Construction, coherence, and connotations : studies on the Septuagint, Apocryphal and Cognate literature : papers presented at the Association for the Study of the Septuagint in South Africa International Conference at the Faculty of Theology, North-West

These fourteen selected essays were originally read at the LXXSA international conference: Construction, Coherence and Connotation in Septuagint, Apocryphal and Cognate Literature (28-30 August 2015), hosted by the North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa. Here, the intention was to apply new critical theory and approaches to the fields of Old Testament Scripture as well as associated Apocryphal and Cognate literature, with a specific focus on the interrelated recurring theme of the Wisdom of the deity and its decryption and reception at various times in history. In this regard, it was felt that this theme and associated source texts had been largely overlooked in recent scholarship. Here the aim was to attract recent research by both leading national as well as international scholars which not only shed new light on Old Testament Apocrypha and so-called Pseudepigraphical literature but which also critically reviewed certain biblical wisdom texts which are foundational for both the Christian as well as Jewish communities. As a consequence, many of the essays deal with the apocryphal Wisdom of Sirach. However, important contributions may also be found apropos Micah, Daniel, Baruch, 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Susanna, Judith, and the works of Josephus Flavius. Table of Contents 7 Introduction 15 The Relationship Between the Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sira and the Septuagint Version of Proverbs 25 Three Poetic Pillars in the Book of Ben Sira: From the Divine to Human Wisdom 41 Past, Present and Future in the Book of Ben Sira 65 A Text-Critical Examination of Different Readings in the Hebrew and Greek Texts of Ben Sira 35:18 (32:19) 83 Interpretation and Ideology in the Metatexts of Ben Sira: The Headings of the Geneva Bible (1560) and the King James Version (1611) 101 Angelic Mediation in the Book of Tobit: A Shift in the Deuteronomic Paradigm? 147 Structural and Psychological Coherence in the Book of Tobit 163 Translation Shifts in LXX-Micah as Clues to its Theology and Ideology 179 Reading Judith as a Guide to Jewish Worship in Second Temple Judaism: A Greimassian Perspective 207 A Study of Connection and Disjunction in the Book of Baruch 221 Susanna – Framing the Minds and Views of People in Daniel 235 A Possible Greek Bible Source for Late Antique Synagogue Art 247 Coincidence or Coherence? Rhetorical Considerations for Unnatural Elements in 2 Maccabees 5:1–20 263 Josephus and the Pharisees 275 Index 321 This collection of essays fills a gap in research on the recurring theme of the Wisdom of the deity, its decryption and reception. South African and international scholars have applied new critiques to the Old Testament and associated Apocryphal and Cognate literature, with a specific focus on Wisdom. The results will be of interest to scholars working with Septuagint and Cognate literature, especially those with a focus on Biblical hermeneutics