Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Niels Peter Lemche <npl AT teol.ku.dk>]

Well, the Hebrew is 'ayin-yod, so the Greek transliterates the unusual
laryngal (from the view point of Greek) 'ayin with a 'g', which is certainly
not a surprising solution to the dilemma of having to render Ai from Hebrew
into Greek. 

If I remember well, the Russians for lack of an 'h' doe something very
similar when transcribing western names with an 'h'.

There is therefore no reason to assume that the 'Vorlage' of the LXX in this
case was different from the Hebrew.

NPL



        -----Original Message-----
        From:   Walter Mattfeld [SMTP:mattfeld AT mail.pjsnet.com]
        Sent:   Wednesday, July 05, 2000 22:23
        To:     Biblical Hebrew
        Subject:        Locating Ai

        I note that the Septuagint renders Massoretic Ai as Gai. Perhaps the
Greek
        rendering preserves the site name ? I note a Wadi El Jaya whose
headwaters
        begin at Et-Tell, and on the northside of the site is a spring
called Ein
        Wadi El Jaya. Perhaps the Septuagint's Gai is Arabic Jaya ? (cf. map
of
        Et-Tell Excavations, p. 48, Vol. 1, J.A. Callaway, "Ai," in Michael
        Avi-Yonah, Editor,
        Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, Oxford
        University Press, London, 1975, ISBN 0-19-647923-1)