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Re: orion translation central?
At 18:06 97/12/09 -0500, Jim West wrote:
>OK- please contain your laughter at what I am about to suggest and recognize
>that it is sometimes the most wild eyed theories which eventually win the
>day. (but maybe not this time).
>
>Here goes (and these are all assumptions without any basis in fact; what I
>am interested in is your opinion as to the feasibility of the theory)
>
>theory 1- the OT was originally composed in Greek during the Hasmonean
>period by Hellenized folk seeking to legitimize their claim to the land
>(land propoganda in the most positive sense of the term).
>
>theory 2- the inhabitants of Qumran translated these documents from Greek
>into Hebrew and Aramaic in order to make them more widely available to the
>home audience (which explains (!) the presence of Greek manuscripts in the
>caves nearby).
<snip>
Dear Jim,
Like Robert Kraft I did not laugh. In my case the reaction was simply
amazement. It seems abundantly clear that the LXX is translation Greek. So
for your hypothesis to be correct, then this Greek original would have to
have been translated from the Hebrew *back* into Greek, right? Why on God's
green earth would someone have done that?
I realize this is now straying off topic for the orion list, but I couldn't
help asking the above question.
Jim, you've taken controversial positions before on this list (and the ane
list), but always defensible ones. Where on earth does this one come from?
Paul Sodtke
London, Ontario
psodtke@execulink.com