Aspects of the translation technique of the Septuagint : the finite verb in the Septuagint of Deuteronomy

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Two major religions, Judaism and Christianity, use the ancient Hebrew Bible as Holy Scripture. Thesebooks were translated in the last three centuries before the common era. The oldest of thesetranslations is the Septuagint, a Greek translation. Not only are the Hebrew and Greek texts that wereinvolved in the original translation process missing, but precious little is known about the doctrine andtranslation methods of the translators of the Septuagint. Much can be learned about these crucialissues, however, if the translation technique followed by those ancient translators is studied bycomparing the present Hebrew and Greek texts.A new method to determine and describe the translation technique of the Septuagint was proposedand tested in this dissertation. This method is based on the use of the Computer Assisted Tools forSeptuagint Studies (CATSS) data base and statistical methods. The translation technique of the bookDeuteronomy was described using different criteria, all of which measure the frequency of non-literalrenderings. Three different groups of criteria were utilized, viz. the Tov criteria as proposed by E. Tov,criteria defined using the markers in the CATSS data base called the CATSS criteria, and grammaticalcriteria using the person of the verb. Each criterion was applied to the data base individually. Thetranslation units were determined first, after which the translation technique found within thetranslation unit was described. The methodology implemented discriminates between significant andinsignificant trends in translation technique.It became clear that the results of the different criteria indicate different translation units and differenttranslation techniques for each of the criteria. Except for some criteria using the person of the verb,very little indication was found that the traditional translation units are supported by the data used inthis study. In fact, it seems as if translation units should be determined before the translationtechnique is described. The translation technique should then be described according to the indicatedunits.Not all the Tov criteria could be utilized, but their results are in agreement to some extent. The CATSScriteria proved to be more difficult to implement than expected, but some of the criteria renderedexcellent results. The person of the verb was discussed in detail using 12 different criteria. The resultsof the criteria utilizing the person of the verb are disappointing, and provide some scope for futureresearch.The results rendered by this new approach are firm and easy to interpret. In addition, it is possible toutilize these results when dealing with specific text-critical problems.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University