Review

Reviewed Work(s): Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion in Armenia (SBLSCS 42) by CLAUDE
E. COX
Review by: Edward G. Mathews, Jr.
Source: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 60, No. 1 (January 1998), pp. 112-113
Published by: Catholic Biblical Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43723193
Accessed: 20-07-2023 00:43 +00:00

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 112 THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY I 60, 1998

insightful, though dominated by B.'s historical approach. Moreover, at times the

comments are nothing more than statistics, citations of a word's Hebrew root, or
cross references to other discussions - which puts the onus on the reader to discern
the comment's significance. While this is due in part to the limitations of the series,
it does lessen the usefulness of the volume.
As with any commentary one will not agree with all of B.'s interpretations and
reconstructions. Nevertheless, B.'s source-critical and redactional judgments are cautious
and levelheaded. He presents a careful synthesis of present scholarship on Leviticus,
and his commentary on the text is often perceptive. A larger concern with this commen-
tary concerns method. While a historical approach has much to commend it, in this
case it leads to a commentary that is weak theologically. Many of the forces that
shaped the texts are often ambiguous, or are difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct
- a point that B. himself acknowledges. For instance, while many of the lawF witness
to a profound reverence for life, they also function to secure priestly power. Moreover,
any theological insights gleaned from the text are dependent on B.'s historical recon-
struction, which at times is questionable or vague. Consequently, although this com-
mentary will be useful for scholars and teachers, its value for biblical study and for
pastoral ministry is limited - since the commentaries of this series are ostensibly for
such audiences, this is a significant shortcoming. A minor yet important point: the
layout of the commentary makes it very difficult to locate discussions of specific
verses. It would be much more helpful to have the right header indicate the specific
passages discussed on a page rather than the title of the main section.
The commentary closes with brief indexes of authors and subjects.

Tyler E Williams , Wycliffe College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S

1H7

Claude E. cox, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion in Armenia (SBLSCS 42;

Atlanta: Scholars, 1996). Pp. xxii + 472. $49.95.

As critical editions of books of the Armenian Bible appear, scholars in the field
are beginning to see the importance of the Armenian language not only for the history
of the text of the Armenian Bible but also for the textual history of the various Greek
versions of the OT. Claude Cox, a former student of J. W. Wevers, the distinguished
textual critic of the LXX, is quickly establishing himself as the leading authority on
these Greek materials preserved in Armenian biblical versions. Already a decade ago,
after compiling the critical edition of the Armenian version of Deuteronomy ( The
Armenian Translation of Deuteronomy [University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts
and Studies 2; Atlanta: Scholars, 1981)], C. published a monograph on the hexaplaric
materials in Armenian biblical versions ( Hexaplaric Materials Preserved in the Arme-
nian Version [SBLSCS 21; Atlanta: Scholars, 1986]). Now, he has turned his attention
to the remains of the Greek revisions by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion that
are found in Armenian biblical versions.

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 BOOK REVIEWS 113

The format of this monograph, like that of C.'s Hexaplaric Materials ,

straightforward. In a brief introduction he presents first the general stat
studies and second the importance of the Armenian versions and the m
found in these versions. Septuagint scholars will no doubt find this second
more useful than the first. The bulk of the book is taken up by a verse
evaluation of the surviving materials. In contrast to the hexaplaric materials
materials in Armenian, which pertain primarily to the Pentateuch, the
marginalia which preserve readings from Aquila, Symmachus, and Theod
found primarily in Joshua, Judges, 1-4 Kingdoms, and 2 Chronicles. C.
number of such readings from these books as well as from Job, Isaiah, and
Fully three quarters of these readings are preserved in Samuel-Kings (1
doms), and nearly half are from 2 Kings (4 Kingdoms) alone. In a short
C. provides some very nice tabular results of his investigation. He also prov
sample plates of Armenian biblical manuscripts showing a number of marg
extensive bibliography, and indexes of foreign words (all in their proper a
biblical references, manuscripts cited, personal names, place names, and
For each of these often unidentified marginalia C. provides detailed
comparisons with all the known Hebrew and Greek versions and occasionally
Peshitta, in order to determine the provenance of these Armenian marginal
and the accuracy of their transmission. He conjectures, fairly securely,
marginal readings in fact preserve one or other of the "three" Greek versio
are indeed isolated cases in which it cannot be decided clearly which of t
versions is preserved, and in these cases C. wisely does not force a choice. A
of such careful analysis, C. can offer with relative assuredness a number of
to the "three" that are unique to the Armenian version (sixty-seven by m
many unknown to the editors of the LXX who had recourse only to Zo
edition of the Armenian Bible). Thus, in these and other cases C. offers sig
emendations to the critical apparatus of the Göttingen edition of Job and the
or of the Cambridge edition of the historical books (except for the Book o
for which he utilizes Margolis's edition. Thus, this monograph is, as C. inte
of real importance to Septuagint scholars, not just to students of the Armen
If one can bring any sort of substantial criticism, it is that C. might have
more carefully the possibility of the mediation of Syriac materials. From
commentaries it is becoming clearer that all the important biblical work in
Armenia was done not just with Greek materials but also with extensive use
texts and of Syriac versions of the Greek versions. But such a criticism only
highlight the usefulness of this book and the fact that it so quickly ope
avenues of research.

Edward G. Mathews, Jr., University of Scranton, Scranton, PA 18510

p. J. HARLAND, The Value of Human Life: A Study of the Story of the Flood
(Genesis 6-9) (VTSup 64; Leiden/New York/Cologne: Brill, 1996). Pp. xiv + 245.
Nig 150, $97.

In this revised version of a Ph.D. dissertation completed at the University of

Durham under the supervision of R. W. L. Moberly, Harland attempts to show how
sensitivity to a text's sources can add precision to a reading of its final form. In

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