Translation and Survival
The Greek Bible of the Ancient Jewish Diaspora
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:21st Jul '11
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- Hardback£130.00(9780199558674)
The translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek was the first major translation in Western culture. Its significance was far-reaching. Without a Greek Bible, European history would have been entirely different - no Western Jewish diaspora and no Christianity. Translation and Survival is a literary and social study of the ancient creators and receivers of the translations, and about their impact. The Greek Bible served Jews who spoke Greek, and made the survival of the first Jewish diaspora possible; indeed, the translators invented the term 'diaspora'. It was a tool for the preservation of group identity and for the expression of resistance. It invented a new kind of language and many new terms. The Greek Bible translations ended up as the Christian Septuagint, taken over along with the entire heritage of Hellenistic Judaism, during the process of the Church's long-drawn-out parting from the Synagogue. Here, a brilliant creation is restored to its original context and to its first owners.
It is to be hoped that Rajak's judicious work will encourage further research; for, as she has shown, the importance of the Septuagint can hardly be exaggerated. For too long it has been largely lost to both Jewish and Christian communities. Rajak dispays a remarkable talent to present a highly complex and broad topic very clearly * Canon Anthony Phillips, Church Times *
A book review cannot possibly do justice to the numerous insights of this detailed and richly argued work * Matthew Kraus, H-Judaic *
Rajak succeeds in bringing together the strands of evidence for a vibrant and even influential Greek Jewish diaspora * A.G. Salvesen. Oriental Institute, Oxford *
an eminently readable, elegantly written, well-researched and fascinating book on the first Jewish Greek Bible translation as a cultural artefact and icon * Piet van der Horst, Studia Philonica Annual *
a stimulating study, dealing with a large number of issues regarding the realities that gave rise to the Greek Bible, the Septuagint, and regarding its role among Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians in Antiquity. * Arie Van Der Kooij, Journal of Theological Studies *
ISBN: 9780199695003
Dimensions: 216mm x 137mm x 24mm
Weight: 492g
400 pages