Click here to return to Vol.79 (1998)

1 J. W. WEVERS, Notes on the Greek Text of Leviticus (Society of Biblical Literature. Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series 44; Atlanta, GA, Scholars Press, 1997. xxxix-519p. 22,5 cm. This volume will be referred to as Wevers, usually meaning ad loc., or otherwise, giving page reference.

2 J. W. WEVERS, Notes on the Greek Text of Exodus (SBLSCS 30; Atlanta 1990); id., Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis (SBLSCS 35; Atlanta 1993); id., Notes on the Greek Text of Deuteronomy (SBLSCS 39; Atlanta 1995).

3 Septuaginta. Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Academiae Scientiarum Gottingensis editum. Vol. II 2: Leviticus, (ed. J. W. WEVERS) (Göttingen 1986).

4 Note, however, that at Deut 30,6, where MT says Kbbl t)... lmw , "and the Lord your God will ‘circumcise’ your heart", the verb lwm is rendered perikaqariei= as well.

5 Thus, in the other volumes Wevers pays much attention to the transformations (mostly by scribal errors) which the numerous personal names in LXX have undergone over the generations.

6 See J. W. WEVERS, Text History of the Greek Genesis (AAWG, MSU 11; Göttingen 1974); id., Text History of the Greek Deuteronomy (AAWG, MSU 13; Göttingen 1978); id., Text History of the Greek Numbers (AAWG, MSU 16; Göttingen 1982); id., Text History of the Greek Leviticus (AAWG, MSU 19; Göttingen 1986); id., Text History of the Greek Exodus (AAWG, MSU 21; Göttingen 1992).

7 This is Wevers’ siglum for the LXX text of Leviticus in the Göttingen edition. Similarly, his sigla Gen, Exod and Deut indicate what is in the Greek texts of Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy, respectively. This, then, seems not to state specifically if a given Greek expression is merely a translation or represents another Hebrew version. However, we often have the feeling that Wevers uses these sigla where actually he means the Greek translator(s) of these biblical books (i.e., that in these particular cases it was the translator who deviated from his Hebrew Vorlage which was identical with MT).

8 Wevers prefers to label it BHS, since this is the Hebrew text Wevers uses as representing MT.

9 M. A. ZIPOR, "The use of LXX as a Text-witness: Further considerations", Shnaton lemiqra uleh[eqer hamizrah[ haqadum (Hebrew; forthcoming).

10 The Septuagint Version of the Pentateuch, Hebrew translated and annotated. I would like to thank the Research Authority of Bar-Ilan University for its support of the project and its willingness to publish my first two volumes on Genesis which have recently been brought to print. The volume of Leviticus is currently in preparation. Some of the following comments are included in my "Notes sur les chapitres XIX ŕ XXII du Lévitique dans la Bible d’Alexandrie", ETL 67 (1991) 328-337.

11 Which later became "idols" in European languages.

12 Z. FRANKEL, Ueber den Einfluss der palästinischen Exegese auf die alexandrinische Hermeneutik (Leipzig 1951) 151-152; L. PRIJS, Jüdische Tradition in der Septuaginta (Leiden 1948) 105-106.

13 For the variants Mylwlx/Mylwlh and llh/llx (in connection with vineyard) in MT and the Ancient Versions as well as in the rabbinical literature, here and in other references, see M. A. ZIPOR, "Studies in the Septuagint of Leviticus", Bar-Ilan Yearbook 9 (1972) 92-101 (esp. 95-96); id., "Notes sur les chapitres XIX ŕ XXII", 332.

14 See Y. MAORI, The Peshitta Translation to the Pentateuch and the Jewish Exegesis (Jerusalem 1995) 171.

15 See A. GEIGER, Urschrift und Übersetzungen der Bibel in ihrer Abhängigkeit von der innern Entwicklung des Judentums (Frankfurt a. Main 21928) 351-359.

16 For the various ancient interpretations of the verbs (rp and Mrp in the different biblical contexts, see ZIPOR, "Studies in the Septuagint of Leviticus", 98-101; id., "Notes sur les chapitres XIX ŕ XXII",334; see also R. L. GOERWITZ, "What does the Priestly Source mean by #)r t) (rp ?", JQR 86 (1996) 377-394.

17 In 25,6b Wevers erroneously divides the verse differently from the cantillations and commentaries and connects the participle Myrgh, "who dwell" only with Kb#wt, taking the term b#wt in this context as a collective noun. In my opinion "your hired servant and sojourner" in this verse should be read together as a fixed pair (in inverted order), hence the plural participle. In fact, Sam has all the persons in this verse as well as in v. 44 in the plural. It is, however, secondary, since the form Kytm)lw does not exist in biblical Hebrew as a plural form, but rather Kytwhm).

18 N. H. TUR-SINAI, Peshuto shel Mikra, Vol. I (Jerusalem 1922) 143.

19 J. FISCHER, Das Alphabet der LXX – Vorlage mn Pentateuch (Münster 1924) 38.

20 See M. BROSHI (ed.), The Damascus Document Reconsidered (Jerusalem 1992) 27.

21 FRANKEL, Einfluss, 156.

22 A. ROFÉ, "Qumranic Paraphrases, the Greek Deuteronomy and the Late History of the Biblical )y#n", Textus 14 (1988) 163-174 (esp. 169-174).

23 See FRANKEL, Einfluss, 147. For the Hebrew word l(b in this context, see ZIPOR, "Restrictions on Marriage for Priests (Lev 21,7.13-14)", Bib 68 (1987) 266-267.

24 In fact, in miqs[at ma(ase+ ha-tora this law is seemingly applied to pregnant animals, thus: "[And concerning pregnant animals] we are of the opin[ion that] the mother and its dlw [may not be sacrificed] on the same day (…) and it is written hrb(". The last word is interpreted by the editor as "pregnant" (DJD X, 157). Compare also the Temple Scroll 52,5-7: "And you shall not sacrifice to Me a cow (rw#) or a sheep or a goat when they are pregnant for they are abomination for me". At this point the following is cited: dx) Mwyb wxbzt )l wnb t)w wtw) h#w rw#w; then "and you shall not kill the mother with its young" (cf. Gen 32,12 and Deut 22,6). Note that in the Temple Scroll the biblical expression is cited (with the variant wxbzt) in the wording of MT, and the author interprets it only as referring to the mother and its young.

25 At times there are errors of page reference. Misled by the Table of Contents, I tried in vain to find the deciphering of the Sigla on p. xxx; it is, in fact, to be found on p. xxxv.