Trails of A Different Vorlage and A Free Translator in Proverbs: A Text-Critical Analysis of Prov 16:1-7

Abstract

In recent Septuagint scholarly debates, a great deal of attention has been given to the Book of Proverbs. This book, unlike others, has not been extensively studied regarding translation techniques or text-critical research. Nevertheless, the textual witnesses of Proverbs demonstrate some variants, particularly many minuses and pluses, which are relevant to our understanding of the text. This article presents a text-critical analysis of Prov 16:1-7 using the methodology proposed by Bénédicte Lemmelijn presented in her book A Plague of Texts? A Text-Critical Study of the So-Called “Plague Narrative” in Exodus 7:14-11,10. The results of this analysis led to the conclusion that the LXX translator, who translated freely, had a different Vorlage, which had another verse order than MT and 4QProv b . This essay makes a contribution in terms of arriving at a better understanding of the translation technique of LXX-Proverbs.

Keywords

• LXX
• Proverbs
• Text Criticism
• Translation Technique