stephan huller

תרגום ראשון לאנגלית של נוסח התורה שבידי הישראלים-השומרונים יוצא סוף סוף לאור אחרי דחיות רבות, בשל הגהות, בהוצאת אירדמאנס, בעיר גראנד ראפידס, מישיגן, ארה“ב, בסוף חודש נובמבר 2012. הנוסח תורגם, נכתב ונערך על ידי, בעזרת עורכת המשנה של הטקסט האנגלי, גב‘ שרון שה-לבן, נציגת מכון א.ב. ללימודי שומרונות בארה“ב, השוהה עתה בישראל לצורך לימודיה באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, לתואר שני [שהיא מסיימת השנה] ולדוקטוראט בעברית מקראית.


The First English Translation of the Israelite-Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch is coming out at last, after many reading proof delays, by Eerdmans Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the end of November 2012. The version translated, edited and authored by me with the help of my co-editor, Ms. Sharon J. Sullivan in editing the English. Sharon is the representative of A.B. - Institute of Samaritan Studies in USA, now staying in Israel for her study of Biblical Hebrew second and third degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.



לספר נכתבו שלוש הקדמות ע“י שלושה חוקרים ידועי שם בעולם, פרופ‘ ג‘ימס צ‘ארלסוורת‘ מאוניברסיטת פרינסטון בארה“ב, פרופ‘ עמנואל טוב מן האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים ופרופ‘ סטיבן פיין מאוניברסיטת ישיבה בניו יורק, בנוסף לדברי ההקדמה הארוכה שלי. דברי שבח לספר על גב האחורי של העטיפה כתבו הפרופ‘ מרטין אבג מקנדה, חסיב שחאדה מפינלנד וריינהארד פומר מקנדה.


Three introductions were written to the book by the world known best scholars: Prof. James Charlsworth of Princeton University, USA; Prof. Emanuel Tov of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Prof. Steven Fine of Yeshiva University in New York City, all their introductions before my long introduction. On the back cover of the book there are three endorsements written by Prof. Martin Abegg from Canada, Reinhard Pummer from Canada and Haseeb Shehadeh from Finland.



בספר בן 710 העמודים הועמדו הנוסח שבידי השומרונים והנוסח שבידי היהודים בני טורים מקבילים ובתוכם הודגשו כ-3000 ההבדלים המשמעותיים ביניהם באותיות גדולות בולטות. ההבדלים הבולטים ביותר הסברתי בשוליים השמאליים של העמוד. שמות מן התורה מובאים תמיד במבטא העברי העתיק בתוך הנוסח ובמקובץ כנספח בסוף הספר. כן מובאים שני נספחים המראים את הקירבה הרבה בין הנוסח שבידי השומרונים לתרגום השבעים ולחלק ממגילות ים המלח.


In the 710 pages of the book the two versions, the Samaritan and Jewish ones edited in parallel columns with emphasizing the 3000 significant differences between the two versions. On the left margins there are my explanations to the most prominent differences based on the Israelite Samaritan wisdom. All the private names in the Torah are given in the original pronunciation of the Hebrew within the text and altogether as appendix at the back of the book. Two other appendixes show the closeness of the Samaritan Pentateuch to the Translation of the Seventy and to some of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

ב-27 לחודש נובמבר 2012, בשעות 3:30 עד 5:00 אחה"צ, אני אמור להגיש סמינר באוניברסיטה מספר 1 בארה"ב וכנראה בעולם – אוניברסיטת פרינסטון במדינת ניו ג'רסי על חשיבותו של הנוסח השומרוני לתורה. דברי פתיחה והצגת המרצה לקהל החוקרים המכובד יישא פרופ' צ'ארלסוורת'. יהיה זה אירוע מיוחד בו יוצגו לראשונה העותקים הראשונים של ספרי. המנחה ואני נרגשים במיוחד לנוכח האירוע המיוחד. קוראיי הנמצאים בסביבה האירוע מוזמנים להגיע ולהשתתף בו.

In November 27, 2012, 3:30 – 5:00 PM, I intend to give a seminar on the importancy of the Israelite Samaritan Version of the Pentateuch in the university no. 1 in USA and probably in the entire world – Princeton University before scholars and advanced students of the its theological research department. Opening words by Prof. James Charlesworth. It will be an event there will be presented the first copies of my book initiated by Eerdmans Publishing House. Prof. Charlesworth and I very excited with this special event. My readers close to the area are welcomed to attend the event.

זה כשנתיים שהספר מוצע להזמנה במכירה מוקדמת באינטרנט באמאזון.קום ובאירדמאנס.קום. קוראים מעוניינים יכולים להירשם לקבלת הספר באתרים אלה. לאחר הופעת הספר מתוכננת מהדורה אלקטרונית לאינטרנט של הספר החדש.

For the last two years the new book is presented in the Internet for pre-sale by amazon.com and Eerdmans.com. Interested readers are welcomed to register to buy the book. After the book will come out an electronic edition to Internet of the new book is planned next.

בנימים צדקה
Benyamim Tsedaka

Toto

Amazon link to The Israelite Samaritan Version of the Torah: First English Translation Compared with the Masoretic Version (or via: amazon.co.uk)

Benyamim Tsedaka (Editor), Sharon Sullivan (Editor), James H. Charlesworth (Introduction), Emanuel Tov (Foreword)

Tenorikuma

Looks pretty cool.

I'd kill for a parallel MT/Samaritan/LXX/DSS edition.

(And while we're wishing for impossible things, I'd like it to include parallel commentaries by John Van Seters, Thomas L. Thompson, and Giovanni Garbini.)

tanya

Hmmm.

Well, lots of questions here.

What is Benji using as his source? What is the provenance of that source?

Anyone who takes the time to compare new testament text variants, will be surprised to learn that Tsedaka thinks that the Samaritan Pentateuch is "close" to the "Translation of the Seventy", or to "...the Dead Sea Scrolls.."

Since the LXX does not correspond well to DSS, especially with regard to kurios/Yahweh, i.e. the single most important component of ancient Judaism, then, one must ask, how any variant version could be regarded as "close" to one or the other version, as though either version represented an accurate representation of the ancient text, i.e. the text before arrival of Alexander of Macedonia, the first, and maybe the only, genuine "messiah", and "kurios". When I read that a "scholar" has associated the Samaritan Pentateuch with LXX and DSS, without finding significant distinctions, I conclude that Benjamin is not looking at the same version of Deuteronomy which I have seen from LXX and DSS.

Appears to my eyes as some kind of slovenly propaganda.

I am singularly unimpressed.

stephan huller

how can someone put forward a statement like this when they were just introduced to something? its well established. read a book

DCHindley

There is a difference between saying the SP is "close" to the LXX or the DSS (there are 3 text traditions identified among the DSS) and "examinimg the closeness" of the SP to these alternate text types.

IIRC, F M Cross identified among the DSS Hebrew biblical fragments evidence of a Palestinian text type (which correlates highest with the SP), an Egyptian text type (correlating well with the LXX), and a Babylonian text type (correlating closest to the MT). Not everyone agreed with Cross, and the question of "text types" is still not fully settled. The Samaritan position, again IIRC, is that the SP represents the "original" Pentateuch and the Judeans were the schismatics.

Why then is it weird that Benjamin Tsedaka weighs in on this matter? The fact that it is the first English Translation of the SP is reason enough to buy it. From what I understand, the text has a somewhat different orthography than does the MT, and is a "fuller" text (from the POV of the MT) that provides explanatory details to events that the MT describes in brief.

DCH

stephan huller

I can remember when Benny was at the Holiday Inn in Orlando clutching a bunch of photocopied papers telling me I should buy. I asked him how much. He said $500. I laughed (he cut me off his subscription lest for the AB (Samaritan newsletter) because I wouldn't 'donate' any money (they used to be financed by the Israeli state before the money dried up). This edition is clearly superior to that text. Charlesworth I think invited him to the White House to meet Obama a while back. He's coming over to my house in the middle of December. My son used to think Benny was Santa Claus.

Benny managed to get hundreds of thousand dollars of dollars from the Catholic Church for past 'sins' against the Samaritan people. When I reminded him that the great slaughter of Samaritans that we know of occurred under Justinian he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I have to admit I was very jealous.

stephan huller

It is difficult to argue against this basic assumption (even though there are places where the Samaritan reading is suspect IMO)

Duvduv

One of the most interesting things is that so many of the divergences of the Samaritan Torah from the Masoretic Torah is that we find the usages of the Samaritan Torah in the Targum Uziel and Targum Onkelos on the Masoretic Torah. This leads to questioning whether in fact this Torah held by the Samaritans is itself an expansion used for didactic purposes and not their original Torah.
Rabbi Chaim Heller wrote a book based on his research on this subject in 1923.
"The Samaritan Pentateuch, an Adaptation of the Masoretic Text"
http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_text.html