WHAT DID ORIGEN (mid. 3Rd Century) & JEROME (late 4th Century) READ IN THE BEST - “...MOST ACCURATE...” - COPIES OF THE BIBLE? = τὸ τετραγράμματον ( יהוה ) = JEHOVAH
INCIPIT
PROLOGUS SANCTI HIERONYMI IN LIBRO REGUM
LATIN
TEXT: “...Et nomen Domini tetragrammaton in quibusdam graecis
voluminibus usque hodie antiquis expressum litteris invenimus...” -
(Pages 364-66, Biblia Sacra Vulgata edited by Robert Weber:
Biblia Sacra Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem; Adiuvantibus Bonifatio Fischer
OSB, Iohanne Gribomont OSB, H.F.D. Sparks, W. Thiele; Recensuit et
Brevi Apparatu Instruxit Robertus Weber OSB; Editio Tertia Emendata
quam Paravit, etc. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983.)
ST.
JEROME'S PROLOGUE TO THE BOOKS OF THE KINGS
JEROME
/ HIERONYMUS (circa.
347-420 C.E.):
“...And the name of the Lord, THE TETRAGRAMMATON, in certain
Greek volumes, even{*} to this day, [we] come upon, clearly
[and] distinctly{#} expressed in ancient letters...” -
(“Prologue to the Books of the Kings,” Translated by
Matt13weedhacker 12/03/12.)
[FOOTNOTE
*]: Ltn., ( usque ) or “constantly”
[FOOTNOTE
*]: Ltn., ( expressum ) = expanded definition
ΕΙΣ
ΨΑΛΜΟΎΣ
GREEK
TEXT: “...Ἐν τοῖς ἀκριβεστέροις δὲ τῶν
ἀντιγράφων Ἑβραίοις χαρακτῆρσι κεῖται
τὸ [τετραγράμματον] ὄνομα, Ἑβραϊκοῖς
δὲ οὐ τοῖς νῦν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀρχαιοτάτοις...”
- (“On Psalms,” [dub.] 12:1104, MPG.)
ON
PSALMS
ORIGEN
OF ALEXANDRIA (circa 185-253 C.E.):
“...But in the most accurate of the certified copies,
[in] Hebrew characters lies outstretched, THE NAME, but not the
Hebrew of the present time, but the original ones...” - (12:1104, “On
Psalms,” Translated by Matt13weedhacker 12/03/12.)
Alternate
renderings:
ORIGEN
OF ALEXANDRIA (circa 185-253 C.E.):
“...But in the most accurate of the certified copies,
[in] Hebrew characters lies outstretched, THE [TETRAGRAMMATON], but
not the Hebrew of the present time, but the original ones...” -
(12:1104, “On Psalms,” Translated by Matt13weedhacker 12/03/12.)
ORIGEN
OF ALEXANDRIA (circa 185-253 C.E.):
“...But in the most exact of the official copies,
lies before [you in] Hebrew characters, THE NAME, but not the Hebrew
[letters] of today, but the most ancient ones...” - (12:1104, “On
Psalms,” Translated by Matt13weedhacker 12/03/12.)
In the photographic examples below you can see modern confirmation of what Origen and Jerome described:
Above is an image of thee Oldest Extant Greek LXX MSS or manuscript (8HevXIIgr also known as Göttingen 943) of Micah 5:1-5.
COMPARE:
The (circa. 3rd Century C.E.) Hebrew Tosefta, ( Shabbat 13:5 ), quoting Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon, Heb., ( רבי טרפון ), from the Gk., ( Τρύφων ), a Kohen, a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple ( 70 C.E. ) and the fall of Bethar ( 135 C.E. ):
SHABBAT 13:5: “...The [ Gilyohnim ] blank spaces and the Books of the Minim, we may not save them from a fire. R. Jose said: On weekdays one must cut out the [ Tetragrammaton ] Divine Names which they contain, hide them, and burn the rest. R. Tarfon said: May I bury my son if I would not burn them together with their [ Tetragrammaton ] Divine Names if they came to my hand...” - (Translated By Dr. H. Freedman as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1, 1993.)
SHABBAT 13:5: “...The 'Gilyon[im]' and the [Biblical] books of the Judæo-Christians [ Minim ] are not saved [on the Sabbath] from fire; but one lets them burn together with the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God written upon them." R. Jose the Galilean says: "On week-days the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God are cut out and hidden while the rest is burned." R. Tarphon says: "I swear by the life of my children that if they fall into my hands I shall burn them together with the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God upon them." R. Ishmael says: "If God has said, 'My name that has been written in holiness [i.e., in the "jealousy roll" mentioned in Num. v. 21 et seq.] shall be wiped out by water, in order to make peace between husband and wife,' then all the more should the books of the Judæo-Christians, that cause enmity, jealousy, and contention between Israel and its heavenly Father. [...] As they are not saved from fire, so they are not saved when they are in danger of decaying, or when they have fallen into water, or when any other mishap has befallen them...” - (Page 29, Zuckermandel, Edition, “GILYONIM
= “Gospels,” lit., “scrolls,” JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA ONLINE.)
In the photographic examples below you can see modern confirmation of what Origen and Jerome described:
THE
TETRAGRAMMATON IN ARCHAIC HEBREW CHARACTERS
Above is an image of thee Oldest Extant Greek LXX MSS or manuscript (8HevXIIgr also known as Göttingen 943) of Micah 5:1-5.
Above
Habakkuk 1-2 LXX with the Tetragrammaton in Archaic Hebrew Characters.
Notice the same style of Archaic Hebrew lettering used for the Tetragrammaton in the two examples above with the "...Silver Scroll..." (circa. 600 B.C.) also known as the “...Priestly
Benediction...” taken from Numbers 6:24–26. Which coincidentally also has the Tetragrammaton. This is the type of Hebrew was used, at least, 300 Years ( before ) the Septuagint was first written, giving an indication, perhaps, of the age of the MSS these were copied from:
Also compare:
Above Zechariah 8, LXX with the Tetragrammaton in Archaic Hebrew Characters.
Above
Job 42:11-12 LXX with the Tetragrammaton in Archaic Hebrew
Characters.
And there
they are, right in among the Greek text, - just as - both - Origen and
Jerome said.
These were the most Gk., ( ἀκριβεστέροις ) "...precise, exact, accurate..." of the Gk., ( ἀντιγράφων ) "...copies..." or "...certified cop[ies] of an official document..." (according to the Lexicon definition) in other words thee most important Septuagint MSS'.
And here is an
example of a Hebrew MSS with the (then) newer square characters, as Origen said Gk., ( τοῖς νῦν ) "...the ones of the present...", as Jerome confirmed later, with the
Tetragrammaton in the Ltn.,
( antiquis [...] litteris ) "...ancient [...] lettering..." within the (then) more modern Hebrew style of writing:
COMPARE:
The (circa. 3rd Century C.E.) Hebrew Tosefta, ( Shabbat 13:5 ), quoting Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon, Heb., ( רבי טרפון ), from the Gk., ( Τρύφων ), a Kohen, a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple ( 70 C.E. ) and the fall of Bethar ( 135 C.E. ):
SHABBAT
13:5: “...We
don't save the [ Gilyohnim ] Gospels or the books of Minim
from the fire. They are burnt where they are, together with their
tetragrammatons. Rabbi Yose Ha-Gelili says: "During the week one
should take the tetragrammatons from them, hide them and burn the
rest". Rabbi Tarfon said: 'May I bury my children! If I would
have them in my hands, I would burn them with all their
tetragrammatons...” - (“Who was a Jew?” By Lawrence. H.
Schiffman, as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1,
1993..)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...We
do not save from a fire (on the Sabbath) the [ Gilyohnim ]
Gospels and the books of the minim ("heretics"). Rather,
they are burned in their place, they and their Tetragrammata. Rabbi
Yose Ha-Gelili says: During the week, one should cut out their
Tetragrammata and hide them away and burn the remainder. Said Rabbi
Tarfon: May I bury my sons! If (these books) would come into my hand,
I would burn them along with their Tetragrammata...” -
(Alternate Translation “Who was a Jew?” By Lawrence. H.
Schiffman, as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1,
1993.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...The Gilyon[im] (i.e., gospel books) and the books of
the minim (i.e., Jewish heretics) are not saved [on the Sabbath] from
fire; but one lets them burn together with the names of God [
Tetragrammaton ] written upon them...” - (Page 99, Jacob
Neusner Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine 2008.)
SHABBAT
13:5: “...The books of the [
Gilyohnim
] Evangelists and the books of the Minim they do not save from
a fire [on the Sabbath]. They are allowed to burn up where they are,
they and [even] the references to the Divine Name [ Tetragrammaton
] that are in them...” - (Page 14, Neusner Persia and Rome in
classical Judaism 2008.)
SHABBAT 13:5: “...The [ Gilyohnim ] blank spaces and the Books of the Minim, we may not save them from a fire. R. Jose said: On weekdays one must cut out the [ Tetragrammaton ] Divine Names which they contain, hide them, and burn the rest. R. Tarfon said: May I bury my son if I would not burn them together with their [ Tetragrammaton ] Divine Names if they came to my hand...” - (Translated By Dr. H. Freedman as quoted on Page 30-31, The Watchtower, November 1, 1993.)
SHABBAT 13:5: “...The 'Gilyon[im]' and the [Biblical] books of the Judæo-Christians [ Minim ] are not saved [on the Sabbath] from fire; but one lets them burn together with the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God written upon them." R. Jose the Galilean says: "On week-days the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God are cut out and hidden while the rest is burned." R. Tarphon says: "I swear by the life of my children that if they fall into my hands I shall burn them together with the [ Tetragrammaton ] names of God upon them." R. Ishmael says: "If God has said, 'My name that has been written in holiness [i.e., in the "jealousy roll" mentioned in Num. v. 21 et seq.] shall be wiped out by water, in order to make peace between husband and wife,' then all the more should the books of the Judæo-Christians, that cause enmity, jealousy, and contention between Israel and its heavenly Father. [...] As they are not saved from fire, so they are not saved when they are in danger of decaying, or when they have fallen into water, or when any other mishap has befallen them...” - (Page 29, Zuckermandel, Edition, “GILYONIM
= “Gospels,” lit., “scrolls,” JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA ONLINE.)
[FOOTNOTE]:
Tosef., Shab. xiii. 5 []; comp. Shab. 116a; Yer. Shab. 15c, 52;
Sifre, Num. 16.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6677-gilyonim
