Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<david.kimbrough AT charter.net>]

Phillip,

According to tradtion, the LXX (the first Greek translation 
of the OT but not the last) was translated by 70 scholars, 
each of whom brought their own set of scrolls.  Without 
taking that number too literally, the point is that these 
scholars brought together many different scrolls so they 
could compare them because there were many different 
versions of the OT in circulation.  So by the 2nd Century 
BC there was no single OT text.  The differences between 
the MT, DSS, LXX, and other Greek translations attest to 
this.

Most people assume that a some earlier point in history 
there was a single unified OT. So I guess my point is that 
you have to decide which original OT you want to recreate.



> From: "Philip Engmann" <phil-eng AT ighmail.com>
> Date: 2004/06/24 Thu AM 12:34:04 GMT
> To: "'Reinier de Blois'" <r.de.blois AT solcon.nl>,  <b-
hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: [b-hebrew] Original OT Text?
> 
> "Earlier translations, such as RSV, NEB, and TEV are 
based on a text
> that
> has been emended in many places. This was done with the 
purpose of
> reconstructing the "original" text and to get rid of 
"obvious textual
> errors". These days many scholars are of the opinion that 
that is a goal
> that is extremely difficult and to attain and somewhat 
unrealistic. You
> don't get there by comparing the MT and the LXX."
> > 
> > 
> Hmmm. I have just spent the last 3+ years of my life 
doing exactly that.
> I have been working on my MPhil Thesis entitled:
>  
> AN EXAMINATION OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SELECTED TEXTS 
OF THE OLD
> GREEK TEXT AND THE MASORETIC TEXT.
>  
> This is in an attempt to reconstruct selected original 
texts by
> comparing the Old Greek Text to the Masoretic Text.
>  
> I am therefore extremely interested in this viewpoint, 
and particularly
> interested to know any alternative means to arrive at 
this original
> text. (Of course this original text concept is a bit 
unrealistic and
> difficult to obtain, but at least to obtain a text that 
is as close as
> possible to this ideal original text).
>  
> Thanks,
>  
> Philip Engmann
>  
>  
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David Kimbrough
San Gabriel