Cultures and Religions

After an introduction to the history of biblical studies from the early Renaissance to the contemporary age, with particular attention to the controversy between Purists and Hebraists, the course will focus on examining the cultural context, the complex textual history, the linguistic and stylistic characteristics, and the translation techniques of the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. Alongside this central theme, students will be provided with a detailed illustration of the “alternative” versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, as well as the ancient Latin versions (Vetus Latina) and Jerome's Vulgate, with an excursus on the rabbinic versions in medieval Greek. This course will hopefully provide students with a non-superficial knowledge of the textual criticism of the Greek and Latin biblical texts and, at the same time, of the main features of Hellenistic Greek and Vulgar Latin. Accurate guidance will also be provided on the vast bibliography of biblical philology, with particular attention to the most recent studies on the established Semitic influences on biblical Greek and Latin. At the same time, the class will tackle the reading, with linguistic, philological and content commentary, of some chapters of the Book of Tobit in the Greek versions that have come down to us: BA and S.