The Idiolect Test and the Vorlage of Old Greek Job

Abstract

AbstractOld Greek Job (ogJob) is by one sixth shorter than itsmtcounterpart, which most scholars attribute to the translator, not to a shorter Vorlage. Most arguments however, are circular, since they rely on an evaluation of the translation technique, which is difficult to determine with an unknown Vorlage of the translation. This paper presents a way of sidestepping this problem, by employing the Idiolect Test. In a study, Hebrew idiolect items were compiled and studied for their distribution withinmtJob. Those items hint at a specific language use of one author, or of a small group of authors. The result shows that there is nomtJob idiolect coinciding with the non-translated passages of theogversion. This supports the majority opinion: theogtranslator worked from a long Vorlage and was responsible for the omissions.