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PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN
NAME:PhD defence L.S. Copley
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20261026T134500
DTEND:20261026T151500
DTSTAMP:20261026T134500
UID:phd-defense-l-s-copley@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573
CREATED:20261015T210532
LOCATION:Main building VU, 1105, Auditorium, De Boelelaan, 1081 HV, Amsterdam
SUMMARY:PhD defence L.S. Copley
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: Lexical Consistency
in the Peshiṭta of Deuteronomy
Language Differences Exp
lain Variation in Ancient Bible Translation
Theologian Logan C
opley’s research on the Syriac translation of Deuteronomy shows tha
t linguistic differences between Hebrew and Syriac largely explain wh
y the same words are translated in different ways. This finding is si
gnificant for research into the history of the biblical text and the
interpretation of ancient religious texts.
Copley investigated
why the Peshitta, an ancient Syriac translation of Deuteronomy, uses
different Syriac words for the same Hebrew word. The results show tha
t this variation is often related to linguistic factors, such as the
direction and type of movement in the verb “to come.”
The f
indings qualify the notion that a translation must remain faithful to
a consistently identical choice of words. To convey a text naturally
and comprehensibly, a translator must take into account the possibil
ities and limitations of the target language. Researchers should ther
efore first examine linguistic differences before attributing variati
ons to, for example, theological beliefs or stylistic preferences.
The research contributes to a better understanding of the transmi
ssion of the Hebrew Bible and the Syriac biblical tradition. Moreover
, ancient translations may contain clues about biblical texts that pr
edate some important Hebrew manuscripts. Because the Peshiṭta is st
ill used in churches today—including in the Netherlands—this rese
arch offers insight into how earlier communities understood and trans
mitted the Bible.
In addition, Copley demonstrates how computat
ional methods offer new possibilities for answering classic research
questions within the humanities.
More information about the dissertation
DESCRIPTION: Lexical Consistency in the Peshiṭta of Deuteronomy
Language Differences Explain Variation in Ancient Bible TranslationTheologian Logan Copley’s research on the Syriac translation of
Deuteronomy shows that linguistic differences between Hebrew and Syri
ac largely explain why the same words are translated in different way
s. This finding is significant for research into the history of the b
iblical text and the interpretation of ancient religious texts.Copley
investigated why the Peshitta, an ancient Syriac translation of Deut
eronomy, uses different Syriac words for the same Hebrew word. The re
sults show that this variation is often related to linguistic factors
, such as the direction and type of movement in the verb “to come.�
��The findings qualify the notion that a translation must remain fait
hful to a consistently identical choice of words. To convey a text na
turally and comprehensibly, a translator must take into account the p
ossibilities and limitations of the target language. Researchers shou
ld therefore first examine linguistic differences before attributing
variations to, for example, theological beliefs or stylistic preferen
ces.The research contributes to a better understanding of the transmi
ssion of the Hebrew Bible and the Syriac biblical tradition. Moreover
, ancient translations may contain clues about biblical texts that pr
edate some important Hebrew manuscripts. Because the Peshiṭta is st
ill used in churches today—including in the Netherlands—this rese
arch offers insight into how earlier communities understood and trans
mitted the Bible.In addition, Copley demonstrates how computational m
ethods offer new possibilities for answering classic research questio
ns within the humanities.More information about the dissertation
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