The `ideological' features of the Letter of Aristeas have attracted the attention of scholars in the past, and have gained renewed importance in some recent studies. The present study focuses on a specific `ideological' feature, namely, the question of authority. Starting from the latest insights into the literary structure of the Letter of Aristeas , this study identifies two major focal points in the ancient work and briefly reviews the major characters involved in the translation of the Law into Greek. This analysis leads to the identification of two structures of authority, one text-centred, the other community-centred. These are both justified by the central quality of eusebeia that is shown to be operative in the text on two different levels, as put forth in the rhetorical theory of ethos (self-representation).
This article explores the limits and possibilities of a functional theory of systems, more specifically Polysystem Theory, in the context of ancient Hebrew-Greek translation. It describes the central ideas and concepts of Polysystem Theory, and explores how they might be applied to various forms of translation in the Hellenistic age. An attempt is then made to sketch the development of Hebrew-Greek translation from a systemic perspective, from its internal organization to its eventual fate in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
Up to three times, the LXX version of Canticles (iv 1, 3; vi 7) reads σιωπησσιζ ('silence') as a translation equivalent of the Hebrew lexeme smh ('veil'). This article aims at establishing whether this enigmatic equivalence is due to mistranslation or to a conscious, if obscure, rendering, by closely analysing the nature of the lexemes in question. Although there are strong arguments in favour of the former scenario, the matter cannot be resolved with any definiteness. Symmachus' apparently similar translation in Isa. xlvii 2 (τò σιωπηλóν for smh) is shown to be unrelated to the puzzling equivalence established in LXX Canticles. The article concludes with some thoughts on the lexicographical treatment of translation-specific lexical items such as σιωπησιζ.
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