JSOT on translating ‘yahweh’ with ‘kyrios’
From the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament:
The Reading and Translation of the Divine Name in the Masoretic Tradition and the Greek Pentateuch
Martin Rösel, Faculty of Theology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
Vol. 31, No. 4, 411-428 (2007)
The representation of the divine name in the Masoretic tradition and in the early translations of the Septuagint is the subject of ongoing discussion. It can be demonstrated that even the oldest Masoretic vocalization as preserved, among others, in [one source] must refer to adonai (the Lord) rather than shema (the Name). By means of exegetical observations in the Greek version of the Torah, it becomes clear that already the translators of the Septuagint have chosen ‘Lord’ (kyrios) as an appropriate representation of [YHWH]; the replacement by the Hebrew [YHWH] in some Greek manuscripts is not original. Moreover, it becomes clear that the translators of the Septuagint were influenced by theological considerations when choosing an equivalent for the divine name.
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