"And Mordekhai's order Esther obeyed" - comparison of structural delimitation of the narrative flow in MT and LXX Esther 2
The significance of the awkwardness of the quotation from Grossfeld's translation of Targum Rishon in the title of this article pertains to my hypothesis that in MT Esther 2 the structure of the text is highly significant, in that the structure guides the reader in how to understand the author&...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2011
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| In: |
Journal for semitics
Year: 2011, Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 233-249 |
| Further subjects: | B
University of the Free State
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The significance of the awkwardness of the quotation from Grossfeld's translation of Targum Rishon in the title of this article pertains to my hypothesis that in MT Esther 2 the structure of the text is highly significant, in that the structure guides the reader in how to understand the author's intention. This article describes symmetrical structure in the lexicalization of the chief role players in the MT Esther 2 narrative. In the whole of the BHS version of Esther 2 there are only two breaks in the chapter, demarcated by setumas. Linguistic indicators are present in the text between verses 5 to 20 of other breaks between information as well as the transitions where the narrative is moved forward, and where it is kept together as a coherent unit, but this article presents an alternative indicator of significant divisions, in that the sequence in which the proper names of the three main role players in the narrative, King Ahazerus, Mordecai, and Esther, are lexicalised forms a structural symmetry. The symmetrical structure divides the passage into two paragraphs with almost perfect parallel sub-paragraphs which clearly demarcate the flow and main thrust of the narrative. This structure in the MT serves to emphasise the movement of the main characters Mordecai and Esther from the sidelines, as it were, to the central position, finally placing Mordecai in the very centre of power, thereby giving an indication of the underlying motivation for the story. Indications are that the translator of the earlier of the two extant Targumim of Esther, Targum Rishon, was aware of this structure. The LXX (the so-called Beta text) does not perfectly retain the underlying symmetry, and it is by no means reflected in the much shorter Alpha text. That this structure present in the MT version was not retained in the Greek translation may indicate that the translator was not aware of this underlying cue, and therefore the additions were felt to be necessary because at a subconscious level the translator had received the intention of the author. This author would like to suggest that perhaps the underlying structure in the MT serves as a kind of "shorthand" for establishing in the mind of the reader (at a subliminal level) the primacy of Mordecai. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for semitics
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| Persistent identifiers: | HDL: 10520/EJC101172 |