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b-hebrew - Re: original language of "Maccabeans"

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  • From: yochanan bitan <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>
  • To: Jim West <jwest AT Highland.Net>
  • Cc: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: original language of "Maccabeans"
  • Date: Wed, 20 Jan 1999 08:47:44 -0500


this thread may be getting a bit off course, it started on 3-4 maccabees

then jim west said
> First, the language of the maccabean materials is NOT
>translation Greek, reflecting an earlier Hebrew Vorlage. Second, there is
>not a shred of evidence supporting the idea that these texts were written
in
>Hebrew.

which would be true as far as 3-4 maccabees and most of 2 maccabees. that
was how i interpreted jim's comment until he elaborated on a later
question.

the following exchange is most surprising:

(Jack kilmon had written)
>>What about the Hebrew copy of 1 Mac that Jerome knew? A translation?

(jim west replied:)
>yup.
>Jim

1 maccabees is transparently translation greek.
[2-4 maccabees is greek greek]
raymond martin's syntax criticism, rough as it is, makes this clear, if you
want published studies.

more specifically, 1 maccabees is from hebrew, not aramaic (notice the lack
of narrative tote/edayin).

"mac" does not occur at qumran, though probably not because it didn't exist
but because it represented enemy literature.

braxot
randall buth




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