[B-Greek] LXX Genesis 1:2 - tohu as AORATOS
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Wed May 28 14:18:19 EDT 2008
2 ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, καὶ σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου, καὶ πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος.
2 hH DE GH HN AORATOS KAI AKATASKEUASTOS, KAI SKOTOS EPANW THS ABUSSOU, KAI PNEUMA QEOU EPEFERETO EPANW TOU hUDATOS
Not to disagree with Albert, but rather more to possibly add to what he has stated. LSJ notes
Pl.Sph.246a, cf. Tht.155e, al.: τὰν ἀ. ἀτραπιτὸν βιότου [TAN A. ATRAPITON BIOTOU] obscure, Epigr.Gr.223
Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon. "With a revised supplement, 1996." (Rev. and augm. throughout) (173). Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press.
If I am reading this correctly (and I haven't yet checked on it), Plato in the Theatetus uses ἀόρατος [AORATOS] in the sense of "obscure." Considering the subsequent statement καὶ σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου [KAI SKOTOS EPANW THS ABUSSOU], this would seem to be a possible understanding of its use here.george
gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.
- Jan Hus
_________
----- Original Message ----
From: Eric S. Weiss <papaweiss1 at yahoo.com>
To: b-greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 11:06:07 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] LXX Genesis 1:2 - tohu as AORATOS
The LXX in Genesis 1:2 translates the Hebrew tohu wa-bohu as AORATOS KAI
AKATASKEUASTOS. I.e., the earth was "invisible." Is that perhaps the basis for Hebrews
11:3 saying: PISTEI NOOUMEN KATHRTISQAI TOUS AIWNAS hRHMATI QEOU, EIS TO
MH EK FAINOMENWN TO BLEPOMENON GEGONENAI?
And ... is AORATOS a proper translation of tohu? The other two occurrences in the Hebrew
Bible of tohu with bohu are not translated similarly in the LXX. E.g., Jeremiah 4:23 simply
subsumes both words under the single Greek word OUQEN, and Isaiah 34:11 translates
tohu as ERHMOS, and the Hebrew bohu phrase is totally different in the Greek.
Eric S. Weiss
---
B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek
B-Greek mailing list
B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list