[B-Greek] EI in Heb 3:11 & Psa 94:11 LXX

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon Mar 24 16:38:27 EDT 2008


HEB. 3:11 hWS WMOSA EN THi ORGHi MOU: EI EISELEUSONTAI EIS THN  
KATAPAUSIN MOU.

Here we see an example of translation according to habit rather than  
according to meaning. EI is often used to translate the hebrew 'im  
when it functions as a conditional particle. However, in the cases  
where 'im is used as a negative particle EI is used not because it  
renders the meaning of 'im in that context. Apparently the translator  
of the PSA 94 LXX used EI because it was the "stereotypical"  
translation equivalent for 'im. This sort of translation technique  
explains a lot of the semantic idiosyncrasies of the LXX.

Elizabeth Kline







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