[B-Greek] translation of Urim and Thummim in LXX?

Albert Pietersma albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
Fri Mar 19 11:01:03 EST 2004


On Mar 19, 2004, at 1:41 AM, Jonathan Walther wrote:

> On Fri, Mar 19, 2004 at 12:45:02AM -0500, Albert Pietersma wrote:
>> Dear Jonathan,
>> To begin with your second question, all representations in the LXX are
>
> Albert, thank you for that reply.  It really cleared things up!  Now 
> you
> have presented the further puzzle, what makes you say the LXX
> translators didn't understand what URIM and THUMMIM meant?
Simply because, though the individual words have a meaning, no 
contextual sense is being conveyed.
Take, for example, Ex 28:26(30) which NETS (Larry Perkins) renders as 
follows:
  And you shall place in the oracle of judgment the "revelation" and the 
"truth" and it shall be on the chest of Aaron, whenever he enters into 
the holy place before the Lord, and Aaron shall bear the judgments of 
the sons of Israel on his chest before the Lord always.

I know what the two words mean. I know that they have something to do 
with an oracular device. I know that they are on the chest of Aaron. My 
expectation is that the device might give (at least)  Yes or No 
responses.  But the two keys words DHLWSIS and ALHQEIA are not 
opposites but synonyms.  Thus I end up being totally befuddled about 
how the device works.

Take Deut 33:8  which NETS (Mel Peters) renders as:
Give Leui his clear ones  and his truth to the devout man.
Not Mel's fault for sure, but what does this mean?


>  I suspect
> the answer to that question could involve a doctoral thesis.

It would be a very short one, I dare say, unless one write about what 
reception history did with the passages in question. At the production 
stage all we can say is that  Greek X represents Hebrew Y.
Al

  Is that
> doctoral thesis online? :-)
>
> Jonathan
>
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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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