"Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis

Within the first chapters of the book of Genesis, the “paradise” is located in “Eden”.  At least, this is how the majority of modern translators interpret the Hebrew term ??? . However, within the Hebrew text of Genesis 2-3, the term “Eden” seems to be used with a double entendre: on the one hand,...

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Main Author: H. Ausloos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of the Free State 2017-06-01
Series:Acta Theologica
Online Access:https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2796
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author H. Ausloos
author_facet H. Ausloos
author_sort H. Ausloos
collection DOAJ
description Within the first chapters of the book of Genesis, the “paradise” is located in “Eden”.  At least, this is how the majority of modern translators interpret the Hebrew term ??? . However, within the Hebrew text of Genesis 2-3, the term “Eden” seems to be used with a double entendre: on the one hand, the author intended to use the term ??? as a toponym; on the other hand, in his word choice, it appears that the author aimed to characterise the specific nature of the “Eden” as a place of plenty and wealth. Through an analysis of the equivalents used in the Greek version of the Creation narrative, it is argued that the Septuagint translator of Genesis, alternately transliterating and translating ??? , and therefore not manifesting him-/herself as a “consistent” translator, succeeded in producing a faithful rendering of the term.
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spelling doaj-art-bb0547987b5f486b8566c09e04d30ab52025-02-11T09:51:19ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892017-06-0137110.38140/at.v37i1.2796"Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of GenesisH. Ausloos0Catholic University Louvain, Belgium & University of the Free State, South Africa Within the first chapters of the book of Genesis, the “paradise” is located in “Eden”.  At least, this is how the majority of modern translators interpret the Hebrew term ??? . However, within the Hebrew text of Genesis 2-3, the term “Eden” seems to be used with a double entendre: on the one hand, the author intended to use the term ??? as a toponym; on the other hand, in his word choice, it appears that the author aimed to characterise the specific nature of the “Eden” as a place of plenty and wealth. Through an analysis of the equivalents used in the Greek version of the Creation narrative, it is argued that the Septuagint translator of Genesis, alternately transliterating and translating ??? , and therefore not manifesting him-/herself as a “consistent” translator, succeeded in producing a faithful rendering of the term. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2796
spellingShingle H. Ausloos
"Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
Acta Theologica
title "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
title_full "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
title_fullStr "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
title_full_unstemmed "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
title_short "Garden of Eden" or "Paradise of delight"? The Septuagint's rendering of ??? in the book of Genesis
title_sort garden of eden or paradise of delight the septuagint s rendering of in the book of genesis
url https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2796
work_keys_str_mv AT hausloos gardenofedenorparadiseofdelighttheseptuagintsrenderingofinthebookofgenesis