Lexical Consistency in the Peshiṭta of Deuteronomy

Lexical Consistency in the Peshiṭta of Deuteronomy Logan Copley Scholars of the Old Testament Peshiṭta (OT-P) have come to different conclusions on the importance of lexical consistency in the rendering of Hebrew lexemes into Syriac. Scholars such as Carbajosa (Psalms) and Greenberg (Jeremiah) argue that there is no discernible motivation for the translators’ lexical choices. On the other end of the spectrum, Mushayabasa argues that there are explainable motivations for the translator’s lexical choices in Ezekiel. Dyk and Van Keulen (Kings) argue that the translator does not introduce excessive translation equivalents. In conversation with these assessments of other books in the OT-P, this dissertation examines the degree to which language differences between Hebrew and Syriac explain the translator’s lexical choices in the Peshiṭta of Deuteronomy (P-Deut). In 1999 researchers from Leiden and Amsterdam began the Computer Assisted Linguistic Analysis of the Peshiṭta (CALAP) project. This project entailed the creation of computer programs that align the Hebrew and Syriac versions of a biblical book, allowing researchers to investigate the linguistic motivations for translation decisions in the Old Testament Peshiṭta. Using the author’s encoding of P-Deut, which is based on the CALAP methodology, this dissertation argues that many of the lexical choices found in P-Deut can be explained based on syntactic and semantic differences between a Hebrew lexeme and its default Syriac lexical equivalent. To argue this thesis, the author selected the three Hebrew nouns and the five Hebrew verbs with the most lexical equivalents to analyze the reasons for the departure from the default lexical equivalent. In addition to these lexemes, the author selected an additional 16 lexemes from various semantic domains to round out the data. Taking the example of נתן, which has 14 translation equivalents in P-Deut, it is argued that a superficial examination of the quantitative data, i.e. the number of Syriac translation equivalents, supports the characterization that the translator did not prioritize lexical consistency. A deeper analysis, however, reveals how the translator uses particular Syriac lexemes for certain nuances of נתן, such as appointment, handing over someone for punishment, and buying and selling. Further, the translator’s renderings of נתן evince sensitivity to object animacy, particularly in double object constructions. The analysis of other lexemes shows that the translator considers semantic and syntactic differences in his renderings of other words from different semantic domains. The analysis of the 24 lexemes reveals that linguistic motivations do not explain each lexical choice of the translator. Sometimes the translator harmonizes with an earlier passage in the Pentateuch. At other places, theological or literary concerns shape the translation choices. Finally, some readings found in the main text of the Leiden Peshiṭta are best explained as errors in the translator’s Hebrew exemplar or in the Syriac manuscript tradition. The findings of this dissertation demonstrate the value of computational approaches to the study ancient Bible translations. This dissertation also provides a reproducible framework for future research into lexical consistency in the OT-P. More importantly, the dissertation shows how the translator of P-Deut renders Hebrew lexemes based on semantic and syntactic motivations and that other factors, such as theological motivations or textual transmission, have only a secondary explanatory role.