Authorial changes to the biblical text: quotations in sermons by Simeon of Polotsk

Abstract

The article is devoted to a linguistic analysis of biblical quotations from the collection of sermons “Obied dushevnyi” (1681), compiled by the first court preacher Simeon of Polotsk (1629–1680). More than one third of all the identified quotations can be characterized as inexact quotations: they demonstrate the author’s interference with grammar, word order, and lexis of the biblical text. Such changes in biblical texts, introduced by Simeon, can be conditioned by several causes, among which are the influence of the revision of liturgical books, the influence of textual models in other languages, and the rhetorics and pragmatics of a sermon as a literary genre. The article focuses on the most significant linguistic changes to the biblical text introduced by Simeon: changes made in the context of the revision of liturgical books, and changes that continue and develop the revision, and apply it in a more consistent way. In addition, changes connected to the rhetorics and pragmatics of a sermon as a literary genre are briefly listed. The linguistic analysis of biblical texts in “Obied” provided in the article forms a base for further complex linguistic and philological research on the language of Simeon’s sermons.