Doctoral Degrees (Ancient Studies)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Ancient Studies) by browse.metadata.advisor "Claassen, Walter T."

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    Aspects of the translation technique of the Septuagint : the finite verb in the Septuagint of Deuteronomy
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 1992-12) Nieuwoudt, Bernard Andre; Cook, Johann; Claassen, Walter T.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Two major religions, Judaism and Christianity, use the ancient Hebrew Bible as Holy Scripture. These books were translated in the last three centuries before the common era. The oldest of these translations is the Septuagint, a Greek translation. Not only are the Hebrew and Greek texts that were involved in the original translation process missing, but precious little is known about the doctrine and translation methods of the translators of the Septuagint. Much can be learned about these crucial issues, however, if the translation technique followed by those ancient translators is studied by comparing the present Hebrew and Greek texts. A new method to determine and describe the translation technique of the Septuagint was proposed and tested in this dissertation. This method is based on the use of the Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies (CATSS) data base and statistical methods. The translation technique of the book Deuteronomy was described using different criteria, all of which measure the frequency of non-literal renderings. Three different groups of criteria were utilized, viz. the Tov criteria as proposed by E. Tov, criteria defined using the markers in the CATSS data base called the CATSS criteria, and grammatical criteria using the person of the verb. Each criterion was applied to the data base individually. The translation units were determined first, after which the translation technique found within the translation unit was described. The methodology implemented discriminates between significant and insignificant trends in translation technique. It became clear that the results of the different criteria indicate different translation units and different translation techniques for each of the criteria. Except for some criteria using the person of the verb, very little indication was found that the traditional translation units are supported by the data used in this study. In fact, it seems as if translation units should be determined before the translation technique is described. The translation technique should then be described according to the indicated units. Not all the Tov criteria could be utilized, but their results are in agreement to some extent. The CATSS criteria proved to be more difficult to implement than expected, but some of the criteria rendered excellent results. The person of the verb was discussed in detail using 12 different criteria. The results of the criteria utilizing the person of the verb are disappointing, and provide some scope for future research. The results rendered by this new approach are firm and easy to interpret. In addition, it is possible to utilize these results when dealing with specific text-critical problems.