A thorough analysis of metaphor translation techniques used in Isaiah In this study Benjamin M. Austin analyzes all the plant metaphors in Isaiah and classifies them according to the metaphor translation techniques used by the Septuagint translator. Austin illustrates how the translator took the context of each metaphor into account and demonstrates how the natural features of the plants under discussion at times influenced their translation. He argues that the translator tried to render metaphors vividly and with clarity, sometimes adjusting them to match the experience of his audience living in Egypt. Austin also examines metaphors in terms of their vehicles (the objects of comparison), so that the translation of similar metaphors can be compared. Features A comparison of the Masoretic Text to the Septuagint and Targum A classification of metaphor translation strategies An introduction to the Hellenistic and the Jewish conception of metaphors

Creation conjures emotion and thereby shapes how we think and act. People fear snakes and enclosed spaces, and delight in well-watered landscapes. Language about nature evokes these emotional meanings and their consequences. We may construe nature as a mother to enhance love of creation and motivate care for our common home. Mother nature becomes a caregiving source of life rather than an inert resource. Alternatively, we may focus on the dangers or uselessness of a swamp so that we may drain it and plant crops. Creation and the ways we speak about it reflect and shape emotion and influence behavior. Every reference to the natural word in biblical literature involves some emotional resonance. Any animal might have intruded into the paradise of Eden, but the biblical narrative gives this role to a snake. The serpent elicits ominous foreboding because snakes evoke fear and fascination. Isaiah amplifies the joy of Israel's restoration by depicting deserts transforming into fertile fields and creation itself rejoicing. Biblical authors draw on human emotional responsiveness to creation to express and elicit emotions. David A. Bosworth analyzes how biblical texts use creation to conjure emotion. He draws on the science of emotion, including research on human emotional responsiveness to nature. Ancient texts correlate with contemporary research on how human environments shape emotion and behavior. The chapters unfold how specific emotions emerge from biblical references to aspects of creation.

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages. Features: Reviews of new books written by top scholars Topical divisions make research easy Indexes of authors and editors, reviewers, and publishers

In 1946, Gillis Gerleman proposed a single translator for LXX Proverbs and LXX Job. After he launched this hypothesis, scholars have either confirmed or debunked this hypothesis. Although attempts have been made to come up with an adequate answer to the question of a single translator for both Proverbs and Job, scholars have, thus far, not reached consensus. Moreover, the attempts that have been made are not at all elaborate. Thus, the question remains unsolved. This book tries to formulate an answer to the question of a single translator for both Proverbs and Job by examining the translation technique and theology of both books. The translation technique of both books is analysed by examining the Greek rendering of Hebrew hapax legomena, animal, floral, plant and herb names. The theology is examined by looking at the pluses in the LXX version which contain θεός and κύριος. The results of these studies are compared with one another in order to formulate an answer to a single translator. By doing so, this book not only formulates an answer to a single translator for both LXX Proverbs and Job but also characterises their translation technique and theology in greater detail.

This study investigates the Old Greek translation of Job regarding its text, Vorlage, translation technique, literary contexts, and theological profile. To situate OG Job within its ancient contexts, both the strategies employed by the translators and the literary profile of the translated text have to be taken into account. Thus, an approach is employed encompassing a thick description of translational strategies; and a reading of the translated text in its own right. This framework is applied in an investigation of God’s answer to Job in OG Job 38:1-42:6. The results show that the translators worked from a Vorlage similar to, but not fully identical with MT, and produced a coherent, stylized text. The transformations undertaken, including double translations, intertextual renderings, minuses, small-scale rewritings and paraphrases, can be situated in an environment influenced by Greek educational and philological practices, but are also deeply indebted to Jewish scribal traditions. While not introducing sweeping theological changes, the translation nevertheless shows a tendency to emphasize divine sovereignty. The study thus contributes to a deeper understanding of this important witness to the book of Job an Jewish literature in the Hellenistic period.

Martin Goodman’s forty years of scholarship in Roman history and ancient Judaism demonstrates how each discipline illuminates the other: Jewish history makes best sense in a broader Greco-Roman context; Roman history has much to learn from Jewish sources and evidence. In this volume, Martin’s colleagues and students follow his example by examining Jews and non-Jews in mutual contemplation. Part 1 explores Jews’ views of inter-communal stasis, the causes of the Bar Kochba revolt, tales of Herodian intrigue, and the meaning of “Israel.” Part 2 investigates Jews depiction of outsiders: Moabites, Greeks, Arabs, and Roman authorities. Part 3 explores early Christians’ (Luke, Jerome, Rufinus, Syriac poetry, Pionius, ordinary individuals) views of Jews and use of Jewish sources, and Josephus’s relevance for girls in 19th century Britain.