«Enfanter un esprit de salut». Histoire du texte de Isaïe 26,17.18

Abstract

The Greek text of lsaiah 26, 17-18, as it appears in the critical edition of Gottingen is not to be found in this form in any direct or indirect witness of the Septuagint. The sentence which the editor has mode negative, in accordance with the Hebrew, is on the contrary affirmative in the whole Septuagint tradition. A Christian addition which has passed into all the preserved manuscripts leads one to read the passage in question as a prophecy of the final resurrection of the confessors of the faith who thus triumph over their adversaries. This is what brought about the suppression of the negative or its transformation into a possessive pronoun as well as a number of other minor alterations. This Christian tradition of reading is very tenacious ; even Jerome 's version, the reception of which was late, was influenced by it. On the other hand, it is impossible to know how the Jewish Diaspora read this text which displays a number of ambiguities. This raises the question as to whether it is wise to edit a hypothetical text, the details of which are not assured and where it is not possible to indicate the exact meaning, rather than the canonical text which was actually transmitted by tradition.