Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon

Abstract

Texts, Manuscripts, Versions, Canon William J. Urbrock, Christopher T. Begg, and Andrew E. Steinmann 51. [OG Lev 16:1] Mark A. Awabdy, "Did Nadab and Abihu Draw Near before Yhwh? The Old Greek among the Witnesses of Leviticus 16:1," CBQ 79 (2017) 580-92. Lev 16:1 raises the literary question: Did Nadab and Abihu draw near before Yhwh (so MT, SP) or only offer strange fire before Yhwh (so OG, Tgs., Syr., Vg. and possibly [End Page 17] 11Q1=11QpaleoLeva)? A. explores the internal evidence of the OG reading, assesses the targumic evidence, and gives particular attention to reevaluating the fragmentary evidence from Qumran. He concludes that the failure of the OG translators to harmonize Lev 16:1 cleanly to Lev 10:1, the contextual suitability of OG Lev 16:1, and the external witnesses suggest that the translators, in keeping with their conservative style, translated an alternative Hebrew source text identical to what one reads in Num 3:4 and 26:61. Evidently, the Hebrew Vorlage of the OG, not the OG itself, was a harmonization to Lev 10:1 or to either of the Numbers texts. Also, although this conclusion is not definitive, it appears possible that Lev 16:1 in 11Q1 once supplied another parallel to the OG reading against MT and SP. This reading nuances the danger of the Yom Kippur ritual according to chap. 16: Aaron does not die for drawing near before Yhwh, since the altar fire he presented (Lev 16:12-13) was not strange fire presented by his sons (16:1).—W.J.U. 52. George J. Brooke, "What Is Editing? What Is an Edition? Towards a Taxonomy for Late Second Temple Jewish Literature," Insights into Editing, 23-39 [see #706]. In this short essay, I have tried to lay out some of the issues as I see them in understanding what was taking place in the case of the Jewish scribal practices of the Second Temple period. I have argued that editing is not just a matter of handling authoritative received scriptural tradition in various ways, but rather involves any re-presentation of earlier tradition, such that most compositions and literary works are the product of editing. Editing is not just something that belongs to a secondary stage after a literary work is supposedly "complete," but was rather present at most stages in the production of literary works, though it might assume particular characteristics at certain stages in the process. Taxonomically, there are macro- and micro-processes to be distinguished: the former tend toward the creation of new compositions, the latter toward the better description of the ongoing transmission of such compositions, though macro- and micro-editing processes can indeed be present in the same literary work. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 53. [LXX] Johann Cook, "A Theology of the Septuagint?" OTE 30 (2017) 265-82. In this contribution, C. addresses the question of whether it is appropriate and even possible to formulate the/a theology of the LXX in a way that would generalize his own endeavors to develop theologies of the individual LXX Books of Proverbs and the Old Greek of Job. As C. notes, there is no current scholarly consensus on the question posed in his title, with views on the matter ranging from "minimalistic" to "maximalistic." Against this background, C. devotes his paper to presenting the scholarly dissensus on the matter and to commenting on the diverse perspectives that have emerged regarding it, taking the "minimalist" and "maximalist" viewpoints in turn. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 54. [LXX Proverbs] Johann Cook, "The Septuagint of LXX Proverbs," Law, Prophets, and Wisdom, 87-174 [see #689]. Recognizing the Greek-language competence of the translator of LXX Proverbs, C. looks to content factors "gleaned from the content of the proverbs themselves" as a way of determining the provenance of the version. As for the ideology of the translation, the following features are of significance for the provenance issue: the figure of the strange woman as a symbol of foreign wisdom, the "Law" in LXX Proverbs, the topic of kings/kingship, and finally, elements suggestive of...