A Critical Evaluation of the Syriac Version of the Psalms of SolomonSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/WJG4G8H9/tei
Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
2024-08-15-04:00
Born digital.
CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Joseph LewisTraftonA Critical Evaluation of the Syriac Version of the Psalms of Solomonhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/WJG4G8H9https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/WJG4G8H9https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/WJG4G8H91981This study attempts to determine the place of the Syriac version of the Psalms of Solomon within the textual tradition of this 1st c. B.C.E. Jewish pseudepigraphon and, thus, to assess the relative value of the Syriac version over against the Greek version as a textual witness for the Psalms of Solomon. In Chapter I, the need for this study is established. Although scholars have long recognized the importance of the Psalms of Solomon and have agreed that the Psalms of Solomon are extant only in translation of what was probably a Hebrew original, the Syriac version, one of only two versions of the Psalms of Solomon known to exist, has been largely denigrated as a textual witness and often ignored completely. Indeed, no one has made a comprehensive investigation into the textual value of the Syriac version. In Chapter II, the five extant Syriac and eleven extant Greek manuscripts of the Psalms of Solomon are identified. In Chapter III, the Syriac and the Greek versions are compared. For each of the eighteen psalms, the Syriac and the Greek texts are set forth in parallel columns on facing pages, followed by a translation of the Syriac, notes dealing with the character of the Syriac and with differences between the Syriac and the Greek, and a summary. In Chapter IV, an attempt to ascertain the Vorlage of the Syr is made. First, the evidence which might imply a Greek Vorlage for the Syriac is collected and then evaluated critically. Next, the evidence which might imply a Heb Vorlage is collected and then evaluated critically. Finally, it is concluded that the evidence for a Hebrew Vorlage is stronger than that for a Greek. In Chapter V, the relative value of the Syriac version as a textual witness to the Psalms of Solomon is discussed. A tabulation of passages where the Syriac seems to preserve the original reading of the text over against the Greek, and vice-versa, suggests two conclusions: first, that the extant Syriac tradition is an important witness to the text and cannot be ignored; and, second, that the extant Greek tradition is, overall, a better textual witness than the Syriac with respect to the meaning of the text. In Chapter VI, the results of this study are summarized and the importance of both the Syriac and the Greek versions as textual witnesses to the Psalms of Solomon is reaffirmed.
Trafton, Joseph Lewis. “A Critical Evaluation of the Syriac Version of the Psalms of Solomon.” Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University, 1981.
Joseph Lewis Trafton, A Critical Evaluation of the Syriac Version of the Psalms of Solomon (Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University, 1981).OT apocryphaPsalms of Solomonpoetryprimary sources [Syriac] + English translationtranslations from Hebrewtranslations into Syriac