The Role of Lexical Collocation in Luther’s Translation of עָמָל (ʿāmāl) in Eccl. 1:3
This article investigates an unexplored facet of Luther’s translation of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It shows how he identified a technical linguistic phenomenon in the Hebrew text known as lexical collocation and how this ultimately shaped a number of his German renderings. This helps to solve an eni...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2021
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 72, Issue: 1, Pages: 19-43 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Luther, Martin 1483-1546
/ Bible. Kohelet 1,3
/ Hebrew language
/ Noun
/ ʿāmāl
/ Translation
/ German language
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance KBB German language area |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article investigates an unexplored facet of Luther’s translation of the Book of Ecclesiastes. It shows how he identified a technical linguistic phenomenon in the Hebrew text known as lexical collocation and how this ultimately shaped a number of his German renderings. This helps to solve an enigma concerning his translation of עָמָל (ʿāmāl) in Eccl. 1:3 in his Deutsche Bibel. This article also illuminates the role of intertexts in Luther’s Bible translation method, demonstrating how he frequently consulted, compared, and ultimately borrowed from multiple texts and languages to formulate his German renderings, far beyond the simple colloquial German of his day—the language of the ‘common man in the market’ and the ‘mother in the home’, which biographers of Luther so often cite. It also furthers the scholarly understanding of certain linguistic aspects of intertextuality which have not been discussed before. Finally, it identifies a number of important implications for Hebrew and German linguistics, Luther studies, and the history of medieval and early modern Bible translation. In short, this research opens up a new window, in an area never before addressed, for studies on one of the most important and influential Bible translators of all time. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flab016 |