Translating the Bible: The Ethiopic Version of the Old Testament

These Schweich Lectures tackle the origin, history, and character of the Ethiopic translation of the Old Testament. This version is of fundamental importance both in terms of the influence it has exerted on Ethiopian life and culture, and as one of the daughter versions of the Greek Old Testament; yet much remains unknown or uncertain about it Professor Knibb argues that, notwithstanding the criticisms that have been made of it, the traditional view of the history of the Ethiopic version - translation from the Septuagint in the fifth-sixth century, revision on the basis of the Syriac-based Arabic texts in the fourteenth century, and a further revision in the fifteenth or sixteenth century on the basis of the Hebrew - is broadly correct, but that this view is in need of development and refinement in many details. The majority of the book is devoted to a study of the mode of translation, to translation technique. There is a discussion of general aspects of the translation and syntactical issues, and the question of consistency and diversity in the translation-equivalents that are used is also addressed. Many of these issues are of general relevance to other ancient Bible translations.

Review :
Professor Knibb is to be commended for his careful and insightful work. He brings readers who are new to the subject up to date on the state of scholarship on the Ethiopic scriptures, but also moves that scholarship another step forward. Steven M. Bryan, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies For anyone with an interest in the textual history of the Bible, this is a most illuminating volume. Journal of Semitic Studies ... it is to Knibb's great credit that he manages to present a huge amount of frankly repetitious material in a readable way. This is largely because he never allows the reader to lose sight of the relevance of the comparisons of Ethiopic and Greek (and often Hebrew). Throughout, Knibb gives considerable attention to the mechanics of translation, and this will no doubt make the book important for other scholars who are interested in techniques of translation. Paradoxically, Knibb has succeeded, by carefully working through a massive amount of Ethiopic material, in producing a book the significance of which will extend well beyond the realm of orientalists. Journal of Biblical Literature ... authoritative and judicious. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament