Thu Aug 8 14:59:34 1996

From owner-tc-list  Thu Aug  8 14:59:34 1996
Return-Path: 
Received: by scholar.cc.emory.edu (SMI-8.6/SMI-SVR4)
	id OAA16140; Thu, 8 Aug 1996 14:57:57 -0400
Date: Thu, 8 Aug 1996 14:57:46 -0400 (EDT)
From: "James R. Adair" 
To: tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu
Subject: Re: Is 1:25
In-Reply-To: <960808.112419.EDT.HOWARD@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Sender: owner-tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: tc-list@scholar.cc.emory.edu
content-length: 1789

On Thu, 8 Aug 1996, george howard wrote:

> In regard to LXX retroversions to Hebrew, another matter that needs to
> be addressed is whether the Hebrew text we possess is corrupt. Often,
> scholars turn to the Greek when the Hebrew is difficult to read or is
> corrupt. But, when this happens, it is sometimes the case that the
> Hebrew was difficult for the LXX translator as well. The Greek in these
> instances is often little more than a guess on the part of the
> translator. After all, he had to put something down for a translation.
> Retroversions of the Greekin these cases are of little value in recovering
> the original Hebrew text. 

This is a good point.  It is always important to ask if the reading of the
MT (or of the SP, or a Qumran scroll) could lie behind the Greek.  Tov's
discussion of these issues in _The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in
Biblical Research_ is excellent.  Particularly when the Hebrew is
difficult is it pertinent to ask whether the Greek is a desperate 
attempt to render the Hebrew.  In these cases, conjecture becomes a viable 
possibility. 

> How often does this occur? Ask yourself.  Do
> you turn to the Greek  when the Hebrew is easy and good, or when it is
> difficult to read or corrupt?

But should the only time we turn to the Greek be when the Hebrew is 
difficult?  A proper text-critical approach would be to read the Greek 
alongside the Hebrew all the time, not just when difficulties arise in 
the Hebrew text.  After all, Hebrew scribes could have smoothed over 
difficulties just as easily as Greek translators.

Jimmy Adair
Manager of Information Technology Services, Scholars Press
    and
Managing Editor of TELA, the Scholars Press World Wide Web Site
---------------> http://scholar.cc.emory.edu <-----------------

Back