For the 19th-century edition of the New Testament in Greek along with six English translations in parallel columns, see English Hexapla.
Hexapla (Ancient Greek: Ἑξαπλᾶ, "sixfold"), also called Origenis Hexaplorum, is a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in six versions, four of them translated into Greek,[1] preserved only in fragments. It was an immense and complex word-for-word comparison of the original Hebrew Scriptures with the Greek Septuagint translation and with other Greek translations.[2] The term especially and generally applies to the edition of the Old Testament compiled by the theologian and scholar Origen, sometime before AD 240.
The inter-relationship between various ancient versions of the Old Testament, between ca. 400 BC and AD 600, according to the Encyclopaedia Biblica. Origen's Hexapla, here labelled with the adjectival Hexaplar, is shown as the source of the Codex Sinaiticus (א), Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Vaticanus (B), three of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament, as well as of two early Syro-Aramaic translations, the Harklean and Palestinian versions.Text from the Hexapla showing Proverbs 3.
The subsisting fragments of partial copies have been collected in several editions, that of Frederick Field (1875) being the most fundamental on the basis of Greek and Syrian testimonies. The surviving fragments are now being re-published (with additional materials discovered since Field's edition) by an international group of Septuagint scholars. This work is being carried out as The Hexapla Project[3] under the auspices of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies,[4] and directed by Peter J. Gentry (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), Alison G. Salvesen (Oxford University), and Bas ter Haar Romeny (Leiden University).
Origen with his disciples. Engraved by Jan Luyken, c. 1700
Origen began to study biblical Hebrew in his youth; forced to relocate to Palestine during the persecution of Christianity in Alexandria, he went into biblical textology and by the 240s he commented on virtually all books of the Old and New Testaments. His method of working with the biblical text was described in a message to Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 240) and a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew:
Origen, in his Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew, explained the purpose for creating the Hexapla:
due to discrepancies between the manuscripts of the Old Testament, with God's help, we were able to overcome using the testimony of other editions. This is because these points in the Septuagint, which because of discrepancies found in [other] manuscripts had given occasion for doubt, we have evaluated on the basis of these other editions, and marked with an obelus those places that were missing in the Hebrew text [...] while others have added the asterisk sign where it was apparent that the lessons were not found in the Septuagint; we have added the other, consistent with the text of the Hebrew editions.[5]
StructureEdit
Hexapla fragment (Taylor-Schechter 12.182). The text of the Hexapla is the faint text visible in the upper part of the page; the page has been overwritten by a younger Hebrew text (shown upside down in this image).
The text of the Hexapla was organized in the form of six columns representing synchronized versions of the same Old Testament text, which placed side by side were the following:
a recension of the Septuagint, with (1) interpolations to indicate where the Hebrew is not represented in the Septuagint (taken mainly from Theodotion's text and marked with asterisks), and (2) indications, using signs called obeloi (singular: obelus), of where words, phrases, or occasionally larger sections in the Septuagint do not reflect any underlying Hebrew
the translation of Theodotion[6] into Greek (mid 2nd century)
At the end of his life Origen prepared a separate work called Tetrapla (a synoptic set of four Greek translations), placing the Septuagint alongside the translations of Symmachus, Aquila and Theodotion.[7] Both Hexapla and Tetrapla are found in Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint, as well as manuscripts of the Syro-hexaplar version. However, in a number of cases, the names of "Hexapla" and "Octapla" (in the Book of Job from the manuscripts of the Syro-Hexapla and the hexaplar Psalms) are also applied to the work of Origen. This caused a discussion in its time about whether these were separate works. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Hexapla contained three more translations of the Greek Psalms (Quinta, Sexta and Septima), which, however, have not been preserved (for a total of 9 columns, a so-called Enneapla).[8]
[Origen] was looking for translations that exist in addition to the Seventy and in addition to the generally used translations of Aquila, Simmachus and Theodotion. I do not know from which unknown places, where they lay long ago, he extracted them into the light of God. The owner of them remained unknown to him, and he only said that he had found a copy in Likopol, near Actium, and another - in some other place. In the Hexapla, he, along with four famous translations of the psalms, places not only the fifth, but also the sixth and seventh with notes to one: he found it under Caracalla, the son of the North, in Jericho, in an enormous clay jar (Ancient Greek - πίθος)
According to Epiphanius, the original Hexapla compiled by Origen had a total of eight columns and included two other anonymous Greek translations, one of which was discovered in wine jars in Jericho during the reign of Caracalla.[9] The so-called "fifth" and "sixth editions" were two other Greek translations supposedly discovered by students outside the towns of Jericho and Nicopolis: these were later added by Origen to his Hexapla to make the Octapla.[10]
^Cave, Wm. A complete history of the lives, acts, and martyrdoms of the holy apostles, and the two evangelists, St. Mark and Luke, Vol. II. Wiatt (Philadelphia), 1810. Accessed 6 Feb 2013.
LiteratureEdit
Felix Albrecht: Art. Hexapla of Origen, in: The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 11, Berlin et al. 2015, cols. 1000–1002.
Alison Salvesen (Hrsg.): Origen's hexapla and fragments. Papers presented at the Rich Seminar on the Hexapla, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, 25th July – 3rd August 1994 (= Texts and studies in ancient Judaism. Bd. 58). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 1998, ISBN3-16-146575-X.
John Daniel Meade, A Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments of Job 22-42, Origen’s Hexapla: A Critical Edition of the Extant Fragments (Leuven: Peeters, 2020).
Erich Klostermann: Analecta zur Septuaginta, Hexapla und Patristik. Deichert, Leipzig 1895.
Frederick Field (ed.): Origenis hexaplorum quae supersunt: sive veterum interpretum Graecorum in totum vetus testamentum fragmenta. Post Flaminium nobilium, Drusium, et Montefalconium, adhibita etiam versione Syro-Hexaplari. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1875 (vol. 1: Genesis – Esther. Hexapla at the Internet Archive; vol. 2: Hiob – Maleachi. Hexapla at the Internet Archive).
Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams, Christianity and the Transformation of the Book: Origen, Eusebius, and the Library of Caesarea. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006.
John Johnson, Hexapla from the Lexham Bible Dictionary, 2013.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Hexapla" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Jewish Encyclopedia: Origen: His "Hexapla"
External linksEdit
Full scan of Origen of Alexandria, Hexapla Vol I
Full scan of Origen of Alexandria, Hexapla Vol II
A Hexapla's mss
Another Hexapla's mss
October 20, 2023
hexapla, 19th, century, edition, testament, greek, along, with, english, translations, parallel, columns, english, ancient, greek, Ἑξαπλᾶ, sixfold, also, called, origenis, hexaplorum, critical, edition, hebrew, bible, versions, four, them, translated, into, gr. For the 19th century edition of the New Testament in Greek along with six English translations in parallel columns see English Hexapla Hexapla Ancient Greek Ἑ3aplᾶ sixfold also called Origenis Hexaplorum is a critical edition of the Hebrew Bible in six versions four of them translated into Greek 1 preserved only in fragments It was an immense and complex word for word comparison of the original Hebrew Scriptures with the Greek Septuagint translation and with other Greek translations 2 The term especially and generally applies to the edition of the Old Testament compiled by the theologian and scholar Origen sometime before AD 240 The inter relationship between various ancient versions of the Old Testament between ca 400 BC and AD 600 according to the Encyclopaedia Biblica Origen s Hexapla here labelled with the adjectival Hexaplar is shown as the source of the Codex Sinaiticus א Codex Alexandrinus A and Codex Vaticanus B three of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Old Testament as well as of two early Syro Aramaic translations the Harklean and Palestinian versions Text from the Hexapla showing Proverbs 3 The subsisting fragments of partial copies have been collected in several editions that of Frederick Field 1875 being the most fundamental on the basis of Greek and Syrian testimonies The surviving fragments are now being re published with additional materials discovered since Field s edition by an international group of Septuagint scholars This work is being carried out as The Hexapla Project 3 under the auspices of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies 4 and directed by Peter J Gentry Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Alison G Salvesen Oxford University and Bas ter Haar Romeny Leiden University Contents 1 History 2 Structure 3 See also 4 References 5 Literature 6 External linksHistory Edit nbsp Origen with his disciples Engraved by Jan Luyken c 1700Origen began to study biblical Hebrew in his youth forced to relocate to Palestine during the persecution of Christianity in Alexandria he went into biblical textology and by the 240s he commented on virtually all books of the Old and New Testaments His method of working with the biblical text was described in a message to Sextus Julius Africanus c 240 and a commentary on the Gospel of Matthew Origen in his Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew explained the purpose for creating the Hexapla due to discrepancies between the manuscripts of the Old Testament with God s help we were able to overcome using the testimony of other editions This is because these points in the Septuagint which because of discrepancies found in other manuscripts had given occasion for doubt we have evaluated on the basis of these other editions and marked with an obelus those places that were missing in the Hebrew text while others have added the asterisk sign where it was apparent that the lessons were not found in the Septuagint we have added the other consistent with the text of the Hebrew editions 5 Structure Edit nbsp Hexapla fragment Taylor Schechter 12 182 The text of the Hexapla is the faint text visible in the upper part of the page the page has been overwritten by a younger Hebrew text shown upside down in this image The text of the Hexapla was organized in the form of six columns representing synchronized versions of the same Old Testament text which placed side by side were the following the Hebrew consonantal text the Secunda the Hebrew text transliterated into Greek characters including vowels the translation of Aquila of Sinope into Greek 2nd century the translation of Symmachus the Ebionite into Greek late 2nd century a recension of the Septuagint with 1 interpolations to indicate where the Hebrew is not represented in the Septuagint taken mainly from Theodotion s text and marked with asterisks and 2 indications using signs called obeloi singular obelus of where words phrases or occasionally larger sections in the Septuagint do not reflect any underlying Hebrew the translation of Theodotion 6 into Greek mid 2nd century At the end of his life Origen prepared a separate work called Tetrapla a synoptic set of four Greek translations placing the Septuagint alongside the translations of Symmachus Aquila and Theodotion 7 Both Hexapla and Tetrapla are found in Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint as well as manuscripts of the Syro hexaplar version However in a number of cases the names of Hexapla and Octapla in the Book of Job from the manuscripts of the Syro Hexapla and the hexaplar Psalms are also applied to the work of Origen This caused a discussion in its time about whether these were separate works According to Eusebius of Caesarea the Hexapla contained three more translations of the Greek Psalms Quinta Sexta and Septima which however have not been preserved for a total of 9 columns a so called Enneapla 8 Origen was looking for translations that exist in addition to the Seventy and in addition to the generally used translations of Aquila Simmachus and Theodotion I do not know from which unknown places where they lay long ago he extracted them into the light of God The owner of them remained unknown to him and he only said that he had found a copy in Likopol near Actium and another in some other place In the Hexapla he along with four famous translations of the psalms places not only the fifth but also the sixth and seventh with notes to one he found it under Caracalla the son of the North in Jericho in an enormous clay jar Ancient Greek pi8os Hist Eccl VI 16 According to Epiphanius the original Hexapla compiled by Origen had a total of eight columns and included two other anonymous Greek translations one of which was discovered in wine jars in Jericho during the reign of Caracalla 9 The so called fifth and sixth editions were two other Greek translations supposedly discovered by students outside the towns of Jericho and Nicopolis these were later added by Origen to his Hexapla to make the Octapla 10 See also EditComplutensian Polyglot Bible On Weights and Measures Epiphanius Frederick FieldReferences Edit Epiphanius Treatise on Weights and Measures The Syriac Version ed James Elmer Dean University of Chicago Press 1935 p 36 Trigg Joseoph W Origen The Early Church Fathers 1998 Routledge London and New York page 16 Retrieved 31 August 2015 Website of the Hexapla Project Archived from the original on 27 March 2019 Retrieved 13 January 2020 Website of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies Origen Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew K Augustyniak Krakow WAM 1998 p 246 Wurthwein E 1987 Der Text des Alten Testaments Stuttgart Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft p 66 Eusebius Church History VI 16 4 Slownik pisarzy antycznych Dictionary of Ancient Writers red Anna Swiderkowna WP Warszawa 1982 Epiphanius Treatise on Weights and Measures The Syriac Version ed James Elmer Dean University of Chicago Press 1935 pp 33 34 36 Cave Wm A complete history of the lives acts and martyrdoms of the holy apostles and the two evangelists St Mark and Luke Vol II Wiatt Philadelphia 1810 Accessed 6 Feb 2013 Literature EditFelix Albrecht Art Hexapla of Origen in The Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception 11 Berlin et al 2015 cols 1000 1002 Alison Salvesen Hrsg Origen s hexapla and fragments Papers presented at the Rich Seminar on the Hexapla Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies 25th July 3rd August 1994 Texts and studies in ancient Judaism Bd 58 Mohr Siebeck Tubingen 1998 ISBN 3 16 146575 X John Daniel Meade A Critical Edition of the Hexaplaric Fragments of Job 22 42 Origen s Hexapla A Critical Edition of the Extant Fragments Leuven Peeters 2020 Erich Klostermann Analecta zur Septuaginta Hexapla und Patristik Deichert Leipzig 1895 Frederick Field ed Origenis hexaplorum quae supersunt sive veterum interpretum Graecorum in totum vetus testamentum fragmenta Post Flaminium nobilium Drusium et Montefalconium adhibita etiam versione Syro Hexaplari 2 vols Oxford Clarendon Press 1875 vol 1 Genesis Esther Hexapla at the Internet Archive vol 2 Hiob Maleachi Hexapla at the Internet Archive Anthony Grafton and Megan Williams Christianity and the Transformation of the Book Origen Eusebius and the Library of Caesarea Cambridge MA Harvard University Press 2006 John Johnson Hexapla from the Lexham Bible Dictionary 2013 Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Hexapla Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Jewish Encyclopedia Origen His Hexapla External links EditFull scan of Origen of Alexandria Hexapla Vol I Full scan of Origen of Alexandria Hexapla Vol II A Hexapla s mss Another Hexapla s mss Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hexapla amp oldid 1167654474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
