A Genealogy of Lust: The Use of Hesiod’s Theogony in the LXX Translation of the Book of Proverbs

Abstract In this study I argue that the translator of Prov 24:50–51 LXX (30:15–16 MT ) adapts the Hebrew text to his Hellenistic audience by alluding to Hesiod’s Theogony . The core message of these verses—the ineluctability of cosmic greed—remains the same, yet the images employed in the Septuagint...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Olivero, Vladimir (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem 2021
In: Textus
Year: 2021, Volume: 30, Issue: 1, Pages: 28-42
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Hesiodus ca. 8 BC./7. Jh. / Theogony / Proverbs / Translation / Bible. Sprichwörter 30,15 / Hellenism / Judaism / Alexandria
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B Theogony
B Hesiod
B Second Temple Judaism
B book of Proverbs
B Septuagint
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Summary:Abstract In this study I argue that the translator of Prov 24:50–51 LXX (30:15–16 MT ) adapts the Hebrew text to his Hellenistic audience by alluding to Hesiod’s Theogony . The core message of these verses—the ineluctability of cosmic greed—remains the same, yet the images employed in the Septuagint are engrained in and originally belong to the Hellenic mythological understanding of how the universe came into being. The use of classical literature to convey the message contained in the texts of the Hebrew Bible speaks to the hybrid character of the Jewish community of the Egyptian diaspora. When the translator quotes or alludes to Greek literature, he is not borrowing foreign material, but rather drawing wisdom from his very own well. In Alexandria, the waters that flowed from the rock at Horeb and from the Hippocrene spring have merged their course.
ISSN:2589-255X
Contains:Enthalten in: Textus
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/2589255X-bja10012