Two Slavonic Translations of the Catena of the Book of Job Cover Image
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Двата славянски превода на катената на книга Иов
Two Slavonic Translations of the Catena of the Book of Job

Author(s): Iskra Hristova-Shomova
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Biblical studies
Published by: Кирило-Методиевски научен център при Българска академия на науките

Summary/Abstract: The term catena is a Latin word, which means 'chain'. Catenae are chains of commentaries on biblical books. In the commentaries the texts of the biblical books themselves are imbedded. A Greek catena with commentaries on the book of Job was completed no later than the sixth century. There are two Slavonic translations of this Catena of the Book of Job. One of them was made at the very beginning of the 15th century in the Hilandar Monastery and is preserved in manuscript 202 kept in the National Historical Museum in Moscow, the Synodal collection. It was written in the Hilandar Monastery on Mount Athos in 1412 by the monk Gabriel. The same translation is probably preserved in manuscript 96 kept in the Library of the Rumanian Academy in Bucharest. The text was written on 278 folios (paper) with Middle Bulgarian orthography by the scribe Vissarion. The other translation was made no later than the first half of the 15th century, most probably in one of the large Balkan (maybe Bulgarian) scriptoria. It is preserved in manuscript 1/4 kept in the Rila Monastery in Bulgaria. It dates from the end of the fifteenth century. It was written on paper with Resava orthography and contains 272 folios. The same translation has an abridged version, in which the biblical text is written in the centre of the folio and some portions of the commentaries are given in the margins. This version is preserved in one manuscript kept in the Rila Monastery, 4/14, dating from 1456 and written with Resava orthography by the famous bookman Vladislav the Grammmarian. Further, there is an earlier translation of the Book of Job with the commentaries of Olympiodorus. In all likelihood, this translation was made very early; maybe the biblical book was translated by St. Methodius. It is preserved in manuscript № 6 kept in the Chudov collection in the National Historical Museum in Moscow, written in 1394 with Russian orthography. The same translation without commentaries is copied in the Middle Bulgarian manuscript from the fourteenth century F.I.461, kept in the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg. A comparison of the texts of the different translations of the Book of Job and the commentaries is made in this article.

  • Issue Year: 2006
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 3-26
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Bulgarian