Biblical Hebrew Forum

[<david.kimbrough AT charter.net>]

George,

I was not referencing the "Letter of Aristeas" per se and I was quite 
explicit that the details who and how many scholars were involved should not 
be taken too seriously.  

However, there is no reason to doubt that the LXX was written (translated) by 
a committee reviewing several different scrolls about 200 years BC.  The 
Masoretes went through the same process later as did Ben Chayyim even later 
than that.  The fact that there are signficant differences between the LXX, 
the DSS, the MT, and  the various other Greek translations is evidence of 
that there were many different OT's in circulation


> 
> From: "George F. Somsel" <gfsomsel AT juno.com>
> Date: 2004/06/24 Thu AM 04:45:07 GMT
> To: david.kimbrough AT charter.net
> CC: phil-eng AT ighmail.com,  r.de.blois AT solcon.nl,  b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] One Original OT Text?
> 
> On Thu, 24 Jun 2004 3:51:55 +0000 <david.kimbrough AT charter.net> writes:
> > 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.
> > 
> _______________
> 
> It has been almost universally recognized that the "Letter of Aristeas"
> is not a genuine historical document; but even if it were considered to
> be genuinely historical, I would have problems with your understanding of
> it.  The claim is made that ** A ** copy of the law was brought from
> Jerusalem written in letters of gold.  It is not to my recollection
> claimed that each brought his own copy (72 copies of even the Pentateuch
> at that time being taken out of country is virtually unthinkable.  Would
> many copies be left in Judea?).  Fortunately, we need not argue the point
> since the letter itself is pseudepigraphical.
> 
> gfsomsel
> 

David Kimbrough
San Gabriel