A linguistic and exegetical commentary on the Hallelouia psalms of the Septuagint

This dissertation explores the meaning of five psalms in the Septuagint version (104, 105, 110, 111, 112), not as interpreted in their reception history but as intended by their translator. The basis for distinguishing the production of a translated document from its reception history is that a translator and a reader of a translation are involved in fundamentally different activities: the former interprets a source text, and thus the translation stands in a relationship of dependency to its source at its inception, while the latter interprets a target text which (s)he has received as a finished product, independent of its source. Hence the focus of this dissertation is upon the Septuagint (or LXX) text as produced rather than received, though information on LXX Psalms from its reception history (e.g. New Testament citations and patristic commentaries) is occasionally included for comparative purposes.; Such an investigation presupposes that one can be reasonably certain that both target and source texts are recoverable from the manuscript evidence, a presupposition defended in the current work. Since, however, the original text of the Greek Psalter and the text of its Hebrew source cannot be assumed to be identical to modern editions of each, exegesis of LXX Psalms involves both critical reconstruction of the Vorlage and text-critical scrutiny of the best edition of LXX Psalms on the basis of manuscript evidence and translation technique.; Probing the intended meaning of these psalms involves retracing the translator's path, accounting for translation choices by comparing the Greek with its source, and measuring the impact of the translator's decisions upon the profile of the Psalter, such as the effect of semantic shifts and the extent to which Hebrew poetic features, lexical links and Pentateuchal intertextuality have been lost or preserved.; Chapter 1 establishes a methodological framework in dialogue with past and present scholarship. Since the five Psalms studied in this dissertation all begin with the word a `l lhloui &d3;a&d12; , chapter 2 is dedicated to the meaning and function of this heading. Chapters 3 through 7 comment on Psalms 104--105 and 110--112 respectively. Chapter 8 provides a summary and conclusions.