Studies in the Syntax of the Peshitta of 1 Kings

by Peter J. Williams

The Peshitta is probably the earliest translation of the whole Old Testament into a Semitic idiom. It displays an impressive balance between fidelity to the structure and sense of the Hebrew original and sensitivity to the preferences of the receptor language.
This book considers ten key topics in Syriac syntax and exhaustively considers their patterns as they occur in the Peshitta of 1 Kings. Old rules of grammar are refined, new rules formulated, and wider issues of translation method considered.
This study is relevant to Syriac specialists, textual critics and biblical scholars alike. It argues that many features in the Peshitta that have previously been attributed to a translator's whim, or to a Vorlage varying from the Masoretic Text, are in fact determined by factors internal to Syriac.

204 pages, Leather Bound

First published April 1, 2001

About the author

Dr. Peter Williams is the current Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, UK. In addition, he serves as Affiliated Lecturer for the University of Cambridge and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies at the University of Aberdeen. His research includes the early history of translation with particular focus on translation of the Bible and textual criticism. He resides in Cambridge with his wife and two children.

History:
Senior Lecturer in New Testament, University of Aberdeen, 2005-2007
Lecturer in New Testament, University of Aberdeen, 2003-2005
Research Fellow in Old Testament, Tyndale House, Cambridge, 1998-2003
Affiliated Lecturer in Hebrew and Aramaic, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge, 1998-2003
Research Assistant, the Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database Project, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge, 1997-1998