Translation Technique in the Peshitta to Jeremiah

An analysis of translation technique, defining and measuring areas of literalness and of freedom, and discussing the evident acceptability of a non-literal approach, in both the original translation and later editorial work, to relevant communities. Because the Book of Jeremiah is so long, a quantitative analysis is valuable, showing: preservation of the sense of the Vorlage; freedom in selection of lexical equivalents even for important words such as sin and in making numerous additions in pursuit of precision; and a similar approach by later editors. Passages which are not represented in the translation despite their presence in the Hebrew Bible, and sometimes also in the Septuagint, are analyzed, showing their value in illumination of both the development of the Hebrew Bible itself from a number of earlier texts, and the precise wording of the text from which the Syriac translator worked. The strategies adopted to cope with the translation of particularly difficult Hebrew are analyzed: these include taking guidance from the Septuagint, from other parts of the Hebrew Bible, and guesswork.