The Texts and Translations of Job: A Comparative Study on 11QtgJob with Other Versions in Light of Translation Techniques

The present article discusses the text of 11QtgJob from column 34 to 38 with the corresponding verses in other versions (the Masoretic Text, the Targum Job, the Septuagint, and the Peshitta) in light of translation techniques such as addition, semantic change, omission, and transposition. This research demonstrates that omission and transposition are the most salient features of 11QtgJob and of the Peshitta, respectively. 11QtgJob favors a far-looser translation than the Targum Job but is stricter than LXX. Several verses of 11QtgJob are closely connected with the LXX. This, however, does not support that they employed a shared Vorlage. The Septuagint shows the greatest latitude in translation among the versions. The degree of freedom in the translation process can be shown as follows: Targum Job < Peshitta < 11QtgJob < Septuagint. Contrary to the conventional thought, the translator of 11QtgJob within the early Judeo-Christian community tended to deliver freer renderings than Targum Job within the later Jewish rabbinic community.