The Library in Alexandria and the Bible in Greek (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum)

225 Pages·2000·10.35 MB·English

by  Nina L. Collins

THE LIBRARY IN ALEXANDRIA
AND THE BIBLE IN GREEK
SUPPLEMENTS
TO
VETUS TESTAMENTUM
EDITED BY
THE BOARD OF THE QUARTERLY
H.M. BARSTAD - PHYLLIS A. BIRD - R.E GORDON
A. HURVITZ - A. VAN DER KOOIJ - A. LEMAIRE
R. SMEND - J. TREBOLLE BARRERA
J.C. VANDERKAM - H.G.M. WILLIAMSON
VOLUME LXXXII
THE LIBRARY IN ALEXANDRIA
AND
THE BIBLE IN GREEK
BY
NINA L. COLLINS
BRILL
LEIDEN • BOSTON • KOLN
2000
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Collins, Nina L.
The library in Alexandria and the Bible in Greek / by Nina L. Collins.
p. cm. — (Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, ISSN 0083-f
v. 82)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 9004118667 (alk. paper)
1. Bible O.T. Greek—Versions—Septuagint. 2. Demetrius, of Phaleron,
b. 350 B.C. 3. Alexandrian Library. I. Title. II. Series.
BS410.V452 vol. 82
[BS744]
221 s—dc21 00-023669
[221.4'8] CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — GIP-Einheitsaufnahme
Collins, Nina L.:
The library in Alexandria and the Bible in Greek / by Nina L. Collins.
- Leiden ; Boston ; Koln : Brill, 2000
(Supplements to Vetus testamentum ; Vol. 82)
ISBN 90-04-11866-7
ISSN 0083-5889
ISBN 90 04 11866 7
© Copyright 2000 by Koninklvjke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in
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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
This book is dedicated to
L. H. C.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
I An Overview of the Themes of this Book 1
II The Date of the Translation of the Pentateuch
into Greek 6
III Demetrius of Phalerum was a Trusted Employee
of Ptolemy II 58
IV Demetrius of Phalerum, Librarian in the Library of
Ptolemy I 82
V Who Wanted a Translation of the Pentateuch
into Greek? 115
Bibliography 183
Appendix 191
Index
1 Modern Authors 195
2 Ancient Sources 198
3 Subjects 205
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many people who have helped with this book. I would
like especially to thank Mr Ian Moxon of the Department of History
at the University of Leeds for introducing me to Septuagint Studies
and for continuing so generously to discuss different aspects of my
work. Thanks also to the Department of Theology and Religious
Studies, who have given me support throughout the time that this
book was written, especially Professor Adrian Hastings, Professor
Keith Elliott, Professor Neal Robinson, Ingrid Lawrie and Dr Martin
Kapel. My thanks also to the librarians at the Brotherton Library,
who searched tirelessly for the older publications needed for this
research. Thanks also to Dr Hans Gottschalk and Professor Malcolm
Heath of the Department of Classics, Dr Avi Shivtiel of the Department
of Modern Arabic and Professor George Brook of the Department
of Religions and Theology at the University of Manchester. These
kind scholars are of course not responsible for the opinions voiced
here. Finally, my thanks to Professor Andre Lemaire and all those
at Brill, for their help in publishing this work.
An earlier version of Chapter 2 was first published in The Septuagint
and its Relations to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Writings, G. Brooke &
B. Lindars, eds. (SBLSCS, Atlanta, 1992), pp. 403-503. An early
draft of Chapter 5 will be published in the conference papers of the
British Association of Jewish Studies, held in 1999.