The Jewish use of Greek Proverbs
Document Contents
Dr James Aitken, Cambridge
There has been no systematic tracing of the reception of Greek Proverbs, despite the book of Proverbs being a natural source for quotations in Rabbinic literature. D’Hamonville (2000) only cites the Patristic use of the LXX version, and Weingreen’s early study (1977) notes rabbinic features in the Greek but does not investigate whether it influenced later rabbinic interpretation. At the same time there has been a tendency in some writers to conclude that works such as Wisdom of Solomon were dependent on the Hebrew rather than the Greek of Proverbs (e.g., Skehan 1971; Clifford 1999). Kaminka (1931-1932) has noted many parallels between Greek Proverbs and the Targum, but this leads him to the conclusion that the Targum was written in the 3rd century BCE and that each version derives from the same Hebrew text-type.
There is clearly a need to revisit this question. Beginning with Jewish Hellenistic writings, the use of Greek Proverbs will be traced. Its possible influence in the Targum and reasons for the choice of quotations in Rabbinic literature will be noted. It will be seen that some quotations might be dependent on an understanding of the Greek in contract to the Hebrew. Some questions of method will be considered, and some tentative conclusions regarding the social context of the rabbinic material will be offered.