《以斯帖记》希腊文A译本2:1-18之希伯来文母本

On the Hebrew Vorlage of AT Esther 2:1-18

对了解《以斯帖记》古代流传史尤为重要的抄本类型主要有三:收录于犹太教正典的希伯来文M文本、存于天主教次经的希腊文B译本,以及风格独特的希腊文A译本。学者们对A译本背后的希伯来文母本(Vorlage)有着两种不同的想象,“原文派”认为,A译本之母本比M文本更贴近希伯来原文;“自由派”则主张,A译本的独特性质均为译者的自由发挥所致。本文聚焦《以斯帖记》A译本2:1-18,透过文本对勘方法,论证“原文派”观点的合理性,从而呈现希腊化时期希伯来文经文书卷尚未定型的状况。

Three ancient manuscript traditions are particularly important for understanding the ancient textual transmission of the Esther story:the Hebrew Masoretic Text(MT),the Greek Septuagint(LXX),and the Greek Alpha-Text(AT).The AT with its unique textual features has garnered much scholarly attention and its Hebrew Vorlage has generated widely diferent scholarly imaginations.Some hold its Hebrew Vorlage to be different from and earlier than the Hebrew parent text of the MT,while others argue that all the differences between the MT,the LXX,and the AT should be attributed to the fee rewriting of the AT's translator.Comparing the three variant editions of Esther 2:1-18,this article argues that some of the textual diferences must be explained by positing a different Hebrew Vorlage of AT Esther.This conclusion coheres with the attested textual variety of biblical texts during the Hellenistic period.