Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jan Britten <janbritten AT yahoo.com>]

On the question of the quality of the Septuagint as a
faithful translation/interpretation of the Hebrew, the
following short extract from chapter 5 of Swete's
authoritative wirk on the LXX may be of interest to
List members.

The whole text of the book is available at CCEL.

Jan Britten


AN INTRODUCTION TO

THE OLD TESTAMENT

IN GREEK

BY

HENRY BARCLAY SWETE D.D., FB.A.

CHAPTER V.

THE SEPTUAGINT AS A VERSION.

THE purpose of this chapter is to prepare the beginner
for grappling with the problems presented by the
Septuagint when it is regarded as a translation of the
Hebrew Bible. Almost at the outset if his study of the
Alexandrian version he will find himself comfronted by
difficulties which can only be met by a study of the
general purpose and character of the work, the
limitations by which the translators were beset, and
the principles which guided them in the performance of
their task.

I. The reader of the Septuagint must begin by placing
before his mind the conditions under which it was
produced, and the relation of the original work to our
present texts, Hebrew and Greek.

z. (a) Strictly speaking the Alexandrian Bible is not
a single version, but a series of versions produced at
various times and by translators whose ideals were not
altogether alike. Internal evidence' of this fact may
be found in the varying standards of excellence which
appear in different books or groups of books. The
Pentateuch is on the whole a close and serviceable
translation; the Psalms and more especially the Book
of Isaiah shew obvious signs of incompetence. The
translator of Job was perhaps more familiar with Greek
pagan literature than with Semitic poetry; the
translator of Daniel indulges at times in a Midrashic
paraphrase. The version of Judges which appears in our
oldest Greek uncial MS. has been suspected by a recent
critic of being a work of the 4th century A.D.; the
Greek Ecclesiastes savours of the school of Aquila~
When we come to details, the evidence in favour of a
plurality of translators is no less decisive. A
comparison of certain passages which occur in separate
contexts distinctly reveals the presence of different
hands. The reader can readily form a judgement upon
this point if he will place side by side in the Hebrew
and the Greek 2 Regn. xxii. 2 ff. and Ps. xvii.
(xviii.) 3 ff , 4 Regn. xviii. r 7xx. r g and
Isa. xxxvi. rxxxix. 8, or Mic. iv. and Isa.
ii.



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