The present volume makes accessible once more the groundbreaking work The Septuagint Version of Isaiah (1948) by Isac Leo Seeligmann (1907-1982), accompanied by two studies that have to be seen as prolegomena to the book. Both studies were published originally in the Dutch language, and the English translation of one of them appears in this volume for the first time. Seeligmann aims to understand the Septuagint as a witness of Hellenistic Judaism striving to maintain the text's special character as a document of faith. At the same time all of Seeligmann's works edited in this volume are documents of the suffering of European Judaism during the time of National Socialism. The new edition provides evidence of Seeligmann's approach to the Septuagint as a witness of Hellenistic Judaism which strives to maintain the text's special character as a document of faith. Because of this new access from the perspective of content and method, Seeligmann's influence on Septuagint research became so strong that it has lasted up to the present. The reader will realise that the history of Israel during the Hellenistic period does not simply represent an object of scholarly research for Seeligmann but also serves as the background for the interpretation of the history of the Jewish people in his own time.

Explore how interpretation affects translation In this volume Cunha argues that the differences found between the Septuagint text of Isaiah and the Hebrew of the Masoretic Text must be weighed against the literary context in which they are found. The author demonstrates that LXX Isa 24:1–26:6 can be seen as a coherent ideological composition that differs greatly from the way scholars have interpreted MT Isa 24:1–26:6. This coherence comes across through the use of certain lexemes and conjunctions throughout the passage. The book lays the case that a scribe or translator already had an interpretation before he started the process of translation that shaped his translation of the Hebrew text into Greek. Features: An introduction sketching the history of research on LXX Isa 24:1–26:6 A focused comparision of the Masoretic Text to the Septuagint A thorough discussion of the coherence of LXX Isa 24:1–26:6

Essays from experts in the field of Septuagint studies The study of Septuagint offers essential insights in ancient Judaism and its efforts to formulate Jewish identity within a non-Jewish surrounding culture. This book includes the papers given at the XV Congress of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS), held in Munich, Germany, in 2013. The first part of this book deals with questions of textual criticism. The second part is dedicated to philology. The third part underlines the increasing importance of Torah in Jewish self-definition. Features: Essays dealing with questions of textual criticism, mostly concerning the historical books and wisdom literature and ancient editions and translations Philological essays covering the historical background, studies on translation technique and lexical studies underline the necessity of both exploring general perspectives and working in detail

This study analyzes the Septuagint version of Isaiah's Servant Poems (Isaiah 42:1-8; 49:1-9; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12) as a translation and unique interpretation of the Hebrew text. The Septuagint version of the Servant Poems is of interest not only because it represents one of the earliest (if not the first) interpretations of the Hebrew text and thus an important stage in the history of exegesis of these poems, but also because this translation operates a transition from Hebrew modes of thinking and expression into a Greek language and context. The Septuagint version of the Servant Poems was cited by New Testament writers, read and commented on as Sacred Scripture by the early Church Fathers and continues to be used by the Eastern Church. This study is a helpful resource to Old Testament, New Testament and Patristic scholars and theologians alike. The introduction offers a methodology for classifying Septuagint differences to determine the specific exegesis and underlying theology of a given Septuagint text. Differences with the Hebrew text are categorized according to linguistic explanations (style, the translator's difficulty determining Greek semantic equivalents for obscure Hebrew vocabulary, errors or omissions, etc.) Hebrew Vorlagen, non-linguistic explanations like contextual and intertextual exegesis and combinations of linguistic and non-linguistic factors. The author identifies over 270 differences with the Masoretic Text in a presentation of the Septuagint text of each poem side-by-side with the Masoretic Text. Qumran variants are compared with the Masoretic Text and Septuagint to help classify Septuagint differences to determine which may be signs of the Septuagint's unique exegesis and theology. The Septuagint's numerous differences are bold-faced in the English translation of each poem before the author presents a detailed verse-by-verse literary analysis of the Septuagint in the wider context of Isaiah 1-66 and the Greek Pentateuch. The author argues that the vast majority of Septuagint differences with the Masoretic Text in Isaiah's Servant Poems reflect contextual and intertextual exegesis. The Septuagint version expresses theological perspectives that are at times similar and often distinct from the Masoretic Text. In a final chapter the author draws on the exegesis of each poem in preceding chapters to present the theology visible in the Septuagint version of Isaiah's Servant Poems, concluding with an appendix that catalogues textual differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text and a biblical index.

These essays by outstanding international scholars in honour of Robert P. Gordon cover topics ranging from accuracy and anachronism in the books of Samuel, through the theology of Psalms, ancient near eastern historiography, to ideology, philology, grammar and linguistics in the translations and versions.

The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint features contributions from leading experts in the field considering the history and manuscript transmission of the version, and the study of translation technique and textual criticism.

The question of the extent to which the Septuagint reflects an evolution in messianic belief in comparison with the Masoretic Text has come into prominence in recent years, and in view of the role played by messianism in Jewish belief of the late Second Temple period and in early Christianity it seemed very appropriate that "The Septuagint and Messianism" should be chosen as the theme of the 2004 Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense. This volume contains the papers given at the Colloquium, which are concerned both with methodological issues and with the interpretation of specific texts (in practice the majority of the texts in the Septuagint for which a messianic interpretation has been claimed). The papers are very far from all reflecting the same approach, and it has frequently happened that the same texts have been treated by different contributors from very different viewpoints. But the fact such different viewpoints are expressed is a proper reflection of the complexity of the issues involved in the question of the extent of messianic belief in the Septuagint, and of the fact that the question requires a nuanced answer. It is in any case hoped that the varied approaches reflected in the papers will serve to make clear the underlying reasons for the differences between those who take a "minimalist" and those who take a "maximalist" view on the subject of the Septuagint and Messianism.

"Examines the origins, language, textual history, and reception of the Greek Old Testament"--

A concise study of a large number of examples of pluses and minus providing insight into translation from Hebrew to Greek Van der Vorm-Croughs focuses this translation study on the processes leading to pluses and minuses including linguistic and stylistic aspects (i.e., cases in which elements have been added or omitted for the sake of a proper use of the Greek language), literary aspects (additions and omissions meant to embellish the Greek text), translation technical aspects (e.g., the avoidance of redundancy), and contextual and intertextual exegesis and harmonization. This work also covers the relation between the Greek Isaiah and its possible Hebrew Vorlage to try to determine which pluses and minuses may have been the result of the translator’s use of a different Hebrew text. Features: Eleven categories for the pluses and minuses of the Greek Isaiah Examination of translation techniques and translator errors Use of Joseph Ziegler’s critical edition