Isaiah Chapter 1

This is a B-Greek reading Group for the LXX Isaiah. This reading group is going through two chapters of the LXX Isaiah per week. Ken Penner, the B-Greek moderator for the "Septuagint and Pseudepigrapha Forum" is writing a commentary on the LXX Isaiah and is sharing his notes with those who wish to read the Isaiah LXX. Dive in, if you dare!
Ken M. Penner
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Notes on 1:28-2:1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

9. Destruction of the lawbreakers (1:28-2:1)
28 Καὶ συντριβήσονται οἱ ἄνομοι καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἅμα, καὶ οἱ ἐγκαταλείποντες τὸν κύριον συντελεσθήσονται. 29 διότι αἰσχυνθήσονται ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν, ἃ αὐτοὶ ἠβούλοντο, καὶ ἐπῃσχύνθησαν ἐπὶ τοῖς κήποις, ἃ αὐτοὶ ἐπεθύμησαν· 30 ἔσονται γὰρ ὡς τερέβινθος ἀποβεβληκυῖα τὰ φύλλα καὶ ὡς παράδεισος ὕδωρ μὴ ἔχων· 31 καὶ ἔσται ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῶν ὡς καλάμη στιππύου καὶ αἱ ἐργασίαι αὐτῶν ὡ σπινθῆρες πυρός, καὶ κατακαυθήσονται οἱ ἄνομοι καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἅμα, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ σβέσων.

2.1 Ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος παρὰ Κυρίου πρὸς Ἠσαίαν υἱὸν Ἀμὼς περὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ περὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ.
ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις] changed to απο των ειδωλων by ca, and back to επι τοις ειδωλοις by cb2.
ἐπῃσχύνθησαν] changed to εσχυνθησονται by ca, and back to επαισχυνθησαν by cb2.
ἃ αὐτοὶ] changed to αὐτῶν, ἃ by ca, agreeing with Rahlfs, then to , ἃ by cb2.
ὡ σπινθῆρες] Rahlfs has ὡς σπινθῆρες
τερέμινθος is given freq. by codd. A and B of LXX, and τερέβινθος by all the uncials in Is.1.30, 6.13 and four times elsewhere, (LSJ s.v. τέρμινθος)

Origen quotes 2:1 to show that “the Word” that was with God came to people in the past, in Comm. Jo. 2.1
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Jason Hare
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Re: Isaiah Chapter 1

Post by Jason Hare »

Ken M. Penner wrote:1. (1:1)
1 Ὅρασις, ἣν εἶδεν Ησαιας υἱὸς Αμως ἣν εἶδεν κατὰ τῆς Ιουδαίας, καὶ κατὰ Ιερουσαλημ ἐν βασιλείᾳ Οζιου, καὶ Ιωαθαμ, καὶ Αχαζ καὶ Εζεκιου.

Οἱ ἐβασίλευσαν τῆς Ιουδαίας.
Shouldn't this be Οἳ ἐβασίλευσαν instead of Οἱ ἐβασίλευσαν? It's the relative pronoun, isn't it?
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Isaiah Chapter 1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Jason Hare wrote:Shouldn't this be Οἳ ἐβασίλευσαν instead of Οἱ ἐβασίλευσαν? It's the relative pronoun, isn't it?
Good question. In most manuscripts, I'd say yes, it's the relative pronoun.
Vaticanus
Vaticanus
1.1 Οἳ B.jpg (7.22 KiB) Viewed 13305 times
However, in Sinaiticus, the Ο hangs from the left margin, indicating it begins a new paragraph.
Sinaiticus
Sinaiticus
1.1 Οἱ S.jpg (13.91 KiB) Viewed 13305 times
What's more, verse two also begins with a hanging indent, so if this were a relative clause, there would be no main clause with which to form a sentence.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
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Re: Notes on 1:1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Jonathan Robie wrote:
Ken M. Penner wrote:κατά] Although κατά can be used to indicate the topic without value judgment “concerning,” as can the Hebrew על, it more often carries stronger hostility than the Hebrew על. ...
I'm chewing on this.
Silva translates κατά as "against":
If κατά can mean simply "concerning", without value judgement, what reason is there to read "against" here?
This is the only place in Isaiah where על is rendered by κατά with the genitive; by far the most common equivalent for על is ἐπί. Isaiah uses κατά with the genitive only eleven times, two of which are in this verse, and three of which are in similar constructions, in 13:1, 15:1, and 17:1 (Babylon, Moab, and Damascus, respectively).
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Jason Hare
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Re: Notes on 1:1

Post by Jason Hare »

Ken M. Penner wrote:
Jonathan Robie wrote:
Ken M. Penner wrote:κατά] Although κατά can be used to indicate the topic without value judgment “concerning,” as can the Hebrew על, it more often carries stronger hostility than the Hebrew על. ...
I'm chewing on this.
Silva translates κατά as "against":
If κατά can mean simply "concerning", without value judgement, what reason is there to read "against" here?
This is the only place in Isaiah where על is rendered by κατά with the genitive; by far the most common equivalent for על is ἐπί. Isaiah uses κατά with the genitive only eleven times, two of which are in this verse, and three of which are in similar constructions, in 13:1, 15:1, and 17:1 (Babylon, Moab, and Damascus, respectively).
Interesting. Is it every rendered by περί + gen.?
Jason A. Hare
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Ken M. Penner
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Re: Notes on 1:1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Jason Hare wrote:
Ken M. Penner wrote: This is the only place in Isaiah where על is rendered by κατά with the genitive; by far the most common equivalent for על is ἐπί. Isaiah uses κατά with the genitive only eleven times, two of which are in this verse, and three of which are in similar constructions, in 13:1, 15:1, and 17:1 (Babylon, Moab, and Damascus, respectively).
Interesting. Is it every rendered by περί + gen.?
Yes, 7 times: 2:1; 7:5; 24:11; 37:22; 38:16; 45:11(2x)
Note the parallel between 2:1 and 1:1. 37:2 is comparable as well.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
Ken M. Penner
Posts: 880
Joined: May 12th, 2011, 7:50 am
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Re: Notes on 1:1

Post by Ken M. Penner »

Jonathan Robie wrote:
sccarlson wrote:Though Jerusalem is indeclinable, there is a tendency for indeclinable names to take the article in the dative and accusative cases and omit it in nominative and genitive cases. (Look at Matt 1 for this tendency in action.)

Applied to this case, the lack of the article before Jerusalem suggests a genitive case, and therefore a meaning of "against" is appropriate.
Thanks, I get it now. And κατὰ Ιερουσαλημ is parallel to κατὰ τῆς Ιουδαίας, which confirms this.
Notice the parallel in 2:1: Ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος παρὰ Κυρίου πρὸς Ἠσαίαν υἱὸν Ἀμὼς περὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ περὶ Ἰερουσαλήμ.
Ken M. Penner
Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, St. Francis Xavier University
Co-Editor, Digital Biblical Studies
General Editor, Lexham English Septuagint
Co-Editor, Online Critical Pseudepigrapha pseudepigrapha.org
S Walch
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Re: Isaiah Chapter 1

Post by S Walch »

Hi Ken,

With regards to 1:27, would it be safe to say we perhaps have a different Hebrew Vorlage for the LXX manuscripts that read μετα γαρ κριματος σωθησεται η αιχμαλωσια αυτης, και η αποστροφη αυτης μετα ελεημοσυνης, as evidenced by 4QIsaf in this verse?

במשפט תפדה] ושביה וש[ב]יה בצדקה]

Would it then be possible that the omission of η αποστροφη αυτης is LXX editorial aligning it to the Hebrew manuscripts that read just the one instance of ושביה?
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