Scribes and Translators is a critical reflection on the textual pluralism as reflected in the book of Kings. The first part of the book examines the diverse texts transmitted by the manuscripts. Special attention is paid to the Antiochene text of the Septuagint that is being edited in Madrid. The second part is devoted to the analysis of Old Latin readings, transmitted by a Spanish family of Vulgate Bibles, with no support in any of the known manuscripts. Finally, the whole evidence is discussed in the frame of the plurality of texts confirmed by the Qumran documents for those books. Based on Old Latin material recently published it sheds light on the text transmission of Kings and on the translation techniques and the history of the Biblical texts in general.

This volume, based on recently published Old Latin material, provides fascinating information and discussion on the textual pluralism attested by the Hebrew texts and versions of the books of Kings, an intriguing page in the history of the biblical texts.

In this dissertation, I propose and apply a methodology that situates the Septuagint within the broader scribal culture of the ancient world. Drawing on theory from the field of Translation Studies and a comparative analysis of textual and translation data in Exodus 1-14, I argue that the phenomena of translation and textual transmission are fundamentally similar, particularly in the case of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. First, I consider the extent to which textual transmission could be considered translation, using the framework of "intralingual translation" derived from the field of Translation Studies. Second, I argue that the translator held the Hebrew from the source text in short-term memory before translating. This notion suggests that many of the differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible result from changes to the Hebrew in the translator's mind before any translation has occurred. Third, I present a full investigation of the variants in Exodus 1, in both Hebrew manuscripts and the Septuagint, finding that the types of change are essentially the same in both transmission and translation. Finally, I consider "large-scale" variation in the Ten Plagues narrative, analyzing a much discussed pattern of insertions found in 4QpaleoExodm and the Samaritan Pentateuch. Nothing comparable can be found in the Septuagint, showing that the translator, in this case, was more conservative in the transmission of the text than were some scribes. The conclusions of my dissertation are significant: the process of translation does not, as many assume, introduce an insurmountable barrier between the Greek and the Hebrew text it represents; rather, the Septuagint should be used, though carefully, to reconstruct its source text for use in textual criticism and other studies.

In the first half of the 2d millennium BCE, translation occasionally depicted semantically incongruous correspondences. Such cases reflect ancient scribes substantiating their virtuosity with cuneiform writing by capitalizing on phonologic, graphemic, semantic, and other resemblances in the interlingual space. These scholar–scribes employed an essential scribal practice, analogical hermeneutics, an interpretative activity grounded in analogical reasoning and empowered by the potentiality of the cuneiform script. Scribal education systematized such practices, allowing scribes to utilize these habits in copying compositions and creating translations. In scribal education, analogical hermeneutics is exemplified in the word list "Izi", both in its structure and in its occasional bilingualism. By examining "Izi" as a product of the social field of scribal education, this book argues that scribes used analogical hermeneutics to cultivate their craft and establish themselves as knowledgeable scribes. Within a linguistic epistemology of cuneiform scribal culture, translation is a tool in the hands of a knowledgeable scholar.

In each area of scripture Joseph Smith, the founding prophet for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, made a translation. Joseph employed several different types of 'translations' which has caused confusion, misunderstanding and unbelief. Travis Wayne Goodsell goes over each book of scripture and explains each manner of translation utilized. The Bible has been translated incorrectly and has been corrupted by past translators. According to Joseph, "We believe the Bible to be the Word of God as far as it is translated correctly..." Joseph was merely restoring what was lost in translation.

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement series, 291