[B-Greek] LXX vs. Masoretic

Maurice A. O'Sullivan mauros at iol.ie
Fri Jan 16 12:27:40 EST 2004


At 13:23 16/01/2004, Kenneth C. Vendler wrote:

>I believe the NJPS does in fact on
>occasion translate from the LXX, but only when the Hebrew text is obscure. I
>may be incorrect on this, but on my next trip to Barnes and Nobles I will
>look and see if I can come up with any examples :-)

Kenneth:
I don't have my copy of the NJPS, but the Preface to the 1985 edition 
states, firstly makes a general point:

 >> In preparing the translation of The Prophets, the translators faced a 
recurring problem that deserves special mention. The prophetic books 
contain many passages whose meaning is uncertain. Thus, in order to provide 
an intelligible rendering, modern scholars have resorted to emending the 
Hebrew text. Some of these emendations derive  from the ancient 
translators, especially of the Septuagint and the Targums, who had  before 
them a Hebrew text that sometimes differed from today?s traditional text. 
Where these ancient versions provide no help, some scholars have made 
conjectural emendations of their own. Many modern English versions contain 
translations of emended texts, sometimes without citing any departure from 
the traditional Hebrew text.<<

and then in relation to the JPS translation states:

 >>Like the translation of The Torah, the present translation of the 
prophetic books adheres strictly to the traditional Hebrew text; but where 
the text remains obscure and an alteration provides marked clarification, a 
footnote is offered with  a rendering of the suggested emendation. If the 
emendation is based on one or two ancient versions, they are mentioned by 
name; if more than two versions agree, they  are summed up as "ancient 
versions." Conjectural emendations are introduced by "Emendation yields." 
Sometimes, however, it was deemed sufficient to offer only a change of 
vowels, and such modifications are indicated by "Change of vocalization 
yields." In  all cases, the emendation is given in a footnote, which may be 
readily disregarded by those who reject it on either scholarly or religious 
grounds. The only  exceptions involve such changes in grammatical form as 
those, say, from second person to third or from singular to plural. In such 
rare instances, the change is incorporated in the text, and the traditional 
Hebrew is translated in a footnote.<<




Maurice A. O'Sullivan  [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros at iol.ie





More information about the B-Greek mailing list