Mythological Creatures in the Book of Job and Their Interpretation in the Septuagint and in the Slavonic Translations
Mythological Creatures in the Book of Job and Their Interpretation in the Septuagint and in the Slavonic Translations

Summary/Abstract: The first Greek version of the Book of Job included in the Septuagint is a considerable poetic feat characterized by Hellenic influence. In the 6th century a Greek catena with commentaries on the book of Job was completed containing detailed entries by Olympiodorus, John Chrysostom, Polychronios, and Didymus the Blind, as well as fragments by other authors. Some medieval catenae of the Book of Job include miniatures of mythological characters, which are the subject of the present paper: three medieval Slavonic translations of the Book of Job from the Septuagint, and two early Slavonic translations from the Vulgate (one Croatian and one Czech). There is also a translation done by Francisk Skoryna, which includes some parts translated from the Septuagint and others from the Vulgate. The paper discusses the Greek translations of the names of the mythological creatures in the Septuagint, as well as the new mythological creatures included in the Greek text: the primordial monster Rahab; Leviathan; Môt, the ruler of the nether world; the Sirens, adopted from Greek mythology; and the sea-god Yamm. The study provides parallels with the Vulgate text and offers comparison with the names of the mythological creatures in the Slavonic translations. The translators from the Septuagint follow the Greek text and sometimes explain the ideas encoded in the Greek expressions.

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