M. P. Weitzman. The Syriac Version of the Old Testament: An Introduction.
University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, 56. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1999. Pp. xv + 355. ISBN: 0-521-63288-9 (cloth). US
$79.95.
1. This volume stands as a lasting memorial to the erudition of its author,
the late M. P. Weitzman, who was reader in Hebrew and Jewish Studies at
University College London. Weitzman writes clearly, expressing mature ideas
on a level understandable by nonspecialists. From the personal perspective
of this reviewer, the author will be remembered as a gentleman in scholarly
disagreement. His premature death is a great loss to the scholarly
community.
2. By "the Syriac version," the author means the Peshitta. It alone
deserves this appellation, since it remained the Bible of the Eastern
church even after the production of other versions in Syriac: that of Paul
of Tella in 615-617 based on the LXX (the so-called Syro-Hexapla) and that
of Jacob of Edessa about 705. He uses the term "the Old Testament" because
the version has been preserved exclusively by the Eastern church, even
though it may have had Jewish origins and did in the opinion of Weitzman.
3. This volume has a well-articulated major thesis and a number of minor
ones -- how refreshing! The presentation of the facts has a point to prove,
so it engages the reader's mind and constantly challenges one's own ideas.
Weitzman argues that the Peshitta was a product of a small Jewish community
estranged from the Rabbinic majority, which over time became converted to
Christianity. It was produced in the late second century CE, between 150
and 200, probably at Edessa. Weitzman believes that the various books of
the Peshitta reflect stages in this reconstructed history.
4. Weitzman's volume has five chapters in addition to the Introduction (=
chapter 1). Chapter 2 treats the relationship between the Peshitta and the
Hebrew; chapter 3 the Peshitta and other versions; chapter 4 unity and
diversity in the Peshitta; chapter 5 the background of the Peshitta; and
chapter 6 the establishment of the text of the Old Testament Peshitta.
5. In chapter 2, the author demonstrates that the Hebrew Vorlage of the
Peshitta stood close to the Hebrew MT; in fact, they have a common origin.
The Peshitta is an idiomatic translation, concerned about conveying the
proper sense of the Hebrew without slavish adherence. It is characterized
by quantitative literalism and fidelity to the plain sense of the Hebrew.
Weitzman believes that the translators of the Peshitta added clarifying
glosses not found in their Hebrew Vorlage when the Hebrew seemed too brief
or elliptical. For example, the Peshitta reads "and Pharaoh said to them"
(Exodus 5:17) where the MT has merely "and he said" (p. 25). While this
assumption may be correct, such glosses could just as easily have entered a
Hebrew text that was slightly expansive.
6. In chapter 3, the author treats the relationship of the Peshitta to the
LXX and to the Jewish targums. Even though the LXX was regarded as
Christian by the time of the translation of the Peshitta, Weitzman believes
that it was used by the Jewish translators of the Peshitta. In his opinion,
some books (Ezekiel, The Twelve, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Qohelet) show
wide usage of the LXX, others less (Genesis, Joshua, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Psalms and Esther) and some none at all (Samuel, Kings, Job, Lamentations
and Chronicles). He accounts for this use by explaining that this Jewish
community was non-Rabbinic and even estranged from the Rabbinic mainstream.
The direct literary use of the LXX was not systematic and only sporadic in
his view.
7. Of his nine parade examples, called "critical passages," only one comes
from the corpus where he claims widespread direct literary dependence of
the translators on the LXX, which fact weakens his argument in the opinion
of this reviewer. Weitzman has two lines of argument: (1) cases where the
Peshitta purportedly misunderstood the LXX and (2) cases where the Peshitta
supposedly blends elements of the Hebrew and the LXX. He hypothesizes that
the translators worked primarily from the Hebrew, but consulted the LXX at
points of difficulty. Moreover, copyists may account for a few cases of LXX
influence, especially where there are variant readings, one of which agrees
with the LXX.
8. Weitzman rejects any notion of the Peshitta being a Jewish targum in its
origin. Further, he rejects the idea of its direct literary dependence on
any targum. In his opinion, the cases of close similarity between Targum
Onqelos and the Peshitta can be explained by common Jewish lexical,
exegetical and translational traditions. Weitzman has incorporated much
material from the excellent monograph of Yeshayahu Maori, The Peshitta
Version of the Pentateuch and Early Jewish Exegesis (Maori 1995), only
available in Hebrew. The reader should be aware of a collection of essays
published after Weitzman's death which confirm his views of the
relationship between the targums and the Peshitta: Targum Studies, Vol. 2:
Targum and Peshitta (Flesher, ed., 1998).
9. In chapter 4, Weitzman demonstrates that the Peshitta was the work of
different translators who were working in the same school. By using
"conservative" and "modern" words with the same meaning as discriminators,
Weitzman classifies the different books of the Peshitta into different
translation units. Weitzman finds a correlation between books using
"modern" words and the direct literary dependence on the LXX. By comparing
and contrasting duplicate passages, Weitzman argues for the chronological
priority of Peshitta Samuel to Peshitta Psalms, Peshitta Kings to Peshitta
Isaiah and Peshitta Kings to Peshitta Jeremiah.
10. Weitzman suggests that Peshitta Chronicles substitutes the Hebrew of 1
Kings 12-14 for a lengthy section because his Vorlage was illegible. When
the translator of Peshitta Chronicles looked to an earlier book, he always
consulted the Hebrew, never the Syriac translation. Apparently
Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles were translated by the Jewish faithful after
the rest of the books and after the previous books had been accepted as
canonical by the converted Christian community. Only later did some of the
Christians accept them into the canon. This, according to Weitzman,
accounts for their exclusion by the Nestorian church.
11. In chapter 5, Weitzman finds the key to the background of the entire
Peshitta to be the Book of Chronicles. He brings evidence for a Jewish
community which neglects Rabbinic halakah. For instance, the Peshitta of 2
Chron 8:13 renders the Hebrew "feast of tabernacles" (xg h$bu(wt)
as "the feast of the fast" (()d) dcwm)), thus neglecting
Rabbinic teaching which forbade fasting on the feast of tabernacles.
Moreover, this community had three fixed hours of prayer like the church
instead of the two prayer times in Rabbinic tradition (cf. 1 Chron 15:21).
12. In chapter 6, the author gives his view of the earliest text of the
Peshitta. He views mss 5b1 in Genesis and Exodus, 9a1 in all books where
the first hand survives (Leviticus - Hosea, Psalms, Lamentations and
Chronicles), 8h5 in Ezra - Nehemiah and 10f1 in Esther as preserving the
best text. These mss stand slightly closer to the MT than do the other
early mss.
13. The volume has a useful index of references and a general index. I
noticed a few typographical errors, none of which is critical to the
argument of the book: read mbdqn) instead of mbdqb)
(p. 203); read "sorrow" for "sorrrow" (p. 209); read "atone" for ".atone"
(p. 213).
14. In sum, this is a volume of immense learning and careful argument.
Future dissertations and monographs on the Old Testament Peshitta will need
to assess the broad ideas contained herein critically, here verifying the
matter, there refuting or modifying it. All future studies will need to
consider it. The volume is a valuable resource to nonspecialists as well.
Students of the ancient versions, the history of exegesis, textual
criticism, Judaism, and Christianity will find it of use.
© TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, 1999.
Bibliography
Flesher, Paul V. M. 1998. Targum Studies. Vol. 2: Targum and Peshitta.
Atlanta: Scholars Press.
Maori, Yeshayahu 1995. The Peshitta Version of the Pentateuch and Early
Jewish Exegesis. Jerusalem: Magnes Press.
Jerome A. Lund
Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon
Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion