Contacts between Christians and Jews in the Field of Bible Translations

Author(s): M. ALTBAUER
Source: Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Vol. 12/13, Proceedings of the International Congress
Commemorating the Millennium of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine (1988/1989), pp. 194-199
Published by: Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
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 TRANSMISSION OF THE LITERARY LANGUAGE
AND CULTURE: I

Contacts between Christians and Jews

in the Field of Bible Translations

M. ALTBAUER

In this short report I would like to present some information pertaining

Christian- Jewish contacts in the area of translations from the Old Testament

into the languages of the Jewish Diaspora. Although all forms of contacts
have two sides and two directions, this discussion will deal only with the
Christian influences on certain Jewish Old Testament translations that are

characterized by a unique technique of translation that differs from the

Christian technique.
Among other translations into the languages of the Jewish Diaspora,
there are nine biblical books in vernacular Belorussian, translated by Jews
at the beginning of the sixteenth century in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
and preserved in Codex 262 of the former Vilnius Public Library.1 They are
the five biblical scrolls (the Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations,
Ecclesiastes, and Esther) and the Books of Job, Proverbs, Daniel, and the
Psalms.

1 Codex 262 was described by F. Dobrjanskij, Opisanie rukopisej Vilenskoj publicnoj

biblioteki cerkovno-slavjanskix i russkix (Vilnius, 1882), pp. 441 -47. It is now MS. F.I 9-262
of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the Lithuanian SSR in Vilnius (MCAB).
Cf. also my publications on the translations of the nine biblical books (among others): "O
kryteriach ustalania pierwowzoru tlumaczen biblijnych," Slavia 37 (1967): 590-600; "Ze
studiów nad wschodnioslowiariskimi przekladami Biblii (O dwóch przekladach biblijnego
akrostychu o zacnej niewiescie)," Studia z Filologii Polskiej i Siowiañskiej I (1967): 179-90;
"Uxoruhvenfc nad tmami/Cant.v: 10/ (A Chapter in the History of Translation Technique),"
Annuaire de V Institute de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales et Slaves 18 (1968), 4 pages;
Some Methodological Problems in Research of the East-Slavic Bible Translations (Vilnius
Codex 262), (Jerusalem 1968), 7 pages; "A Previously Unnoticed Slavic and Baltic Dativus
Auctoris," in Donum Balticum, presented to C. S. Stang (Stockholm, 1970), pp. 1-5; "Studies
in the Belorussian Translations of the Bible," Journal of Byelorussian Studies 2, no.
4:359-68.

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 CONTACTS BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND JEWS 195

Codex 262 disappeared after 1913, when all the manuscri

nius Public Library were evacuated to St. Petersburg i
World War I. They were believed to have perished. Only
participated in the Third International Congress of Slavists
learn from V. I. Borkovskij, the well-known scholar of Be
that the collections of the former Vilnius Public Lib
discovered after World War II in the cellars of the Leningr
Soviet Academy of Sciences. One portion of the rediscover
among them the unique Codex 262, had been returned t
Central Library of the newly established Lithuanian Acade
and another was given to the Belorussian Academy of Scie
Since 1965 I have had photographs of the translations of
mentioned above. After a long interruption (caused by
Library of St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai) I have finis
first volume of the Vilnius Bible translations, the five scr
will soon appear under the auspices of the Israeli Academy
Humanities in Jerusalem, and will include an introduction,
and transcription of the texts, a critical apparatus, and
Concordance.
Two of the Codex 262 translations - those of the Book of Daniel and the

Psalms - differ from the other seven; they were translated according to the
unique Jewish translation technique. While they both illustrate Christian
influences on Jewish Bible translations, here I will present only a brief
analysis of the translation of the biblical Book of Daniel.
As is known, the Book of Daniel is bilingual, written in Hebrew and
Aramaic (the lingua franca of the Middle East in the last centuries of the
old era, B.C.E, and during the first centuries of the new Common Era).2
The translator of 262 tried to preserve the bilingual character of Daniel
in his East Slavic version: he translated the Hebrew portions of the book
into the vernacular Belorussian of his time (the beginning of the sixteenth
century), while the Aramaic chapters (2:4-7:28) were couched chiefly in
the Slavonic used by Christian Orthodox Slavs in Muscovy and the
Lithuanian Commonwealth.

This was not the first attempt to apply this kind of Jewish translation
technique to a language of the Jewish Diaspora. Approximately a century
prior to the bilingual translation of Daniel into East Slavic, an anonymous
vir doctus, a Byzantine-Greek Jew from Asia Minor, translated five biblical

2 The Biblical Aramaic of parts of Daniel and Ezra was also known as Chaldeen or Chal-
daean. Later, Western, or Palestinian, Aramaic became an additional "lingua docta" and
"lingua sacra" for the Jews.

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 196 M. ALTBAUER

books, including Daniel, into

He used the Attic or standa
Daniel, contrasting them to
Gebhardt puts it in his intro
Quantus hie translator dicendi
numero. . .atque ex scita, nee ta
Chaldaicas libri Danielis partícu

Whether or not the Jewish translator of 262' s Book of Daniel knew of

the Graecus Venetus translations, he made his translation in a congenial

form. One could suppose that, in using the standard Church Slavonic as a
basis for the translation of the Aramaic chapters of Daniel, he was sup-
ported by his Gentile collaborators - perhaps the copyists of the Belorussian
text in a ' 'poluustav" of this period.
The Russian theologian and philologist, I. E. Evseev, published 262's
text of Daniel in 1902,4 stating in his introduction (p. 130) that the transla-
tion was done with extraordinary economy of labor (sdelan s zamecateV noj
èkonomiej truda): wherever the Jewish translator felt that a chapter in the
normal Church Slavonic was close to the biblical source, he retained it in
his own version, but wherever a chapter was more removed from the
Hebrew Masoretic text (MT), he provided a new translation of the chapter
in the East Slavic vernacular of the period (1500-1520).
Evseev must be accorded considerable merit as a historian of Slavic
Bible translations. However, I find his explanation of the distribution of the
vernacular and Church Slavonic passages in Daniel hard to justify. His
inaccurate analysis may be due to inadequate knowledge of the original
languages of the Old Testament. In his introduction he repeatedly speaks of
the Hebrew text of Daniel, even when in fact the given passage is Aramaic.
He does not mention the Aramaic language at all.

3 The manuscripts of these Jewish-Greek Old Testament books are in codex 7 of the
Bibliotheca Marciana in Venice, and they have been published in full, O. Gebhardt, ed.,
Graecus Venetus, Pentateuchi Proverbiorum Ruth Cantici Ecclesiastae Threnorum Danielis
Versio Graeca (Leipzig, 1875).
4 I. E. Evseev, Zametki po drevne-slavjanskomu perevodu sv. Pisanija. VI. Kniga proroka
Daniila v perevode zidovstvujusâix po rukopisi XVI v. (Moscow, 1902), 36 pp. (= Ctenija
OIDR, 202, kn. 3, otd. 2, 127-64). For a recent study on this book, cf. A. A. Arxipov, Iz
istorii gebraizmov v russkom kniznom jazyke XV -XVI vekov, avtoreferat (Moscow, 1982); 28
pp.; idem, "Drevnerusskaja kniga proroka Daniila v perevode s drevneevrejskogo," Institut
russkogo jazyka AN SSSR. PredvariteV nye publikacii (Moscow), no. 151, pt. I (1982), 28 pp.;
no. 152, pt. II (1982), 44 pp.; no. 153, pt. Ill (1982), 23 pp.
4 Decades later, studies of early Slavic translations of Old Testament texts by Soviet scho-
lars, such as the late N. A. Me§õerskij and his students, continued to be marred with similar
deficiencies in detailed linguistic knowledge. Cf. M. Altbauer and M. Taube, ' 'The Slavonic
Book of Esther: When, Where, and from What Language Was It Translated?" Harvard

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 CONTACTS BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND JEWS 197

The bilingual translation of the Book of Daniel in Codex 2

scious enterprise by a congenial translator who was faithful
text of the Bible, as was the translator of Graecus Venetus.
the Jewish translator took over the standard Church Slavonic translations
for the Aramaic chapters in the Book of Daniel; when he found divergences
from the Masoretic text, however, he made changes. Thus (1) he excluded
all non-Masoretic additions that were normal in Slavonic, such as the deu-
terocanonical verses 24-90 in chapter 3, as well as chapters 13 and 14 in
the ' 'Simeon translation" - the Jewish translation of Daniel contains only
twelve chapters; (2) he reconciled the sense of the MT and the Slavonic
Orthodox versions both by correcting what he saw as errors and by filling
lacunae and omissions.

Here a few examples will illustrate types of difference between the text-
types of the Slavonic Book of Daniel believed to go back to OCS transla-
tions made from Greek by Methodius (M) in the ninth century, or under the
auspices of Tsar Simeon (S) in Bulgaria in the tenth, along with a com-
parison to passages from Codex 262 and the MT Aramaic (A).5 The full
material from 262 and a comparison with M and S will be found in my
forthcoming monograph.
Daniel 4: 30

M: don'deze vlasi egojako i Ivovi i vhzvelicisa

S: don-bzdez vlasi emujako Ibvu, vhzvelicisa
262: dondez(h) vlasi eh(o) jako orlovi vbzrastosa
A: di sa! dreh kdnisrin rd va

Daniel 4: 33
M: imucitelbmoi
S: i muditele moi
262: i ucitelb moi6

Daniel 6: 6

Phrase omitted in Greek, and therefore in M and S

262: naidemh na ne ho
A: haskahna 'alohi.

Ukrainian Studies 8 (1984): 304-320.

5 The MT numbering of verses is followed here; the Greek, Slavonic, and some English ver-
sions may have different usage. Ordinarily MT 4:2-5 = 4:5-8; 4:30, 33 = 4:33, 36; 6:6, 21 =
6:5, 20. The spelling has been slightly normalized.
6 Here the translator was reluctant to leave the confusing mistranslation where oí xvpocvvoí,
in the old sense of 'rulers' has been rendered according to the newer sense 'tyrants'.
Apparently unwilling to substitute a word closer to the sense of A hadaverai 'counsellors', he
modified the extant spelling to produce a reasonable equivalent noun. The singular form
reflects the late M tradition in Slavonic.

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 198 M. ALTBAUER

Daniel 6: 21:

M: glasom* krëpkymb ... ofb usfb Ivovl

S: zrël-bm-b krëp-bkymb ... in> usfb Ibvovb
262: hlasom smutnym-b ... otbVvovb
A: bdqol 'atsiv ... min 'aryavata.
These examples show how the Jewish translator of 262 utilize
extant Slavonic text in rendering the Aramaic parts of Daniel. He di
copy passively, but actively checked the standard Christian Ort
manuscripts against the MT, filling in lacunae and setting right all
tions.
Here are more extended examples to illustrate in more detail the
ences between the Jewish and Christian translations of the Book of D
Daniel 1:1-8
S 1 Vt> lëto tretiee carbstva loakimova car ja Ijudina pride
262 1 V lëto tretee carstvu Ihojakimovomu carju Ihudinomu prisol
S Navxodonosor-b carb Vavülonbskb na lerusalirm» i vbevase na nb.
262 Navxodnosor-b carb Bavelskii na Erusalaim t> i obleh ee.

S 2 1 dastb gospodb vb ruku ego Ioakima car ja Ijudina i ofb casti

262 2 i vydal hospodb v ruku eho Ihojakima car ja Ijudëiskoho i nëkoi
S s-bsudb xrama bozia, i prinese ja vb zemlju Senaar-b boga
262 sosudy domu bozeho i prinese ix v zemlju Sinarbskuju v domb boha
S ego, i sbsudy vbnese vb xramb imënia boga svoego.
262 svoego, i onyi sosudy prinese v dom skarbu boha svoeho.
S 3 irece carbasfanexovi, starëjsinë kazenikb ego, vbvesti ofb
262 3 / reklb carb aspanazu, stareisomu kazenikov svoix, privesti ot
S plënicb, synovb iiz(rai)levb, i ofbplemene carbska i ofb krëpkyixb,
262 synovb sëmeni carbskogo i ot knjazat,
S 4 junosb na nixbze nëstbporoka i dobry ozrbciju, i simyslbnyi
262 4 detei v nixze nës nikakoh poroku i dobrovidnyi rozumëjutb
S vbvbsei prëmudrosti i vëduscaja umënie i prëmudrostb i
262 vb vsjakoi mudrosti i vëdaju l vëdanbe i rozumëjutb dovëdanbe
S imbze estb krëpostb vb nixb, jakoze presto jati vt> domu cari
262 nixze sila stoati u polatë carbskoi
S inauditi ja kbnigam* i jazyku xaldëisku.
262 inauditi ix knize i jazyku xaldëiskomu.
S 5 i rece carb po vbsja dbni ofb trapezy car ja i ofb vina
262 5 i uhotoval im carb obrokpo vsja dni xlëba kusa carbskoh i ot vina
S pitija ego da ja krimitb lëta tri, tipotom-b stati prëdb carbmb.
262 pi *ja eh i hodovati ix prihody a nëkoi ot nix stanut per ed car em b.

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 CONTACTS BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND JEWS 199

S 6 / bystb vh nix'h ofb synovb Ijudirn> Daniil7>, i An

262 6 i by lo mezi nami [I] ot synovb Judinyx Daniel*, Xan
S i Azarija, i Misail.
262 Misael t>, Azarbja.
S 7 i sbtvori imb ¿mena s tar ëj sina kazenicb, Danijlu Valtasarb,
262 7 / podaval im bojarin kazenickii imjana, i dalb Danielu Beltbcarb,
S a Ananii Sedraxb, Azarii ze Misak-b, a Misailu Avbdenaago.
262 Axanani Sadrax, a Misaelu Mesax, a Azarbi Avednyko.

Daniel 4:2-4
S 2 S'hii'h vidëxT>, i ustrasi mja, i sbmjatoxb sja na lozi moem, i vidënija
M 2 Son* vidêx i uzasi mja, i smjatox sja na lozi svoemi>, i vidênie
262 2 Soni» vidëx-b, i uzase mja, i smjatox sja na lozi moem-b, i vidênie
S glavy moeja simutaaxu mja. 3 i mbnoju zapovëdë sja zapovëdb
M glavy moeja smutisa mja. 3 1 ot mene izyide zapovëdb
262 glavy moea smutisa mja. 3 1 ot mene iz-bide zapovëdb
S privesti prëdbmja vbsja muza mudryja vaviilonbsky, da skazanie si>na
M vivesti prëd mja vsja mudreca vavilonskyja, jako da skazanie sna
262 vivesti prëd mja vsë m(u)drci vavilonskija, jako da skazanie sna
S vbzvëstjatb mnë. 4 1 vblazaaxu balia, i vlbsvi, gazarinbscii,
M povëdjatb mnë. 4 I vxozaxu obavnici, vlbsvi, gazarini,
262 povëdjatb mnë. 4 I vbxozaxu obavniky,vblT>svi, gazarini,
S i xaldëi, i sT>m> azb rëxT>prëdb nimi, i sbkazanija ego
M xaldëjanë, i som> azi> povëdax prëd nimi, i skazanija ego
262 xaldëane, i som> azi> povëdax prëd nimi, i skazania eho
S ne vbzvëstisa mi>në.

M ne povëdasa mnë.
262 ne povëdasa mnë.

As a result of Christian-Jewish contacts in translating the Old Testament

and the special technique used by Jewish translators of the Bible into the
languages of the Jewish Diaspora, we have received an optimal bilingual
translation of the original bilingual text of the Book of Daniel.

Hebrew University

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