graecum, vol. 2.2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Wevers, John William 1997. Notes on the Greek Text of Leviticus. Society of
Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies, no. 44. Atlanta:
Scholars Press.
Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
Three Tree Point
P.O. Box 255
Seahurst WA 98062