Grand words for grand subjects: bureaucratic and literary influences in the style of the Septuagint

Abstract

In this article I survey some possible influences on stylistic features in the Septuagint. I start with passages, mainly from the Minor Prophets and the Pentateuch, where translators seem to be aiming for grandiose effects through their choice of vocabulary (especially compound verbs) and grammatical forms (especially the future passive). I look briefly at Ptolemaic documentary papyri for comparison and suggest that elements of both style and ethos found there have also marked the translators. Then I examine the characteristics of the “grand” style in the literary treatise On Style by the Greek author Demetrius, and point out elements relevant to the Septuagint. Finally, I suggest that translators found both the high-flown language of Ptolemaic bureaucracy and features of the “grand” style congenial to their project of translating books which, to them, were already on a par with Homer and other great writers.