Date post: | 07-Jul-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | dennis-klineman |
View: | 222 times |
Download: | 0 times |
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 1/169
E = m c 2
1
A
∑
This eBook is downloaded fromwww.PlentyofeBooks.net
PlentyofeBooks.net is a blog with an aimof helping people, especially students,who cannot afford to buy some costly
books from the market.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 2/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 3/169
LIBRARY OF HEBREW BIBLE
OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES
418
Formerly Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
Editors
Claudia V. Camp, Texas Christian University
Andrew Mein, Westcott House, Cambridge
Founding Editors
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 4/169
This page intentionally left blank
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 5/169
THE TR NSFORM TION
OF BIBLIC L PROPER N MES
Jože Krašovec
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 6/169
Copyright © 2010 by Jože Krašovec
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher, T & T Clark
International.
T & T Clark International, 80 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038
T & T Clark International, The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
T & T Clark International is a Continuum imprint.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 7/169
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
I NTRODUCTION 1
Chapter 1ETYMOLOGICAL EXPLANATION OF PROPER NAMES IN THE HEBREW BIBLE AND THE HISTORY OF THEIR FORMS IN BIBLE TRANSLATIONS 4
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Namesin the Hebrew Bible 6
2. Etymological Translation of Two Namings of Eve 83. Etymological Translation of the Toponym Babel 114. Etymological Translation of the Place Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 8/169
vi The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
17. Etymological Translation of the Proper NamesBaal-perazim and Perez-uzzah 39
18. Etymological Translation of the Toponym Beracah 4119. Conclusion Concerning Folk Etymology
in the Hebrew Bible 4220. Conclusion Concerning Folk Etymology in Bible Translations 4421. LUB and DAL in Relation to the Original,
to the LXX and the Vg, and to the Established Traditions 4722. General Conclusion 51
Chapter 2TRANSLITERATION OR TRANSLATION OF PROPER NAMES IN BIBLE TRANSLATIONS 55
1. Substitutes for the Divine Personal Name yhwh or Its Transliteration 57
2. Substitutes or Transliteration in Construct Expressionsof Divine Names and Appellatives 58
3. Transliteration or Translation of TermsDenoting the Underworld 61
4. The Giants Nephilim and Rephaim 635. The Monstrous Animals Behemoth and Leviathan 656. Symbolic Names of Hosea’s Children 677 Th S b li N f I i h’ S d S 69
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 9/169
Contents vii
d. The Sibilant Letters Samekh, ade and in/Šin 100e. The Doubling of Single Consonants in Transliteration
into Greek and Latin 101f. Single and Double Kaph, Qoph, Pe and Taw
in Transliteration into Greek and Latin 101g. Insertion of Consonants and Transcription of the Semitic
Clusters , ›, and 1023. Transliteration of Semitic Vowel Letters and Vowel Signs
into Greek and Latin 103a. The A-sounds in Hebrew/Aramaic and in Transliteration 104
b. The I- and E-sounds in Hebrew/Aramaicand in Transliteration 105
c. The U- and O-sounds in Hebrew/Aramaic
and in Transliteration 106d. Transliteration of Hebrew Half-vowels into Greek
and Latin 1064. Transliteration from Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek into Latin 1085. Reasons for the Existence of Variant Forms
of Biblical Proper Names 118
a. Variant Forms in the Hebrew Bible 118 b. Reasons for Variants in the Greek and Latin Bibles 119c. The Emergence of Errors in Transcription
d T i i f h LXX T 121
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 10/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 11/169
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I had no intention of writing a study of this kind when I began dealing
with biblical proper names (back in 1982). However, the idea of com-
piling a dictionary of the forms of biblical proper names soon formed as
I began to standardize these names for the new Slovenian translation of
the Bible (SSP), a work which was completed and published in 1996.This study has been directly inuenced by the translation project. At
present, I am responsible for the preparation of the Slovenian Jerusalem
Bible, meaning that observations made in the present study stem from
my broader interest in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin linguistic
traditions. From my research, it has become apparent to me that the
forms of biblical proper names transmitted in the Bibles in these lan-
guages are the important background of the forms used in every Bible
t l ti i th ld
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 12/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 13/169
ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations of Bible Translations
ACF Almeida, Corrigida Fiel: Brazilian Portuguese Version (1753/1819/1847/1994/1995)
ALB Albanian Version (1994)
Aq Aquila, a Jewish translator of the Old Testament into Greek (between140 and 150 C.E.)ARA Almeida, Revista e Atualizada: Brazilian Portuguese Version (1993)ARC Almeida, Revista e Corrigida: Brazilian Portuguese Version (1969)ASV American Standard Version (1901)BBE The Bible in Basic English (1949/1964)BCI Biblia Catalana: Traducció Interconfessional (1996)
BFC Bible en Français Courant (1997)BKR Bible Kralická: Czech Bible (1613)BLS La Bible de Lemaître de Sacy: Port-Royal (1657–96)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 14/169
xii The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
JAP Japelj: The second Slovenian complete Bible translation made by JurijJapelj and co-operators (1784–1802)JPS Jewish Publication Society Bible: The Holy Scriptures (1917); for a
new JPS translation see TNKKAR Karoli Bible: Hungarian translation (1993)KJV King James Version: The Authorized English Bible (1611/1769)LBA La Biblia de Las Americas: Spanish translation (1986)LEI Leidse Vertaling: Dutch Revised Leiden Bible (1912/1994)LND La Nuova Diodati: Italian Revised Diodati translation (1991)LSG Louis Segond: French Version (1910)LUB Luther Bibel: Die gantze Heilige Schrifft Deudsch (Wittenberg 1545)LUO Luther Bibel: German Revised Luther Bible (1912)LUT Luther Bibel: German Revised Luther Bible (1984)
LUV Lutherse Vertaling: Dutch Revised Luther Bible (1648/1750/1933/1994)LXE LXX English Version by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton (1844, 1851)LXX Septuagint: Greek Translation of the Old TestamentLXXO Origen’s recension of the LXX: HexaplaMGK Modern Greek translation (1850) N30 Norwegian Bible: Bokmíl (1930) N38 Norwegian Bible: Nynorsk (1938) NAB New American Bible (1970, 1986, 1991)NAS New American Standard Bible (1977)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 15/169
Abbreviations xiii
SEB Slovenska ekumenska Biblija: Slovenian Ecumenical Bible (1974)SPP Slovenski protestantski prevod: Slovenian Protestant Translation by
Antonin Cháska (1914)
SSP Slovenski Standardni Prevod: Slovenian Standard Version (1996)
SVV Statenvertaling: Dutch Bible (1637)
Sym Symmachus Ben Joseph: the Jewish translator into Greek (between
190 and 200 C.E.)
SyrHex Syro-Hexapla
Theo Theodotion: the Jewish translator into Greek (between 180 and 192
C.E.)
Tg Targum; according to the books of the Bible: TgIsa, TgPs, etc.
TgJ Targum Jonathan: Aramaic translation of the Prophets
TgN Targum Neofiti: Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch
TgO Targum Onqelos: Aramaic translation of the PentateuchTgPsJ Targum Pseudo-Jonathan: Aramaic translation of the Pentateuch
TNK Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures; the new JPS translation (1985)
TOB Traduction Oecuménique de la Bible: French translation (1988)
UKR Ukrainian Version of the Bible (1996)
Vg Latin version of the Bible: Vulgata
VL Vetus Latina: Old Latin translation of the Bible
WEB Webster Bible: English Noah Webster version (1833)
WOL Wolf Biblw: the third Slovenian complete Bible translation (1856–59)
ZBI Zürcher Bibel: German translation (1907–31)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 16/169
This page intentionally left blank
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 17/169
I NTRODUCTION
Biblical place and personal names are the most conspicuous linguistic
and cultural testimony of the fact that the Bible soon became the primary
source of European civilization and later of world cultures. Through oral
and written transmission of the biblical texts, living religious and cultural
traditions were nourished, and in the broad cultural environment biblical proper names have been handed down from generation to generation in
Bible translations, in folk literary creations, in the highest standards of
national literature and in linguistic studies on phonology, morphology,
syntax and semantics. In these ways, biblical forms of proper names
were not only preserved but became also a primary source for further
development in the transformation process of phonetic and semantic
traits in accordance with the transformation rules between Hebrew,
A i G k L ti d th E l
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 18/169
2 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
One long-term goal of this writer is the compilation of a historicaldictionary of the forms of biblical names based on European Bible
translations.
Bible translations were selected for inclusion on the basis of their rela-
tive importance in the larger scheme of Bible translation history and
development. Major ancient translations are of primary importance. The
Septuagint (hereafter LXX) and other Greek versions, the Targums andthe Vulgate (hereafter Vg) are considered consistently throughout this
study. In all cases, the Samaritan Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls are also
taken into consideration. The LXX and the Vg became key versions for
all later European Christian and, to a lesser extent, for later Jewish Bible
translations. In addition to the LXX and the Vg, the Targums became key
versions for later Jewish literary history. It must be noted that the phonetic forms of biblical names in Christian versions, in contrast to
Jewish translations, more often depend on the LXX and Vg traditions than
on the Hebrew text. The current forms of biblical names have been
inuenced by the phonetic changes necessitated by their transfer and
transliteration from Hebrew and Aramaic into Greek and Latin, and it
was from these sources that other translators later borrowed and incor- porated the changes. By way of Bible translation into Greek, Latin and
other ancient languages many biblical names have passed into general
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 19/169
Introduction 3
translations are original or are inuenced in the choice of transliterationor translation and in the manner of transliterating or translating biblical
proper names. Sometimes it is possible to see that a particular version
reects scholarly rethinking about the Hebrew text; more often, however,
it is evident that translations replicate transliteration forms of a previous
phonetic tradition or follow the translation method of key versions. In the
larger scheme of Bible translation history and the development of theforms of biblical proper names, it is especially interesting that DAL often
replicates the forms of LUB, thus testifying most clearly to the religious
and cultural afnity between Luther and the rst Slovenian Bible trans-
lators. The extent to which DAL depends on the forms of biblical proper
names from LUB is striking.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 20/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 21/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 22/169
6 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Aetiological etymological interpretations of proper names within theBible are summarizing literary creations, ones which are often not in
harmony with all the important traditions.
A survey of Bible translations from antiquity to the present time
shows that in connection with proper names, translators were always
faced with an alternative: transliteration or translation. In the larger
framework of Bible translations, fuller attention is paid to those etymological name derivations that are predominantly translated in
ancient versions of the Bible, even though they are transliterated in most
modern translations. A comparative survey of Bible translations shows
that various circumstances played a role in the decision whether to trans-
literate or translate a particular proper name. Etymological interpretation
calls by itself for translation of proper names, therefore it is not sur- prising that some early Bible translators in cases of folk etymology often
preferred to translate the naming of places or persons followed by an
etymological explanation of the naming, instead of transliterating them—
all the more so because some proper names that are not explained ety-
mologically in the Hebrew Bible are nevertheless translated in several
ancient versions.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 23/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 7
Abram to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah at Gen 17:5 and Gen 17:15 belongs to the Priestly source.3
Among the other books of the Pentateuch, only Exodus and Numbers
contain some examples of name-giving together with a more or less
explicit etymological explanation; Exodus: Moses (2:10), Gershom
(2:22; 18:3), Marah (15:23), Massah and Meribah (17:7), Eliezer (18:4);
Numbers: Taberah (11:3), Kibroth-hattaavah (11:34), Meribah (20:13,24; 27:14), Hormah (21:3). The passages containing these names belong
predominantly to the Yahwist source. In other parts of the Hebrew Bible,
reports of name-giving combined with an etymological explanation of
the meaning of given names are even more scarce; Joshua: Gilgal (5:9),
Achor (7:26); Judges: Hormah (1:17), Bochim (2:4–5), Gideon / Jerub-
baal (6:32), Ramath-lehi (15:17), En-hakkore (15:18–19); 1 Samuel:Samuel (1:20, 27), Ichabod (4:21), Ebenezer (7:12), Sela-mahlekoth
(23:28, without explanation), Nabal (25:25); 2 Samuel: Baal-perazim
(5:20), Perez-uzzah (6:8), Solomon / Jedidiah (12:25); 1 Kings: Cabul
(9:13), Samaria (16:24, after the name Shemer, the owner of the land);
2 Kings: Sela / Joktheel (14:7); Ruth: Naomi / Mara (1:20); 1 Chronicles:
Peleg (1:19); Jabez (4:9–10), Beriah (7:23), Perez-uzzah (13:11; cf.2 Sam 6:8); Baal-perazim (14:11; cf. 2 Sam 5:20); 2 Chronicles: Beracah
(20:26)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 24/169
8 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Nabal, Samaria, Sela / Joktheel, Peleg, Jabez, Beriah. However, most place names are translated (at least partly) in some ancient translations,
as compound names: Eben-ezer, Sela-mahlekoth, Baal-perazim, Perez-
uzzah, Jedidiah / Solomon, Cabul, Noomi / Mara, Beracah.
It may be noted that nearly all personal names are consistently trans-
literated. By contrast, almost all place names are translated at least in
some ancient translations. In the following section, the names that are predominantly translated in ancient Bible translations will be analyzedindividually or in groups according to the order of the books in the
Hebrew canon.4
2. Etymological Translation of Two Namings of Eve
According to the Yahwist narrative of creation (Gen 2:4b–25), Adam has
given his wife a generic name (v. 23): “This one shall be called Woman
( iššh), for out of Man this one was taken (m îš luqqh-z t ).” It is
noteworthy that the Samaritan Pentateuch has the expression m îšh
“out of her Man” instead of m îš , a rendering found also in LXX and Tg.
The Targums did not preserve the word-play based on a clear linguisticinterrelation between the descriptive designations of Man and Woman.
TgO chose the words tt “woman wife” mibbalh “from her hus-
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 25/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 9
The striking creation of a pun by Jerome obviously inuenced LUB,which in turn inuenced some later translations. A comparison between
LUB and DAL clearly proves the dependence of DAL on LUB: Man
wird sie Mennin heissen / darumb / das sie vom Manne genommen ist //
Ona bo Moshiza imenovana, satu, ker je is Mosha vseta. We note that
about one third of later translations have preserved the word-play. The
comparison of JPS and TNK shows that TNK replicates more completelythe word order of the original than JPS. All English translations have the
standard pair Woman/Man; in other languages appropriate word pairs
were created: Mennin…vom Manne (LUB); Männin…vom Manne (LUO,
LUT, ELO, ELB, SCH); d’un nom qui marque l’homme…de l’homme
(BLS); compagne de l’homme…de son compagnon (BFC); Varona…del
varón (SRV, R60); varoa…do varão (ARC, ARA); mužatka…z muže (BKR); Moshiza…is Mosha (DAL); Moshovka…od moshá (JAP);
možína…iz možá (WOL); (M )možinja…iz moža (SPP, SEB, SSP);
muženou…z muže (CEP); olovikovojo…z olovika (UKR); mannin…uit
haar man (LEI); haar manninne…van den man (LUV); “mannin”…de
man (NBG); haar Manninne…uit den man (SVV); maninna…av man
(S17); manninne…av mannen (N30, NBK, NBN).At this point one may ask why most ancient versions did not preserve
the pun of the original to the extent that some Renaissance and more
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 26/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 27/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 11
It is all the more surprising, then, that nearly all later translations havethe transliteration of the name: Eve (all English translations, etc.), Eva
(e.g. DAL, LUO, LUT), and so on; there are only a few exceptions: Heua
(LUB); Heuah (GNV); Chawwa, Leben! (BUR); ¥ ava-Vivante (CHO).The fact that DAL did not adopt the form Heua from LUB, even though
the translation itself is reminiscent of LUB, provides compelling reasons
for the assumption that the form Eva was already established in the liv-ing tradition in regions of Slovenia in the sixteenth century. The majority
form Eve, Eva and so on, is obviously based on the Greek transcription
form Eúa (with spiritus lenis). There is no example of later translations
having translation of the name instead of transliteration. The more the
practice of transliteration prevailed, the less the word-play of the original
came to expression. The play on words is reduced to cases of renderingnames both in transliteration and an added translation (BUR, CHO), or
an explanation of the meaning of the name in a note (NRSV).
3. Etymological Translation of the Toponym Babel
The etymological naming of the city Babel is closely connected with thestructure of the narrative of the Tower of Babel and the confusion of
language in the last Yahwist narrative of the Primeval History at Gen
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 28/169
12 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
one another’s speech…” (vv. 5–8). In conclusion, God’s preventative or punitive intervention against the audacious will of the people to great-
ness is brought into connection with the naming of the city Babel (v. 9):
“Therefore it was called Babel (bbel ), because there the LORD confused(blal ) the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered
them abroad over the face of all the earth.”
The naming of the city of Babel is one of the most striking examplesof etymological aetiology relating to the question of how in the Bible a
particular place was given its name. This popular etymology is wrong in
substance, for the name Babel is Sumerian and Babylonian in origin:
Sum. Ká-dingir , Akk. Bb-ilu “gate of the god.” The Hebrew verb signi-
fying “to confuse, to mix” is blal. The slight graphological resemblance
to Babel was therefore enough for the Hebrew author to add to previousstages of development of the name an aspect referring to the situation
described of the plurality of languages as opposed to the presumed unity
of language at the beginning. This popular etymology is a situation
aetiology explaining why worldwide mutual communication and human
cooperation are impossible. The main purpose of the narrative is to
explain why the primeval state of unity of language was changed into plurality of language. In accordance with the general theme of the
Primeval History namely the escalation of sin the narrator brings into
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 29/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 13
mistress Sarai in the desert, the angel of the Lord appeared and assuredher: “You have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him
Ishmael ( yišml ), for the LORD has given heed (kî šm yhwh) to your
afiction” (16:11). The narrator and Hagar give etymological variations
of the lost ancient place name and of the well: “So she named the LORD
who spoke to her, ‘You are El-roi ( atth l r î )’; for she said, ‘I have
really seen [God] after he saw me.’ Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (al-kn qr labb r b r laay r î ); it lies between Kadesh
and Bered” (16:13–14). We note that in the explanation of the naming of
Ishmael, the narrator substitutes the l with the Tetragrammaton yhwh as
the designation for God. Both designations have the same signicance
for the narrator, but he probably wants to take over a lapidary phrase. In
the naming of God by Hagar, the word r y has been vocalized by theMasoretes as a noun (r î ), suggesting the meaning of the name in the
sense of vision or revelation: “You are God of vision.” The Samaritan
Pentateuch has in v. 13 the form of the name th l r h, r h being read as a
nite verb or a participle. At the end of the compound name of the well,
the same word has been vocalized as a participle with a sufx of object
(r î ), suggesting the meaning of the name: “well of the one who is alive,who sees me.” The name Beer-lahai-roi appears in two more places in
the same form (Gen 24:62; 25:11)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 30/169
14 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
In contrast to this name, the name Beer-lahai-roi is usually given usingtransliterated form, though it is translated in quite a few versions. English
translation variants for the name Attah El-roi are: Thou God lookest onme (GNV); Thou God seest me (KJV); Thou art the God who revealshimself (DBY); Thou art a God that seeth (ASV); Thou art a God of seeing (JPS, RSV, ESV); You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees (NKJ); Thou art a
God who is seen (BBE); Thou the God who hast seen me (DRA); ThouGod seest me (WEB); Thou art a God who sees (NAS); You are the Godwho sees me (NIV, NIB, NAU); Thou art God who seest me (LXE); Youare the God of Vision (NAB); German translation variants are: Du Gott sihest mich (LUB, LUO); Du bist ein Gott, der mich sieht (LUT, ELB);
Du Gott der Sicht (BUR); Du bist ein Gott, der sich schauen läßt (ELO);
Du bist “der Gott, der mich sieht” (SCH); Slovenian translation variantsare: Ti Bug vidiš mene (DAL); Ti si ta Bog, kateri si mene vidil (JAP); Ti si Bog, kteri si me vidil (WOL), and so on. There are some rare cases of
transliteration or mixed variants: You are El-roi (TNK, NRSV); You are El Roi (NJB); El-Roï (EIN); Atta-El-roï (LSG, NEG); Atta-El-Roi (NRV); Tu es El-Roï (BFC); Tu es El Roï (FBJ); Tu sei El-Roi (LND); Ti
si El Roi (SSP); Ti je El-Roi (ALB). The transliterated forms of the nameBeer-lahai-roi are nearly as numerous as the translations. Of interest here
therefore are only those versions in which the name is translated:
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 31/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 15
Gen 16:14 and the well of the vision at Gen 24:62; 25:11; LUB has einbrunnen des Lebendingen, der mich angesehen hat at Gen 16:14,
brunnen des Lebendigen und Sehenden at Gen 24:62; 25:11; DAL has
Studenez tiga shivezhiga, kateri je na mene pogledal at Gen 16:14,
Studenez tiga Shivezhiga inu videzhiga at Gen 24:62 and Studenez, tiga
shivezhiga inu videzhiga at Gen 25:11, and so on.
5. Etymological Translation or Explanation
of the Personal Names Moab and Ben-ammi
The section Gen 19:30–38 describes the origin of the peoples of Moab
and Ammon, presumably on the basis of some authentic historical
memories. The unmarried and childless daughters of Lot believed acoming catastrophe to be universal and organized incestuous intercourse
with their own father Lot to ensure descendants for the family threatened
with extinction. The narrative concludes with the explanation of the
names of the sons (vv. 37–38): “The rstborn bore a son, and named him
Moab (mô b); he is the ancestor of the Moabites (hû bî-mô b) to this
day. The younger also bore a son and named him Ben-ammi (ben- ammî ); he is the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day (hû bî bnê
ô ) ” Th l ti f th M b t f t l i l
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 32/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 33/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 17
before Abimelech that Abraham dug the well. The rst kind of folketymology prevailed and can be found again in the Yahwist narrative
about Isaac’s covenant with Abimelech (Gen 26:26–33); the concluding
statement relates to Isaac: “He called it Shibah ( šibh); therefore the
name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.” The unique form šibh
means “seven”; so the name corresponds to the presumed etymology for
the city Beer-sheba. These aetiological interpretations are probably com- bined with several originally independent local traditions.
Translations reect two kinds of interpretation of the name Beer-
sheba. The Targums retain the Hebrew form, while the LXX translates it
as Phréar orkismoû “Well of the oath making” (Gen 21:31), Phréarórkou “Well of the oath” (Gen 26:33; cf. Phréar toû órkou at Gen 21:14,
33; 22:19; 28:10; 46:1, 5); Sym transcribes the name as Brsabeé at Gen21:31; the Vg transcribes it as Bersabee in both places. The name Shibah
of Gen 26:33 is translated in LXX as Órkos “Oath,” in Sym as Plsmon
“Abundance,” in the Vg as the corresponding Latin word in the accu-
sative Abundantiam. The rendering in Sym and the Vg are based on the
reading ibh “plenty, abundance, satiety” instead of šibh “oath.” The
LXX form Phréar orkismoû, which appears only at Gen 21:31, shows thatthe translator deliberately emphasizes the act of oath making. All later
translations render the name Beer sheba (Gen 21:31) in various trans
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 34/169
18 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
At Gen 26:33, the difference in the history of vocalizing the Hebrewword root š/b resulted in difference in translation or transliteration of
the name Shibah; in the LXX we nd translation using the word Órkos
“Oath,” in Sym using the word Plsmoné “Abundance,” in the Vg using
a word of the same meaning, Abundantia; LUB has the transliteration
form Saba, DAL Seba, and so on. A comparison of transliteration forms
found in European Bible translations shows that the phonetic formShibah/Shebah/Seba —found in orthographic variants—is the majority
form, whereas the form Saba found in LUB is again unique; revisions of
LUB have different forms: LUO has Seba, LUT has the translation
“ schwur ,” EIN has Schiba. The unique reading Saba found in LUB is
explained in a note in the margin: (SEBA) Heisst ein Eid / oder schwur /
oder die fülle. This means that the transliterated form Saba is based onthe etymology of the name Beer-sheba and on the pause reading of the
second word, rather than on the normal reading of the noun b “satiety”; so we may assume also here dependence on the form Bersabee
found in the Vg for the name Beer-sheba.
7. Etymological Translation of the Place Name Adonai-jireh
The narrative of the great temptation at Gen 22:1 19 describes the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 35/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 19
root yr “to fear, worship.” TgO rephrases the verse in order to avoid anydivine nomenclature for the altar: “And Abraham worshipped (ûpla)
and prayed there in that place, and he said, ‘Here before the Lord shall
(future) generations worship ( yhôn-pal an drayy ).’ Therefore it is
said this day, ‘On this mountain did Abraham worship ( pl) before the
Lord.’ ” In the aetiological explanation of the naming of the place, the
verb is no longer imperfect but perfect in tense, and the indenite refer-ence is made denite in relation to Abraham. TgN and TgPsJ changed
the text even more by extending it into similar versions of Abraham’s
prayer, expressing his willingness to sacrice his son on the mountain,
identied with the mountain in Jerusalem. TgPsJ’s version of Abraham’s
prayer is shorter than the one recorded in other Targums; it reads: “Abra-
ham gave thanks and prayed there in that place, and said: ‘I beseech, bythe mercy from before you, O Lord! It is manifest before you that there
was no deviousness in my heart, and that I sought to perform your
decree with joy. Therefore, when the children of Isaac my son enter into
a time of distress, remember them, and answer them, and redeem them.
All these generations to come will say, “On this mountain Abraham tied
his son Isaac, and there the Shekinah of the Lord was revealed tohim.” ’ ” Versions of this prayer in relation to the Aqedah are recorded in
several midrashic texts 9
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 36/169
20 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
a play of time periods between present / future: Appellavitque nomen lociillius Dominus videt unde usque hodie dicitur in monte Dominus videbit.
According to this rendering the naming of the place alludes to the event
itself, while its aetiological explanation expresses the commonly accepted
view that God’s providence extends into the future.
Many translators decided to translate both the name of the place as
well as the explanation of the naming. All versions have a translation ofthe explanation of why the place was named the way it was, and more
than half of them also provide a translation of the name itself. There is a
greater tendency to do justice to the pun of the original text in versions
translating both the name and the explanation for a name. The expla-
nation is usually translated using the future tense, but sometimes the
present is used. LUB, for instance, achieves a striking play on words byrendering the verb in the present tense both times, even though Luther
claims in the margin that he followed Jerome: (Sihet ) Ebrei dicunt /
Dominus videbitur / Sed nos Hieronymum secuti / Rabinos Grammaticos
cum suis punctis et Cammetz hoc loco negligimus / et sine punctis
dicimus. Der HERR sihet / das ist / Gott sorget fur alles vnd wachet.
Etiamsi sensus ille / Dominus videbitur / sit plus valde / quod Deusapparet / vbi verbum eius dicetur / quod Rabini Grammatici non intelli-
gunt The translation of the entire v 14 is: Und Abraham hies die stet /
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 37/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 21
(NEG); Yahvé pourvoit (FBJ); Jehovah Jireh (LND, ALB); Iavè-Irè (NRV); Jehová proveerá (R60); “Jehová proveerá” (R95); Ieobàiré
(MGK); Jehova-jire-nek (HUN).
8. Etymological Translation of the Place Names Esek,
Sitnah, Rehoboth and Bethel
Within the same narrative of Isaac (Gen 26:19–22), information about
three wells is given:
When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring
water, the herders of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herders, saying, “The
water is ours.” So he called the well Esek (eq), because they contended
with him (kî hit aqû immô). Then they dug another well, and they
quarrelled over that one also; so he called it Sitnah ( i nh). He moved
from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he
called it Rehoboth (rbôt ), saying, “Now the LORD has made room for
us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”
The name Esek (eq, spelled with a Sin) and the Hithpael of the same
root in the interpretation of how the well was given its name is not
otherwise attested, though from Late Hebrew we know of the spelling
i “ if i ” Thi lli d d i T O
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 38/169
22 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Nearly all later European translations transliterate all three names. Inthis case, mention may be made only of LUB and DAL. LUB has trans-
literation Eseck / Sitna / Rehoboth; DAL has Eek / Sitna / Rehoboth. The
few exceptions of translation are noteworthy: Esek is translated as
Calumny (DRA), “Argument” (NLT), “Zank” (LUT), Injustice (BLS),
Éssèq – Chamaille (CHO), Essec – ce qui veut dire “Querelle” (BFC);
Sitnah is rendered as Enmity (DRA), “Opposition” (NLT), “Streit”(LUT), Sitna (Streit ) (EIN), Inimitié (BLS), Sitna – “Contestation”(BFC), Sitna – Détestation (CHO), Sitná (to je Soení ) (CEP); Rehoboth
is rendered as Latitude (DRA), “Room Enough” (NLT), “Weiter Raum”
(LUT), Rehobot (Weite) (EIN), Largeur (BLS), Reoot – Largesses
(CHO), Rehoboth – “Elargissement” (BFC).
The narrative describing Jacob’s dream at Bethel (Gen 28:10–22)culminates in the discovery and the naming of a sanctuary. Fleeing from
his brother Esau, Jacob experienced a revelation from God in a dream
during the night. Jacob recognized in the place of his dream “the house
of God (bêt lhîm)” (v. 17), and in the narrative concludes by relating
how the place was given its name: “He called that place Bethel (bêt- l ); but (w ûlm) the name of the city was Luz (lûz) at the rst” (v. 19). TheTargums retain the Hebrew spelling of both names, while the LXX trans-
lates Bethel correctly as Oîkos Theoû “the House of God ” However Luz
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 39/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 23
today.’ Therefore he called it Galeed ( gal d ), and the pillar Mizpah(hammi ph), for he said, ‘The LORD watch ( y ep) between you and
me…’ ” (vv. 46–49). The rst naming is given in two languages, because
Laban is an Aramaic speaker. Both the Aramaic version of the name,
ygar hdût “The heap of witness,” and the underlying Hebrew
name, gal d “The heap of witness,” are hapax legomena in the Hebrew
Bible, but mi ph “Watchpost” is frequently found elsewhere. The nameGaleed is part of folk etymology for the regional name Gilead.
The Bible’s translation history provides some interesting points. The
name hammi ph “Watchpost” is rendered in the Samaritan Pentateuch
with the word hammabh “Memorial stone.” Some scholars assume
in this form the original name of the place, in the Hebrew Bible changed
in some later period to hammi ph because of inappropriate cultic andtheological associations. The argument is precarious because the Hebrew
text is obviously built on the word-play between the name hammi ph
and the verb y ep, from ph “keep watch,” in the explication of the
meaning of the name. TgO only changes the Hebrew name mi ph into
the Aramaic skût , a word which has the same meaning. The changes
in TgN and TgPsJ in connection with the rst and the third name areslightly more substantial. The LXX is again consistent in its translation of
all names The emphatic state of the compound phrase ygar hdût is
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 40/169
24 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
when Jacob saw them he said, ‘This is God’s camp (manh lhîm zeh)!’ So he called that place Mahanaim (manyim).” Note especially
the contrast between the singular manh in Jacob’s exclamation and
the dual form of the place: manyim. Nevertheless, the immediate
correlation of the two forms of the same root clearly shows that the
writer of the aetiological explanation of the place name was concerned
with the literary feature of the word-play. The use of the dual in thenaming of the place is probably based on an independent ancient tradi-
tion of the name, one which prevailed due to greater importance of the
name in Israel’s history. The theological relevance of the tradition about
Jacob’s encounter with God’s realm, or God’s camp (manh lhîm),
explains why the nal redactor connects this later tradition aetiologically
with the earlier form of the place name in the dual ending meaning “Twocamps.” A possible reason for inclusion of the dual form of the name
Mahanaim at this place can be found in the account given of how Jacob
divided his possessions into two camps (lišnê manôt ) in order to save
at least one half of his possessions in case his brother Esau attacked him
(cf. Gen 32:8–11). However, Jacob’s expression of surprise, manh
lhîm zeh! (v. 3), indicates that the name is meant to be singular.Renderings in the Targums relate various kinds of paraphrastic render-
ings to the etymological meaning of the name Mahanaim thus conrm
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 41/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 25
10. Etymological Translation of the Place Names Peniel / Penuel and Succoth
The ancient narrative about Jacob’s struggle at Penuel (Gen 32:22–32),
probably based on a local story, ends with two aetiologies (vv. 31, 33).
The rst aetiology is of interest here because it contains the etymological
explanation of the city Peniel / Penuel east of the Jordan. Jacob asks hismysterious assailant what his name is. The numinous being does not
reveal his name but blesses Jacob instead (v. 30), thus revealing himself
to be God. Commenting on this miraculous encounter, which saves
Jacob’s life, the narrator says (v. 31): “So Jacob called the place Peniel
( pnî l ), saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face ( pnîm el pnîm),
and yet my life is preserved.’ ” At v. 32 the name of the place appears inthe archaic form pnû l , which is used in several other places (Judg 8:8–
9, 17; 1 Kgs 12:25; 1 Chr 4:4; 8:25).10 It is evident therefore that the
narrator uses the unusual form pnî l because this form allows for a pun
on the word for “face” ( pnîm).Translations have various different forms of translations and trans-
literations of the name Peniel / Penuel. TgO and TgPsJ retained the twospellings of the name, while TgN harmonized them with the one form
P i l Th LXX t l t d th lli P i l ( 31) Eîd Th û
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 42/169
26 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
the two divergent spellings calls for a critical assessment. The principleof unication was adopted, for instance, by the authors of the Loccumer
Richtlinien.12
At the end of the predominantly Yahwist narrative about Jacob’s
meeting with Esau (Gen 33) there is an aetiological explanation for the
place name Succoth. After a peaceful separation from his brother, Esau
sets out for Seir. In v. 17 the text reads: “But Jacob journeyed to Succoth( succth), and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle;
therefore the place is called Succoth ( succôt ).” This aetiological formula
of the place mentioned at the end of Jacob’s itinerary (Gen 25–33)
acquires special signicance because it reects the original form of the
xed settlement and also signals that Jacob and their descendants have
settled permanently in the Promised Land. We note the use of He locale in the Hebrew, with nal –h also used as the accusative of direction in
the rst mention of the place name ( succth). This form is retained by
TgN, which at the same time prexes the preposition Lamedh “to”
(l-skth); some other examples of the retention of the accusative of direc-
tion in TgN include l-mrymh “to Egypt” at Gen 26:2; lwzh “to Luz” at
Gen 35:6, without the initial preposition Lamedh; mn-gl dh “fromGilead” at Gen 37:25; b-gšnh “in Goshen” at Gen 46:28, all of which
suggest that the author of TgN misunderstood the original purpose of the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 43/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 27
Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, heand all the people who were with him, and there he built an altar and
called the place El-bethel ( l bêt- l ), because there the gods (angels)
were revealed to him (kî šm niglû lyw h lhîm) when he ed from
his brother. And Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried
under an oak below Bethel. So it was called Allon-bacuth ( allôn bkût ).
The designation of the place Bethel “the House of God” as El-Bethel“the God of Bethel” means that the place has been equated with the God
venerated in Bethel by Jacob and his family. The name Allon-bacuth, on
the other hand, presumably memorializes the mourning rites that accom-
panied the death of the old nurse who became part of the family of Jacob.
The LXX and Vg ignore renaming the place by adding the word l
before the name Bethel; the LXX transcribes the name as Baithél , eventhough the same name is translated as Oîkos Theoû at Gen 28:19. LXXO
has lled the lacuna with the word ischyrós “strong, powerful” under the
asterisk.13 However, in the Vg the name is transliterated as Bethel at Gen
28:19, translated as Domus Dei at Gen 35:7. The Targums show varia-
tions: while TgO retains the complete Hebrew form of the name, TgN
omits the antecedent word l , and TgPsJ uses the paraphrase “El whocaused his Shekinah to dwell in Bethel.” Most later translations trans-
literate the complete name some without considering l In further
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 44/169
28 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
The name Allon-bacuth is more often translated in ancient and inmodern translations of the Bible. All Targums use translations, some of
them avoiding the word “oak” in order to remove any suspicion that
Jacob was associated with a tree that might have been connected with
idolatrous worship: mêšar bkît “the Plain of weeping” (TgO); dibblô
bkîth “(of) the Oak of weeping” (TgN). Based on a play on the word
allôn “oak,” taken to be the Greek állos “another,” TgPsJ has “anotherweeping.” The LXX translates the name with Bálanos pénthos “Acorn of
weeping.” The Vg does not render the “oak” by extension but in its
proper sense: quercus Fletus. Most later versions transliterate the name
in various orthographic forms, but there are a considerable number of
translations: The oak of weeping (DRA); the Oak of Tears (NJB); the
“Oak of Weeping” (NLT); Klag(e)eiche (LUB, LUO, SCH); Steineichedes Weinens (BUR); Träneneiche (EIN); le Chêne des pleurs (BLS); de
chêne des pleurs (LSG, NEG); le Chêne-des-Pleurs (FBJ); Alôn Abkout
– le Chêne du Pleur (SHO); “le Chêne des Pleurs” (TOB); “le Chêne
des pleurs” (BFC); “Quercia del pianto” (IEP); l’Alzina del Plany
(BCI); Hrat tiga klagovanja (DAL); hrat tiga jokanja (JAP); Dob
žalovanja (WOL); hrast žalovanja (SEB); hrast jokanja (SSP); Posvátnýdub pláe (CEP); Terebint Paczu (BTP); Dubom placha (RST); Duba
na Placha (BUL); eik des geweens noemde (LEI); Klaageik (LUV); Eik
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 45/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 29
the view that the Egyptians performed a great act of mourning for thedead Jacob at a location which, in spite of this etymological reinterpreta-
tion, retained the original spelling bl in the MT.
The LXX surprises again by translating the name: Pénthos Aigýptou
“the Mourning of Egypt.” Similarly, Vg renders the name with Planctus Aegypti. Nevertheless, almost all later versions transliterate the name. All
the more surprising is that LUB and TOB have translation of the name:“Der Ägypter Klage”; “Deuil-de-l’Égypte.” A translation is also found
in several early Slavonic Bible translations. The rendering “téh Egypter- jeu klagovanje” by DAL clearly proves DAL’s dependence on LUB, for
in both cases the unusual word order is the same. The Croatian version
by Bartol Kaši written in 1625 uses “Pla od Egipta.”
13. Etymological Translation of the Place Names Marah,Massah and Meribah
Within the itinerary of the Israelites from the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea)
into the wilderness of Shur there is a Yahwist and Elohist story describ-
ing how bitter water is made sweet (cf. Exod 15:22–27), which includesan aetiological explanation of why the place Marah was named the way it
Th t l i t E d 15 23 “Wh th t M h
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 46/169
30 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
of the verb nsh “to test” (in Piel) and the second with the aid of theverb rîb “to quarrel”: “He (Moses) called the place Massah and Meriba
(massh ûmrîbh), because the Israelites quarrelled and tested the LORD
(al-rîb bnê yir l wal nasstm et-yhwh).” The names Massah and
Meribah, or in some places only one of the names, are in several places
connected with the testing and complaining traditions (cf. Num 20:13,
24; 27:14; Deut 6:16; 33:8; Pss 81:8; 95:8; 106:32–33). Therefore itseems likely that the aetiology of the name of Massah at Exod 17:7 is a
secondary interpolation into the present Meribah story. This text presents
names and verbs in a chiastic fashion (a-b-b-a); that is to say, the etymol-
ogy of the rst name corresponds to the second verb, while the second
name and the rst verb are in between. The double etymological word-
play Massah-nsh and Meribah-rîb reects the sense of the etymologiesgiven in the double exclamation of indignation uttered by Moses at Exod
17:2: “Why do you quarrel with me (mah-trîbûn immdî )? Why do you
test the LORD (mah-tnassûn et yhwh)?” TgN preserved the etymologi-
cal correspondence in both verses but replaced the stem rîb with dîn; at
Exod 17:7, the chiastic fashion is retained: nsyywnh–dyynwwtyh–
dyynwn–nswn. In the LXX, the chiastic order is also retained. However,the names Massah and Meribah are not transcribed but are translated
etymologically on the basis of corresponding verbs at Exod 17: “Why do
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 47/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 31
Deut 6:16, the speaker admonishes the people by using a word-play onthe name Massah: “Do not put the LORD your God to the test (l
tnassû), as you tested him at Massah (nsîtem bammassh).” The LXX
follows the original closely in using the same root consistently: “You
shall not tempt (ouk ekpeiráses) the Lord thy God, as you tempted him in
the Temptation (exepeirásasthe en tô Peirasmô).” The same is true for
the Vg: Non temptabis Dominum Deum tuum sicut temptasti in locoTemptationis. In the LXX and Vg, the name Massah is rendered using the
same words at Deut 9:22: en tô Peirasmô; in loco temptationis. The
Hebrew text of Deut 33:8c shows a perfect etymological correspondence
between the verbs and names, but the LXX has the translation: hòn
epeírasan autòn en peíra eloidórsan epì hýdatos antilogías “whom they
tempted in the temptation; they reviled him at the water of strife.” TheVg has the translation: quem probasti in Temptatione et iudicasti ad
aquas Contradictionis. At Ps 95:8 the LXX translated the phrase “as at
Meribah, as on the day of Massah” as en tô parapikrasmô (MGK: paror-
gismô) katà tèn hméran peirasmoû “as in the provocation, according to
the day of temptation.” The Vg has the translation sicut in contradic-
tione, sicut in die temptationis.Most later versions transliterate the names at all quoted passages and
only a few have translation: the Water (the waters) of contradiction
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 48/169
32 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
na provcação // com no dia da tentaçã(ä)o (ACF, BRP at Ps 95:8); comoem Meribá // como no dia da tentação (ARC at Ps 95:8); ty vody sváru
(BKR at Num 20:13; 27:14); Vody sváru (CEP at Num 27:14); pi
V/vodách sváru (BKR, CEP at Num 20:24); v pokušení // pi vodách
Meribah (BKR at Deut 33:14); jako pi popuzeni // a v den pokušení
(BKR at Ps 95:8); kak v Merive // kak v den’ iskushenia (RST at Ps
95:8); mov pri Merivi // nemov na pustyni v den’ sproby (UKR at Ps95:8); kakto v Meriva // kakto v denia, kogato Me izptakhte v pustiniata
(BUL at Ps 95:8); ta kregarka voda (DAL at Num 20:13; 27:13); pèr
Kregarskih vodah (DAL at Num 20:24; Deut 33:8); voda(i) tiga (v’)
supèrgovorjenja(i) (JAP at Num 20:13, 24; 27:14); na tim kraji t
kuhnjave (JAP at Deut 33:8); v’ ràsdrashénju // na dan t kuhnjáve
(JAP at Ps 95:8); het water der twisting (LUV at Num 20:13, 24; 27:14);te Massa // aan het water der twisting (LUV at Deut 33:14); ver-
sengésnek vizei/vizénél (HUN at Num 20:13, 24; 27:14).
14. Etymological Translation of the Place Names Taberah,
Kibroth-hattaavah and HormahThe narrative of Num 11:1–35 (Yahwist/Elohist) begins with a passage
d ibi h th I lit l t d th i i f t ( 1 3) I thi
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 49/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 33
contrast, the word-play disappears in TgO because the translator preserved the verb from the root br both in the description of God’s
punishment at Num 11:1 and in the explanation of the name at Num 11:3
but replaced the simple name Taberah with the compound name bêt
yqêdth “the House of re/conagration,” an expression which is also
used at Deut 9:22. The LXX also dropped the word-play by translating the
name Taberah using the cognate descriptive term Empyrismós “ABurning,” and by using a verb from another root both for describing
God’s reaction at Num 11:1 and for describing the meaning of the name
Taberah at Num 11:3: kaì (hóti) exekaúth en autoîs pr “and (because) a
re was kindled among them.” The Vg, on the other hand, restored the
word-play by translating the name Taberah in relation to the cognate
verb: Incensio-accensus (v. 1) succensus (v. 3)…ignis. All later trans-lations transliterate the name Taberah using various forms.
The extended narrative of Num 11:1–35 about how the quails were
provided is concluded by the explanation of how the place was given its
name (v. 34). The people succumbed to a lust for esh and God’s anger
is shown in his destruction of many of them. The popular etymology
includes explanation of the place name by playing on the words for“grave” and “craving” for meat (vv. 33–34): “And the LORD struck the
people with a very great plague So that place was called Kibroth
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 50/169
34 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
(mnémata tês epithymías); for there they buried the people that lusted(éthapsan tòn laòn tòn epithymtén).” The Vg preserved part of the
word-play in a different combination: Vocatusque est ille locus sepulchra
Concupiscentiae ibi enim sepelierunt populum qui desideraverat. Both
in the LXX and in the Vg the name is consistently rendered by the same
two words. Most later translators transliterated the name with only a
few exceptions: The graves of lust (DRA); Lustgreber (LUB); Lust- gräber (LUO, SCH); “Lustgräber” (LUT); Gräber des Gelüsts (BUR);
les Sépulcres de concupiscence (BLS); Grobi tiga shelenja (DAL);
Pokopaliha tiga poshelenja (JAP); pokop poželjivosti (WOL); Lust-
graven (LUV).
In the Yahwist/Elohist passage Num 21:1–3 there is an etymological
explanation of the name Hormah, identied as a play on the word rem “ban.” The Canaanites of the Negeb under the leadership of the king of
Arad fought against Israel. In this context we nd a good example of
popular etymology (vv. 2–3): “Then Israel vowed a vow to the LORD and
said, ‘If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will utterly
destroy (wharamtî ) their towns.’ The LORD listened to the voice
of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed(wayyarm) them and their towns. And the name of the place was
called Hormah (ormh) ” A variant text has been transmitted in the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 51/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 35
region. The LXX could therefore be correct in rendering the word as‘Anathema,’ which reects the fact that, strictly speaking, Hormah is not
a specic site.”14 Most later translations contain transliteration of
Hormah, and there are only a few examples combining transliterated /
translated forms or which use only translation: Horma id est anathema
(Vg at Num 21:3; Judg 1:17); Horma, that is (to say), Anathema (DRA);
Chorma, Bannung (BUR); Horma (Untergansweihe) (EIN); Horma,c’est-à-dire anathème (BLSI); ¥ orma, l’Interdite (CHO); Horma, ce qui
signie “la Ruine” (BFC); Hormà (que vol dir “extermini”) (BCI);
Horma (Nimicire deplin) (CNS); Chorma (to je Klatb propadlé)
(CEP); Hórma, to je, prekltje (JAP); Horma, to je, prekletstvo (WOL).
In most of these cases, the inuence of Vg is evident.
15. Etymological Translation of the Place Names Bochim,
Ramath-lehi and En-hakkore
At the end of the aetiological narrative Judg 2:1–5, which can stand as an
independent unit (cf. the etymological meaning of the name Allon-
bacuth at Gen 35:8), there is a popular etymological explanation of the place name Bochim, which does not appear in any other place. The editor
h d th l t l i l ti t th di i t I l’
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 52/169
36 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Pleureurs” (BFC); Boquim (ge vol dir “els qui ploren”) (BCI); Bochim(Ceice plîng) (CNS); Bokím (to je Plaící) (CEP); kraj tih jókajózhih, alith óls (JAP); Kraj plakajoih ali solzá (WOL).
The story of Samson’s life at Judg 15:9–20 includes the topographical
aetiological stories of the place names Ramath-lehi and En-hakkore. The
main aetiological narrative of Judg 15:9–17 concludes with a word-play
on the name of the town Ramath-lehi (v. 17) in relation to Samson’ssuccess (Heb. rûm) in slaying a thousand Philistines using the jawbone
of a donkey: “When he had nished speaking, he threw away the jaw-
bone; and that place was called Ramath-lehi (rmat-leî ).” The pericope
of Judg 15:18–19 explains the origin of the spring at Lehi and remem-
bers Samson’s appeal to God for water and God’s miraculous answer
(v. 19): “Therefore it was named En-hakkore (ên haqqôr ), which is atLehi to this day.” The etymological meaning of the rst name is “the Hill
of the Jawbone,” of the second one “the Spring of the One who Called.”
Translations show a huge variety of different forms. In TgJudg, the rst
name is transliterated, the second one is translated using the paraphrase:
ên d ityhîbat bilôt dšimšôn “the spring that was given at the
prayer of Samson.” In both codices of the LXX, the rst name is trans-lated in the same way: Anaíresis siagónos “the Lifting of the Jaw-bone”;
in the A text of the LXX the second name is translated as Pg epíkltos
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 53/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 54/169
38 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
from different roots for the naming of the place and for the explanationof how the place came to have its name: lapis Adiutorii…auxiliatus estnobis Dominus. Later translators transliterated the name, with very few
translating it or combining transliteration and translation: The stone ofhelp (DRA); Eben Eser, Hilfe-Stein (BUR); la Pierre du Secours (BLS); Pierre de l’Aide, È èn-ha- Ézér (CHO); “Pierre-du-secours” (BFC);
Kamen pomózhi (JAP); pomoi (WOL). LUB and DAL, obviously basedon LUB, have the unique transliteration form EbenEzer , writing both
words constituting the name in capitals without a space between them.
Other translations have expected forms in the framework of orthographic
rules in individual languages: Ebenezer (KJV, RSV, NRSV, etc.), Eben-ezer (GNV, JPS, TNK, etc.), Eben-Ezer (DRB, LUO, etc.), Eben-Eser
(LUT, EIN, etc.), Eben Ezer (SSP).The story of Saul’s search for David in the wilderness at 1 Sam
23:24b–24:1 includes an aetiological narrative that records a popular
etymological explanation of the origin of the name in connection with
one of the rocks in the region. When Saul successfully pursued David the
Philistines invaded the country and a messenger came to Saul, saying
(1 Sam 23:27–28): “ ‘Hurry and come; for the Philistines have made araid on the land.’ So Saul stopped pursuing David, and went against the
Philistines; therefore that place was called the Rock of Divisions (sela
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 55/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 39
of Separation. We note that LUB and DAL, again obviously under directinuence of LUB, have transliteration based on an incorrect reading
of the original: SelaMahelkoth / SelaMahelkot ; this transliterated form
appears nowhere else. Other noteworthy transliterated forms are: Sela-
hammahlekoth (GNV, DBY, ASV, JPS), Selahammahlekoth (KJV,
RWB), Sela Hammahlekoth (NIV, NIB), Sela-hammah-lek(c)oth (WEB,
BBE, SRV), Sela-Mahlekoth (das heißt Scheidefels) (LUO), Sela-Mach-lekot (LUT, ELB, LUV), Selach-Hammachlekoth (ELO), Sela-Machlekot
(Fels der Trennnung) (EIN), Séla-Hammakhlekoth (DRB), Séla-Ham-
machlekoth (LSG, NEG), Sela-Ammalecot (NRV), Sela-hama-lecot
(R60), Sela-hamajlecot (RVA), Sela-Hamalecote (ARC), Sela-Gam-
makhlekof (RST), Sela-Gammakhlekot (UKR), Selaamalekot (BUL),
Sela-machlekoth (SVV), Sela-Hammalekot (S17), Sela-Hammahlekot (N30, N38, NBK, NBN). A comparison of translation and transliteration
options and forms shows very clearly the relationship of dependence
between the key versions and others who replicated their solutions.
17. Etymological Translation of the Proper Names Baal-perazim and Perez-uzzah
Th f B l i th V ll f R h i i l i d
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 56/169
40 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
clay that is lled with water.’ Therefore he called the name of that placethe plain of breaches (bmêšar prîm).” By contrast, the LXX empha-
sized the play on words by using the same root four times: Epán
diakopôn “Upper Breaches,” …diékopsev “broke through,” …diakóptetai
“breaks through,” …Epáno diakopôn “Upper Breaches.” The Vg and
virtually all other later translations use transliteration. Special attention is
paid to the common transliteration form BaalPrazim in LUB and DAL because nowhere else do we nd this orthographic and phonetic form; all
other German translations have the form Baal-Perazim. The majority
form in English and other translations is Baal-perazim; exceptions are
the forms: Baalperazim (KJV, RSV, RWB), Baal Perazim (NKJ, NIV,
NIB), Baal Pharisim (DRA), and so on. The unique transliterated form in
LUB and DAL is an indisputable proof that DAL replicated LUB.The name Perez-uzzah is explained in the narrative describing how the
ark is brought to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1–23). In connection with Uzzah’s
death, the Deuteronomist editor interpolated the information about the
etymological naming of the unknown site Perez-uzzah, which is located
somewhere on the road between Kiriath-jearim and Jerusalem (v. 8):
“David was angry because the LORD had burst forth with an outburstupon Uzza ( pra yhwh pere buzzh); so that place is called Perez-
uzzah (pere uzzh) to this day ” In this skilful play of words the name
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 57/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 41
later translations. Most translators rendered the two words belonging tothe same root with one verb; the name itself is transliterated in every
single case. The transliteration form in LUB and DAL is the same—
Perez Vsa —and it should be noted that the two words constituting the
name are, exceptionally, not written together. All other German versions
have different transliteration forms: Perez-Usa (LUO, LUT, ELB, EIN),
Perez-Ussa (ELO, SCH). Other Slovenian translations have the transla-tions Ozovu Udarjenje (JAP), udarek Ozov (WOL) and the translitera-
tions Perez Uza (SPP), Feres-Oza (SEB), Perec Uza (SSP).
18. Etymological Translation of the Toponym Beracah
There are only two places of obvious aetiological naming in Chronicles(1 Chr 4:9; 2 Chr 20:26) and two places containing an explicit statement
about the derivation of names (1 Chr 11:7; 14:11 = 2 Sam 5:20). In
general, the Chronicler prefers an homiletical interpretation of names.
The explanation of how the place Beracah came to be named at 2 Chr
20:26 is part of the lengthy story of Jehoshaphat’s victory over the east-
ern coalition of Moab and Ammon (2 Chr 20:1–30). After the victory,Judah turned to plundering. At this point, the text reads (2 Chr 20:25–
26) “Th t th d t ki th b t b f it b d
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 58/169
42 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
entire word-play: in valle Benedictionis…ibi benedixerant Domino…vallis Benedictionis. Transliteration of the name in various orthographic
forms dominates in later translations: The/the Valley of Berachah (GNV,
KJV, NKJ, DBY, WEB, RWB); The/the Valley/valley of Beracah (ASV,
JPS, RSV, NAS, NIB, NAB, NAU, NJB, ESV, NRSV); Tal Beraka
(ELO); Tal Beracha (ELB, EIN); la vallée de Beraca (LSG, NEG); la
vallée de la Beraka (BFC, FBJ); la vallée de Berakha (SCO), and so on.A translation of the name is not found as often but the forms are also
noteworthy: the Valley of Blessing (BBE, NLT, TNK); the valley of
Blessing (DRA); Lobetal (LUB, LUO, LUT, SCH); Segenstal (BUR); la
vallée de la bénédiction, la vallée de la Bénédiction (BLS); la vallée de
Bénédiction, “vallée de Bénédiction” (TOB); Valle die Benedizione
(DIO, LND); la vall de la Benedicció (BCI); vale de Bênção (ARA); Hvalni dul (DAL); dolina Hvale / hvale (JAP, WOL); dolina Beráha /
“Slavilna dolina” (SSP); Dolina dobroeení (CEP); dolina blago-
slovenija (RST); Dolina(ta) na blagoslovenie(to) (BUL); Lofvallei (LEI);
Lof-dal (LUV); Dal der Lofprijzing (NBG); Lovprisnings-dalen (N30);
Lovprisingsdalen (N38, NBN); Lugina e Bekimit (ALB); hálaadásnak
völgyébe (HUN). It is difcult to overlook the obvious literary feature ofword-play in the original, so the word-play is preserved in many later
translations (BBE DRA TNK LUB LUO BUR LUT SCH BLS
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 59/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 43
the characteristic Hebrew tradition of aetiology and folk etymology. Allexamples of aetiological explanation of etymology of proper names in
the Hebrew Bible represent a basic literary formula appearing in variants.
Any analysis of aetiological explanation of etymology of biblical proper
names raises questions concerning the origin and the growth of the text,
its historical setting and authorship. The immediate and the broader con-
text of the narratives clearly indicate that a complex history of populartraditions and literary creations lies behind the present text.
Aetiological explanation of the etymology of biblical proper names is
a literary and stylistic phenomenon. The naming of persons or places and
the explanation for the names is based on literary rather than on linguis-
tic considerations. The etymological explanations of names are therefore
fully in line with fundamental traits of popular literature and poetry. Theterm “folk etymology” can be therefore misleading if it is not understood
within the general framework of literary features. As Moshe Garsiel
states,
The liberty taken by the biblical authors in these explanations has been
termed by some scholars “folk etymology.” Such a denition misses the
point; the explanations function as a literary device and are designed toenrich the literary unit. What we see here is by no means a popular and
shallow interpretation based upon a lack of knowledge but rather a
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 60/169
44 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
important to note that the explanation of a proper name assumes that theevent described really happened and is a real factor in determining the
meaning of the name. In most cases, aetiological explanation of a place
name is not the primary tradition of the story, but a secondary expansion,
resembling a gloss. Aetiological derivations of proper names creating
word-play occurred at an early period to ll out and expand the primary
tradition.
20. Conclusion Concerning Folk Etymology
in Bible Translations
The literary phenomenon of the word-play in the original text presents a
great challenge to translators who wish to render the original Hebrew orGreek text into languages that are not Semitic. For Semitic languages,
translators who were attentive to the literary quality of the original would
preserve the play on words without difculty. However, word-play is
often preserved even in translations into other languages—through
adequate translation of the names and their etymological explanation.
The aetiological derivation of names prompted many ancient translatorsto translate the name and follow it by an etymological explanation in
order to replicate the original play on words Mention may be made of
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 61/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 45
(LXX
); the name Taberah at Num 11:3: Vocavitque nomen loci illius Incensio eo quod succensus fuisset contra eos ignis Domini (Vg). Note
the play on three words of the same root in connection with the name
Hormah: anathematiô autòn…kaì anethemátisen autòn…kaì epekálesan
tò ónoma toû tópou ekeínou, Anáthema “I will devote it…and devoted
him…and they called the name of that place Devotion” (LXX); the name
Bochim at Judg 2:4–5: …kaì éklausan, Kaì epnómasan tò ónoma toûtópou ekeínou, Klauthmônes “…and wept. And they named the name of
that place Weepings” (LXX B; A has the name in sing.); …elevaverunt
vocem suam et everunt et vocatum est nomen loci illius Flentium sive
Lacrimarum (Vg); the Name Baal-perazim at 2 Sam 5:20–21: …ek tôn
Epán diakopôn…diékopse Kýrios…hs diakóptetati hýdata…Epán
diakopôn… (LXX); the Name Beracah at 2 Chr 20:26: …eis tòn aulônatês eulogías ekeî gàr ulógsan tòn Kýrion dià toûto ekálesan tò ónoma
toû tópou ekeínou Koilàs eulogías (LXX); …in valle Benedictionis etenim
quoniam ibi benedixerant Domino vallis Benedictionis (Vg); …im
Lobetal denn daselbs lobeten sie den HERRN…Lobetal (LUB);…v’Hvalnim doli: Sakaj ondi o ony GOSPVDA hvalili Hvalni dul
(DAL).In the periods after the Middle Ages the pun disappeared. This is
because even etymologically explained names were transliterated In
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 62/169
46 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Darum rief man seinen Namen Mara: Bittre (Exod 15:23);
Er rief den
Namen des Orts Masa, Prüfe, und Meriba, Gezänke, wegen des Zankens
der Söhne Jisraels und deswegen, daß sie IHN prüften (Exod 17:7); Er
rief den Namen des Ortes Tabera, Zündstatt, denn auf sie eingezündet
hatte ein Feuer von IHM (Num 11:3); Man rief den Namen jenes Orts:
Gräber des Gelüsts, denn dort hatte man das Volk der Lüsternen
begraben (Num 11:34); bannen…es bannte sie und ihre Städte und riefden Namen dieses Orts: Chorma, Bannung (Num 21:2–3: BUR; cf.
CHO); Sie erhoben, das Volk, ihre Stimme und weinten. Sie riefen den
Namen jenes Ortes: Bochim, Weinende (Judg 2:4–5); ER hat vor mir
meine Feinde durchbrochen, wie ein Durchbruch der Wasser. Daher rief
man den Namen jenes Orts: Baal Perazim, Meister der Durchbrüche
(2 Sam 5:20–21); Am vierten Tag sammelten sie sich im Segenstal –denn dort segneten sie IHN, deshalb rief man den Namen des Ortes
Segenstal (2 Chr 20:26). In some versions, a translation of the name is
included in the notes (RSV, NRSV). Combining the transliteration and
translation of a name was introduced only in aetiological derivations of
names, showing that the literary phenomenon of folk etymology must
have been a concern of some translators.In general, there is no explanation for the fact that names are usually
translated in ancient versions but transliterated in modern ones Conse-
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 63/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 47
21. LUB and DAL in Relation to the Original,to the LXX and the Vg, and to the Established Traditions
At Gen 2:23, we nd the play on words from the same root in the rst
naming of Eve: iššh // m îš. In contrast to most other ancient trans-
lations, Vg replicates the pun by the female and male forms of the same
root: virago // de viro. Similar solutions are found in LUB and in DAL:Mennin // vom Manne; Moshiza // is Mosha. In this case, the source of
dependence in individual translations cannot be established. The second
naming of Eve (Gen 3:20) is based on the play of words awwh // kol-
y in the original, replicated only in the LXX. Nearly all other ancient
and more modern translations transliterate the name Eve and translate the
etymological explanation of this name. LUB shares with the LXX and Vgtransliteration based on Hebrew phonetics: Heúa (LXX at Gen 4:1), Hava
(Vg), Heua (LUB), Heuah (GNV). LUB has a gloss explanation in the
margin: ( Heua) Hai / heisst Leben / Da her kompt Heua oder Haua /
leben oder lebendige. In contrast to LUB, DAL has the prevailing trans-
literation form Eva, based on smooth instead of rough breathing of Greek
transliteration: Eúa. The survey of Bible translations shows that the form Eva established itself quite early after the Middle Ages. Even more
i d i th t i ti f th f B b l (G 11 9) th
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 64/169
48 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Translation and transliteration forms of the names Ben-ammi, Beer-
sheba and Adonai-jireh conrm the hypothesis that translators normally
replicate translation or transliteration forms of unique and rare names,
whereas in choosing the forms of well-known names they consider the
established tradition of their own culture. The Hebrew form of the
unique name ben- ammî “Son of my people” at Gen 19:38 is accurately
translated in the LXX as hyiòs toû genoús mou. The Vg transliterates thename falsely as Ammon and adds a correct translation: lius populi mei.
LUB and DAL combine translation and transliteration: das kind Ammi;
déte Ammi. Since there are no other versions having such a combination
(except LUO), the dependence of DAL on LUB is indisputable. On the
other hand, the naming of Beer-sheba at Gen 21:31 found different
transliteration forms in the Vg, LUB and DAL: Bersabee; BerSaba; Beereba. At Gen 26:33, the Vg supposes in the naming of Shibah the
root b and translates it accordingly as Abundantia; LUB has the trans-
literation form Saba, DAL Seba. The naming of the unique place name
Adonai-jireh at Gen 22:14 is based on the Hebrew play of words yhwh
yir eh / bhar yhwh yr eh. The LXX translates the pun by changing the
Hebrew imperfect forms into a preterite: Kýrios eîden / en tô órei Kýriosóphth. The Vg places the basic verb r h in the active mood both in the
naming of the place and in the explanation of the naming to get the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 65/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 49
The naming of places Jegar-Sahadutha, Galeed and Mizpah at Gen
31:46–49, and Mahanaim at Gen 32:2–3, found varied translation / trans-
literation solutions. For Jegar-Sahadutha we nd: Bounòs tês martyrías
(LXX); tumulus Testis (Vg); Jegar Sahadutha (LUB); Iegar Sahaduta
(DAL). For Galeed there is translation everywhere: Bounòs mártys
(LXX); acervum Testimonii / Galaad id est tumulus Testis (Vg); Gilead
(LUB); Gilead (DAL). For Mizpah: H órasis (LXX); omitted (Vg); eineWarte (LUB; cf. LUO); ena Strasha (DAL). For Mahanaim: Parembol
Theoû haut / Parembolaí (LXX); castra Dei sunt haec / Manaim id est
Castra (Vg); Es sind Gottes Heere / Mahanaim (LUB); Letu o Boshje
vojke / Mahanaim (DAL). The dependence of DAL on LUB is striking
in translating the text comprising the names Galeed and Mizpah: (Daher
heist man jn Gilead) und sey eine Warte (LUB); (Satu je on njegaimenoval Gilead) inu bodi ena Strasha. DAL took from LUB even
parenthesis and the wrong transliteration form Gilead , which is
elsewhere found only in LUO, LEI and SVV; in the form Galaad only in
Vg, SRV, R60, R95, RST, BUL; all other translations replicate various
forms of the original word gal d. It may be noted that DAL also took
from LUB the explanation of Gilead as Zeugehauffe / kup prizh in themargin. Even more striking is the fact that the place Mizpah is given in
transliteration forms in all translations; only in the LXX LUB and DAL
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 66/169
50 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
LUB has the orthographic form Suchoth, DAL has the form Suhot , BKR
has Sochot. Since all other translations write the second consonant as
(c)c or (k)k , it is evident that DAL and probably also BKR took the
orthographic form from LUB.
At Gen 35:6–8, there are two namings of interest, El-bethel and Allon-
bacuth, and at Gen 50:11, the naming of Abel-mizraim. LUB has for the
name l bêt- l the transliteration form ElBethEl , and the translation as Klageiche (LUO and LUT Klageeiche) for the name allôn bkût . DAL
copied the orthographic form ElBethEl and translated the second name as
Hrat tiga klagovanja. Dependence of DAL on LUB is beyond any doubt
in the writing of the rst name because this orthographic form is found
nowhere else; LUO has the form El-Beth-El and LUT the form El-Bethel.
Etymological translation of the second name is found in several trans-lations, therefore the evidence of dependence is limited. The name blmirayim is translated in all translations of present interest to us: Pénthos Aigýptou “the Mourning of Egypt” (LXX); Planctus Aegypti (Vg); Der Ägypter Klage (LUB); téh Egypterjeu klagovanje (DAL). In this case,
only the word order can be considered as possible evidence of depend-
ence. In the LXX and Vg, the word order is normal; in LUB and DAL,however, it is unusual or grammatically wrong. The 1625 Croatian
version by Bartol Kaši has for instance normal word order: “Pla od
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 67/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 51
conspicuous proof for dependence; the name SelaMahelkot(h) is based
on a mistaken vocalization and therefore corrected in later revisions of
LUB. The two examples of translation in LUB, followed by DAL, could
have been inuenced by the Greek and Latin traditions. In translating
the name Beracah we note also preservation of play on words in both
versions.
22. General Conclusion
This chapter has offered a comparative study of the forms of biblical
proper names in transliteration or translation forms. The study focused
on those examples of etymological explanation of proper names in the
Hebrew Bible, which are usually translated in ancient versions, but trans-literated in modern European translations. A large corpus of European
Bible translations from antiquity to the present time is the necessary
background for evaluation of linguistic and ideological reasons for
changing the forms of biblical proper names in a new historical situation.
In contrast to ancient Bible translations, the Renaissance and the more
modern European Bible translations manifest a strong tendency to trans-literate both personal and geographical names. The shift from translation
t t lit ti i ti d til th t d h t d d
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 68/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 69/169
1. Etymological Explanation of Proper Names 53
religion, including liturgy. JPS and TNK accepted, for instance, translit-erated forms of biblical proper names from the general English tradition(KJV, etc.) together with the tradition of translating the meaning of thenames in notes.
In connection with the etymologically explained proper names in theHebrew Bible, it is striking that frequent translation of proper names in
ancient versions is characteristic of geographical names; most personalnames are left untranslated. This phenomenon might be due to the factthat personal names are individual and therefore intrinsically moreconnected with the identity of the person who bears the name than withtheir etymological meaning, whereas geographical names are “collec-tive” in nature and therefore primarily connected with their etymological
meaning. The main characteristics of name-giving throughout the ancient Near East is the tendency to understand the name as a substitute for the person; the names shared in the very essence of beings and things. Once personal names come into general use they are often repeated. Repetitionimplies protection of their forms. Geographical names, on the other hand,are not intrinsically connected with individual beings; the connection
between the name and the place is therefore looser. Place names are infact nearer to appellatives than to names proper. The destiny of geo-graphical names is consequently more dependent on the will of invaders
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 70/169
54 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
reasons to assume that geographical names that were internationally
used were transmitted in their original form, whereas those of merely
local importance became easily subject to translation according to their
etymological meaning. A reliable solution to this issue will be possible,
however, only after the various transformations of all biblical proper
names over time have been studied for a comparative dictionary of
biblical proper names based on European Bible translations. Such adictionary is a long-term goal of the present research.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 71/169
Chapter 2
TRANSLITERATION OR TRANSLATION
OF PROPER NAMES IN BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
Even the earliest translators of the Bible believed that equivalents hadto be found for all the words that appeared in the original text. Notable
exceptions have been proper names as well as Hebrew common nouns for
which no adequate translations could be found: Amen, ephod , Gehenna,
Hallelujah, manna, Pesah, Sabbath, and so on. From the beginning,
Bible translators decided to transliterate almost all proper names, only
occasionally translating them according to their etymological meaning orcultural determinants. For very special reasons, the main Hebrew name
f G d h h (Y h h) l d b h l d i i L
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 72/169
56 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
transliteration forms can vary. Several names have different forms of the
same transliteration.1
The present chapter discusses some well-known appellatives, desig-
nations and proper names that are rendered both in transliteration and
translation forms: the Tetragrammaton yhwh (Yahweh) (Gen 2:4; 3:1,
etc.), meaning the personal name of the God of Israel; designations of the
netherworld Abaddon (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; Ps 88:12; Prov 15:11;27:20; Rev 9:11) and Sheol (Gen 37:35; Ps 6:5; Job 26:6; Prov 15:11;
27:20, etc.); designations of the giants Nephilim (Gen 6:4; Num 13:33)
and Rephaim (Gen 14:5; 15:20, etc.); designations or names of the mon-
strous beings Behemoth (Job 40:15) and Leviathan (Isa 27:1; Pss 74:14;
104:26; Job 3:8; 40:25); the symbolic names of Hosea’s children: Jezreel
(Hos 1:4), (Lo-)Ruhama (Hos 1:6) and (Lo-)Ammi (Hos 1:9); the nameof Isaiah’s second son Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isa 8:1, 3), which has a
striking symbolic meaning in the context of Isaiah’s pronouncement
of the destruction of Damascus and Samaria; the names of peoples
Philistines (Gen 10:14; Exod 13:17; etc.) and Goiim (Gen 14:1, 9); the
lands Aram-naharaim (Gen 24:10) and Paddan-aram (Gen 25:20); the
toponyms Moreh (Gen 12:6; Deut 11:30; Judg 7:1) and Moriah (Gen22:2; 2 Chr 3:1); the cave Machpelah (Gen 23:9, 17, 19; 25:9; 49:30;
50:13); and the plain Shephelah (Deut 1:7; Josh 9:1; 10:40; 11:2 16;
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 73/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 57
1. Substitutes for the Divine Personal Name yhwh or ItsTransliteration
In the Hebrew Bible, the specic personal name for the God of Israel is
given using the four consonants, the “Tetragrammaton,” yhwh, which
appears 6007 times. It is almost certain that the name was originally
pronounced Yahweh. In some early period of Judaism the Tetragram-maton yhwh came to be regarded as too sacred to be pronounced, leading
to the long-established practice when reading the Hebrew Scriptures in
the synagogue of reading the word dny “Lord.” The Masoretes added
vowel sounds to the consonantal Hebrew text, and attached to yhwh
vowel signs indicating that the Hebrew word dny “Lord” or lhîm
“God” should be read in its place.A survey of Bible translations throughout the centuries reveals that
translators have always been in search of the best solutions for rendering
the Tetragrammaton yhwh. On the one hand, they were bound to the
Jewish tradition of extraordinary reverence for this Divine Name, and on
the other hand they were obliged to overcome a limited range of possi-
bilities when yhwh appears in construct expressions of divine names andappellatives. The basic dilemma has been whether the Divine Name
h ld b t lit t d l d b th d A i il dil
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 74/169
58 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
2. Substitutes or Transliteration in Construct Expressionsof Divine Names and Appellatives
The Hebrew Bible contains a number of construct expressions, ones
which are compounds of double proper names or designations of God,
sometimes extended with additional appellatives. The established prac-
tice of replacing the Tetragrammaton yhwh with the word Lord or Godand other circumstances have obliged translators to search for such
construct expressions, which more or less change the wording of the
original.
First to be mentioned is the phrase dny yhwh b ôt (Isa 3:15;
10:23, 24; 22:12, etc.). The word dny is the most common Hebrew
designation of the Lord; the Tetragrammaton yhwh is normally replaced by the word LORD/Lord; the word in plural b ôt is usually rendered
using the word “hosts,” and sometimes it is transliterated. The way the
whole phrase is rendered and its orthography clearly reveals the degree
of originality of translators or of their reliance on other versions: yy lhîm b ôt “LORD God of hosts” (TgIsa); Kýrios sabaoth (LXX);
Kýrios ho Theòs tôn dynámen (MGK); Dominus Deus exercituum (Vg); Lord, euen the Lord of hoasts (Isa 3:15 GNV), the Lord God of hostes(I 10 24 GNV) th L d G d f h t (I 22 12 GNV) th L d GOD
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 75/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 59
Another type of compound proper name for God is found in the
construct expressions l lhê yir l (Gen 33:20) and h dn yhwh
lhê yir l (Exod 34:23). The expression in Gen 33:20 concludes the
narrative about Abraham’s itinerary to Shechem. There he bought “the
plot of land on which he had pitched his tent. There he erected an altar
and called it El-Elohe-Israel (wayyiqr lô l lhê yir l ).” As a
proper name the expression could be interpreted as “El is the God ofIsrael,” or “El, the God of Israel.” TgO avoids giving a divine name to
the altar and renders the sentence: “He erected an altar there, and wor-
shipped on it before God, the God of Israel.” Other Targums have a simi-
lar paraphrase, shifting the attention to Abraham’s worshipping before
God, the God of Israel. TgN also partly changes the construct divine
name: yyy lh
dyr
l “Yahweh, God of Israel.” In the LXX, giving a
divine name to the altar is avoided by disregarding the pronoun lô and
by omitting one of two words for God. The Greek rendering is kaì
epekalésato tòn Theòn Israél “and he called on the God of Israel.”
The Vg has the rendering: Et erecto ibi altari invocabit super illud
Fortissimum Deum Israhel. Among the Renaissance translations, GNV
and LUB follow the Vg. GNV renders the divine name given to the altaras …and called it, The mightie God of Israel ; LUB has …und rieff an den
Namen des starcken Gottes Israel LUB’s rendering is followed by DAL:
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 76/169
60 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
God of Israel (NIV, NIB, NLT, TNK); Lord Yahweh, God of Israel(NJB); der Herrscher, der HERR und Gott Israels (LUB, LUO); der Herrscher, der HERR, der Gott Israels (LUT, SCH); dem Herrn IHMdem Gott Jisraels (BUR); der Herr, der Gott Israels (EIN); der Herr HERR, der Gott Israels (ELB); le Seigneur tout-puissant, le Dieud’Israël (BLS); le Seigneur, l’Éternel, (le) Dieu d’Israël (DRB, LSG,
NEG); le Seigneur Yahvé, Dieu d’Israël (FBJ); le Maître, le SEIGNEUR, Dieu d’Israël (TOB); Il Signore, l’Eterno Signore Iddio d’Israel (DIO);
il Signore, l’Eterno, il DIO d’Israele (LND); il Signore, DIO, che è il Dio d’Israele (NRV); il Signore, Dio d’Israele (IEP); el Señoreador Jehová, Dios de Israel (SRV); el Jehová el Señor, Dios de Israel (R60);
el Jehová, el Señor, Dios de Israel (R95); el DIOS; el Señor, Dios de
Israel (LBA); o Senhor DEUS, o Deus de Israel (ACF, BRP); o Senhor JEOVÁ, Deus de Israel (ARC); Panovnik Hospodin, Boh Izraelský(BKR); Pan, Bog Iraela (BTP); GOSPUD, inu Bog Israelski (DAL);
vsigamogozhhni Gospód Israelski Bog (JAP); vsegamogoni Gospod Bog Izraelov (WOL); Gospod Bog, Izraelov Bog (SSP), and so on. Other
versions in various languages follow this or other patterns.
Of interest too is the construct expression combining the Divine Name yhwh in two variants: yh yhwh (Isa 12:2; 26:4) and yh yh (Isa 38:11).
The slight difference in form is the reason for considerable differences in
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 77/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 61
Jehovah (ASV); the LORD , even the LORD (JPS); YAH, The LORD (NKJ);
the LORD (RSV, NRSV); the LORD , the LORD (NAS, NIV, NIB); Yahweh
(NJB); LORD GOD (NLT); Yah, Yah (TNK); der Herr, ja, der Herr (LUB, LUO); der HERR (LUT); Jehova, Jehova (ELO); oh Ihn, Ihn oh
(BUR); Jah, Jah (ELB); der HERR, der HERR (SCH); le Seigneur mon Dieu (BLS); Jah, Jah (DRB); l’Éternel, L’Éternel (LSG, NEG); Yahvé
(FBJ); le SEIGNEUR (TOB); il Signore, il Signore (DIO); l’Eterno, sì,l’Eterno (LND); il SIGNORE, il SIGNORE (NRV); á JAH, á JAH (SRV); a Jah, a Jah (R95); al SEÑOR, al SEÑOR (LBA); Jehova
(RVA); ao SENOHOR, o SENHOR (ACF, BRP); ao SENHOR (ARC);
o SENHOR (ARA); Hospodin, Hospodin (BKR, CEP); GOSPUD, jaGOSPUD (DAL); Gospód Bog (JAP); Gospod Bog (WOL); GOSPOD
BOG (SSP), and so on.
3. Transliteration or Translation of Terms Denoting the Underworld
There are two Hebrew designations for the realm of the dead, which are
transliterated in some versions as proper names for the location of a place from which there is no return and translated in some others as
general terms: baddôn and šôl It is clear that the rst word derives
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 78/169
62 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
(BBE); the nether world and the abyss (NAB); Sheol and Perdition
(NJB); the depths of Death and Destruction (NLT); Death and
Destruction (NIB); Hölle und Abgrund (LUO); Unterwelt und Abgrund
(LUT); Scheol und Abgrund (ELO, ELB); Gruftheit und Verlorenheit
(BUR); Totenreich und Abgrund (SCH); Totenreich und Unterwelt
(EIN); L’enfer et la perdition (BLS); le shéol et l’abîme (DRB); le séjour
des morts et l’abime (LSG, NEG);
le Séjour des morts et l’Abime (TOB);Shéol et Perdition (FBJ); Sceol e Abaddon (LND); lo Sceol e Abaddon
(LND); il soggiorno dei morti e l’abisso (NRV); inferi e abisso (IEP);
Pèkèl, inu pogublénje (JAP); pekel in pogubljenje (WOL); podzemlje in
brezno (SSP), and so on.
This survey of renderings focuses on the rendering of Prov 15:11; a
comparative study of all passages would still enlarge the list considera- bly, because many versions do not translate the same word consistently
from the original. Two reasons for inconsistency could be a deliberate
decision by translators to create variation, or a lack of control. Inconsis-
tency is a normal phenomenon in translations that are collective works.
The name Abaddon is a subject of special interest in Rev 9:11, a
passage describing the nature of the ruler of pernicious locusts: “Theyhave as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit; his name in
Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek he is called Apollyon ” The grammati
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 79/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 63
4. The Giants Nephilim and Rephaim
In Gen 6:4, the writer reports: “The Nephilim (hannplîm) were on the
earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in
to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the
heroes (haggibbrîm) that were of old, warriors of renown.” The
Aramaic tradition of interpretation is not unied: TgO and TgN render both terms in question using the same word, gibbrayy (h) “the mighty
ones, giants, warriors,” whereas TgPsJ relates the word hannplîm to the
verb npal “to fall” and takes it to refer to angels who fell from heaven.
Following the tradition of naming individuals who are not named in the
Bible, TgPsJ identies the fallen angels as Shamhazai and Azael, who
were among the leaders of the fallen angels (cf. 1 En. 6:3, 7; 8:1; 9:6, 7;10:8, 11; see also b. Yoma 67b). The LXX translates the term hannplîm
as gígantes, the word also used in Num 13:33 for the same designation
and in Gen 6:4 for the designation haggibbrîm. Aq renders hannplîm
as the passive participle epipíptontes “the fallen ones” and haggibbrîm
as the adjective dynatoí “the mighty ones.” Sym uses for both designa-
tions of huge creatures the same term hoi bíaioi “the violent ones.” TheLXX obviously inuenced later translations. The Vg translates the rst
t i t d th d t t A l t i
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 80/169
64 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
same word: the dead // the dead (GNV, KJV, NKJ, NIV, NLT, R60,
R95, ACF, ARC, DAL, etc.). LUB repeats the meaning of the rst term:
unter den Todten // werden die Verstorbene (cf. LUT); DRA and LXE
have the parallelism the dead // physicians, BLS des morts // les
médecins. We also nd the parallelism the dead // the departed spirits
(NAU). BUR introduce the parallelism an den Toten // Gespenster.
The same parallelism between the two synonyms occurs in Isa 26:14(cf. v. 19):
The dead (mtîm) do not live;
shades (rp îm) do not rise…
The translation tradition is quite similar: TgIsa introduces the parallelism
mtîn “the dead” // gbrhôn “their mighty ones”; theLXX
keeps the parallelism nekroí // iatroí (cf. LXE), but the Vg has morientes //
gigantes (cf. DRA). Other later versions did not follow either LXX or Vg;
the parallelism in use is about the same as at Ps 88:11. The Vg rendering
reects the second meaning of the word rp îm, attested at Gen 14:5;
15:20; Deut 2:10, 20; 3:11, 13; Josh 2:4; 13:12; 17:15). At Gen 14:5–6,
the narrator reports about the pre-Israelite peoples of Palestine: “In thefourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came
and subdued the Raphaim in Ashteroth-karnaim the Zusim in Ham the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 81/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 65
a great majority gives transliteration, while the phrase “they are usually
reckoned as Rephaim” suggested to some the translation “giants” (cf.
LUB, BLS). At Deut 2:20; 3:11, 13; Josh 12:4; 13:12; 17:15 translitera-
tion also prevails, though some have preferred the translation “giants.”
This is true for the Renaissance versions such as GNV, KJV and LUB.
BUR deserves special attention because at Gen 14:5 and 15:20 it has the
transliteration Refaer , while in all other passages the term is translated as
Gespenstische. Concerning those who transliterate the word, it is note-
worthy that a considerable number of translations have transliteration of
rp îm in minuscule, thus indicating that the word is understood as a
designation rather than the name of a people.
The designation of the broad valley near Jerusalem according to
Rephaim (Josh 15:8; 18:16; 2 Sam 5:18, 22; 23:13; Isa 17:5; 1 Chr11:15; 14:9) is again connected with surprises. At all places, TgJ has the
xed phrase mêšar gibbrayy “the plain of the giants / the mighty men,
the warriors”; the LXX has several variants: ek mérous gês Rhaphaïn “by
the side of the land of Raphain” (Josh 15:8); a complete transliteration:
Emekraphaïn (Josh 18:16); a more or less complete translation: eis t n
koiláda tôn titánn “in the valley of the Titans” (2 Sam 5:18); en têkoiládi tôn titánn “in the valley of Titans” (2 Sam 5:22); en tê koiládi
tôn Rhaphaeím “in the valley of Raphaeim” (2 Sam 23:13); en tê koiládi
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 82/169
66 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
made you; it eats grass like an ox.” Translations offer varied ways of
imaging this: TgJob reads the name of the beast as plural of the wordbhmh “beast” and renders it as the plural bîrayy “grazing animals,
cattle”; in the LXX, the name is translated with the plural thría “the wild
beasts”; Aq and Theo render it as construct plural kt n “ocks and
herds, beasts”; the Vg has the transliterated form Behemoth. Most later
versions follow the original and the Vg in transliterating the name of the
beast. There are, however, some notable exceptions in translation: Great
Beast (BBE); mighty hippopotamus (NLT); das Flußpferd (SCH); das
Urtier (BUR); das Nilpferd (EIN); l’hippopotame (LSG, BFC, NEG); le
Bestial (TOB); l’ippopotamo (NRV); hipopótamo (ARA); Reuzendier
(LEI); nijlpaard (NBG); Nilhesten (D31).
The name Leviathan is assigned various roles in the Bible: in theapocalyptic announcement of nal judgment at Isa 27:1, it serves as a
symbol for Tyre; God “will punish Leviathan the eeing serpent,
Leviathan the twisting serpent”; at Ps 74:14, the psalmist professes that
God worked salvation in the earth by crushing “the heads of Leviathan”;
at Ps 104:26, Leviathan is mentioned as one of the manifold works of
God in the realm of the sea; at Job 3:8, Job curses the night of his birth by saying: “Let those curse it who curse the Sea, those who are skilled to
rouse up Leviathan”; and at Job 40:25 Job is reminded of the greatness
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 83/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 67
dragon (DRA); Walsche (LUO); große Fische (LUT); der Drache, das
Krokodil (ZBI in Job); das Krokodil (SCH, EIN at Job 40:25); crocodile
(LSG, NEG); dragon (BFC); le Tortueux (TOB in Job); coccodrillo
(NRV); crocodilo (ARA); krokodyl (BTP); krokodil (NBG); Krokodillen
(D31). It is noteworthy that some collective versions are not consistent in
transliterating or translating the same names. TOB, for instance, has
transliteration in Isa 27:1; Pss 74:14; 104:26, and translation in Job 3:8
and 40:25; EIN has translation only in Job 40:25.
6. Symbolic Names of Hosea’s Children
In the rst part of Hosea’s autobiography we nd God’s command to the
prophet concerning the birth of his three children. After his unfaithfulwife Gomer gave birth to the rst son, the Lord said to him (Hos 1:4):
“Name him Jezreel ( yizre l ); for in a little while I will punish the house
of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel…” After she bore a daughter, the Lord
said to him (Hos 1:6): “Name her Lo-ruhamah (l rumh), for I will
no longer have pity on the house of Israel or forgive them.” After the
birth of his second son, God commanded him (Hos 1:8): “Name him Lo-ammi (l ammî ), for you are not my people and I am not your God.”
Th f H ’ hild t iki f th i b li i i
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 84/169
68 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
original Semitic words of the second and third names, but interprets the
literal meaning of the name Jezreel as a reference to God’s scattering
(literally “sowing”) of Israel in exile. The paraphrase reads: “And the
Lord said to him, ‘Call their name Scattered ones (mbadrayy ),’ for in
yet a little while I will avenge the blood of the idolaters, which Jehu shed
in Jezreel, when he put them to death because they had worshipped
Baal…”
Later versions testify to the fact that careful thought was given to the
dilemma as to whether to transliterate or to translate the names. Most
Renaissance versions transmitted the symbolic names of Hosea’s chil-
dren using transliteration. LUB has transliteration of the second and third
names in a strange orthography: Jesreel , LoRyhamo, LoAmmi. DAL
shows complete reliance on LUB, for this version even retains Luther’squestionable orthography. When it comes to modern versions, some
follow the ancient and others the Renaissance tradition. The translitera-
tion method was adopted by some modern Catholic and ecumenical
versions, for instance by FBJ, TOB and EIN. A special phenomenon is
transliteration with added translation: Lorucama, c’est-à-dire Sans-
miséricorde; Loammi, c’est-à-dire Non-mon-peuple (BLS); Jesreel,“Den-Gott-sät”; Lo-ruchama, “Ihr-wird-Erbarmen-nicht”; Lo-ammi,“Nicht mein Volk” (BUR); Lo Rouhama Non Matriciée; Lo Ami Mon
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 85/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 69
(TNK); “Ammi, mon peuple,” “Rouhama, Bien-aimée” (TOB); Ammi
(Mein Volk), Ruhama (Erbarmen) (EIN); Mein Volk!, Dir wird Erbar-
men! (BUR); “Ami, mon peuple!,” “Rouama, matriciée” (CHO), and
so on.
7. The Symbolic Name of Isaiah’s Second Son
The strikingly symbolic names of Hosea’s children recall the naming of
Isaiah’s second son (Isa 8:1–3), with the important difference that the
symbolic meaning of naming Isaiah’s son is not coupled with an
announcement of doom for Israel but for Syria and Ephraim. The point is
the expectation that Assyria will have destroyed both Damascus and
Samaria before Isaiah’s son is more than about a year old. This empha-sizes another difference between the meaning of the names of Hosea’s
two children and Isaiah’s son: the doom of Israel is not nal (cf. Hos 2–
14), whereas the doom of Syria and Ephraim is nal and irreversible. In
Isaiah, doom is attested by the words written on a tablet and by the birth
of the child bearing the name according to God’s determination:
Then the LORD said to me, Take a large tablet and write on it in common
characters, “Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,” and have it attested for
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 86/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 87/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 71
The proper name Goiim appears at Gen 14:1, 9 and Josh 12:23 in the
construct expression melek-gôyîm. The phrase by itself suggests
understanding an indenite meaning “king of nations,” but the context
requires a proper name for a people or a place Goiim. The Targums treat
the Hebrew place name as a plural noun meaning “peoples, nations”; the
LXX has an etymological translation basileùs (basilés) ethnôn at Gen
14:1, 9 and transliteration (basiléa) Gim at Josh 12:23; Sym changes the
name to Pamphylías; Vg has the translation rex (regem) Gentium
(gentium) at all places. Most mediaeval, Renaissance and later versions
do not follow Aramaic, Greek and Latin models but transliterate the word
gôyîm as a proper name. It is all the more surprising that the most inu-
ential Renaissance translations translate the word as a common noun, but
at this point they were not followed by many later versions: the nations (GNV, KJV, DBY, NKJ, DRA, WEB, RWB); die Heiden (LUB, LUO);
die Völker (LUT); les (N)nations (BLS, DRB); i nazioni (DIO, LND),
and so on. The BUR version is not consistent: at Gen 14:1, 9, it offers
the transliteration Gojim, and at Josh 12:23 the translation das Stäm-
megemisch.
9. Etymological Translation of the Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 88/169
72 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Judg 3:8, he translates it as Syrías potamôn “the Syria of rivers”; at
Ps 60:2, the name is rendered as Mesopotamían Syrías; at 1 Chr 19:6 we
nd the same designation in the opposite order Syrías Mesopotamías.
The Hebrew double place name paddan ram is rendered in LXX simply
as Mesopotamía at Gen 25:20; 28:2, 5; 31:18; elsewhere it is rendered
using the double name Mesopotamía(n, s) (tês) Syrías. The Vg renders
the name Aram-naharaim as Mesopotamia, except for Ps 60:2 where it
has the compound Syriam Mesopotamiam. The second name is rendered
simply as in Mesopotamiam at Gen 25:5; 31:18; doubly as in (de)
Mesopotamiam Syriae at Gen 28:2, 5, 6; 33:18; 35:9, 26; 46:16; and
simply in Syriam at Gen 28:7.
In the mediaeval, Renaissance and later translations, only a minority
have the transliterated form Aram-naharaim; most translators adopt theGreek translation form introduced by the LXX, Mesopotamia, and very
few translate the name into their own language: l’Aram-des-deux-Fleuves
(TOB); paese (Paese) dei due umi (IEP); do aramského Dvojií (CEP).
Even fewer combine translation and transliteration: Haute-Mésopotamie
(BFC); Siria mesopotámica (RVA); Stroomland-Aram (LEI); in (nach,
von) Aram (dem) Zwiestromland (BUR). At Ps 60:2 and 1 Chr 19:6, theLXX rendering Mesopotamían Syrías and that of the Vg Syriam Meso-
potamiam obviously prompted many translators to similar combinations:
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 89/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 73
10. Etymological Translation of the Proper NamesMoreh and Moriah
Genesis 12:6 speaks of Abraham’s itinerary “through the land to the
place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh ( lôn môreh).” At Deut 11:30, a
description is given of where the mountains Gerizim and Ebal are to be
found: “As you know, they are beyond the Jordan, some distance to thewest, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite
Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh ( el lônê mreh).” At Judg 7:1, the
narrator says: “Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops that were
with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the
camp of Midian was north of them below the hill of Moreh (miggibat
hammôreh), in the valley.” In the absence of any other indications foridentication of the place name Moreh, one may assume that the same
place is meant in these three passages. The Hebrew word lôn(ê) stands
in the singular at Gen 12:6 and in the plural at Deut 11:30.
The interpretation presented in ancient and modern translations of the
Bible is not uniform. Aramaic versions of the Pentateuch consistently
render lôn(ê) as mêšar , possibly wishing to save Abraham from thesuspicion of tree-worship. At Gen 12:6 and Deut 11:30, TgO has the
f l ti êš ô h “th l i f M h” it lik l th t th
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 90/169
74 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
transliteration of both words here: apò Gabaàth Hamorá; LXXO has apò
Gabaathamoraí. There are numerous manuscript variants: Amòr (Cod.
19, 108, SyrHex); apò toû bmoû toû Abòr , or Abraì, Aborè, Amraì,
Amorè (Cod. 2, 54, 75, 76, etc.); apò toû bounnoû toû Amorraíou (Cod.
58 in the text); toû hypsloû (in the margin), and so on. In various manu-
scripts both terms appear in variants: gaath, gabath, gabaad , gaban,
gaatham; amora, amore, amorai, tou amore, tou abrai, tou aborai, tou
abre, tou abore, amr , abr , tou abr , mra, tou mre, amorrai,
amorrain, tou amorraiou, borra, mraith, tou hupslou, amrai. The
Vg provides a translation: collis Excelsi. In later translations, the phrase
is usually rendered as a combination of translation/transliteration: the hill
of Moreh, dem Hügel Moreh, and so on. Translation of both terms is very
rare: vom Hügel des Weisenden (BUR); Hrib te Strashe (DAL). On theother hand, a few versions have transliteration of both terms: Gabaatha-
morai (LXE); Gibeath-hammoreh (NAB); Gibeath-moreh (TNK);
Gibat-Gammorev (UKR).
The place name Moriah appears in the Hebrew Bible with minor
orthographic differences only in the Elohistic source at Gen 22:2 and
2 Chr 3:1. According to Gen 22:2, God commanded Abraham: “Takeyour son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of
Moriah (wlek lk el ere hammriyyh) and offer him there as a
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 91/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 75
and Latin versions are based on the same tradition as the Samaritan ver-
sion. The Syriac version reads the name of the people the Amorites
instead of the toponym Moriah. All the Targums identify the mountain
Moriah with the mountain in Jerusalem, where the Temple was built, for
their rendering of God’s command to Abraham at Gen 22:2 is: lk
l ar pûl n “go forth to the land of worship.” This anachronistic
shift from the proper name to a common noun testies particularly
clearly how strong was the early rabbinic claim that “the land of
Moriah,” where Abraham bound Isaac, was Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.
Such an interpretation presupposes that Mount Moriah in Jerusalem was
a cult centre even in the Patriarchal Age. The Samaritan Hebrew
Pentateuch has the form ere hammôr h “the land of vision”; this form
presupposes the root r h “to see.” It is noteworthy that the Samaritansclaim Mount Gerizim as the mountain of Abraham’s trial. In view of the
preference given to the translation method at Gen 22:2, it is surprising
that all the ancient versions have transliteration of the name Moriah at
2 Chr 3:1: Amoría (LXX), Moria (Vg). It is equally surprising that nearly
all later translators transliterated the name Moriah at both places; the
only exception found so far is DRA, using the translation the land ofvision only at Gen 22:2.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 92/169
76 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Ancient translations nevertheless embrace the etymological meaning
of the word. In the LXX the phrase is rendered at all places using tò
spélaion tò diploûn “the double cave” and in the Vg using spelunca
duplex. TgO and TgJ also associate the noun hammakplh with the verb
kpl and at all places use the rendering mrat kape(ê)lt “the double
cave”; TgN renders it similarly as mrat kpêlh. The common Jewish
tradition of the etymological interpretation of the cave nds an explicit
explication in b. Erubin 53a:
Rab and Samuel differ as to its meaning. One holds that the cave con-
sisted of two chambers one within the other; and the other holds that it
consisted of a lower and upper chamber. According to him who holds that
the chambers were one above the other the term machpelah is well justi-
ed, but according to him who holds that it consisted of two chambersone within the other, what could be the meaning of machpelah? —That it
had multiples of couples.
Rashi adopts this explanation of the two possible meanings of the word
mkplh.
In spite of the insistence of the ancient translators that the place name
Machpelah applies to the root meaning of the term, the mediaeval, Renaissance and modern translators almost unanimously transliterate the
b d h “ h ( ld) f h l h ” i d d
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 93/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 77
not only geographical but also literary and rhetorical criteria. The strong
rhetorical character of most passages makes it difcult to decide with any
certainty between the options of proper name or a general geographical
designation.
Most passages belong to the Deuteronomistic framework of Deuteron-
omy, Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah and Chronicles. In these books the term
Shephelah appears in similar formulaic structures. The general geo-
graphical description summarizes declarations of God’s command or
promise that the Promised Land will be given to Israel, or describes a
coalition of the peoples against the Israelites. Geographical terms often
indicate the principal geographical divisions of the Promised Land.
According to Deut 1:7, Moses refers to dening the borders in God’s
command at Mount Horeb: “Resume your journey, and go into the hillcountry of the Amorites (har h mrî ) as well as into the neighbouring
regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and the
seacoast (brbh ûbhr ûbaššplh ûbannegeb ûbôp hayym)—
the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the
River Euphrates.” The geographical description at Josh 9:1 includes only
the southern part of the country by referring to the kings who were “inthe hill country and in the lowland (bhr ûbaššplh) all along the
coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon ” and who were gathered together
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 94/169
78 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
2 Chr 26:10, Uzziah had “large herds, both in the Shephelah and in the
plain (ûbaššplh ûbammîšôr ).” There are only a few places in whichthe name Shephelah stands without coordination with other names or
designations of territory: at Josh 1:33, the term šplh stands alone,
designating the district of fourteen towns; at 1 Kgs 10:27 (= 1 Chr 1:15;
2 Chr 9:27), the name Shephelah is used in a metaphorical description of
Solomon’s great wealth: “The king made silver (and gold) as common in
Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as numerous as the sycamores
of the Shephelah”; at 1 Chr 27:28, the term Shephelah is mentioned in
connection with distribution of lands to civic ofcials.
In view of the nature of the passages treated it is understandable that
there is no unied interpretation of the word šplh, whether in the
scholarly literature or in Bible translations throughout history. Thecoordination of the term with some other names or designations of
territory shows most clearly whether the term is used as a proper name or
as a general geographical designation. The parallelism with negeb and
rbh means that both terms are probably meant as proper names. On
the other hand, the parallelism with hhr may constitute a merism, that
is, an expression of totality by using opposite terms. On the whole, theterm is so often clearly used as a proper name that it seems reasonable to
transliterate it as a proper name rather than to translate it in accordance
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 95/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 96/169
80 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Renaissance versions have: Arma-gedon (GNV); Armageddon (KJV);
Harmagedon (LUB); Armagheddon (DIO); Armageddon (BKR); Harmagedon (DAL). In later versions we nd all these variant forms but
with more variation in spelling: Armagedon (JAP, WOL); Harmagedon
(SSP), and so on. It is interesting that the NRSV changed from using the
form Armageddon (KJV, RSV, etc.) to the form Harmagedon.
14. General Conclusion
The history of the forms of biblical proper names reveals several devel-
opmental stages in the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin, as well as in
the Jewish Christian linguistic and cultural tradition in general. An
examination of the extraordinary variation in transliteration or translationof the original forms of biblical proper names in ancient and more mod-
ern Bible translations says much about the understanding and pronun-
ciation of Semitic names by the translators. The series of transformations
of biblical personal and place names in ancient and later translations pro-
vides quite reliable evidence of the sources used by translators in their
translation work and of what constitutes their original contribution. It isreasonable to suppose that at least the forms of the important biblical
b b d i t i t Bibl t l ti th h th
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 97/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 98/169
82 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
biblical text and context than in modern critical times. Only in modern
times did the text and context acquire their proper role. Examples ofradical deviation from tradition and of a return to the source forms is a
modern phenomenon, but the marks of this movement are present
already in the mediaeval and Renaissance translations of the Bible. This
movement does not explain why, since Renaissance times, there was a
greater tendency to transliterate rather than to translate biblical proper
names. Yet this does demonstrate that all the fundamental dilemmas
concern all translations to the same extent. In relation to phonetic forms
of biblical proper names there is, therefore, only a limited justication to
speak of Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant traditions in use of
the forms of biblical proper names.
What are the possibilities of establishing reliance of translators on previous translations? In general, it is true that translators in the East, in
addition to the original text, paid signicant attention to the LXX, while
in the West the Vg was central. It is well known that numerous European
translators explicitly relied upon recognized ancient and contemporary
translations. The forms of biblical proper names more than other
linguistic and literary elements manifest the degree of dependence between some translations of the Bible. If in individual cases the model
and the copy show agreement both in the use and rendering of a name
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 99/169
2. Transliteration or Translation of Proper Names 83
made by the translators, one which sought to bring about the “homo-
généité de la traduction.” And yet the established rules hardly includedunifying the forms of proper names.3 In recent times, only the German
authors of EIN made the necessary effort to establish phonetic rules for
transliterating the proper names.4 These rules served as a welcome basis
for the standardization of the form of the biblical names in the new SSP.
In the German and Slovenian versions, all the proper names except those
which are part of an established cultural tradition are preserved in their
Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek forms. Any attempt to change the overpower-
ing authority of the phonetics of the well-known biblical proper names
would involve striking out boldly, departing forcefully from the living
language and culture.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 100/169
Chapter 3
TRANSMISSION OF SEMITIC FORMS
OF BIBLICAL PROPER NAMES
IN GREEK AND LATIN LINGUISTIC TRADITIONS
The rendering of biblical proper names is an issue that relates directly to
the question of how the pre-Masoretic texts of the Hebrew Bible, as well
as their ancient translations, were transmitted and handed down through
history. The presence of variants in the Dead Sea biblical scrolls, which
presumably originated before the Qumran period, conrms the view that
in pre-Masoretic times the Hebrew and Aramaic texts were transmittedonly in popular, unauthorized forms. This view is supported by the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 101/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 85
is therefore of utmost importance to consider with equal care all the
material available, without discriminating between Masoretic forms asauthoritative compared to non-Masoretic evidence of pronunciation. It is
possible that there are phonetic connections and interdependences of the
variously pronounced grammatical forms. There are compelling reasons
for assuming the existence of two or more independent dialects or pat-
terns of pronunciation.
The relative uniformity of biblical proper names in the Hebrew Bible
is remarkable in view of the considerable variety of their forms in vari-
ous ancient versions. Where does this variety come from? This question
is particularly urgent for the whole history of the transmission of Greek
and Latin forms of biblical proper names, as Greek and Latin much more
strongly shaped European cultural and linguistic traditions than Hebrewand Aramaic did. Any evaluation of the forms of biblical proper names
in ancient translation languages raises the question of the relationship
between respective original forms and the way they were transcribed or
translated into other languages. The uniformity or the variety of the
forms of biblical proper names are both attributable to several factors, in
the original and in translations: uniform prototypes, different linguistic backgrounds, the existence of different dialects, phonetic variation in the
course of transmission multiple textual traditions the more or less
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 102/169
86 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
1. Historical and Linguistic Factors of Formsof Biblical Proper Names
Ancient translators sometimes render differently the same Hebrew name
forms in the various biblical books, or even within the same book. There
are indications that even the most famous translators and interpreters,
such as Flavius Josephus and Jerome, did not always transcribe the same
name the same way. From this fact we may deduce that the Hebrew
parent text of the LXX could not have been part of a uniform tradition.2
Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B) of the LXX, for
instance, are composed of different portions, each of which belong to
different periods, even though these versions are genetically linked. One
of the most signicant criteria of the works of ancient times is theirmixed type. Compilers, revisers or copyists of ancient translations had
little reason to alter the form of proper names or to remove apparent
discrepancies and inner contradictions of forms. Nevertheless, well-
known biblical names manifest an astounding level of transcription
uniformity. This means that the uniformity in writing popular names may
be attributable to the uniformity of the oral tradition in a small com-munity, or even in the entire Jewish or Christian community, rather than
t th if it f th i i l ti tt t t h i ti Thi
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 103/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 87
fact can best be illustrated by the forms of the names in most general use
among the Jewish and Christian population. It is striking that the namesusually retain the same form throughout the Bible, not just within one or
the other section.3 Consideration of variants is important in any critical
study of the forms of biblical proper names in the original and in ancient
translations. The Hebrew Bible contains signicant variant forms for the
same name or even for the same person. On the other hand, in the New
Testament most names do not show signicant variants. Important to
note is also that well-known proper names are in general practically
xed.
The current forms of biblical proper names have been inuenced by
the phonetic changes necessitated by their transfer and transliteration
from Hebrew and Aramaic into Greek and Latin, from which sources
other languages borrowed in their turn. By means of translation into
Greek, Latin and other ancient languages, many biblical proper names
have passed into general usage. On the whole, the frequency of refer-
ences shows that the pool of names in use in the biblical period was
similarly limited, as it has been in all later periods until today. With
Greek and Latin it is evident that popular names were much less exposedto phonetic changes than those that were used more rarely. This means
that the unied forms of proper names reect a unied common pronun
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 104/169
88 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
translations were oral and of an individual nature. The earliest portions
of Bible translation are therefore necessarily compilations of such earlierfragments as were accessible to compilers. The process of compilation of
the earliest translations in various places would account for the emer-
gence of text-types with clear-cut differences between them. Though
early translators only occasionally had previous material available, later
compilations reect the attempt at harmonization of various text-types.
Gradually, continuous translations began to be made and came into
common use. The state of Aramaic and Greek Bible translations testies
to the fact that no uniform original Aramaic (Targums), Greek (LXX,
Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion) and Latin translations (Vetus Latina,
Latin Vg) reecting a uniform Hebrew tradition can be posited. Differ-
ences between the branches of the Aramaic, Greek and Latin traditions
are not so much chronological, due to linguistic change, as dialectal
(reecting a different linguistic background), or methodological (reect-
ing different translation and transcription practice). Transcription or
translation of proper names could be carried out only within the phonetic
system of the respective Indo-European language.
A comparative study of the forms of biblical names in transliterationor translation shows that the principles that guided Jews in interpreting
the names were changed after the Hebrew Bible period Relevant are
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 105/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 89
of the Vetus Latina and Vetus Vg, and Jerome give evidence of a pro-
nunciation of the undoubtedly unvocalized Hebrew text, a pronunciationdifferent from what the Tiberian Masoretes offer us. They used the
Hebrew source text (Vorlage) which antedates by centuries the Masoretic
Textus Receptus, with its Tiberian vocalization. To be sure, the pronunci-
ation of Hebrew had changed substantially between the time of the
writing of the Greek originals and the period of later redactions and the
work done by the Tiberian Masoretes. This fact is only one of the expla-
nations why the forms of proper names are often rendered in forms that
differ from those of the Masora.
The Latin Fathers offered ad-hoc renderings from the Greek Bible.
Works of the Latin Fathers contain ample extracts from Latin Bible ver-
sions. This multiple material of fragmentary versions is subsumed under
the name Old Latin or Vetus Latina as a catch-all term used for grouping
any Latin text-form independent of the Vg. Jerome’s transliterations
must be based upon originals (Vorlagen) belonging to different periods.
This conclusion is based on philological evidence and is enhanced by
Jerome’s occasional clear statements regarding the divergences between
his transliteration and the contemporary pronunciation of correspondingHebrew characters of the same word. Jerome himself denitely indicates
various possibilities of pronunciation of the same Hebrew name In what
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 106/169
90 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
place names,6 the Latin Vg and Jerome’s works on place names of the
Holy Land.7 In comparison with the LXX, Josephus tends to followofcial spelling in his orthography. On the other hand, the New Testa-
ment sometimes comes close to the LXX and follows the common
pronunciation.
There are some specic phenomena pertinent to the transliteration
from Hebrew into Greek: consonant interchange, vowel interchange,
confusion in the use of a double or single consonant in Greek, misunder-
standing of the declension system, transformation of Semitic sufxes, the
6. See the edition by de Lagarde, Onomastica sacra. In this edition the Greek
and Latin texts do not appear parallel but in succession: rst Latin, then Greek. The
editor provides the material with references to biblical and other sources, withoutintroductory notes and commentary. All the more precious is the rst scientic
edition of the Onomasticon, published by Klostermann, Eusebius: Das Onomasti-
kon der biblischen Ortsnamen. More recently several translations of the Onomas-
ticon have been published: a Hebrew translation of this work has been published by
Ezra Zion Melamed, The Onomastikon of Eusebius (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration
Society, 1966). An English translation both of the Greek text by Eusebius and Latintranslation by Jerome was prepared and published by Freeman-Grenville, Chapmann
and Taylor, Palestine in the Fourth Century A.D., with notes and commentary being
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 107/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 91
declension of gutturals, declining of the prex and scribal error. Spelling
differences between the Hebrew and Greek forms of proper names arenot only due to different general phonetic laws pertinent to these lan-
guages, but also to the pronunciation in the time of the LXX being
different in many respects from the time of the Tiberian grammarians.
Transliteration forms of proper names in Greek and Latin indicate how
any given name was pronounced in that particular period. Very often
proper names are rendered in forms that differ from those of the Masora.
Greek codices do not offer uniform text and therefore must be assigned
to different textual types.
For a comparative study of the forms of biblical proper names we
must consider the complete LXX tradition in comparison with other forms
of the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and such sources as the works
of Flavius Josephus, and Eusebius’ book on the sites and names of
Hebrew places. Redaction of the New Testament material is simple, as
most names do not show signicant variation. Flavius Josephus is of par-
ticular importance for a comparative study of the forms of biblical proper
names because his transcriptions, such as the overall use of vowels as
well as the quality of certain vowels, differ from all the recognized branches of the LXX tradition so often and consistently that it is hardly
possible to conclude that the underlying forms could have been taken
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 108/169
92 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
ancestral language, and how they are named by us—whether in like
fashion of the ancients or rendered differently. From all of the divinelyinspired Scripture I will present the names that are sought, setting out
each (entry) in alphabetical order for easy access to the events that have
occurred scattered in the readings (of Scripture).8
In addition to various Greek translations of the Bible, the work of
Eusebius is based on the works of Flavius Josephus, Origen (Hexapla),
his own knowledge and on written sources long since lost. The arrange-ment of names is, unfortunately, very inconvenient, the names under
each letter being placed in separate groups following the order of the
books of Scripture in which they occur. For instance, under the letter A
we have rst the names in Genesis, then those in Exodus, and so on. The
question is: To what extent and in which aspects did the lost written
sources supply Eusebius with material that is not available in extant
documents?9
How much does this dilemma concern the question of transliteration
of biblical proper names? The question of transliteration increases in
importance especially in view of Jerome’s translation of Eusebius’ book
on the sites and names of Hebrew places because the Latin version ofthis work had even greater inuence in the Western world in relation to
the Holy Land and in Latin Bible translations This translation shows
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 109/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 110/169
94 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
Churches next to the Apostles; for in this work, which stands among the
nobles monuments of his genius, he endeavoured as a Christian to supplywhat Philo, as a Jew, had omitted.10
In order to evaluate this statement by Jerome it is helpful to know that
the work was written in the year 388, two years after Jerome had settled
at Bethlehem. When he had arrived in the Holy Land three years
previously, Jerome set to work to improve his knowledge of Hebrew,
with a view to his translation of the Old Testament, a project that was
begun in 391. The three books written in the year 388—the book of
Hebrew Questions, the book on Hebrew Names and his translation of
Eusebius’ book on the sites and names of Hebrew places—may be taken
as studies preparatory to the Vg. This fact means that at this stage Jerome
had only a very basic knowledge of Hebrew and perhaps could notforesee the innumerable problems in connection with the phonetic
relationship between Hebrew/Aramaic, Greek and Latin, let alone make
the system consistent. Unfortunately, the clumsy arrangement of a sepa-
rate glossary for each book of the Bible, as well as the often uncritical,
sometimes even absurd, meanings given to words and names, diminish
considerably the value of his work on names for today’s critical scholar-ship.11
I thi i ti ti I ld lik t tli th b i ti l
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 111/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 95
Greek and Latin alphabets are inadequate for transliteration, the authors
of Greek and Latin Bibles should be recognized as utter grammatical andcultural innovators.12
2. Transliteration of Semitic Consonants into Greek
The history of transliteration of Semitic writing symbols is in causal
relationship with the development of the Greek alphabet on Semitic
grounds. Archaeology and classical scholarship generally agree that the
Greek alphabet handed down to us was received from the Phoenicians,
most probably before the twelfth century B.C.E. This is borne out not
only by tradition, but also by the signicant fact that as regards form,
name and order, the two alphabets show a striking correspondence. Thereis, however, one important difference between the Phoenician and the
Greek systems. While the former has no signs for vowels, and a great
variety of aspirate and sibilant consonants, the latter, even in the earliest
specimens found, shows an already fully developed vowel system, and
contents itself with one sibilant and one aspirate representative respec-
tively. Thus, the Greeks probably evolved out of the Phoenician conso-nants Aleph, He, Yod , Ayin, the vowels , , and , and moreover
h f f bl l
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 112/169
96 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
invented as a twenty-third letter.13 In all Semitic languages the alpha-
bets consist solely of consonants, some of which also have a kind ofvocalic power. The Hebrew/Aramaic alphabet has twenty-two signs to
represent consonantal phonemes.
The Greek alphabet in its nal stage of development, on the other
hand, consists of twenty-four Greek signs, of which seven (, , , , ,
, ) are vowels, and the remaining seventeen consonants. The charac-
ters , and are not found in the Phoenician alphabet; they are Greek
inventions. Until the fth century B.C.E., there were some differences
between the Attic alphabet, which represents chiey Athens, and the
eastern or Ionian alphabet. The old Attic alphabet contained two different
vowels and two different consonants: instead of the long vowels and ,
other symbols were in use, namely, the symbol E, which stood for ,
and the diphthong , and the symbol O, which stood for , and the
diphthong ; and instead of the consonants and , the digraphs
() and () respectively were in use. Only in the year 403 did the
present composition of the Greek alphabet establish itself also in the
received or Attic alphabet.
The phonemic system of Hebrew and Greek alphabets are not suf-cient to distinguish between some signs within their linguistic family
and/or in their phonetic interrelation Hebrew signs are not sufcient for
3 T f S F f B bl l P N 97
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 113/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 97
(variants and Origen); = ; = ; ˜ = , (LXX), (variants and
Origen); = usually , sometimes , ; = ; ‡/› = /, within a nameoccasionally double ; gemination = , (LXX), (Origen); =
usually , sometimes , . It is noteworthy that palatals, dentals and
labials are not clearly distinguishable in pronunciation. The development
of the forms of biblical proper names in European languages represents a
great challenge for clarifying—in greater detail and on the basis of
applicable examples—the problem of the phonetic value of the letters ofthe Semitic, Greek and Latin alphabets.
a. The Semi-vocalic Consonants Waw and Yod
The semi-vocalic consonant Waw sometimes retains its consonantal
character, in Greek transliterated with , and in Latin with v: Í (Gen
4:1)— , , Vg: Hava; (Gen 2:11)— , , Vg:
Evilat; Í (Gen 10:17)— , , Vg: Eveus; (Gen 29:34)—
, Vg: Levi; ‡ (Gen 25:25)— , , Vg: Esau. Most often
the letter is considered merely as the bearer of the respective preceding
vowel; is usually employed to denote ô and û, and to denote ê and î:
(2 Sam 8:17)— , Vg: Sadoc;
Í (2 Sam 8:17)— ,
Vg: Achitob; (Ps 88:1)— , Vg: Eman. The transliteration
system from Hebrew/Aramaic to Greek and Latin shows that the sound
98 Th T f i f Bibli l P N
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 114/169
98 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
vowel as a light guttural; at the end of a word it is inaudible. In the Greek
transliteration of Hebrew proper names contained in the Septuagint andother Bible translations is always considered merely as the bearer of
the respective vowel: (Gen 10:27)— , Vg: Abimahel;
(Gen 10:27)— , Vg: Helmodad; (1 Chr 4:3)— , Vg: Iezrahel; ‡ (Gen 32:29)— , Vg: Israhel; Í
(Gen 32:32)—translation, Vg: Phanuhel. How can the insertion of an /h/
before the radical be explained? Since this happened only in compoundnames, we may assume that the purpose was to indicate that the two
vowels are to be pronounced separately: Bahalmeon, Behelfegor,
Behelsefon, Beselehel, Iamuhel, Israhel, Misahel, Raguhel.14 In translit-
erated proper names into Greek is fairly often dropped; rarely is it
rendered by the spiritus asper . In transliteration into Latin this letter is
sometimes retained and rendered as h: (Gen 17:5)— á, Vg:
Abraham; (Exod 4:14)— , the syncopated form (A
Exod 6:26; 7:8; Num 12:10; Sir 45:6), Vg: Aaron; Ú (Josh 15:8)—
, Vg: Gehennom; › (Hos 1:1)— , Vg: Osee; (Gen
36:22)— , Vg: Heman; (1 Chr 7:35)— , Vg: Helem; Í (Gen 29:35)— , , Vg: Iuda;
(Exod 17:9)— ,
Vg: Iosue. We may conclude that Jerome transliterates at times with h
on the basis of Hebrew grammar An especially conspicuous example of
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 115/169
100 Th T f ti f Bibli l P N
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 116/169
100 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
(D), Josephus:, Vg: Chodorlahomor;
(Gen 13:10), (19:22)— (13:10), (19:22), Josephus:, , , Vg: Segor (in both places); Í (Num 1:8)—
, Vg: Suar; Í (Gen 11:18)— , Josephus:,,Vg: Reu; Í (Gen 36:4)— , (Tob 6:11 in B S),
Josephus: , , Vg: Rauhel. Jerome explains the
Latin forms Seor/Segor by referring to the transliteration of the Hebrew
vowel with the consonant .18 It is striking that the guttural is excep-tionally transliterated with h in the Latin form of the name (1 Chr
4:3)— , Vg: Hetam.
d. The Sibilant Letters Samekh , ade and in/Šin
Due to limitations of the Greek and Latin alphabets, the three Hebrew
letters , and ‡/› can be rendered only as one character, namely, /s.
The incompatibility of the Hebrew, Greek and Latin alphabets for
rendering Hebrew sounds results in a situation in which two entirely
different Hebrew/Aramaic proper names are identical in transliteration.
Examples include: (Gen 10:7)— … , Vg:
Sabatha … Sabathaca; Ì (2 Sam 5:7)— , Vg: Sion; Ë › Í (Num1:6)— , Vg: Surisaddi; (2 Sam 5:14)— , Vg:
Salomon Jerome remarks on this phenomenon in his introduction to
3 T i i f S iti F f Bibli l P N 101
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 117/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 101
e. The Doubling of Single Consonants in Transliteration into Greek and
LatinIt seems that the LXX originally transliterated Semitic consonants con-
sistently using single consonants. In some cases, the corresponding
Greek letters , , , , , , , , and/or their Latin equivalents are,
however, incorrectly doubled in some variant readings. This fact shows
that the indicated Greek consonants have some natural tendency toward
duplication. Examples: Ë (Judg 4:4)— , ,Josephus: , , Vg: Debbora; Í (1 Kgs 4:5)—
(A), Vg: Zabud; (Neh 3:10)— (S), Vg: Ieiada; (2 Sam
8:17)— (B), Vg: Sadoc; (Gen 22:23)— , Vg:
Rebecca; (Josh 13:3)— , Vg: Accaron; (Tob
2:10 B), elsewhere written with single : (1 Macc 6:1-A);
(1 Chr 9:37)— (B S), Vg: Macelloth;
(2 Kgs 15:29)— , Vg: Theglathfalassar; (Ruth
1:2)— (A), Vg: Noemi; (1 Sam 14:51)— , Vg:
Abner; · (Gen 41:51)— (A; several other places),
(E; most other places), Vg: Manasse; (Gen 11:31)—
,, Josephus:, Vg: Aran; ‡ (Gen 17:15)— ,Vg: Sarra; (Num 33:30)— , Vg: Moseroth;
(Judg 11:11) Vg: Maspha; › (1 Kgs 19:16)
102 Th T f ti f Bibli l P N
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 118/169
102 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
alphabet.21 The harder sound is sometimes rendered as in Greek and
as pp or ff in Latin: (Exod 2:21)— , Vg: Seffora. The con-sonant is usually rendered as the Greek and the Latin th. The harder
sound is sometimes rendered as and in Greek and tth in Latin:
(2 Kgs 24:17)— (B), (A), ,, Vg: Matthanias. For some names Lucian is the only one who
renders the geminated letters using the clusters , , .
g. Insertion of Consonants and Transcription of the Semitic Clusters ,› , and
A remarkable feature of Hellenistic Greek is the insertion of consonants
in order to achieve better euphony. There is a tendency to insert the nasal
before the labial and the spirant . Whether the preceding is
inserted or part of the name may cause the change of into : › ›
(Judg 13:24)— (B A), Vg: Samson. In addition to this phonetic
problem of the consonant , euphony requires insertion of the between
and : (Gen 13:18)— , Vg: Mambre; (1 Kgs 16:9)
and (1 Kgs 16:16)— (),() (16:16), Vg: Zamri, Amri;
(Num 32:3)— , Vg: Nemra; (Exod 6:18)— (-), , Vg: Amram. Another salient transcription problem is
connected with the clusters and when they appear within names
3 Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 103
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 119/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 103
3. Transliteration of Semitic Vowel Letters and Vowel Signsinto Greek and Latin
Only three pure vowel sounds are attested in Semitic languages, a, i, u.
The sounds e and o always arise from an obscuring or contraction of
these three sounds: by modication from or ; from ; ê by con-
traction from ai (properly ay); and ô sometimes by modication (obscur-
ing) from â, and sometimes by contraction from au (properly aw).22 Of
special interest is the partial expression of the vowels by the consonants
, , and . The symbols and have established themselves as vowel
letters to indicate nal vowels: , , Í , ‡, , Ú , › and so
on. The previously consonant was retained as a vowel letter to denote
the respective long vowels ô and û, and the symbol to denote ê and î:
, Í ›, , and so on. The present state of combining con-
sonants and vowels to denote long vowels has probably resulted from
contraction of the consonant and the preceding a into au and further to
ô, or of the preceding u into û, and from contraction of with a preceding
a into ai and further to ê, or with a preceding i into î.23
Transcription of proper names in Greek and Latin Bible translationsshows most clearly the fact that more than one way of pronouncing
i di id l ti l f ibl d d i ibl I d t
104 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 120/169
104 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
fully adequate to express all the various modications of the vowel
sounds, especially with respect to length and shortness.”24 On the otherhand, it is true that the Greek and Latin alphabets are even less adequate
when it comes to expressing all the various modications of the vowel
sounds in transliteration of Hebrew/Aramaic forms of proper names.
Another problem is the lack of uniformity of linguistic traditions and
xed orthographic rules in the Hellenistic and the Greco-Roman periods
when Greek and Latin Bible translations were made and our oldestuncials were written. As regards the LXX, Cod. B perhaps goes back to
an earlier age than Cod. A, for on the whole B is nearer to the originals in
orthography as well as in text than A; consequently, A occupies a secon-
dary position in comparison with B.
It is generally held that the Semitic and Greek vowel systems are
primarily intended to mark only differences of quality rather than any
question of quantity, such as distinction between long and short vowels.
To transliterate the generally accepted Semitic phonological vowel
system, seven vowels of the Greek alphabet— , , , , , , —were
available to the Greek scribes. Greek vowels correspond to the clear
majority of those used in the Masoretic vowel system. The Latin tran-scription of Hebrew/Aramaic proper names is based on the Greek text
and reects therefore the same Hebrew vowel system The correspon
3 Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 105
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 121/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 105
(Gen 4:1)— , Vg: Hava; (Gen 5:29)— , Vg: Noe; (Gen
30:8)— , , , Vg: Nepthalim. The letter isused also for the vowel sign Segol where this corresponds to an A-sound,
for instance in the segolate type of names in pausal forms. The inter-
change between the A- and E-sounds in the segolate noun forms is fre-
quent in general use of nouns, but does not affect the basic form of
proper names. The Hebrew long vowel ê is often transcribed as the
diphthong , and the long vowel ô as : (Gen 36:22)— , Vg:Heman; (Gen 36:23)— , Vg: Hebal; (Gen 14:1)—
, Vg: (rex) Aelamitarum; (Num 1:15)— , Vg: Henan;
(Num 16:1)— , Vg: Hon; (Gen 38:4)— , Vg: Onam.
b. The I- and E-sounds in Hebrew/Aramaic and in Transliteration
In Hebrew, the I-sound is represented by the vowel sign ireq, which
can be both long and short. It is long according to the origin of the form
(indicated by the consonant Yod ), or according to the nature of the
syllable. The short ireq is frequent in sharpened syllables and in
toneless closed syllables. In transliteration into Greek, the shortireq is
rarely transliterated with the vowel : ›
(Gen 16:11)— , Vg:
Ismahel; › (Isa 10:6)— , Vg: Siloae. ireq is much more
frequently given as and : Ê (Num 22:5) Vg: Balaam;
106 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 122/169
106 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
or : Ì Ë, Ë (Dan 1:6)— , Vg: Danihel; ‡ (Gen
32:29)— , Vg: Israhel; (Gen 2:8)— , Vg: paradisus; (Gen 29:34)— , Vg: Levi; (Gen 29:16)— , Vg: Lia;
(Num 22:1)— , , Vg: Hierichus, Hiericho; sometimes thevowel sign is transliterated as : Ë (Gen 13:11)— , Vg: Iordan.
The vowel sign Segol is normally rendered as , exceptionally as
(when followed by the nal He), or (in segolate noun forms): Ô
(Gen 14:18)— , Vg: Melchisedech; · (Gen 41:51)— , Vg: Manasse; (Gen 4:2)— , Vg: Abel; (Gen
11:24)— , Vg: Thare.
c. The U- and O-sounds in Hebrew/Aramaic and in Transliteration
In Hebrew/Aramaic, the U-sound is represented by the vowel signs
Šureq Í, û and Qibbu. Šureq is written fully or defectively; it stands alsoin a sharpened syllable and expresses the long û. Qibbu stands in a
toneless closed syllable and a sharpened syllable and expresses the short
a. In transliteration into Greek, the scribes write the diphthong for
both Šureq and for Qibbu: Í Ê (Jer 32:12)— , Vg: Baruch;
›Í (Josh 10:1)— , Vg: Hierusalem. Sometimes the sign
Šureq is transliterated with : Í (Gen 30:20)— , Vg:
Zabulon; Í (Gen 10:23)— Josephus: Vg: Us For Qibbu in
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 123/169
108 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 124/169
108 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
(Gen 46:10)— , Vg: Chananitis; , (Ezek 23:4)—
, , Vg: Oolla, Ooliba.As mentioned before, Jerome’s transliterations must be based upon
Vorlagen (originals) belonging to different periods. This conclusion is
based on philological evidence and enhanced by Jerome’s occasional
plain statements of the divergences between his transliteration and the
contemporary pronunciation of corresponding Hebrew characters of the
same word.
4. Transliteration from Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek into Latin
It was natural that authors of Latin Bible translations considered linguis-
tic and cultural factors in the transliteration process for biblical proper
names—that is, for Latin, Greek and Semitic phonetic symbols and their
sounds and the established Hellenistic tradition of spelling biblical
names. Phonetic peculiarities include the following: historical devel-
opment of languages; dialectal characteristics of languages; different
sources as regards the original text (Vorlage); the lack of vocalic system
in Semitic languages in antiquity; the range of use of biblical namesamong the people. Any comparison between the Semitic Vorlage and
Greek and Latin transliteration of biblical proper names shows that both
3 Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 109
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 125/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 109
transliterating the same names from Hebrew into Latin in his Bible
translation.Greek Bible translations are much older than Latin ones, and they
were made by Jews who shared a living Semitic phonetic and cultural
tradition. In post-biblical times, it was customary in the synagogue to
read the Bible text rst in Hebrew, followed by translation in vernacular
languages; in Palestinian synagogues this meant Aramaic, but in Egypt
and in many other parts of the Hellenistic political and cultural empirethe vernacular was Hellenistic Greek. This is due to the fact that the
listeners were not able to comprehend Hebrew. Before there were con-
tinuous translations in common use, the early Christian Church followed
the Jewish practice. The individualistic translators were not ad hoc
creations in a strict sense, because translators had been accustomed to
listening to oral traditions and to reading earlier fragments as were
known to them. The process of joining Semitic linguistic and cultural
heritage resulted in many new works; besides the LXX, there were the
Greek apocryphal writings. Since Latin translations were made in much
later periods, mainly without much contact with the Semitic living
traditions, the priority of Greek transcriptions vis-à-vis Latin ones is
beyond any dispute. Any good translation is an interplay of language,
philosophy and tradition in a fusion of the source and target languages
110 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 126/169
110 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
carry it back to the early days of its infancy?… For if we are to pin our
faith to the Latin texts, it is for our opponents to tell us which; for thereare almost as many forms of texts as there are copies. If, on the other
hand, we are to glean the truth from a comparison of many, why not go
back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by
inaccurate translators, and the blundering alterations of condent but
ignorant critics, and, further, all that has been inserted or changed by
copyists more asleep than awake?… I am now speaking of the New
Testament. This was undoubtedly composed in Greek, with the exceptionof the work of Matthew the Apostle, who was the rst to commit to
writing the Gospel of Christ, and who published his work in Judaea in
Hebrew characters. We must confess that as we have it in our language it
is marked by discrepancies, and now that the stream is distributed into
different channels we must go back to the fountainhead… I therefore
promise in this short Preface the four Gospels only, which are to be takenin the following order, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, as they have been
revised by a comparison of the Greek manuscripts. Only early ones have
been used. But to avoid any great divergences from the Latin which we
are accustomed to read, I have used my pen with some restraint, and
while I have corrected only such passages as seemed to convey a different
meaning, I have allowed the rest to remain as they are.27
As mentioned already, in the year 386 Jerome had settled at Bethlehem,
here he set to ork to impro e his kno ledge of Hebre ith a ie
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 111
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 127/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 111
nd a clear expression of his conviction that since even the LXX is but a
translation of Hebrew, greater accuracy could be assured by relianceupon the Hebrew itself:
It will be my simple aim, therefore, rst, to point out the mistakes of those
who suspect some fault in the Hebrew Scriptures, and, secondly, to correct
the faults, which evidently teem in the Greek and Latin copies, by a
reference to the original authority; and, further, to explain the etymology
of things, names, and countries, when it is not apparent from the sound ofthe Latin words, by giving a paraphrase in the vulgar tongue. To enable
the student more easily to take note of these emendations, I propose, in the
rst place, to set out the true reading itself (ipsa testimonia), as I am now
able to do, and then, by bringing the later readings into comparison with it,
to indicate what has been omitted or added or altered.30
Towards the end of the Preface, as well as in some other places,Jerome outlines his attitude towards the original text hebraica veritas.31
In the Preface to the Commentary on Ecclesiastes (388 C.E.), we also nd
his explication that he translated directly from the Hebrew. In 388,
Jerome also published his translation of the Chronicles. Here he points
out the advantages that he, living in Palestine, enjoyed, obtaining correct
information on matters illustrative of Scripture, especially regarding the
names of places In the Preface to the books of Samuel and Kings (391
112 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 128/169
112 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
offer skins and goats’ hair. And yet the Apostle pronounces our more
contemptible parts more necessary than others. Accordingly, the beauty ofthe tabernacle as a whole and in its several kinds (and the ornaments of the
church present and future) was covered with skins and goats-hair cloths,
and the heat of the sun and the injurious rain were warded off by those
things which are of less account. First read, then, my Samuel and Kings;
mine, I say, mine. For whatever by diligent translation and by anxious
emendation we have learnt and made our own, is ours. And when you
understand that whereof you were before ignorant, either, if you aregrateful, reckon me a translator, or, if ungrateful, a paraphraser, albeit I am
not in the least conscious of having deviated from the Hebrew original.32
Jerome was, in the main, accurate in correcting the LXX and other Greek
versions using the Hebrew and in occupying himself with a defence of
his translation. He was, however, not aware (as has since been madeclear) that there are various readings in the Hebrew itself, and that these
may sometimes be corrected using the LXX, which was made from the
older manuscripts. Jerome translated the whole of the Old Testament also
from the LXX,33 but most of it was lost during his lifetime.34
Jerome’s own testimony about his attitude to the original text justies
experts’ admiration of his work. It is true that Jerome’s translation of theHebrew Bible preserves in Latin the shape and features of the Hebrew
d h G k l 3 Thi i i h l i h h l
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 113
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 129/169
f f p
proper names. Consequently, our judgment on transliteration of biblical
proper names into Latin depends on various other sources and on com- parative study of grammars.
The state of transliteration of biblical proper names in the Vetus Latina
and the Vg shows a much wider variety of transliteration forms than does
the Onomastica Sacra. The state of variants in the Vg is similar, as is the
state of forms of biblical proper names in Greek translations. In the Vg,
we nd variants that are explicable primarily due to the several possi- bilities of pronouncing Hebrew/Aramaic names, which at that time were
transmitted in the consonantal system. Vetus Latina and Jerome render
Semitic consonants with the following Latin characters: has no conso-
nantal value of its own, but serves to carry the respective vowel; = b; = g; = d; is without consonantal value and therefore ignored, rarely
rendered as h; usually serves to carry the respective vowels o or u,
sometimes having the value of the consonant v (gemination is not con-
sidered); = z, sometimes s; = usually replaced by a vowel (in the
beginning of a name in great majority), sometimes it is rendered as h or
(very rarely) as ch or even c; gemination Ï = tt; = at the beginning of a
word normally t and exceptionally th, in the middle normally th; = i, in
combination with vowels ignored or (in the beginning of a name)
sometimes combined with the added h (see Hieremias Hierusalem);
114 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 130/169
f f p
the same Hebrew vowel system. The correspondence between the Greek
and Latin vowels is as follows: = a; = e; = e; = e; = i; = o; = u; = y; = o.
The role of tradition is manifest mainly through Latin forms of names
that are well known because their form is much more unied than those
less commonly used. Here the comparison between the Vetus Latina and
the Vg forms of biblical proper names proves illustrative. The Vetus
Latina fragments testify to a similar variety of forms as in the LXX andthe Vg, but not always in the same names. The relationship between
Greek and Latin is as follows: = a; = b; = g; = d; = e; = z, in
classical times probably pronounced like zd, in the Hellenistic and
Greco-Roman periods it had the weaker sound of voiced s; = e; = th,
rarely t; = i, j; = c, ch, in gemination cch (see Macchabeus); = l; =
m; = n; = x; = o; = p, ph; = r; = s; single or geminated = t,rarely th; = y; = ph, rarely p or f; = ch, rarely c (probably based on
Hebrew ); = ps; = o; = u. The correspondence of consonants in
Geek and Latin in the Latin Onomasticon is as follows: = a; = b; =
g; = d; = e; = z; = e; = th; = i, j; = c; = l; = m; = n; = x;
= o; = u; = p; = r; = s; = t; = y; = f; = ch; = ps; = o.
The Greek and Latin alphabets are close enough to each other that the
difculties in transliterating the names from Semitic languages are to a
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 115
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 131/169
f f p
The statement by Sperber is both too general and too simplied to
correspond adequately to the facts. It is true that Jerome normallytransliterates Greek forms given by Eusebius faithfully into Latin—even
when the Vg form is different. Some well-known names can illustrate the
situation: (Num 33:35 LXX), (Onomasti-
con), Asiongaber (Vg), Gasiongaber (Onomasticon); -() (Num 33:46 LXX, Onomasticon), Elmondeblathaim (Vg),
Gelmon Deblathaim (Onomasticon); () (Deut 11:29 LXX, Onomasticon), Garizim (Vg), Garizin (Onomasticon), and so on. On the
other hand, Eusebius follows the LXX when writing the name ,and Jerome transliterates it in the Onomasticon as Moyses, while in the
Vg the form Moses is found, exceptions being only Bar 1:20; 2:2, 28.
is transliterated as Chebron, in the Vg almost always Hebron;
(Deut 3:9 LXX), (Onomasticon) is transliterated with
Ermon, but the Vg uses the form Hermon; (Deut 32:49) is
transliterated in with Iericho, the Vg has the form Hiericho;
(Josh 10:1) is transliterated with Ierusalem, the Vg has Hierusalem, and
so on. Jerome uses, however, in the Onomasticon also the forms of
names which are different from those used by Eusebius but identical to
the forms in the Vg: (Gen 12:8) / Bethel; (Gen 10:8–9) /
Nemrod and so on
116 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 132/169
f f p
In the course of the transmission of MS copies of the LXX, its text
underwent several major changes beyond the usual amount of alterationinevitable in copying by hand. Origen (ca. 213–ca. 270) produced his
sixfold version of the Old Testament, his famous Hexapla. In parallel
columns, at each opening of his book, stood the following different texts:
(a) the Hebrew text, written with only one or two words per line; (b) a
transliteration of the Hebrew into Greek letters; (c) Aquila’s Greek
version; (d) Symmachus’ Greek version; (e) the LXX; (f) Theodotion’sGreek version. The Hexapla was probably never recopied as a whole, but
fragments of this magnum opus are preserved in quotations made by
various Church Fathers. It is all the more probable that this monumental
work must have been accessible to Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260–339)
when he wrote the work of Onomasticon. It is well known that Eusebius,
with the assistance of his friend Pamphilus, supplied Constantine theGreat with fty copies of the Greek Bible, containing in the Old Testa-
ment Origen’s fth parallel text, with alternative readings from the other
versions in the margins. When Eusebius wrote the Onomasticon, a work
on biblical place names that laid out the geographical locations of some
600 towns, historical sites, districts, mountains and rivers, connecting
these with contemporary Roman place names, he wanted to create the
sense of a Christian space and time for Roman Palestine In keeping with
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 117
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 133/169
f f p
Erasmian school prevailed and substituted a different pronunciation for
some letters in the traditional or modern Greek. The cardinal point ofdispute was the letter , in the “modern Greek” pronounced like i (iota),
but in the Erasmian school like e.39
Due to the consistency of Jerome’s transliteration system in his
translation of Eusebius’ book on the sites and names of Hebrew places
and in his own book of Hebrew names, it is most unusual that Jerome
uses different forms for the same names in his version of the Bible. Thisfact allows the conclusion that this happened because the circumstances
of his Bible translation work were very different. First of all, the Bible is
a huge volume of text and therefore translation work extended to a long
period of work time, allowing for on the one hand a growing knowledge
of grammar, and the use of various Latin, Greek and Latin manuscripts,
and on the other hand contact with living traditions in the Hebrew,Aramaic, Greek, Latin and other traditions. It is obvious that the phonet-
ics of a living tradition inuenced translators into Greek in their reading
of the Hebrew original. The various readings of the Hebrew itself,
dialectal differences, mistakes in reading and transmitting the text, the
lack of established rules in Hebrew orthography, differences in Hebrew/
Aramaic, Greek and Latin phonetics and the established tradition of well-
known names were the reasons for transformation and deformation of
118 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 134/169
f f
5. Reasons for the Existence of Variant Formsof Biblical Proper Names
In the introduction to the present chapter it was mentioned that in the
Textus Receptus of the Hebrew Bible there are fairly few variant readings
of the forms of biblical proper names. The relative uniformity of biblical
proper names in the Hebrew Bible is remarkable in view of the excessive
variety of their forms in various ancient versions. Uniformity or variantorthography of biblical names are, both in the original and in transla-
tions, attributable to several factors.
a. Variant Forms in the Hebrew Bible
As for the original Hebrew and Aramaic text, the development of the
language implies development of forms of biblical names to a certain
extent. Development of the language implies that names also undergo
various transformations in later times. First of all, we note that alterna-
tive forms developed in the spelling of names. Some names are recorded
using a short and a longer form. For example, during the Second Temple
period, the biblical name
was almost universally spelt
. At a
slightly later date, the abbreviated form was obviously preferred for
thi Diff i ti l i ft i th Bibl th
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 119
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 135/169
signs, the grammatical structure of names at least suggests a probable
way of reading the names. An additional aid in establishing the spellingis the tradition of well-known names and the etymological meaning ofmany names.42 Consequently, the readings of the Masoretes are hardlyuntenable. For all these reasons it is clear that any judgment of the formsof biblical proper names in translation must be closely related to theroots of the original text.43 In the light of the original text, it is possible to
establish rst of all the range of phonetic possibilities and the determi-nants of spelling by Hebrew/Aramaic orthography. After judgment onthese grounds is made, the justication of tradition may be considered.
b. Reasons for Variants in the Greek and Latin Bibles
Since translators and scribes were very free in their transliteration of
biblical names, many other transliteration variations are noted. Translit-eration systems and transmission of Greek and Latin forms of biblicalnames are not uniform—consistency has in the main been avoided—and
42. Lisowsky rejects with good arguments the view that neither the text of theLXX nor that of the Hebrew Bible constitutes a sure basis for judging grammaticalforms. On pp. 7–8 of his study Die Transkription der hebräischen Eigennamen des
Pentateuch in der Septuaginta he emphasizes: “ wir möchten einwenden dass es
120 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 136/169
so alternative forms developed in the spelling of names. Established
tradition is the result of transmission of phonetic transcription of propernames. In general, forms of proper names were transmitted as they were
heard. In view of these criteria, is it possible to discern which forms are
the result of some kind of error? In any evaluation of the forms of names
in Greek, Latin and other translation languages, it is best to begin with
the form of the name in Hebrew or Aramaic. A revision of the forms of
proper names begins with the root form of the original. Any contempo-rary scholarly approach to the forms of biblical names must distinguish
between the genesis of the original text or translations and transmission
of the text throughout history until the present.
Transmission of biblical proper names caused much more variant
readings than did the state of language and culture in the time of the
original text’s genesis and of ancient translations. Over the long courseof Bible tradition history, transmission of biblical proper names must
take into account various transformations of biblical names with the
passage of time, common transcriptions of names, short and longer form
of names, the process of abbreviation of names, common scribal errors,
common name alterations, letter interchange, loss of letters, addition of
unnecessary letters to names, letter displacement, misreading due to
graphical similarity the consistent or inconsistent use of a double or sin-
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 121
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 137/169
and inner-Latin matter. Most errors are a consequence of mistaken
reading, hearing and writing. It follows that in evaluation of forms of biblical names that make more than a single appearance it is possible toilluminate the extent of forms to which they are common or frequent;including common or frequent transcriptions of names, common orfrequent scribal errors, common or frequent names alterations, etc.
Many phonological and grammatical rules dictate the transliteration of
biblical names into Greek and Latin; some are inuenced by Semiticscribal practices, and some are internal to Greek or Latin. Within the phonetic transliterations that are possible in principle the survey ofvariants within the whole corpus of manuscripts makes it possible toestablish the level of justication in view of frequency of occurrence:unique reading, family reading, popular reading or majority reading.
Comparison between the forms of proper names contained in mostimportant extant manuscripts, as for instance Codices A and B, is alreadyrevealing in many respects. It is conspicuous that about one third of proper names in Codices A and B are divergent. Moreover, many formsof proper names are divergent even within the same codex with regard toindividual books. Generally speaking, variation of forms depends on therange of possible freedom between a particular strictly unique possibleform and between several transliteration possibilities on orthographic
122 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 138/169
transmission of proper names support the conclusion that the parent text
must have been an uncial text: becomes , becomes , becomes, and so on. Many errors in spellings of names presuppose an uncial
parent text. In some cases it is obvious that the translator misread some
letters, for instance Daleth for Resh or vice versa. Errors in transmission
show a certain amount of carelessness in copying the underlying parent
text; sometimes transcriptions are carelessly transmitted. Errors in the
spelling of proper names are often found in places in which a particularMS is inexact elsewhere as well.
In the LXX, we nd forms of some names, especially in the book of
Numbers, which are unique and do not adhere to the Hebrew consonantal
constituents. Because of this, the general phenomenon of errors in
transcription and transmission is not a sufcient explanation for their
individual form. It is more likely that in such cases the parent text did notequal the MT. This conclusion is especially solid in view of the fact that
in most inexplicable readings the transliteration in the Vg does corre-
spond at least to Hebrew consonants. The following examples illustrate
the issue:
Í (Exod 6:23) , Vg: Abiu (Num 24:7) , Vg: Agag
( ) h
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 123
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 139/169
(Num 33:22, 23) , Vg: Ceelatha
(2 Kgs 23:33) , Josephus: , ,, , Vg: Rebla
Û (Num 33:21, 22) , Vg: Ressa
› (Num 26:32) ,Vg: Semida
Í › (Num 26:39) , Vg: Supham
› (Num 34:24) , Vg: Sephtan
(Num 26:35) , Vg: Tehen
(Num 33:26, 27) , Vg: Thaath (Num 33:27, 28) , Vg: Thare
d. The Establishment of a Greek Critical Text
In the establishment of a critical text two major criteria are available:
non-literary papyri from Alexandria in Egypt written in the third and
second centuries B.C.E., and the text tradition. Non-literary papyri fromEgypt are of relative value when compared with the LXX because they
are less classical with regard to tradition than the LXX text, which is a
literary text of greater conservatism and, correspondingly, has a greater
tendency to more classical forms. The text tradition is at hand mainly
through the oldest uncials—Codex A, Codex B and Codex S—all repre-
senting different text-types. The texts of codices B and A are peculiarlyimportant for the whole of the LXX, because, practically speaking, they
124 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 140/169
It should be fully clear at the outset what is meant by the printing of a
critical text. It is the presentation by an editor after weighing all the textualevidence at his disposal of the earliest reconstruction of the text possible,
an approximation to the original insofar as that is reasonable. For the text
of the Greek Genesis this means working with materials which are in the
main at least 400 years later than the autographa. Outside of a few
fragments (942 from ca. 50 B.C. consists of only fragments of words too
small to be textually signicant; 814 from ca. A.D. 90 consists of 8
fragmentary verses from ch. 14) the oldest substantial materials are A B911 961 962 all from the late third to the fth centuries. If, as the editor
believes, Genesis was translated in Alexandria in the late third or early
second centuries BC, then the rst half millennium is an almost complete
blank as far as the textual history of Genesis is concerned.
It is of course true that during this period the LXX of Genesis was
translated into Latin and Sahidic as well as quoted by ancient writers. The
reconstruction of an original text through the medium of an early trans-
lation is a chancey process at best, i.e. if we were certain of the original
translation texts. Genesis will demonstrate how uncertain one is of the Old
Latin text, or better said Old Latin “texts.”
In the case of ancient writers we fare no better. First of all, early writers
do not quote texts in the same way as a modern author does. He had no
concordances to consult, he normally relied on memory. Furthermore theywere seldom interested in citing exactly, often citing according to the
h h h l A d h h i i i
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 125
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 141/169
from the wider context of the usual controls from the text history of the
LXX as a whole. Many variant readings show great divergence from theoriginal transcription; several of them indicate errors of various types.
Traditions concerning proper names are on the whole more untrust-
worthy the more they represent a late and often corrupt textual tradition.
In the course of establishing the Göttingen critical text, some correc-
tions to the text-critical edition by Alfred Rahlfs have been made because
scholars now have late third- and early fourth-century witnesses to thestate of the text at that time at their disposal. They are thus now able to
evaluate the text of codices A, B and S in a much better perspective than
could be done in Rahlfs’ time. Some corrections concern even well-
known proper names, as for instance the name › (Exod 6:23). The
name is correctly transliterated in A* 426 as , Vg: Elisabe, and
is therefore accepted by the Göttingen critical text. Rahlfs adopted,however, the secondary reading , the result of dittography,
evidently on the basis of the form adopted by B: . The error
of dittography led to the majority reading of . Another exam-
ple of an unfortunate decision by Rahlfs is transliteration of the name
› (Exod 17:14) in the genitive, producing the form , Vg: Iosue,
even though the correct form in genitive is , adopted by editions of
Field and Göttingen Rahlfs explains the decision in the Apparatus:
126 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 142/169
The great remedy for ignorance of proper signs is knowledge of lan-
guages. And men who speak the Latin tongue, of whom are those I haveundertaken to instruct, need two other languages for the knowledge of
Scripture, Hebrew and Greek, that they may have recourse to the original
texts if the endless diversity of the Latin translators throw them into
doubt. Although, indeed, we often nd Hebrew words untranslated in the
books, as for example, Amen, Halleluia, Racha, Hosanna, and others of
the same kind. Some of these, although they could have been translated,
have been preserved in their original form on account of the more sacredauthority that attaches to it, as for example, Amen and Halleluia. Some of
them, again, are said to be untranslatable into another tongue, of which
the other two I have mentioned are examples. For in some languages
there are words that cannot be translated into the idiom of another
language. And this happens chiey in the case of interjections, which are
words that express rather an emotion of the mind than any part of a
thought we have in our mind. And the two given above are said to be of
this kind, Racha expressing the cry of an angry man, Hosanna that of a
joyful man. But the knowledge of these languages is necessary, not for
the sake of a few words like these which it is very easy to mark and to ask
about, but, as has been said, on account of the diversities among trans-
lators. For the translations of the Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek can
be counted, but the Latin translators are out of all number. For in the earlydays of the faith every man who happened to get his hands upon a Greek
i d h h h h h d k l d i li l
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 127
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 143/169
would have me decide which of them agree with the Greek original. The
labour is one of love, but at the same time both perilous and presumptu-ous; for in judging others I must be content to be judged by all; and how
can I dare to change the language of the world in its hoary old age, and
carry it back to the early days of its infancy?… For if we are to pin our
faith to the Latin texts, it is for our opponents to tell us which, for there
are almost as many forms of texts as there are copies. If, on the other
hand, we are to glean the truth from a comparison of many, why not go
back to the original Greek and correct the mistakes introduced by inaccu-rate translators, and the blundering alterations of condent but ignorant
critics?… I therfore promise in this short Preface the four Gospels only,
which are to be taken in the following order, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
as they have been revised by a comparison of the Greek manuscripts.
Only early ones have been used. But to avoid any great divergences from
the Latin which we are accustomed to read, I have used my pen with
some restraint, and while I have corrected only such passages as seemed
to convey a different meaning, I have allowed the rest to remain as they
are.48
In his letter to Pammachius (in the year 395) on the best method of
translation, Jerome advocates great freedom in translating ordinary
books, but he expressly excepts the Scriptures from the operation of hisrules of translation when he writes:
128 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 144/169
Today we are not able to identify in specic terms the character of the
manuscripts Jerome used, but we may assume that he used several text-types of the extant Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts. For several centuries
Jerome’s translation failed to gain universal approval. Gradually it was
accepted throughout Western Christendom. Yet, in the course of its
transmission scribal corruptions and deliberate conation with copies of
the Old Latin versions resulted in the greatest degree of bewildering
cross-contamination of textual type. This state of affairs is witnessed inthe over ten thousand manuscripts of the Vg known today. Two authentic
editions of the Vg puried Jerome’s text to a certain extent and made it
available in 1590 (by Pope Sixtus V) and in 1592 (by Pope Clement
VIII). In the years between 1889 and 1945 several Anglican scholars
published a critical edition of the New Testament at Oxford. In 1907
Pope Pius X established a commission under the responsibility of theBenedictine scholars to revise the Vg. Genesis appeared in 1926, and
publication of the Old Testament was almost complete in 1995, though
as yet none of the New Testament has been undertaken.51 The most
valuable smaller critical edition of the Vg is the Stuttgart edition.52
Jerome’s Latin Bible left its mark not only in ecclesiastical terminol-
ogy but also in the development of Latin into the Romance languages.
The development of the science of textual criticism in recent times has
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 129
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 145/169
codorlaomor, codor-laomor, chodorlagomor, godorlahomor, godorlago-
mor, chodor-labomor, chodorlahomer; variants to v. 5 are: chodor-laomor, codorlahomor, codorlaomor, godorlahomor, godorlagomor,
chodorlahomer, codorlaomer, chodorlagomer; variants to v. 9 are:
chodorlaomor, chodorloamor, codorlahomor, codorlaomor, codorla-
gomor, chodorlahomer, chodorlagomer, cogorlagomor, godorlahomor,
godorlagomor, variants to v. 17 are: chodorlaomor, codorlahomor,
codorlaomor, chodorlahomer, chodorlagomer, cohdorlagomor, cohdorla-gomer, godorlagomor.53 It is evident that scribal corruptions had disg-
ured transliteration of the name in the course of transmission of the text.
The transmission of the LXX text caused a similar cross-contamination
of the basic form , as the Göttingen critical edition of the
LXX testies. A comparison between the majority and variant readings in
the LXX and in the Vg enables us to make an approximate estimation ofthe degree of dependence of the Vg on the LXX as opposed to the original
Hebrew text.
6. General Conclusions
The history of Semitic forms of biblical proper names is as complex as
th hi t f th H b Bibl f th ti f it l t i i
130 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 146/169
for ancient translations of the Bible into Semitic languages. Targumim,
for instance, display minor phonetic changes to Hebrew forms of propernames. Semitic languages are based on many common phonetic laws,
and therefore the forms of Semitic proper names reect to a greater
extent a remarkable unity in form and content than the forms created in
translations of the Bible into Greek, Latin and languages other than
Semitic.
The Land of Israel became the Holy Land, not only for Jews but alsofor Christians and Muslims. Therefore Jews, Christians and Moslems
have had little reason to alter the forms of geographical names of biblical
origin radically, as for instance the Roman occupiers did when they
introduced totally new names, even for principal locations of the Holy
Land.55 This fact is important in regard to the forms of biblical names in
Greek and Latin. The Greek versions of the Old and New Testamentsdisplay a combination of preservation of and changes to Semitic forms
of biblical proper names. In translations of the Hebrew Bible, a number
of proper names, almost exclusively geographical names, are treated on
the basis of their presumed etymological meaning, with most of them
transliterated in accordance with their Semitic forms. Even a supercial
comparison between Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin forms of bibli-
cal proper names makes it clear that the forms of Hebrew and Aramaic
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 147/169
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 148/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 133
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 149/169
that Jerome did not always transcribe the Greek spelling into Latin in a
precise manner. In translating the Bible he was bound to the original, toGreek forms, to earlier Latin translations of the Bible and to contem-
porary spelling of biblical names in the Latin Church. In combining these
factors his decisions reect a compromise.
And yet all these facts do not explain why Jerome did not unify the
forms of biblical proper names in his own translation, even though he
prepared a translation of Eusebius’ book on the sites and names ofHebrew places and composed also his own book of Hebrew names. Even
these works do not manifest the will to unify the spelling of proper
names. There are no linguistic grounds in the textual history of the
Hebrew, Greek and Latin Bibles allowing the conclusion that unication
of linguistic systems was at all desired and thus assigned value in the
ancient world. We must bear in mind that all texts were considered moreor less canonical, an essential part of a living tradition. In the ow of
living tradition in the long history of biblical interpretation they under-
went a complicated series of revisions. No part of the original and of
ancient translations was created systematically and in such a timely
manner that would allow for control over and standardization of spelling.
To conclude, it may be stated that the forms of biblical proper names
are much more stable and consistent in the Hebrew Bible than in Greek
134 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 150/169
7. Comparative Expositions of the Forms
of Biblical Proper Names
The textual history of the LXX and of the Latin Vg is of special impor-
tance within the ancient writings because of their great inuence on the
development of the forms of proper names in all European and later in
World languages. Although the primary purpose of this study is to
present the phonetic relationship between Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek andLatin languages as reected in biblical proper names, such a compara-
tive study must consider all the general rules of textual criticism. John
William Wevers summarizes the situation in the textual history of the
LXX as follows:
…those who read and pondered the LXX did not have the autographon;they had copies, in fact, had copies of copies. It was the MSS which readers
had, not the original text, and these MSS represent later developments of
the text; all these MSS constituted eclectic texts, based on a complicated
and often untraceable textual genealogy. Many of these represent in their
variant readings conscious revisions based on the Hebrew, especially the
hex(aplaric) recension of Origen; others grew out of copyist errors. Refer-
ence is then made in the Notes to many such readings, variants subjec-tively chosen for their interest in showing a different understanding of the
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 151/169
136 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 152/169
comparative view of the phonetic relationship is especially useful, even
though in some cases the MT differs from that which is implied in theLXX version. In such cases opinions may properly differ as to the identi-
cation of the Greek and the Hebrew forms.
Unfortunately, there is no comparable concordance to the Latin Vg to
which the user may be referred. There is, however, a scientic edition of
the text of the Latin Vg of the Old Testament, comparable with the
Göttingen edition of the LXX (since 1922). This edition of the Vg has been prepared since 1926 by scholars of the order of Saint Benedict
(O.S.B.), the text being based on extant manuscripts of all major families
and of major codices, and the variant forms of proper names are properly
considered in every instance.
The complex phonetic interrelation between the Hebrew/Aramaic,
Greek and Latin languages was until now never treated systematicallyand comparatively on the basis of the main sources of all these languages
in relation to all biblical proper names, neither for purely scholarly
purposes nor for purposes of reference. This fact is all the more deplor-
able given that the forms of biblical proper names within Europe and
elsewhere in the world from antiquity until today manifest certain com-
promises between the phonetic systems of these languages. Conse-quently translators of the Bible in all languages must realize that the
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 137
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 153/169
The production of the biblical proper names has required the manual
checking and analysis of every occurrence of each biblical proper namein the Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin scriptural witnesses.
When the dictionary is completed, the following structure will be used
for presenting the various data:
The dictionary will list names in alphabetical sequence following the
NRSV’s spelling. In the majority of cases, the NRSV (like most English-
language translations, including the KJV) renders proper names in atransliterated form that accurately reects the original language. In those
cases where a name is translated rather than transliterated, the translated
form of the name is included.
After the lemma entry, which reects each name’s recognized and
standardized English pronunciation (or any other chosen variant), the
regular Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek forms are given in square brackets,with these standard forms in each case being followed (where appro-
priate) by a list of the variant spellings. Latin translations follow the
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek forms. This format is intended to show
quite clearly whether a given form can be called a “family reading,” a
“popular reading” and or a “majority reading.”
The list of proper names is accompanied by an exhaustive inventory ofbiblical citations (though an exception is made to this rule when a name
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 154/169
3. Transmission of Semitic Forms of Biblical Proper Names 139
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 155/169
Aijalon [Heb. Ì ayylô'n / Ail , Ailím (Judg 12:12),
Ailám (1 Chr 8:13), Aial n (2 Chr 11:10)] {place} Vg Ahialon, Ahilon,Helon, Aialon—Josh 10:12; Judg 1:35; 2 Chr 11:10
Akkub [Heb. ͘ aqqû'b / Gr. () Ak(k)oúb, Akoúd ,
Akoúm] {male person} Vg Ac(c)ub, Accob, Accubus, Acum, Acuph—Neh 7:45;
11:19; 1 Chr 3:24; 1 Esd 5:28
Alemeth [Heb. le'met / Gr. Galémeth (1 Chr 6:60/45/-B; 9:42),
Galêmeth (1 Chr 6:60/45/-A), Geméeth (1 Chr 7:8),
Galémath (1 Chr 8:36)] {place, male person} Vg Almath, Almathan, Almoth,Alamath—1 Chr 6:45(Vg 60) {place}; 1 Chr 7:8; 8:36; 9:42 {male person}. The
place Alemeth (1 Chr 6:45) has in Josh 21:18 the form Almon
Azarel [Heb. zar 'l , azrî 'l “God helped” / Gr. Ezer l ,() Esr(e)i l , Esdri l , () Oz(e)i l , () Ozr(e)i l ,(e) El(e)i l , Azariá, Ezri l , Azara l ] {all male
persons} Vg Ezrel, Azrihel, Azarel, Azrahel, Ezrahel, Ezrihel—Ezra 10:41; Neh
11:13; 12:36(35); 1 Chr 12:6(7); 25:18; 27:22; 1 Esd 9:34
Azel [Heb. 'l “noble” / Es l ] {male person} Vg Asel, Esel—1 Chr
8:37–38; 9:43–44
Azgad [Heb. Á azg'd “Gad is strong” / Gr. Asgád , Azgád ,
Agetád , Argaí , Astaá, Astád , Astáth] {male
person} Vg Azgad, Ezgad, Arcad, Asath—Ezra 2:12; 8:12; Neh 7:17; 10:16; 1 Esd
5:13; 8:38(41)
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 156/169
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abegg, Martin, Jr., Peter Flint, and Eugene Ulrich, The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The
Oldest Known Bible: Translated for the First Time into English. New York:HarperCollins, 1999.
Aberbach, Moses, and Bernard Grossfeld. Targum Onkelos to Genesis. Denver: Ktav/Center for Judaic Studies, 1982.
Arana, A. Ibanez. “La narración etiológica como génere literario bíblico: Las etiologíasetimológicas del Pentateuco.” Scriptorium Victoriense 10 (1963): 161–76, 241–75.
Barr, James. “Etymology and the Old Testament.” Pages 1–28 in Language and Meaning:
Studies in Hebrew Language and Biblical Exegesis. Ed. James Barr et al.; OTS 19;Leiden: Brill, 1974.
Bauer, Hans, and Pontus Leander, Historische Grammatik der hebräischen Sprache des
Alten Testamentes. Halle: Niemeyer, 1922; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1962.
Biblia Sacra iuxta Latinam Vulgatam versionem ad codicum dem … cura et studiomonachorum abbatiae ponticiae Sancti Hieronymi in urbe ordinis Sancti Benedicti
dit R T i l l tti V ti i Lib i dit i V ti 1926 95
Bibliography 141
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 157/169
Freeman-Grenville, G. S. P., Rupert L. Chapman III and Joan E. Taylor, Palestine in the
Fourth Century A.D.: The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea. Jerusalem: Carta,2005.Fremantle, W. H., G. Lewis and W. G. Martley, The Principal Works of St. Jerome.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, 6, St. Jerome: Letters and SelectWorks; ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace; originally published in the United States
by the Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1893; repr. Peabody, Mass.:Hendrickson, 1995.
Fricke, Klaus Dietrich, and Benedikt Schwank. Ökumenisches Verzeichnis der biblischen Eigennamen nach den Loccumer Richtlinien. Stuttgart: Katholische Bibelanstalt/Württembergische Bibelanstalt, 1971, 1981.
Garsiel, Moshe. Biblical Names: A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and Puns.Trans. Phyllis Hackett; Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1991).
Golka, Friedemann W. “The Aetiologies in the Old Testament.” VT 26 (1976): 410–28;27 (1977): 36–47.
Harl, Marguerite et al., La Bible d’Alexandrie: La Genèse. Paris: Cerf, 1994. — La Bible d’Alexandrie: Traduction du texte grec de la Septante. Paris: Cerf, 1986–.Hatch, Edwin, and Henry A. Redpath. A Concordance to the Septuagint and the Other
Greek versions of the Old Testament (Including the Apocryphal Books). Vol. 2,Supplement . Oxford: Clarendon, 1906; repr. Graz: Akademische Druck- u.Verlagsanstalt, 1954.
Haug, Hellmut, ed. Namen und Orte der Bibel . Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft,
2002.Hayward, R. Divine Name and Presence: The Memra. Totowa, N.J.: Allanheld, Osmun,
142 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 158/169
Kutscher, Eduard Yechezkel. A History of the Hebrew Language. Ed. Raphael Kutscher;
Jerusalem: Jerusalem: The Hebrew University/Magnes; Leiden: Brill, 1982. — Studies in Galilean Aramaic: Bar-Ilan Studies in Near Eastern Languages and Culture;Translated from the Hebrew Original and Annotated with Additional Notes from the Author’s Handcopy by Michael Sokoloff . Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University, 1976.
Le Déaut, Roger. La nuit pascale: Essai sur la signication de la Paque juive à partir duTargum d’Exode XII , 42. Rome: Pontical Biblical Institute, 1963.
Lipiski, Edward. Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Grammar . OLA 80;
Leuven: Peeters, 1997.Lisowsky, Gerhard. Die Transkription der hebräischen Eigennamen des Pentateuch in
der Septuaginta. Inaugural-Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde an der
Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Basel; Basel, 1940.
Long, B. O. “Etymological Etiology and the DT Historian.” CBQ 31 (1969): 35–41.
—The Problem of Etiological Narrative in the Old Testament . BZAW 108; Berlin: de
Gruyter, 1968.
Melamed, Ezra Zion. “The Onomastikon of Eusebius.” Tarbiz 3 (1932): 314–27, 393– 409.
— The Onomastikon of Eusebius. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1966.
Milgrom, Jacob. Numbers. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1990.
Murtonen, A. Hebrew in Its West Semitic Setting: A Comparative Survey of Non-Masoretic Hebrew Dialects and Traditions. SSLL 15; Leiden: Brill, 1986.
Noth, Martin. Die israelitischen Personennamen im Rahmen der gemeinsemitischen
Namengebung . BWANT 3/10; Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1928; repr. Hildesheim:Olms, 1966.
Bibliography 143
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 159/169
Shaw, J. F. Augustin: City of God, Christian Doctrine. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,
First Series 2; ed. P. Scharff; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1995.Siegert, Folker. Zwischen Hebräischer Bibel und Altem Testament: Eine Einführung in
die Septuaginta. MJSt 9; Münster: LIT, 2001.Soggin, J. Alberto. “Kultätiologische Sagen und Katechese im Hexateuch.” VT 10 (1960):
341–47.Sperber, Alexander. Hebrew Based upon Greek and Latin Transliterations. Offprint from
Hebrew Union College Annual, Volume XII–XIII; Cincinnati, 1937–38.
Strus, Andrzej. “Étymologies des noms propres dans Gen 29,32–30, 24: Valeurs littéraireset fonctionnelles.” Salesianum 40 (1978): 57–72. —Nomen–Omen. La stylistique sonore des noms propres dans le Pentateuque. Rome:
Biblical Institute Press, 1978.Thackeray, Henry St. John. A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek . Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1909; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1987.Thomsen, P. “Palästina nach dem Onomasticon des Eusebius.” Ph.D. diss., Tübingen,
1903 (published under the same title in Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 26 [1903]: 97–141, 145–88).
Tov, Emanuel. The Greek and Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint . VTSup57; Leiden: Brill, 1999.
—“Loan-words, Homophony, and Transliterations in the Septuagint.” Pages 165–82 inTov, The Greek and Hebrew Bible.
—“Transliterations of Hebrew Words in the Greek Versions: A Further Characteristic of
the Kaige-th Revision?” Pages 501–12 in Tov, The Greek and Hebrew Bible. Urbach, Ephraim E. The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs, Vol. 1. Jerusalem: Magnes,
144 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 160/169
Zadok, Ran. The Pre-Hellenistic–Israelite Anthroponomy and Prosopography. OLA 28;
Leuven: Peeters, 1988.
Ziegler, Joseph. “Transkriptionen in der Ier.-LXXX: Transkription der Eigennamen
(EN).” Pages 59–86 in Beiträge zur Ieremias-Septuaginta. Mitteilungen des
Septuaginta-Unternehmens VI, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1958.
Zimmerman, Frank. “Folk Etymology of Biblical Names.” Pages 311–26 in Volume du
Congrès: Genève. VTSup 15; Leiden: Brill, 1966.
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 161/169
I NDEXES
I NDEX OF R EFERENCES
HEBREW BIBLE/
OLD TESTAMENT
Genesis
2:4–25 8
2:4 56
2:5 104
2:8 106
2:11 97
2:14 107
2:23 8, 47
3:1–24 10
3:1 563:14–19 10
10:27 98
11:1–9 11
11:1 11
11:2–4 11
11:5–8 12
11:7 12
11:8 12
11:9 6, 11, 12,
44, 45,
47
11:18 100
11:24 10611:29 97
15:20 56, 64,
65
16 12
16:11 6, 13,
105
16:13–14 13, 45,
47
16:13 6, 13
16:14 6, 14, 15
16:15 6
17:5 6, 7, 98
17:15 6, 7, 10117:19 107
146 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 162/169
Genesis (cont.)
22:19 1722:23 101, 105
23:8–9 75
23:9 56, 75
23:17 56, 75
23:19 56, 75
24:7 122
24:10 56, 7124:52 14
24:62 13, 15,
47
25–33 26
25:5 72
25:9 56, 7525:11 13–15,
47
25:20 56, 71,
72
25:25 6, 97
25:26 6, 107
25:30 626:2 26
29:34 6, 97,
10629:35 6, 98
30:8 105
30:18 6
30:20 6, 106
30:23–24 6
30:25 97
31:18 71, 7231:43–54 22
31:46–49 23, 49
31:47 6
31:48 6
31:49 6
32:2–3 23, 4932:2 6
32:3 24
32:8–11 24
32:22–32 25
32:29 97, 98,
106
32:31 6, 25, 45,49
38:4 105
38:29 638:30 6
41:51 6, 101,
106
41:52 6, 97
46–50 28
46:1 17
46:5 1746:10 108, 122
46:12 122
46:14 99
46:15 71
46:16 72, 122
46:17 12246:21 122
46:24 99
46:28 26
49:28–50:26 28
49:30 56, 75
50:11 6, 28, 50
50:13 56, 75
Index of References 147
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 163/169
17:14 125
18:3 718:4 7
34:23 59
Numbers
1:6 100
1:8 100
1:14 122
1:15 105
11:1–35 32, 33
11:1–3 32
11:1–2 32
11:1 33
11:3 7, 33, 45,46, 50
11:33–34 33
11:34 7, 33, 46,
50
11:35 33
12:10 98
13:14 99, 122
13:14 LXX 122
26:30 122
26:32 12326:35 123
26:36 122
26:38 122
26:39 123
26:40 122
26:44 LXX 122
26:46 99
27:13 32
27:14 7, 30, 32
27:17 31
32:3 102
33:16 33
33:17 3333:21 123
33:22 123
33:23 123
33:26 123
33:27 123
33:28 123
33:30 101
33:35 115
9:22 31–33
11:29 11511:30 56, 73,
74
23:4 71
23:5 71
32:49 115
33:8 30, 31
33:14 31, 32
Joshua
1:33 78
2:1 99
2:4 64
5:9 77:26 7
9:1 56, 76,
77, 79
10:1 106, 107,
115
10:12 137
10:40 56, 76,
77, 79
148 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 164/169
Judges
1:9 56, 76,79
1:16–17 34
1:17 7, 34, 35
1:31 101, 106
1:35 137
2:1–5 35
2:4–5 7, 35, 45,
46
2:4 35
2:5 50
3:8 71, 72
4:4 101
6:32 77:1 56, 73
7:7 79
8:8–9 25
8:17 25
11:11 101
12:8 102
12:10 102
12:12 137
23:24–24:1 38
23:27–28 3823:28 7, 37, 50
25:3 107
25:25 7
30:30 34
2 Samuel
3:3 102
5:7 100
5:14 100, 107
5:17–25 39
5:18 65
5:20–21 45, 46
5:20 7, 39, 41,50
5:22 65
6:1–23 40
6:3 106
6:8 7, 40, 50,
106
8:17 97, 101
12:25 7
22:14 106
23:33 123
24:17 102
25:23 98
1 Chronicles
1:15 78
1:19 7
3:24 137
4:3 98, 100
4:4 25
4:9–10 7
4:9 41
4:11 101
4:30 346:45 137
6:60 137
7:8 137
7:23 7
7:35 98
8:13 137
8:25 25
8:36 137
Index of References 149
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 165/169
2 Chronicles
1:15 76, 79
3:1 56, 74,
75
9:27 76, 78,
79
11:10 137
20:1–30 41
20:25–26 41
20:26 7, 41, 45,
46, 50
26:10 76, 78,
79
28:18 76, 77,
79
Ezra
2:9 101
2:12 138
2:15 137
2:33 122
4:6 98
7:1 102
28:22 56
31:12 56
40:15 56, 65
40:25 56, 65–
67
Psalms
6:5 56
60:2 71, 72
74:14 56, 65–
67
81:8 30
83:8 106
88:1 97
88:11 63, 6488:12 56
95:8 30–32
104:26 56, 65–
67
106:32–33 30
Proverbs 15:11 56, 61,
Jeremiah
17:24–26 77
17:26 76, 79
28:1 99
32:12 106
32:44 76–79
33:13 76, 77,
79
Ezekiel
23:4 108
Daniel
1:6 106
Hosea
1:1 98
1:4 56, 67
1:6 56, 67
1:8 67
1:9 56
2–14 69
2:3 68
150 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 166/169
APOCRYPHA/DEUTERO-
CANONICAL
BOOKS
1 Esdras
5:13 138
5:28 137
8:38 138
8:41 138
9:34 138
Tobit
2:10 101
6:11 100
Sirach
45:6 98
Baruch
1:20 115
2:2 115
2:28 115
1 Maccabees
6:1 10111:70 102
12:38 76
13:11 102
13:13 76
2 Maccabees
10:19 101
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
1 Enoch
6:3 63
6:7 63
8:1 639:6 63
9:7 63
10:8 63
10:11 63
BABYLONIAN TALMUD
Erubin 53a 76
Yoma
67b 63
MIDRASH
Genesis Rabbah
20:11 10
22:2 10
56:10 19
Leviticus Rabbah
29:9 19
Tanhuma, Wa-Yera
23 (78–79) 19
Tanhuma B., Wa-Yera
46 (1,115) 19
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 167/169
I NDEX OF AUTHORS
Abegg, M., Jr. 84
Aberbach, M. 8
Arana, A. I. 5
Barr, J. 43
Bauer, H. 129
BoréeW. 53, 95, 130Brockelmann, C. 129
Chapman, R. S. III 54, 90
Chester, A. 19
Childs, B. S. 5
Dhorme, E. 112Dimitrov, I. Z. 86
Ilan, T. 54, 56, 95
Jannaris, A. N. 96, 117
Jinbachian, M. M. 56
Jordan, P. 53
Kaswalder, P. A. 95Klostermann, E. 53, 90, 92, 110
Kreuzer, S. 86
Kutscher, E. Y. 1, 2, 129
Lagarde, P. de 90, 94, 99, 100, 113
Le Déut, R. 19
Leander, P. 129Lesch, J. P. 86
152 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 168/169
Safrai, Z. 90, 92, 132
Schalit, A. 89
Schenker, A. 86
Schwank, B. 25, 83
Seeligmann, I. L. 5, 86
Shaw, J. F. 126
Siegert, F. 86
Soggin, J. A. 5
Sperber, A. 95, 98, 102, 114, 132Strus, A. 5
Stuckenbruck, L. 86
Taylor, J. E. 54, 90
Thackeray, H. St. J. 56, 95
Thomsen, P. 90
Tov, E. 56, 95
Ulrich, E. 84
Urbach, E. E. 19
Vermes, G. 19
Weber, R. 128
Weeks, S. 86
Wevers, J. W. 56, 124, 125, 134, 135
Worth, R. H., Jr. 110Wutz, F. 90, 95
Zadok, R. 95, 118
Ziegler, J. 95
Zimmerman, F. 5
8/18/2019 The Transformation of Biblical Proper Names
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-transformation-of-biblical-proper-names 169/169
We hope you learned what you expected to learn fromthis eBook. Find more such useful books onwww.PlentyofeBooks.net
Books?
Want More
Thank You