Re: Josephus Antiquities 3.1.173

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Jun 29 1998 - 14:20:01 EDT


This certainly bears on a Biblical text and is non-canonical Hellenistic
Greek; we've dealt with Josephus questions before.

It took me a while before I realized that there's a transliteration code in
the text give here such that Q=TH in abbreviations for the article. I also
rather doubt that this could have come from Perseus, since Perseus only has
classical Greek texts--I suspect that it rather came from the TLG "D"
CD-ROM.

As for the substance of the question, my own guess--and it is nothing more
than a guess--is that AGGELOI became a LXX variant for hUIOI in Gen 6:3
precisely because of the polytheistic implications of hUIOI QEOI in the
Hebrew text (at least in the Masoretic text)--and so I would suppose that
Josephus actually understood the LXX to be referring to angels.

Since, however, this is only guesswork, I lay Steven's question for those
who have ready access to a critical text of Josephus or can offer a better
guess.

At 12:58 PM -0400 6/29/98, Steven Cox wrote:
>Carl - Seeing as this isn't a NT question, and is textual, I send to you
>first for you to post on to b-greek or bounce at your discretion.
>Rgds
>Steven
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----------------------------------
>
>Can anyone on help me with the following?
>
>Given that the Septuagint has variant readings for Gen6:3 (eg. UIOI TOU
>QEOU, AGGELOI TOU QEOU etc.) I am a little suspicious of the below reading
>of Antiquities3.1.173 taken from Perseus : to me the context rather suggests
>UIOI QEOU.
>
>Does anyone have Niese - and if so does that have a critical apparatus?
>
>
>
>Antiquities 3
>[1.72 ] KAI hOUTOI MEN hEPTA GENEAS DIEMEINAN QEON hHGOUMENOI DESPOQHN EINAI
>TWN hOLWN KAI PANTA PROS AREQN APOBLEPONTES, EITA PROIONTOS CRONOU
>METABALLONTAI PROS TO CEIRON EK TWN PATRIWN EQISMWN MHTE TAS NENOMISMENAS
>TIMAS ETI TWI QEWI PARECONTES MHTE TOU PROS ANQRWPOUS DIKAIOU POIOUMENOI
>LOGON, ALL hHN PROTERON EICON QS AREQS ZHLWSIN DIPLASIONA QS KAKIAS TOT
>EPIDEIKNUMENOI DI hWN EPRATTON: ENQEN hEAUTOIS TON QEON EXEPOLEMWSAN. [1.73]
>POLLOI GAR AGGELOI QEOU GUNAIXI SUNIONTES hUBRISTAS EGENNHSAN PAIDAS KAI
>PANTOS hUPEROPTAS KALOU DIA QN EPI QI DUNAMEI PEPOIQHSIN: hOMOIA TOIS hUPO
>GIGANTWN TETOLMHSQAI LEGOMENOIS hUF hELLHNWN KAI hOUTOI DRASAI PARADIDONTAI.
>[1.74] NWCOS DE TOIS PRATTOMENOIS hUP AUTWN DUSCERAINWN KAI TOIS BOULEUMASIN
>AHDWS ECWN EPEIQEN EPI TO KREITTON QN DIANOIAN AUTOUS KAI TAS PRAXEIS
>METAFEREIN, hORWN D OUK ENDIDONTAS, ALL ISCURWS hUPO QS hHDONHS TWN KAKWN
>KEKRAQMENOUS, DEISAS MH KAI FONEUSWSIN AUTON META GUNAIKWN KAI TEKNWN KAI
>TWN TOUTOIS SUNOIKOUSWN EXECWRHSE QS GHS.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
Summer: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

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