The Book of Isaiah according to the Septuagint

800 Pages·2009·54.33 MB·English

by  R. R. Ottley

ISAIAH
ACCORDING TO THE
SEPTUAGINT
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THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
ACCORDING TO THE
S E P T U A G I NT
(CODEX ALEXANDRINUS)
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
R. R. OTTLEY, M.A.
I. INTRODUCTION AND TRANSLATION
WITH A PARALLEL VERSION
FROM THE HEBREW
LONDON :
C. J. Clay and Sons
Cambridge University Press Warehouse
Ave Maria Lane
1904
Cambridge:
PRINTED BY J. AND C. F. CLAY,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
TO A PARENT
AND A PARENTS MEMORY.
"FOR ALL LIVE UNTO HIM."
Ad£a Se KOI rifiy KCU elpfjvrj navri T£ epya^opevco T6 dyaOov,
'lov&u'a) T€ irpG>rov KOI "EXX^I/I. EP. ROM. ii. IO.
Ka\ corai els OTjpeiov els rov alwva Kvpi<p iv x*>pa Alyvirrov.
ISAI. xix. 20.
PREFACE.
S
UPPOSING that a fair classical scholar, accustomed to read
the New Testament in Greek, bethought himself of turning
to the Septuagint, it is probable that he would meet with some
disappointment (assuming him to be no Hebraist). He would
expect to be approaching a step nearer to the original than while
confining himself to the English Version; but he might be sorely
puzzled by what he found. Let him open at Isaiah's famous
twenty-eighth chapter: why are the * drunkards' of Ephraim
transformed into 'hirelings'? the fat 'valley' into a 'hill'? whence
comes 'rest to the land'? and, passing over verse 8, why has
'precept' become 'affliction,' while 'line' wears the guise of
'hope'?
Hereupon it would be discouraging to one who knows that
annotated editions of the classics, and of books of the New
Testament in Greek, are abundant, to find that, in the case of
the Septuagint, they practically do not exist. He might try to
read elsewhere in the Bible, especially in the Pentateuch and
historical books, with better results; but divergences from the
familiar sense, and sometimes unintelligible words or phrases,
would still perplex him here and there. In 2 Kings v., for
instance, his path would be comparatively easy at first; but
verses 16—18 would appear more hazy, and as Sc/fyafla T^S yrjs
(cf. Genesis xxxv. 16, xlviii. 7) would confront him in verse 19.
And to the ordinary reader, the search for the explanation of
these things would be often difficult and inconvenient.
The main objects of the present attempt, when it began to
take shape, were two: first, to interest modern Hellenists—those
who have Greek, but little or no Hebrew—in the Bible of the
Hellenists, as largely used by the New Testament writers, the
oldest Version of the Old Testament Scriptures; second, to set
forth, in the portion chosen, the relation of that Version to the
viii PREFACE
original Hebrew. In the endeavour to do this, many instances
have been noted, where the Hebrew, which the Greek translators
evidently believed that they had before them, differs from the
text which we now possess. From the character and extent of
the differences, some idea can be formed, whether they were right
in their belief, and consequently have preserved to us an older,
and presumably superior text of the Hebrew: or were wrong, and
constantly misread their Hebrew, besides at times misinterpreting
it. For Isaiah, the result of the examination seems to me, on
the whole, clear; though it was no part of my original aim to
establish it, nor of my expectation to find it. It will not of
course be necessarily true in the same measure, or even at all,
for other parts of the Bible: and it may not be accepted without
deductions. But briefly, the result seems to be, that the trans­
lators' mistakes in reading (however ample their excuse) are so
numerous, ranging in their effect from minute points to the
wreck of whole sentences, that their view cannot carry weight
as to the real Hebrew text of their day. The Hebrew text, as
we know it, is rather negatively fortified by the disclosure of
their mistakes, than impugned on real authority derived from
them. Yet our respect for the Alexandrian translators is likely
to increase rather than lessen, as we learn to appreciate their
difficulties, while noting their errors. They deserve all the honour
due to pioneers, thanks to whose struggles other and weaker men
walk safely, where they stumbled. Their praise is even in the
Gospel.
The appeal which this book makes is distributed among
various classes of readers, between which it must risk falling,
equally disregarded by all. To the Old Testament student it
offers, with great diffidence, a collection of some points for his
notice, which else he would have had to bring together for him­
self, or to solve as he went; to the Greek scholar an attempt
at guidance amid the peculiar difficulties of the Septuagint; and
to the general reader an outline of the questions at issue, and
parallel renderings, for comparison, from the Hebrew and the
Greek, by means of which he may do something to examine
them for himself.
PREFACE IX
A word is perhaps needed with regard to the notes. It was
necessary to make them short, and the second volume is intended
to provide fuller notes, especially on the Greek text and language.
The convenience of the reader has been the main object in view.
Alternative renderings have been given when their importance
seemed to justify it, and various readings, especially those of
Cod. B, on the right-hand pages. Some famous and difficult
passages in the Hebrew have, on the other hand, been very
briefly dismissed, and alternative renderings and views occasionally
left unnoticed, simply because only full treatment of them could
be satisfactory; and this, which was impossible here, must be
sought in the standard commentaries on Isaiah.
I have found myself indebted, at every turn, to the authors
of these standard works, and to books on the Septuagint in
general. Though the subject-matter of the Book of Isaiah is
mainly outside the scope of this work, much is necessarily owed
to such editors as Delitzsch, Kay (in the Speaker's Commentary),
Cheyne, Alexander, Albert Barnes, and Skinner (Camb. Bible for
Schools); also to Professor Driver's ' Isaiah' in the Men of the
Bible series, and Prof. W. E. Barnes' two concise little volumes
in the Churchman}s Bible. For other aspects of the subject,
Field's Hcxapla, and the new Oxford Concordance to the Septuagint,
deserve the thanks of every student. But my greatest direct
debts are, I think, to Prof. Swete's Introduction to the Old
Testament in Greek, and even more, to the Cambridge manual
LXX. itself, edited by him. This work seems almost to have
started Septuagint study afresh, and upon a sounder basis than
before. To my friend Mr F. C. Burkitt I am specially grateful
for many hints and much valuable counsel, while I have also
gained much from several of his works, most perhaps from his
edition of Tyconius's Book of Rules. For my errors he is, of
course, in no way responsible, though he may have saved me
from many; and if I have often been compelled to differ in
views from him and from others wiser than myself, my thanks
are the more due. Of Dr Scholz's short but most useful work
on the LXX. of Isaiah I speak elsewhere, but must not forget to
record my obligations to it. I name these works with hesitation,
X PREFACE
lest it should seem a needlessly long roll of valuable materials
indifferently used; yet ingratitude seems a less pardonable fault.
Finally, I must not omit to thank Dr Henry Jackson, of Trinity
College, Cambridge, the value of whose generously-given advice
all his former pupils know so well.
The choice of the Book of Isaiah for this attempt will be best
explained by bringing together two extracts from Prof. Swete's
Introduction to the O. T. in Greek. On page 314, speaking of
the "varying standards of excellence" in rendering, he says—
and scholars are unusually unanimous on the point—"The
Psalms and more especially the Book of Isaiah show obvious
signs of incompetence": while on page 386, dealing with pas­
sages of the LXX. cited in the New Testament, he points out
that "Among single books the Psalter supplies40, and Isaiah 38 :
i.e., nearly half of the passages expressly cited in the N. T. come
from one or other of these two sources." The latter sentence
seals the importance of the book, even in the version; the
former gives a reason why it might fail to attract the attention
of students. Had others been likely to occupy the ground, I
should not have ventured upon it; and as it is, the work has
grown under my hands beyond my first intentions, and beyond
my equipment and abilities. My hope is, however, that it may
be, for the time, moderately useful: and that it may at least
rouse enough interest in the subject to induce some scholar to
do the work again, and to do it better.
I part from this volume with sincere thanks to the readers
and other workers at the Cambridge University Press, for the
skill and care they have bestowed upon it.
R. R. O.
July, 1904.