Full Description
The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible created by Jews seeking a place of legitimacy for diaspora Jewishness and faith among the traditions of Hellenistic culture, was a monumental religious and culturalachievement. ThisGreek Old Testament, in its original form and revised versions, providedthe scripturalbasis for Judaism in the Greek-speaking diaspora, enabledthe emergence and spread of Christianity, and influenced translations of the Bible into African and European languages.Over time, however, theSeptuagint's relevancefaded for Jews,and the Hebrew text eventually reasserted its dominance within Judaism.This led many to neglect the Septuagint as an authentic witness to the biblical tradition. But the Septuagint remained important, inspiring biblical writings and further translations into Latin, Coptic, and Armenian. In combination with the Qumran biblical texts, it provides yet further indication of the multivocal state of the Hebrew Bible around the turn of the eras and proves to be a text of continuous interest for biblical scholarship and cultural-historical studies. Siegfried Kreuzer's Introduction to the Septuagint presents, in English,the most extensive introductionofthe Septuagintto date.It offerscomprehensive overviews of the individual biblical writings, including the history of research, current findings and problems, and perspectives for future research. Additionally, this survey presents a history of the Septuagint in its Greco-Hellenistic background, theories of its genesis, the history of its revisions,its lore in antiquity,andan overview of the most important manuscripts and witnesses of the convoluted transmission history of the text. The text includes extensive bibliographies that show the ongoing interest in Septuagint studies and provide a reliable basis for future studies. A collaboration representing multiple nationalities, professional perspectives, and denominational traditions, this dependable guide invites newcomers and experts alike to venture into the rich world of one of the most influential works of literature in history.
Contents
Introduction The Origins and Transmission of the Septuagint Siegfried Kreuzer Overview of Textual Witnesses to the Septuagint Siegfried Kreuzer / Marcus Sigismund 1. Pentateuch 1.0. From the Torah to Nomos: Perspectives of Research on the Greek Pentateuch Martin Rösel 1.1. Genesis Martina Kepper 1.2. Exodos/Exodus Peter Schwagmeier 1.3. Levitikon/Leviticus Martin Vahrenhorst 1.4. Arithmoi/Numeri/Numbers Gilles Dorival 1.5. Deuteronomion/Deuteronomium/Deuteronomy Melvin K. H. Peters 2. Historical Books 2.1. Jesus/Josue/Joshua Cornelis G. den Hertog 2.2. Kritai/Iudices/Judges Natalio Fernà ndez Marcos 2.3. Ruth Eberhard Bons 2.4. The Books of Kingdoms/Reigns 2.4.1â2. Basileion I and II / 1â2 Kingdoms / 1â2 Samuel Philippe Hugo 2.4.3. Basileion III / 3 Kingdoms / 1 Kings. Martin Meiser 2.4.4. Basileion IV / 4 Kingdoms / 2 Kings Julio Trebolle-Barreira 2.5. Paraleipomenon I and II / 1â2 Chronica / 1â2 Chronicles Adrian Schenker 2.6.1. Esdras I / 1 Esdras / 3 Ezra Dieter Böhler 2.6.2. Esdras II / 2 Esdras / Ezra-Nehemiah Dieter Böhler 3. Later Historical Books and Narratives 3.1. Esther / The Book of Esther Kristin De Troyer 3.2. Judith / The Book of Judith Helmut Engel 3.3. Tobit / The Book of Tobit / Tobias Katrin Hauspie 3.4. The Books of the Maccabees 3.4.1. Makkabaion I / 1 Maccabees Michael Tilly 3.4.2. Makkabaion II / 2 Maccabees Tobias Nicklas 3.4.3. Makkabaion III / 3 Maccabees Wolfgang Orth 3.4.4. Makkabaion IV / 4 Maccabees Robert J. V. Hiebert 4. Psalms and Odes 4.1. Psalmoi / The Book of Psalms Eberhard Bons / Ralph Brucker 4.2. Odai / Odai / The Book of Odes Ioan ChirilÄ / Siegfried Kreuzer 4.3. Psalmoi Solomontos / Psalms of Solomon Felix Albrecht 5. Wisdom Books 5.1. Paroimiai / Proverbia / Proverbs of Solomon Hans-Winfried JÃ"ngling 5.2. Ekklesiastes / Qohelet / Ecclesiastes Peter J. Gentry with Yun-Yeong Yi 5.3. Asma / Canticum Canticorum / Song of Songs Eva Schulz-FlÃ"gel 5.4. Job Markus Witte 5.5. Sophia Solomonos / Sapientia Salomonis / Wisdom of Solomon Helmut Engel 5.6. Sophia Sirach / Ekklesiasticus / The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach Frank Ueberschaer 6. Prophetic Books 6.1. Dodekapropheton / The Twelve Prophets 6.1.0. Dodekapropheton / The Twelve Prophets: An Overview Cécile Dogniez 6.1.1. Osee/Hosea Jan Joosten 6.1.2. Amos Eberhard Bons 6.1.3. Michaias/Michaeas/Micah Cécile Dogniez / Jan Joosten 6.1.4. Joel Cécile Dogniez 6.1.5. Abdiu/Abdias/Obadiah Cécile Dogniez 6.1.6. Jonas/Jonah Cécile Dogniez 6.1.7. Naoum/Nahum Heinz-Josef Fabry 6.1.8. Ambakoum/Habacuc/Habakkuk Heinz-Josef Fabry 6.1.9. Sophonias/Zephaniah Jong-Hoon Kim 6.1.10. Aggaios/Aggaeus/Haggai Thomas Pola 6.1.11. Zacharias/Zechariah Thomas Pola 6.1.12. Malachias/Malachi Cécile Dogniez 6.2. Esaias/Isaias/Isaiah Arie van der Kooij 6.3. Jeremiah Writings 6.3.1. Jeremias/Ieremias/Jeremiah Pierre-Maurice Bogaert 6.3.2. Baruch Pierre-Maurice Bogaert 6.3.3. Threnoi/Lamentationes/Lamentations Frank Ueberschaer 6.3.4. Epistole Jeremiou / Epistola Ieremiae / Epistle of Jeremiah Benjamin Wright 6.4. Iezekiel/Ezechiel/Ezekiel Johan Lust 6.5. Daniel Writings 6.5.1. Daniel Marco Settembrini 6.5.2. Sousanna/Susanna/Susannah Heinz-Dieter Neef 6.5.3. Bel kai Drakon / Bel et Draco / Bel and the Dragon Heinz-Dieter Neef 7. The Septuagint and the New Testament 7.1. The Septuagint Text in Early Christianity Martin Karrer 7.2. The Significance of Septuagint Quotations in the New Testament against the Background of Old Testament Textual History Wolfgang Kraus
