[B-Greek] Once Again: Isaiah 53:7

Albert Pietersma albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
Fri Nov 26 16:30:19 EST 2004


Dear Richard,
I can't say I remember what I said earlier, but perhaps so much the 
better. :-)
On Nov 26, 2004, at 1:39 PM, Richard Ghilardi wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> Is. 53:7: KAI AUTOS DIA TO KEKAKWSQAI OUK ANOIGEI TO STOMA
>
> Quite some time ago I wrote to this list to ask about an alternative
> understanding of this verse. I won't review that discussion here. 
> Suffice
> it to say that Dr. Pietersma convinced me that my suggested alternative
> was wrong and could not be supported. But that left me wondering what
> exactly this verse means. The standard translations of this verse go 
> like
> this:
>
> "And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth" (Brenton)
> "and he, on account of his affliction, openeth not his mouth" (Thomson)
>
> If I may rephrase this rendering, I THINK it means something like this:
>
> "The abuse he suffers causes him to keep silent"
Yes, that is how I would read the text.  Esaias  does not simply mimic 
his source text but interprets it. Thus the DIA TO KEKAKWSQAI is made 
to give his reason for his silence. Note, however, that the infinitive 
marks perfective aspect, in light of which I would render "And he, 
because he has been badly treated, he does not open his mouth." That 
indicates that his present silence is due to the bad treatment  he has 
suffered up to the present  point and noted in the preceding verses.  
Probably because that 'bad treatment' alluded to is general in nature 
rather than specific, Esa uses a fairly general verb (KAKOW) rather 
than the more specific Septuagintal gloss for Hebrew )NH (bow down, 
afflict), namely TAPEINOW, a gloss which Esa himself uses in 51.21; 
58.3, 5, 10; 60.14; 64.12(11).
Put differently, it isn't the blows he is currently undergoing that 
keep him silent, but rather the reception he has been accorded,  the 
reason for which he seems to be aware of.


Moses Silva's NETS translation reads: "And he, because he has been 
ill-treated,
does not open his mouth";
Al
> But why is this so? Painful abuse usually causes us to cry out as an
> expression of that pain. But here the pains he feels makes the Servant
> keep quiet. The only explanation I can give for this is that the 
> painful
> abuse which the Servant undergoes COWS him into silence. But this
> interpretation strikes a dissonant chord in contrast to the noble
> character of the Servant as portrayed in the rest of the Song. His
> suffering makes him afraid to speak up.
>
> So here is another alternative. Instead of taking DIA TO KEKAKWSQAI as
> causative, I tentatively take it as concessive and render thus:
>
> "The abuse he experiences does not cause him to open his mouth."
> or
> "Despite his ill-treatment, he does not open his mouth."
> or
> "He doesn't open his mouth just because he's treated badly."
>
> If these renderings must be rejected, then I ask: Given the stylistic 
> and
> methodological predilections of the translator of Isaiah, how would, 
> say,
> the second translation above be put into Greek? I know it would not be
> KAIPER + participle because KAIPER is nowhere found in Isaiah and found
> only once (Pr. 6:8) in the translational Greek of the LXX. I seriously
> doubt that the translator of Isaiah would use the participle 
> simpliciter
> to indicate concession. So how would it go in Greek? I would appreciate
> it if Dr. Pietersma and others would point me to some relevent verses 
> in
> Isaiah which show how the translator handled concession.
>
> Yours in His grace,
>
> Richard Ghilardi - qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
> New Haven, Connecticut USA
> ---
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>
>
—
Albert Pietersma
Professor of Septuagint and Hellenistic Greek
Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations
University of Toronto
Home: 21 Cross Street,
Weston ON Canada M9N 2B8
Email: albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
Homepage: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~pietersm




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