Review: OUP A Comparative Psalter
03/20/2007 07:58 Filed in: Faith & Reason
This post marks the 500th entry since I began my blog in late 2003. My thanks go to regular commenter "Larry" for writing this excellent review of the new Comparative Psalter.
A guest review by "Larry"
As Rick has mentioned earlier, Oxford University Press’s A Comparative Psalter has just appeared in print (edited by John R. Kohlenberger III, ISBN 0195297607). I think this book is a worthy addition to the library of any student of the Bible who is interested in original languages, the development of prayer, or the Septuagint.
The psalter includes four versions of the psalms: (Masoretic) Hebrew, (Septuagint) Greek, and two leading translations of each: the RSV for the Hebrew and the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) for the Greek.
The idea for the book apparently came from a German edition by Walter Gross and Bernd Janowski published in 2000.
The Hebrew is from BHS 5th edition (1997) with critical apparatus but without masora parva (the notes in the margins of the BHS). The Greek is from Rahlfs’s 1935 Septuagint. The RSV contains full textual notes (often not reproduced in electronic editions) and the NETS also contains textual notes and two useful longer prefaces. (The NETS is a nice translation, with careful attention paid to literal rendering and gender issues, and I look forward to a complete printed edition soon.)
The numbering of the psalms in the Hebrew uses the traditional (English) numbering as opposed to the original Hebrew numbering. The NETS uses both the English numbering and the Greek numbering. The beginning and ending of each of the five books of psalms are carefully marked. The 151st psalm (included in the Eastern Orthodox psalter) is not included.
There is also a simple cross reference system at the bottom of the right-hand pages. While I find such annotations unhelpful, the page layout makes them inconspicuous and easy to ignore.
Other than textual notes, there is no annotation in the psalter. This is a case where less is more -- any annotation would have probably made this psalter unacceptable to some audience.
The introduction does not explain why the RSV was chosen over the NRSV, but one can guess: the RSV is slightly more literal than the NRSV and is also approved for Roman Catholic liturgy -- while the NRSV has the imprimatur, the gender neutral language has caused the Vatican to ban its use in the liturgy. (The ban on liturgical use of the NRSV was made by Cardinal Ratzinger, who has since become Pope Benedict 16, and was the subject of some conflict between the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.) The NRSV Psalter received special criticism from the Vatican. Similarly, although I have seen (carefully qualified) praise for the RSV from some Eastern Orthodox scholars, the NRSV seems to be much more controversial.
Still, the choice of the NRSV would have been more logical, since Albert Pietersma deviates from the NRSV only when he feels the Greek deviates from the Hebrew.
The page size is generous and there is ample space for making notes. (The paper used is thick, although perhaps absorbent -- I haven't tried writing on it yet.) For those familiar with other Oxford parallel Bibles, such as The Precise Parallel New Testament, this work is about an inch taller and wider.
One thing that surprised me is that Oxford placed the NETS logo on the binding and back of the psalter. Usually, Oxford doesn't put Bible logos on its Bibles (thus the Oxford NLT parallel Bibles do not have the Tyndale logos mentioned recently by Rick in this blog.) The NETS logo is especially ugly and busy, so this was a bit of a graphic design failure. However, as they say -- don't judge a book by its cover.
A printed psalter is more useful than an electronic psalter. First, all of the electronic versions of the RSV I have seen omit notes. Second, most electronic versions (with the exception of the Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible) omit Hebrew critical apparatus. Third, to the best of my knowledge, NETS is not integrated into any major electronic Bible package. Third, observant Jews can't use an electronic device on the Sabbath or biblical religious holidays. Fourth, I find having a computer on is distracting to prayer and prefer to pray out of a written book (and actually, I prefer to study out of a written book as well.) Fifth, as already noted, a printed book allows a person to make notes.
I personally have not spent much time studying the Septuagint, and in a few hours perusing this psalter, I found many interesting changes from the Hebrew. While many of the words in the Greek psalms have ordinary meanings, there are a number which are directly taken from the Hebrews. Some of these are stereotypes – words taken literally from the Hebrew which seem unnatural in the Greek; others are calques – Greek words with Hebrew meanings; and still others are isolates – Greek words derived on morphologically parallel basis as the Greek. In some cases, this produces fascinating contrasts: for example, we can contrast Psalm 7:7 (Hebrew numbering) in the Greek and Hebrew:
קוּמָה יְהוָה בְּאַפֶּךָ הִנָּשֵׂא בְּעַבְרוֹת צוֹרְרָי וְעוּרָה אֵלַי מִשְׁפָּט צִוִּיתָ
RSV: Arise, O LORD, in thy anger,/lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies/awake, O my God; [or for me] thou hast appointed a judgment.
ἀνάστηθι κύριε ἐν ὀργῇ σου, ὑψώθητι ἐν τοῖς πέρασι τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου ἐξεγέρθητι κύριε ὁ θεός μου ἐν προστάγματι ᾧ ἐνετείλω,
NETS: Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath;/be exalted in the boundaries [perhaps at the death] of my enemies;/and* awake, O my* God, with the decree which you issued.
[The asterisks refer to textual notes dealing with alternate textual forms which I omit here.]
Now this is quite a contrast – “lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies” versus “be exalted in the boundaries of my enemies.” And what of the alternative textual rendering of πέρασι as deaths? Well a glance at Psalm 39:5 clearly indicates that this word can refer to the end of human life. But the entire sense of the passage is changed in the Hebrew and Greek.
The Septuagint psalter is thus interesting not only for its differences with the Greek, but as a lesson in translation, seeing how the translator struggled to maintain an almost interlinear translation. And this sort of study is made easy with this text: even if one has weak Hebrew and Greek, the convenient English translations make it especially easy to compare the texts.
In summary, I regard this as one of the most useful parallel Bible works I have seen in a while – especially for those interested in Septuagint studies. The size is a little large for a psalter and the English type is surprisingly small, but the Hebrew and the Greek are clear enough.
For me, reading the psalms is one of the central elements of worship – I regularly read through the psalms aloud in Hebrew. I prefer a psalter with minimal distractions for prayer – so I can concentrate as fully as possible, but for those inclined, I see no reason this psalter could not be used for prayer in Hebrew, Greek, or English.
I hope this psalter is a success and that Oxford considers publishing other Hebrew-RSV-NETS-Greek books from the Hebrew Scriptures. A publication program would be a boon to many audiences: those interested in Septuagint studies, those with strong Greek trying to improve their Hebrew, and those interested in the differences in Jewish and Christian development of the Scripture.
A guest review by "Larry"
The psalter includes four versions of the psalms: (Masoretic) Hebrew, (Septuagint) Greek, and two leading translations of each: the RSV for the Hebrew and the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) for the Greek.
The idea for the book apparently came from a German edition by Walter Gross and Bernd Janowski published in 2000.
The Hebrew is from BHS 5th edition (1997) with critical apparatus but without masora parva (the notes in the margins of the BHS). The Greek is from Rahlfs’s 1935 Septuagint. The RSV contains full textual notes (often not reproduced in electronic editions) and the NETS also contains textual notes and two useful longer prefaces. (The NETS is a nice translation, with careful attention paid to literal rendering and gender issues, and I look forward to a complete printed edition soon.)
The numbering of the psalms in the Hebrew uses the traditional (English) numbering as opposed to the original Hebrew numbering. The NETS uses both the English numbering and the Greek numbering. The beginning and ending of each of the five books of psalms are carefully marked. The 151st psalm (included in the Eastern Orthodox psalter) is not included.
There is also a simple cross reference system at the bottom of the right-hand pages. While I find such annotations unhelpful, the page layout makes them inconspicuous and easy to ignore.
Other than textual notes, there is no annotation in the psalter. This is a case where less is more -- any annotation would have probably made this psalter unacceptable to some audience.
The introduction does not explain why the RSV was chosen over the NRSV, but one can guess: the RSV is slightly more literal than the NRSV and is also approved for Roman Catholic liturgy -- while the NRSV has the imprimatur, the gender neutral language has caused the Vatican to ban its use in the liturgy. (The ban on liturgical use of the NRSV was made by Cardinal Ratzinger, who has since become Pope Benedict 16, and was the subject of some conflict between the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.) The NRSV Psalter received special criticism from the Vatican. Similarly, although I have seen (carefully qualified) praise for the RSV from some Eastern Orthodox scholars, the NRSV seems to be much more controversial.
Still, the choice of the NRSV would have been more logical, since Albert Pietersma deviates from the NRSV only when he feels the Greek deviates from the Hebrew.
The page size is generous and there is ample space for making notes. (The paper used is thick, although perhaps absorbent -- I haven't tried writing on it yet.) For those familiar with other Oxford parallel Bibles, such as The Precise Parallel New Testament, this work is about an inch taller and wider.
One thing that surprised me is that Oxford placed the NETS logo on the binding and back of the psalter. Usually, Oxford doesn't put Bible logos on its Bibles (thus the Oxford NLT parallel Bibles do not have the Tyndale logos mentioned recently by Rick in this blog.) The NETS logo is especially ugly and busy, so this was a bit of a graphic design failure. However, as they say -- don't judge a book by its cover.
A printed psalter is more useful than an electronic psalter. First, all of the electronic versions of the RSV I have seen omit notes. Second, most electronic versions (with the exception of the Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible) omit Hebrew critical apparatus. Third, to the best of my knowledge, NETS is not integrated into any major electronic Bible package. Third, observant Jews can't use an electronic device on the Sabbath or biblical religious holidays. Fourth, I find having a computer on is distracting to prayer and prefer to pray out of a written book (and actually, I prefer to study out of a written book as well.) Fifth, as already noted, a printed book allows a person to make notes.
I personally have not spent much time studying the Septuagint, and in a few hours perusing this psalter, I found many interesting changes from the Hebrew. While many of the words in the Greek psalms have ordinary meanings, there are a number which are directly taken from the Hebrews. Some of these are stereotypes – words taken literally from the Hebrew which seem unnatural in the Greek; others are calques – Greek words with Hebrew meanings; and still others are isolates – Greek words derived on morphologically parallel basis as the Greek. In some cases, this produces fascinating contrasts: for example, we can contrast Psalm 7:7 (Hebrew numbering) in the Greek and Hebrew:
קוּמָה יְהוָה בְּאַפֶּךָ הִנָּשֵׂא בְּעַבְרוֹת צוֹרְרָי וְעוּרָה אֵלַי מִשְׁפָּט צִוִּיתָ
RSV: Arise, O LORD, in thy anger,/lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies/awake, O my God; [or for me] thou hast appointed a judgment.
ἀνάστηθι κύριε ἐν ὀργῇ σου, ὑψώθητι ἐν τοῖς πέρασι τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου ἐξεγέρθητι κύριε ὁ θεός μου ἐν προστάγματι ᾧ ἐνετείλω,
NETS: Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath;/be exalted in the boundaries [perhaps at the death] of my enemies;/and* awake, O my* God, with the decree which you issued.
[The asterisks refer to textual notes dealing with alternate textual forms which I omit here.]
Now this is quite a contrast – “lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies” versus “be exalted in the boundaries of my enemies.” And what of the alternative textual rendering of πέρασι as deaths? Well a glance at Psalm 39:5 clearly indicates that this word can refer to the end of human life. But the entire sense of the passage is changed in the Hebrew and Greek.
The Septuagint psalter is thus interesting not only for its differences with the Greek, but as a lesson in translation, seeing how the translator struggled to maintain an almost interlinear translation. And this sort of study is made easy with this text: even if one has weak Hebrew and Greek, the convenient English translations make it especially easy to compare the texts.
In summary, I regard this as one of the most useful parallel Bible works I have seen in a while – especially for those interested in Septuagint studies. The size is a little large for a psalter and the English type is surprisingly small, but the Hebrew and the Greek are clear enough.
For me, reading the psalms is one of the central elements of worship – I regularly read through the psalms aloud in Hebrew. I prefer a psalter with minimal distractions for prayer – so I can concentrate as fully as possible, but for those inclined, I see no reason this psalter could not be used for prayer in Hebrew, Greek, or English.
I hope this psalter is a success and that Oxford considers publishing other Hebrew-RSV-NETS-Greek books from the Hebrew Scriptures. A publication program would be a boon to many audiences: those interested in Septuagint studies, those with strong Greek trying to improve their Hebrew, and those interested in the differences in Jewish and Christian development of the Scripture.