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Ausgabe: | 1977 |
Spalte: | 96-98 |
Kategorie: | Altes Testament |
Autor/Hrsg.: | Dirksen, Peter B. |
Titel/Untertitel: | The transmission of the text in the Peshiṭta manuscripts of the Book of Judges 1977 |
Rezensent: | Albrektson, Bertil |
Ansicht Scan: | |
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95
even if it is purely ooincidental that the Samaritan Chief
Priest of that time bore the same name as the Chief Priest
with whom Dr. Moses Gaster corresponded, Professor Macdonald
is making unsubstantiated Claims for the antiquity
of this Chroniclc and its Contents.
Professor Macdonald gives precedence to his Samaritan
Chronicle No. II over tho "Tolidah" which he dubs Chro-
nicle III and p. 12 says of the latter: "We cannot derive
much from such a lato work. . . .". In the Chronicle No. II,
English translation p. 100 we read: "The High Priest
Phinehas had begotten a son in the year of the entry of
the Israelites into the land of Canaan, whom ho called
Abisha. In the thirteenth year after the Israelites cntercd
the land of Canaan, which was the thirteenth year of Iiis
life, this Abisha wrote out the book of the holy law; it is
to bo found to this veiy day in the city of Shechem in tho
possession of the priestly household. This scroll was
written on Mount Gerizim Bethel at the entranco to the
tent of meeting. The skins of which it was made came
from the skins of the peace-offering sacrifices which the
congregation offered on the altar." Professor Macdonald's
footnote reads thus: "Tho Abisha story is told in many
ways in the literature and it seems to reflect an ancient
tradition". However Professor Kahle in the "Baudissin
Festschrift" (Beihefte zu ZAW No. 33 Giessen 1918, p.
247 — 260) pointed out that in tho very early copy of the
"Tolidah" in the High Priest's House in Nablus, in the
text itself where Abisha occurs there is no mention of his
having written out the Law. But in the margin there is
this Statement (as cited above). In the Neubauer edition
of the "Tolidah", based on a late manuscript, the Statement
which is only in the margin of the oldest copy of the
"Tolidah" is indeed taken up into the main text. Your
reviewer may add that in 1950 he had the early manuscript
of the "Tolidah" which is in the High Priest's house
photographed, and afterwards published it as "Transcript
of the Original Texts of the Samaritan Chronicle Tolidah",
University of Leeds 1954. In the brief introduction thereto,
attention is drawn to this matter re the non-mention of
the Abisha Scroll. In this Bibliography p. 226 Professor
Macdonald does mention this little book (i.e. the Transcript
of the Tolidah). One is puzzled as to why he did
not draw the obvious conclusion that his Chronicle No. II
associating as it does Abisha with the Pentateuch Scroll
at Nablus, for which the Samaritans claim so much, must
be later than the earliest copy of the Tolidah there.
One is left with the impression, that Professor Macdonald
wants to believe, that his Chronicle No. II is old.
There are numerous examples of this, and most of them
argumenta a silentio or obiter dicta: e.g. p. 32 "The Story
of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba was no doubt well-
known to the Samaritans in ancient times and it is told
here in shortened form. . .". On p. 24 Professor Macdonald
seems to assume his Chronicle is based on Oral Traditions
of tho Samaritans as to history of local Kings/Judges in
Ephraim/Manasseh. On tho ono band he is convinced that
the Samaritans did not borrow from the Jews, viz. p. 29.
"There is no evidence it must be repeated, that the Samaritans
copied or borrowed from the Judahites at anytime,
either in religion or language, exegesis or worship, cult or
chronicle". If that were so, then there might be a case for
his Chronicle II being worth the time of Biblical scholars'
study. But he is inconsistent: While he claims (p. 26) that
Judgeg 4: 14b —24 "tho only part of the Book of Judges
in tt.T. which is verbatim B.T. may well have been an
ancient folktale he admits the selective use made
of the Biblical stories, and even of tho Biblical text:
e.g. p. 34 "a rewrite of (II Chron. XXIV) 19 — 20 in terms
acoeptable tu Saras. Aside from the expected oms. XXIV
22 and 271). XXV 4, 7a, 8, 15—16 the B.T. is quoted
alinost verbatim with some retouohea Was Chronicle
not Jewish ? He emphasises p. 35 tho Samaritans'
Claim made in Iiis Chronicle .No. II "as having been a (Iis-
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tinct class within Northern Israel ever since Samson's
reign and they have not since then been identifiable with
Northern Israel as such." This is patently the claim of a
nonconformist roligious group of later times trying to find
n distinctive pedigree for thcmselves, but as good as that
of (hose from whom they have separated themselves.
It is demanding ovcrmuch for the critical scholar to
accept p. 35: "Judges is so differcnt from the B. T. that
we must assume it to contain genuine traditions from a
northern source or sources." "Judges" here means the
section of Chronicle No. II which Professor Macdonnld
himaelf calls Judges. It is so reminiscent of how tho late
Dr. Moses Gnster separated off a part of a Chronicle where
it dealt with Joshua, and dubbed it the Samaritan Joshua.
The mantle of Moses (lasier iias fallen on John Macdonald ;
their eontributions t<> Samaritan Studios have much in
common.
Vict oria .lohn Bowman
Dirksen, P. 1?.: Tho Transmission of tho Text in tho I'oshifta
MannserlptS of (ho Book of JtldgM. Leiden: Brill 1972. XV,
11 2 S. gr. H° — Monographs of the Poshitta Institute Leiden,
I. Lw. hfl. 28.—.
Dio spärliche Literatur über die alte syrische Übersetzung
des Alten Testaments, die sog. Peschitta, hat
durch Dirksons Untersuchung von der Textüberlieferung
in den Peschitta-Handschrifton des Richtorbuches eine
willkommene Erweiterung erfahren. Z. Z. wird eine wissenschaftliche
Ausgabe der Peschitta im Auftrage der internationalen
Organisation für das Studium des Alten Testaments
von dem Peschitta-Institut in Leiden unter Leitung
von Professor P. A. H. de Boer vorbereitet. Die vorliegende
Monographie baut — mit einigen Ausnahmen — auf dem
Material auf, das im Apparat dieser Ausgabe erscheinen
wird.
Der Vf. hat sich die Aufgabe gestellt, die Beziehungen
zwischen den verschiedenen Peschitta-Handschriften im
Buch der Richter genau zu untersuchen und sie, soweit
möglich, in Familien von verwandten Handschriften zu
gruppieren. Sein Interesse gilt ausschließlich dem syrischen
Text; die Beziehungen zwischen der Peschitta und dem
hebräischen Text oder der Septuaginta werden in dieser
Arbeit nicht berücksichtigt, abgesehen von einigen summarischen
Beobachtungen in einem Epilog.
Das Buch ist einfach und übersichtlich gestaltet . Nach
einer kurzon Einleitung, worin Aufgabe, Material und Prinzipien
der Untersuchung knapp und klar vorgelegt werden,
folgen die beiden Hauptteile des Buches: ein erster, kürzerer
, der die insgesamt 56 untersuchten Handschriften
näher beschreibt, und ein zweiter, längerer, worin die Beziehungen
zwischen ihnen ausführlich behandelt werden.
Im ersten Teil stimmen dio Beschreibungen der Handschriften
meistens mit dein überein, was wir aus anderen
Quellen von ihnen wissen, /.. B. aus Handsohriftenver-
zeiehnissen verschiedener Bibliotheken oder aus der ausführlichen
"List of Old Testament Poshitta Manuscripts",
herausgegeben von dem Peschitta-Institut in Leiden. In
einigen Fällen ist es aber dem Vf. gelungen, die früheren
Angaben zu komplettieren oder zu korrigieren, was natürlich
sehr wertvoll ist. Dieser Teil sehließt mit statistischen
Tabellen über Anzahl, Art und Ort der Sonderlesarten der
untersuchten Handschriften.
Der zwoito Teil enthält, wie gesagt, den eigentlichen
Schworpunkt dieser Arbeit: dio Boschreibung und Analyse
der gegenseitigen Beziehungen der einzelnen Handschrift en.
Das Aufzählen und Systematisieren sämtlicher Übereinstimmungen
und Verschiedenheiten zwischen den Text
zeugen ist eine minutiöse Kleinarbeit, die die Geduld des
Verfassers verrät und auch die Geduld des Lesers verlangt
— selbstverständlich liest sich das Buch nicht besonders
leicht, und es wird wohl auch hauptsächlich von Npo/.ia
Theologische Literaturzeitung 102. Jahrgang 1977 Nr. 2