Reevaluating Parataxis in the Septuagint
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William A. Ross
Abstract
Much of modern study of the Septuagint has occupied itself with analyzing the corpus to characterize the ways in which it was produced in antiquity. The study of translation technique, as it is often called, is typically framed in terms of quantitative correspondence of the Greek text with its purported Semitic source. This approach has led to the proliferation of Greek linguistic features labelled Semitism (or Hebraism). The first section of this paper will outline these issues to highlight how Septuagint scholarship has for decades both construed parataxis pejoratively and categorized it as Semitism, almost entirely without question. The following two sections offer a different explanation, building on recent work in theoretical linguistics, specifically the study of pragmatics. After a description of this theoretical perspective, various categories of pragmatic implicature are illustrated using texts from the Septuagint Pentateuch, focusing in particular on the Aqedah narrative in Genesis 22:1–19. Analysis moves then to an assessment of parataxis in other Septuagint texts that have been discussed by previous scholars, expanding upon or modifying their earlier conclusions in light of advances in linguistics. This essay thus commends reevaluating parataxis in the Septuagint corpus generally and offers a linguistically-informed corrective to received ideas that are flawed but nevertheless tolerated in the discipline, particularly with regard to the concept of Semitism.
Abstract
Much of modern study of the Septuagint has occupied itself with analyzing the corpus to characterize the ways in which it was produced in antiquity. The study of translation technique, as it is often called, is typically framed in terms of quantitative correspondence of the Greek text with its purported Semitic source. This approach has led to the proliferation of Greek linguistic features labelled Semitism (or Hebraism). The first section of this paper will outline these issues to highlight how Septuagint scholarship has for decades both construed parataxis pejoratively and categorized it as Semitism, almost entirely without question. The following two sections offer a different explanation, building on recent work in theoretical linguistics, specifically the study of pragmatics. After a description of this theoretical perspective, various categories of pragmatic implicature are illustrated using texts from the Septuagint Pentateuch, focusing in particular on the Aqedah narrative in Genesis 22:1–19. Analysis moves then to an assessment of parataxis in other Septuagint texts that have been discussed by previous scholars, expanding upon or modifying their earlier conclusions in light of advances in linguistics. This essay thus commends reevaluating parataxis in the Septuagint corpus generally and offers a linguistically-informed corrective to received ideas that are flawed but nevertheless tolerated in the discipline, particularly with regard to the concept of Semitism.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables IX
- List of Figures X
- Unraveling Post-Classical (In)Subordination: From Syntax to Context 1
- FYI: Predicate Insubordination with ἵνα in Documentary Post-Classical Greek 11
- Voice, Actionality, and Argument Structure of ‘Εἶναι + Participle’ Periphrases in Post-Classical Greek 43
- The Syntax and Pragmatics of the Directive Downtoner καλῶς ποιέω in Post-Classical Greek (I–IV CE) 65
- The Ups and Downs, Ins and Outs of Subordination in the History of Greek 93
- Reevaluating Parataxis in the Septuagint 111
- Lost (and Gained) in Translation: Syntactic Features of Relative Clauses in Septuagint Greek 133
- Continuity and Change in the Syntax of δίδωμι in Septuagint Greek 165
- Correlating Morphosyntactic Stability, Change, Register and Context of Use in Post-Classical Greek: The Case of Insubordinate Wishes 179
- The Accessibility Hierarchy in Post-Classical Greek between Syntax and Sociolinguistics 209
- Going Nominal? The Ancient Greek Articular Infinitive between Syntax and Context 237
- Subordination and Competing Constructions in Greek Acts of Christian Martyrs: A Case Study 277
- Atticist Syntax: Prescriptive Norms on the Infinitival Complementation of μέλλω 301
- List of Contributors 301
- Index Nominum
- Index Rerum
- Index of Sources
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables IX
- List of Figures X
- Unraveling Post-Classical (In)Subordination: From Syntax to Context 1
- FYI: Predicate Insubordination with ἵνα in Documentary Post-Classical Greek 11
- Voice, Actionality, and Argument Structure of ‘Εἶναι + Participle’ Periphrases in Post-Classical Greek 43
- The Syntax and Pragmatics of the Directive Downtoner καλῶς ποιέω in Post-Classical Greek (I–IV CE) 65
- The Ups and Downs, Ins and Outs of Subordination in the History of Greek 93
- Reevaluating Parataxis in the Septuagint 111
- Lost (and Gained) in Translation: Syntactic Features of Relative Clauses in Septuagint Greek 133
- Continuity and Change in the Syntax of δίδωμι in Septuagint Greek 165
- Correlating Morphosyntactic Stability, Change, Register and Context of Use in Post-Classical Greek: The Case of Insubordinate Wishes 179
- The Accessibility Hierarchy in Post-Classical Greek between Syntax and Sociolinguistics 209
- Going Nominal? The Ancient Greek Articular Infinitive between Syntax and Context 237
- Subordination and Competing Constructions in Greek Acts of Christian Martyrs: A Case Study 277
- Atticist Syntax: Prescriptive Norms on the Infinitival Complementation of μέλλω 301
- List of Contributors 301
- Index Nominum
- Index Rerum
- Index of Sources
