LXX

• Letter of Aristeas writes of 72 scholars who translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt at the invitation of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 BCE)

• Most probably it was translated to meet the needs of the Greek speaking Jewish population in Egypt

• The Law was translated into the vernacular Greek (koine) about 250 BCE and the Prophets and other books were completed by ca. 75 BCE

• The Bible of the first Christians was largely the LXX

XEXAPLA

• Aquila 100 CE

• Theodotion and Symmachus in 2nd Century CE

• Origen 230-240 CE did a critical compilation fo the Greek Translations which he arranged in columns alongside the Hebrew text accompanied by a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew called the Hexapla. Only a few fragments remain.

• Jerome was commissioned to produce an official Latin version in 382 E known as the Vulgate

Syriac Versions

• Diatessaron: literally means “through four” – Primary translation

(unknown if it was originally written in Greek or Syriac)?

– Translated by Tatian in the 2nd century

– Some refer to it as “the oldest translation ever made of the Gospels into Syriac” (Robinson 98).

– The translation is a harmony of the four Gospels; hence the name “Diatessaron.”

– The translation was ascetic in nature, as was Tatian (i.e. Matt. 1:19-19).

Syriac Peshitta

• Primary translation

• Emerged in the 5th century

• Perhaps prepared by bishop Rabbula of Edessa from 411 to 435

• The translation of the OT is done by Jewish scribes (perhaps deriving from the Targums).

• The translation of the NT only includes 22 of the books (missing the General Epistles and Revelation).

• Still remains the standard Syriac version of the Scriptures (Leishman 64).

• Is now preserved in 243 manuscripts (Bratton 234).

The Pashitta. 10th century.

Coptic Versions

• Sahidic version: – Secondary translation (OT

derived from the LXX)

– Language was spoken in upper Egypt

– Derives from Coptic (Egyptian) language; last phase in Egyptian languages.

– Dating to the 3rd century

– Contains many peculiarities not found in other versions (i.e. Matt. 6:13; Luke 16:19).

• Bonaire version: – Secondary translation (OT

derived from the LXX)

– Language was spoken in lower Egypt

• Was the most developed Egyptian language

Armenian Version

• Secondary translation (Derived from the LXX and the Peshitta)

• Dating in the 5th century

• There are more than 1,244 manuscripts

• One of the earliest translations of the Bible.

• Includes books outside of the biblical canon: – OT: History of Joseph and

Asenath, 4 Ezra, and Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs

– NT: Epistles of the Corinthians

Georgian Version

• Tertiary translation

(derived from the Syriac

or Armenian versions)

• Valuable for textual

criticism for Syriac

versions.

• Dating in the 5th century

• Georgia is north of

Armenia (today is the

former Soviet Union).

– Translation name is

derived from this

geographic location.

Ethiopic Version

• OT translation derived

from the LXX.

• NT translation has

influences from the

Syriac and Byzantine

text types.

• Dating in the 5th or 6th

century

• Contains some NT

Apocrypha (1 Enoch

and Jubilees)

Arabic Versions

• Derived from Greek, Syriac, Coptic, and Latin versions

• The oldest known Arabic manuscript is the Codex Vaticanus 13 (containing Paul’s Epistles and portions of the Gospels).

• The last ancient translation of the OT is the Saadia Gaon (882-942). – nearly identical to the

MT.

Old Latin Version

• Secondary translation (derived from the LXX, and some from the Hebrew)

• “Old” refers to the time before the Latin Vulgate.

• In the 3rd century Latin became the major language in the western Roman Empire.

– So there was a need for Latin translation.

• Dating to the 2nd century.

• OT: contains Pentateuch, Psalms, and the Major and Minor Prophets

• NT: contains the Gospels, Pauline Epistiles, Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation

• May have first appeared in Africa and then later appeared in Europe (MacGregor 86).

Latin Vulgate

• Primary translation (derived from the Greek, the LXX, and the Hebrew)

• Translation by Jerome in 383 to about 405.

• At the time, Jerome was the only qualifying scholar to make such a translation.

• “Vulgate” means “common” or “plain”

• This was the standard Bible for about a thousand years in Western Europe.

• The church chastised Jerome for using the Hebrew – they perceived it as Judaising.

• Later in the middle ages became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church in the 9th century (MacGregor 87, Bratton 231).

• There are more than ten thousand manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate (Wegner 256).

• 90 percent coincides with the Codex Brixianus (Bratton 230).

Latin Vulgate (cont.)

Clementine Vulgate, 1592.

Latin Vulgate

• The earliest bible used in

English churches was The

Latin Vulgate that was

translated by Jerome

between 383 and 405 A.D.

(p.1). The most reliable

manuscript of the Vulgate

that we have was made in

England which is probably

evidence of a respect that

the Britons held for this

translation and for scripture

itself (p.1).

Carolingian Renaissance, 752-800 AD Charlemagne was a strong supporter of

education Encouraged formation of schools & accurate translations of knowledge

Assembled scholars and learned men at court in Aachen

Most noted was Alcuin of York, England (c. 735-804) who was Charlemagne's chief advisor on religious and educational matters; prepared official documents and exempla 781-

The scholars copied books and built up libraries; used "Carolingian minuscule;" saved the thoughts and writings of the ancients

Worked on educating priests

Limited illiteracy

Preserved Latin culture in West

Coronation Gospels.

St.. Matthew

Ebbo Gospels,

St. Matthew

Carolingian Monks

copy scriptures

Gothic Version

• Secondary translation

(derived from the LXX)

• Wulfilas is attributed to this

translation

• There are nine manuscripts

of the Gothic version

– None have the whole Bible

• OT: some of Genesis,

Psalms, and some of Ezra-

Nehemiah

• NT: the Gospels, and some

of Paul’s Epistles

Old Slavonic Version

• Primary translation (derived

from the Greek manuscripts)

• Attributed Constantine

(Cyril the monk), a student

at the University of

Constantinople (863)

• Before his death in 869, he

translated Psalms, and

possibly the Gospels and

Acts.

• Colleagues finished his

work afterwards.

Old English

• From here the Bible was translated into

Old English. The first to attempt this was

Aldhelm, who was the first bishop of

Sherborn in Dorset. He translated the

Psalter into Old English just after 700

A.D. The other early translator concerned

with giving the Bible to the people in

their own language was a monk of

Jarrow named Bede. He sought to help

all the priests who were not strong in

Latin to know the Apostle’s creed and

the Lord’s Prayer. He also sought to

translate portions of the New Testament

into Old English. Another who helped

along the process was King Alfred the

Great who was devoted to learning for

the sake of promoting his nations culture.

He translated the part of the Psalter into

English (p.5-7).

Vikings

Destroy Bibles • Some abbots died under torture

rather than reveal the secrets, but many times the treasures were found, the covers ripped off the Gospel books, the gems pried out, the gold melted down, and the "worthless" vellum pages flung into the sea.

• In monastery after monastery along the coast, Vikings destroyed the churches and put the monks to the sword.

Syrian/Coptic

“Peshitta” Version

• The Peshitta is a Syriac Bible. Its creation represented an attempt to created a "standard version" of the Bible amidst a variety of other Syriac texts.

• The name Peshitta (which means "simple" or "clear") was first used by Moses bar Kepha (d. 903), perhaps to distinguish it from the more complex Syrohexapla, translated ca. 616 from Origen's Hexapla

• Written before Syrian Christians divided into two communities in 431 and this version therefore was accepted by both the Jacobites (Monophysites) and the Nestorians

Circulated outside Roman Empire,

In the East

The Question of Text

• Textual criticism is a science that works with careful controls.

– External evidence (character and quality of manuscripts)

– Internal evidence--kinds of mistakes made by copyists; examples—1 Sam. 8:16; 1 Cor. 11:29

• Although textual criticism is a science, it is not an exact science—it deals with too many human variables.

Fee and Stuart, pp. 30-34

Which Languages ?

• The sixty-six books of the Bible were written in –Hebrew,

Aramaic, and Greek.

• Original language—the language one is translating from

– Attic v. Koine?

– Latin?

– Septuagint?

– Aramaic

• Receptor language—the language one is translating into

– UK vs US English

– 1611 or 2003 English?