Early East Slavic translations from Hebrew?

Abstract

~peBHeeBpe~cKHX opI4FI4Ha/IOB B ~ n o x y X I X I V BB. ~e ,A~oY, f e m 8u3~lsam~, co~uueuu~", declared Anatolij Alekseevi~ Alekseev recently in these pages (1987a, 11-12; emphasis supplied). Now, it is well established that translations from Hebrew. were made in the East Slavic area after about 1450. But is there really any evidence for translations from Hebrew made in the Slavic world earlier than 14007 Before we look closely at the matter , we should like to offer some general methodological observations. Alekseev's confident s ta tement is based on his faith in the work of Nikita Aleksandrovi~ Me~ersk i j (1906-87), who in recent decades has not only defended the old but controversial thesis that the Old Tes tament book of Esther was translated from Hebrew in pre-Mongol Rus, 1 but repeatedly claimed that several other works must be included with Esther as East Slavic translations directly from Hebrew originals, especially the tenth-century chronicle known as the Iosippon. 2 We suggest that it is time to recognize that Me~ersk i j ' s enthusiasm for his thesis cannot disguise the fact that his published work, riddled with inaccuracies and unfounded s ta tements as it is, must be regarded as generally unsatisfactory. 3 We have scrutinized the text of the Slavonic Esther in an effort to analyze the details according to traditional principles, and we have checked our preliminary analysis against the work of our predecessors to find points of agreement and disagreement. Much of the controversy about the date and place of the translation of early Slavonic biblical books is based, we submit, more on aprioristic beliefs, often complicated by inconsistent application of methodological principles, than on careful sifting of verifiable evidence. Slavic writ ten culture of the 9 t h l l t h centuries in the southeast and east was almost wholly based on Greek Christian culture. Much earlier, the diffusion of Christianity itself was made possible precisely because Greek was a lingua franca. Not only works and ideas approved by official ecclesiastical authorities came through Greek, but also numerous utterly diverse elements from earlier religions and philosophies (especially variant movements within Judaism), along with continually new developments within various Christian communities. It was in Greek form that