[Originally published in
[Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies (CATSS):
[Volume 1: RUTH.
[Directed by Robert A. Kraft and Emanuel Tov.
[Society of Biblical Literature:
[Septuagint and Cognate Studies Series 20.
[Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986. Pages 53-68.
I.3 TREATMENT OF THE GREEK TEXTUAL VARIANTS
Robert A. Kraft
One of the major goals of the CATSS project is the encoding
of all significant textual variations in the Greek tradition.
Ultimately, this will include ancient versions and other
secondary evidence (e.g. patristic quotations) based on the Greek
texts. At the outset, however, our goal is to be able to access
by computer the major published apparatuses in the Go%ttingen
editions and, where there is no Go%ttingen edition, in the larger
Cambridge Septuagint.
I.3.1 Format of the Greek Textual File
For purposes of the project, and in accord with efficient
computer management and utilization, it was decided to place each
Greek word on a separate line to the extent that this was
practical. The Greek main text (Rahlfs' edition, for Ruth) was
first reformatted in that fashion as a "vertical text," and the
textual evidence (from the larger Cambridge edition, for Ruth)
was reorganized and integrated into the same format. This format
allows for efficient searching of the file, analysis of textual
groupings, recreation of the main text or of the consecutive text
of particular witnesses and/or families, etc. Unfortunately, this
is not the conventional way in which published textual
apparatuses are presented, so a great deal of reorganization and
innovation in formatting has been required.
The resulting Greek text, in its fullest form, intersperses
the main text (Go%ttingen or Rahlfs) with the textual variants
rather than keeping text and apparatus in separate blocks or
files. On each line of the comprehensive file, the first fifteen
"columns" (spaces, characters) are used to indicate the location
of the particular item (book, chapter, verse, etc.). If the line
contains a main text entry ("lemma"), that begins in column 16.
If the line records a variant reading rather than a main text
lemma, column 16 is blank and column(s) 17(-18) contain(s) the
appropriate siglum for that variant (see below). Thus it is a
simple matter to recreate the main text by instructing the
computer to reproduce only the lines in which column 16 is not
blank. If a variant is associated with the main text lemma, the
lemma (and any closely related information about attestation) is
followed immediately by a right bracket (]); any witnesses that
do not attest the lemma ("minuses" or "omissions") are noted to
the right of the bracket, on the same line, prefixed with the ">"
sign; alternative readings are recorded on subsequent lines, as
are any additional materials ("pluses"). All Greek words, whether
main text or variants, include accents and breathings (except for
undeclined proper names and apparent nonsense readings).
Punctuation is included as part of the main text, and variations
in punctuation between the main editions consulted are also
noted.
The detailed "file format" for any given line ("record") of
the full Greek text (including variants) is as follows:
columns (spaces) beginning
from the left margin and
numbered horizontally 1 2 3
along each line 12345678901234567890123456789012 (etc.)
| | | | | |
1-2 = book (abbrev.) RT | | | | |
4-5 = chapter 03 | | | |
7-8 = verse 05 | | |
10-11= (item (06| |
12-13= variation) 02) |
16 = start of lemma (if any) XXX...]...
17-18= sigla of variant (if any) +:
19 = start of variant (if any) XXX...
... = textual attestation ...(MSS)...
If there is a variant to the lemma that begins in column 16, the
lemma is followed by a squared right bracket (]).
The textual apparatus to the Greek Ruth was entered "by
hand" over a period of several weeks by R. A. Kraft and his
graduate assistant, Benjamin Wright. In deciphering the apparatus
to the Cambridge edition of Brooke-McLean (there is no Go%ttingen
edition of Ruth at present), an attempt was made to break it up
into single word entries and to insert those entries at the
appropriate locations in the sequence of the main text (Rahlfs)
that we had purchased from TLG. This was intended as an
experiment as well as an act of data entry, to alert us to the
sorts of problems that would be encountered in dealing with
variants in this novel manner. A few chapters of Genesis were
also entered in the same way. Subsequent encoding of the textual
apparatuses has been done, at the initial level, by means of
automatic data entry on an "optical character reader" (OCR) or
"scanner" and reformatted afterwards by a series of computer
programs. The resulting files are then checked carefully "by
hand" for completeness, correctness and consistency.
For the book of Ruth, the lemma or main text is that of
Rahlfs with the exception that KAI/GE is treated as a
single word (in accord with recent practice following
Barthe/lemy's investigations) rather than as two words (as in
Rahlfs and older editions). The apparatus is from the larger
Cambridge Septuagint (ed. Brooke and McLean), adjusted to the
main text of Rahlfs. For examples of the adjustments involved see
below, I.3.5 for KAI/GE and I.3.11 for readings in which
the main text of Rahlfs differs from that of Cambridge (MS B).
I.3.2 Locators (Book, Chapter, Verse, Item/Variant)
For many purposes in computer assisted searching and
sorting, it is crucial that each line has a tag indicating its
location in the file. With our materials, the conventional
chapter and verse locators in each book are prefixed
automatically, plus a four column code (within parentheses) to
number each distinct item (word, variant unit, punctuation mark)
within the verse. The four numbers within the parentheses are
actually intended as two sets of two numbers; the two leftmost
numbers indicate the item itself while the two rightmost numbers
attach to any variant units within the item. Thus "0403"
identifies the 4th item in the verse and the 3rd alternative in
that variant unit; "1400" means the 14th item, for which there is
no variant (note that item 14 may itself be a "plus" reading);
"2101" means an item (number 21) which is lacking in some
witnesses (thus 01, but there will not be a 2102 unless an
alternative reading also exists), or an item for which
alternative readings exist (which are numbered 2102, etc.).
Punctuation also receives an item number and if there is variant
punctuation, a variant number as well.
I.3.3 Quantitative Variation ("Pluses" and "Minuses")
Few problems were encountered in the recording of "pluses"
and "minuses" (quantitative variants). It was decided to include
on the same line as the lemma, after the right square bracket
(]), any notation that certain witnesses lacked that lemma, using
the conventional "greater than" symbol (>) to indicate the type
of variation and to introduce the textual witnesses containing
the shorter text. For instances in which some witnesses include
additional material absent from the base text, each "added" word
was placed on a separate line preceded by the conventional "plus"
sign (+) and followed by the list of witnesses. The only
inconvenience of these procedures was that it became necessary to
repeat for each entry the list of witnesses attesting any ">" or
"+" readings that were more than a single word in length. In this
connection, we decided to identify readings in which three or
more consecutive words were lacking by the appended notation
(>3), etc., and consecutive pluses that extend to four or more
words by (+4), etc., to aid persons who search the variant file
for specific occurrences but cannot see the surrounding context.
A somewhat more complicated problem was encountered in those
instances in which a "plus" reading in one witness is balanced by
an alternative "plus" reading in another (variant to a variant).
Since it is important to know when such alternative variants are
encountered as well as what each particular variant may be, the
first entry of a "plus"-with-alternative(s) unit is prefixed with
"+:" while the subsequent alternatives to it are identified with
the ":+" indicator. For the numbering of such variation units,
see I.3.2 above.
"Praemittit (-unt)" Readings. A special type of "plus"
reading is material that depends closely upon what follows it to
form a sense unit. Although the textcritical convention normally
used to identify such material is "pr," an attempt was made to be
clear as to the type of variation involved and to avoid confusion
in the choice of sigla ("pr" could also designate two manuscripts
in the Cambridge system); thus such readings are treated as a "+"
followed by the symbol for "less than" (<). Where a string of
several words form a longer text of the "pr" type, the
designation "+<" normally introduces only the first word of the
string. When a "pr" type variant entry itself has one or more
alternative variations linked to it, the alternatives are
indicated by the usual ":+" symbol combination (see above) since
it would be necessary to examine the immediately preceding lines
in the variant file to understand the entire variation unit in
any event.
"Transposed" Material (Inversions). Although
"transpositions" are not really quantitative variations insofar
as the total length of the context in which they occur may not be
affected, they can be handled effectively as a balanced set of
"minus" and "plus" readings. Thus in the notation used in the
project, the siglum ">" accompanied on the same line by "(~)"
indicates a "transposition" and will be balanced in the
surrounding context by a line on which the "+" is accompanied by
"(~)" for the same textual witnesses. For example, when the order
of words in the main text (m) is 123456 but a variant text (v)
has the order 563412, the notation will contain ten lines as
follows:
1 m] > v(~)
2 m] > v(~)
+ 5 v(~)
+ 6 v(~)
3 mv
4 mv
+ 1 v(~)
+ 2 v(~)
5 m] > v(~)
6 m] > v(~)
If a computer search is made of the readings in v, it will be
noted immediately that the apparent "omission" of 1-2 is balanced
by the apparent "addition" of the same elements later. Other
variants involving the same body of text will also be included
alongside the transposed material. Thus it is possible to handle
this sort of variation consistently and effectively within the
framework of the desired one-variant-word-per-line format.
I.3.4 Qualitative Variations (Substitutions/Alternatives)
When some witnesses have an alternative reading to what is
in the main text, this is preceded by a colon (:) and followed by
a list of the pertinent witnesses. If the alternative reading is
itself part of a "plus" text, the first affected entry is
preceded by "+:" (or "+<" for a "pr" type "plus") and the
alternatives by ":+". The numbering of the item within the verse
(in parentheses after the chapter and verse numbers) is identical
in the first two columns for all members of a substitution
variant unit, while the lemma text itself is numbered 01 in the
last two columns and each of the alternatives is numbered 02, 03,
etc. (see further above, I.3.2).
I.3.5 Special Problem: One Word / Two Word Variants
In some passages, the variant cannot easily be reduced to a
single Greek word without compromising the basic sequence or the
principles on which the file has been formatted. This is
especially true when the Greek permits crasis, the joining of two
words such as KAI/ and E)GW/ into one
(KA)GW/), but obtains as well in other instances where an
analogous situation is attested in the textual witnesses. The
following examples are instructive:
RT 01 12(1001) DIO/TI]
RT 01 12(1002) : DH\ b(+O(/TI)
RT 01 12(1003) : DIA/ MNdefhijmrsuyb2 OL
RT 01 12(1100) + TOU=TO MNdefhijmrsuyb2 OL
RT 01 12(1200) +<O(/TI MNbdefhijmrsuvyb2 OL Thdt
Note that the elements DI, DH and DIA are true
variants, but that OTI must also be treated as a "plus" in
some witnesses insofar as TOUTO separates it from the
DI/DIA element (the similarity of MS b to the
MNdef, etc., grouping is apparently coincidental here since MS b
really reads DH OTI without an intervening TOUTO).
RT 02 09(3000) KAI\
RT 02 09(3101) O(/ .. ]
RT 02 09(3201) TI]
RT 02 09(3202) : O(/TE abdefjlqw
RT 02 09(3203) : O(PO/TE MNhikmprtuvb2
RT 02 09(3204) : ubi OS
RT 02 09(3205) : si OC OL
The two dots after O(/ signify that the minimal variant
unit here is O(/ TI, and the alternatives listed after
TI in actuality relate to both words (O(/ TI), not
simply to TI.
RT 03 04(0100) KAI\
RT 03 04(0201) E)/STAI] > OC OE
RT 03 04(0301) E)N .. ]
RT 03 04(0401) TW=|]
RT 03 04(0402) : O(/TAN 30
RT 03 04(0500) KOIMHQH=NAI
Here, MS 30 lacks the words E)N TW=| and has in their
place the word O(/TAN. This could be treated as a ">" with
a "+" or (as we have done; note the ".." joiner) as a one-for-two
substitution.
RT 04 04(0101) KA)GW\] > b2
RT 04 04(0102) : KAI\ .. aglnoptva2e2
RT 04 04(0200) + E)GW\ aglnoptva2e2
RT 04 04(0301) EI)=PA] > ptvb2
RT 04 04(0302) : EI)=PON glnoe2
Here is a blatant two-for-one variation, treated somewhat
artificially as a substitution and a "+" joined by "..".
RT 04 04(5101) KA)GW/ ABabmxa2] > OL(ego)
RT 04 04(5102) : KAI\ .. MNcdefghijklmopqrstuvb2e2
RT 04 04(5103) : et [post te ego sum] OA-ed
RT 04 04(5200) + E)GW/ MNcdefghijklmopqrstuvb2e2 OL
RT 04 04(5301) EI)MI] > OA-ed
Here the complexity of possible readings, when OA and OL are
considered, suggests that the ":" with "+" may be a more useful
approach.
RT 04 04(5700) +O(] > 30(see below) OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5) (see OE)
RT 04 04(5802) : ille OL
RT 04 04(5901) DE\] > OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5) OE OL
RT 04 04(5902) : W(=DE 30(see above)
RT 04 04(6000) +<KAI\ 30
RT 04 04(6101) EI)=PEN] > OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5)
The situation is complex: where most MSS have O( DE/, MS
30 has a two-for-one reading W(=DE but OL has et ille
(KAI\ O( ?).
Finally, in the two-for-one (or one-for-two) category, the
treatment of KAI/GE should be noted. In accord with recent
convention on this matter (relating especially to Barthe/lemy's
research), we have modified earlier practice (including Rahlfs'
text) to read KAI/GE as one word rather than two. This
policy sometimes affects the treatment of variants as well:
RT 01 05(0501) KAI/GE] > Akptv 18(~) OA OC OE OL
RT 01 12(2801) TOU=]
RT 01 12(2802) : KAI\ MN*hyb2 71 OA `?'(k)
RT 01 12(2803) : KAI/GE `a'(b)
Here it would also be possible to treat the variants as ">" and
"+".
RT 02 16(0501) KAI/GE] > OL(>4)
RT 02 16(0502) : KAI\ gklnowa2e2 OA OC
RT 03 12(1801) KAI/GE]
RT 03 12(1802) : KAI\ hkmw
RT 03 12(1900) + EI) k
RT 03 12(2000) + O(/TI w
RT 03 12(2100) + quod(TI?) OS
RT 03 12(2200) + sed OL
Probably the EI) in MS k represents the GE of
KAI/GE, and perhaps a similar explanation obtains for OS.
The apparatus in its present form does not attempt to adjudicate
this matter.
RT 04 10(0101) KAI/GE] > dkr OE OL(>14)
RT 04 10(0102) : KAI\ H( c
As with 03 12 (above), probably the H( in MS c is an
alternative to the GE. In this instance, the apparatus has
left the two words of MS c together.
I.3.6 Orthography
There has been no attempt to reproduce the first apparatus
in the Cambridge edition, which lists orthographic differences
between the major uncials. Such material can be added at any
time, as a subset of "qualitative variations," by using the same
coding. In fact, numerous orthographic variations are included in
the material for the book of Ruth in the various treatments of
certain proper names -- *NWEMEIN is an obvious example
(see also I.3.11 below).
I.3.7 Punctuation
With much hesitation, it was decided to include punctuation
on its own line as a separate record, and to note differences in
punctuation between the base text (for Ruth, Rahlfs) and the
source of variants (for Ruth, Cambridge). Where the Go%ttingen
edition will be used for both base text and variants, differences
in punctuation in Rahlfs may be noted.
I.3.8 Attestation (Manuscripts and Other Witnesses)
Normally, lists of witnesses are provided only for the
deviations from the main text. In some instances, however,
attestation (in part or in whole) for the lemma may also be
included. These situations depend on the policy of the apparatus
from which the material came, except for instances in which the
Cambridge apparatus is being used and Rahlfs' main text differs
from the Cambridge reading (MS B). When MS B is relocated as a
variant and a Cambridge variant becomes the lemma text (in
agreement with Rahlfs), attestation for the new main text
(Rahlfs) will be listed from the Cambridge apparatus, along with
whatever other information is available there. See I.3.11 for
examples.
Default Attestation ("omn", "rell" or "rel"). For the
Cambridge apparatus, which is based on a relatively small number
of representative manuscripts, the manuscript designations
included in the default attestation "omn" and "rell" or covered
by such listings as "a-d" (= abcd) have been filled out
explicitly in the project file. Different procedures may be
required with the Go%ttingen apparatuses, which cover a much
larger range of MSS.
Versional Evidence. For the present, we have attempted to
reproduce the versional information found in the respective
apparatuses consulted. This material requires especially close
scrutiny and will need extensive modification sometime in the
future. The Cambridge editors tended to supply relatively full
information for the Old Latin (OL), Syro-hexapla (OS), Armenian
(OA) and Palestinian Aramaic (OP) versions. They were more
selective with the Ethiopic (OE) and Coptic (OC) materials. In
the Ruth variant file, the OL spelling as found in the Cambridge
edition is sometimes standardized by use of parentheses (to fill
in letters), OS transliterations follow the Hebrew coding
employed by the project, and relatively certain Greek
retroversions are sometimes noted in parentheses. More
satisfactory treatment of most of the versional material,
however, must await the results of specific studies (with
computer assistance?) on each of the versions.
Quotations and Other Secondary Witnesses. For the present
the information in the source apparatus attesting patristic
quotations and related material is simply reproduced. As with the
versions, much work needs to be done before this type of evidence
can be evaluated adequately. The advent of computer assisted
research encourages us to look for greater progress in these
areas in the near future.
Other Ancient Greek Versions ("the Three," etc.). The format
constructed for the project is sufficiently flexible to
accommodate the inclusion of all ancient Greek variants, from
whatever source. Thus we have not attempted to devise a separate
apparatus for "the Three" (Theodotion, Aquila, Symmachus) and
similar materials. Instead, the apostrophe (') is used to
indicate these materials, enclosing the sources designation on
both sides ('t', 'a', 's', etc.) and the witness from which the
information derives. A computer search of the file for any of
these distinctive elements will enable the user to create an
apparatus of these materials.
I.3.9 Indicators of Uncertainty ("vid", "see", "?")
The apparatus reproduces the "vid" (= "apparently," but with
room for doubt) notations in the Cambridge apparatus, but also
adds other indicators of uncertainty: "see" is usually a term of
cross reference and occurs especially in connection with
versional material that has been broken into smaller units and
often requires a consideration of the fuller versional context in
order to determine what versional word(s) aligns with the Greek
word; "?" is most often attached to a suggested reconstruction of
versional material into Greek and warns the user that this is
simply a suggestion (it is sometimes combined with "see" in such
contexts). When "(?)" follows a MS designation, it simply
reproduces the notation in the Cambridge apparatus; when it
follows a versional siglum (OA, OC, OE, OL, OS), it usually is a
warning to check the variant context carefully. In general, in
these and in other occurrences, "?" is used as an indicator of
doubt.
I.3.10 Annotated Sample of Variant Text Notations (Ruth
3:5-6)
book verse
| chp | item
| | | | sub-variant comments
| | | | |
RT 03 05(0100) +<KAI\ 18 {pr type reading with
RT 03 05(0200) EI)=PEN a KAI/-DE/ variation
RT 03 05(0301) DE\] > 18 in MS 18}
RT 03 05(0401) *ROUQ] > (~)OA-OL(~) {possible transpostion}
RT 03 05(0500) PRO\S
RT 03 05(0601) AU)TH/N]
RT 03 05(0602) : AU)TH=| b {alternative readings}
RT 03 05(0603) : AU)TO/N o*
RT 03 05(0700) + *ROUQ (~)OA-OL(~) {balances earlier "(~)"}
RT 03 05(0800) *PA/NTA
RT 03 05(0901) ,] > (B-M) {punctuation difference}
RT 03 05(1000) O(/SA
RT 03 05(1101) E)A\N ABacfkxb2] {base text attestation}
RT 03 05(1102) : A)\N MN*D(10)bdeghijlmnopqrstuvwa2e2
RT 03 05(1200) EI)/PH|S
RT 03 05(1300) + PRO/S bcx {simple plus}
RT 03 05(1401) +:ME bcx {complex plus}
RT 03 05(1402) :+MOI *D(10)fhipqrtv OL OS
RT 03 05(1403) :+mihi OA OC OE
RT 03 05(1501) ,] > (B-M)
RT 03 05(1600) POIH/SW
RT 03 05(1700) .
RT 03 06(0101) KAI\] > OL(>5) {extensive minus in OL}
RT 03 06(0201) KATE/BH] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0300) + *ROUQ glnoptvwe2
RT 03 06(0401) EI)S] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0501) TO\N] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0502) :<TH\N b'glnoptvwe2
RT 03 06(0601) A(/LW] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0602) : A(/LWNA *D(10)(vid)cghlmnoprtvwa2e2 {vid notation}
RT 03 06(0700) + , (B-M) {punctuation added}
RT 03 06(0800) KAI\
RT 03 06(0900) E)POI/HSEN
RT 03 06(1001) KATA\]
RT 03 06(1002) : TA\ 74 76
RT 03 06(1100) PA/NTA
RT 03 06(1201) ,] > (B-M)
RT 03 06(1300) O(/SA
RT 03 06(1401) E)NETEI/LATO]
RT 03 06(1402) : EI)=PEN u
RT 03 06(1501) AU)TH=|] > OL
RT 03 06(1502) : AU)TH/N oe2
RT 03 06(1600) H(
RT 03 06(1700) PENQERA\
RT 03 06(1800) AU)TH=S
RT 03 06(1900) .
I.3.11 Differences between Rahlfs and Cambridge (MS B)
RT 01 02(1401) KAI\ (=c(a?)q(b) 236 [etc.])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1501) O)/NOMA ([etc. as above])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1601) TH=| (=c(a?) 236 [etc.])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1701) GUNAIKI\ ([etc. as above])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1801) AU)TOU= (=c(a?)q(B) 236 [etc.])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1901) *NWEMIN (R)] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 04(0501) *MWABI/TIDAS (=A)]
RT 01 04(0502) : *MWABEI/TIDAS *B
RT 01 15(1301) H(] > B
RT 02 12(0901) KAI\] > Ba
RT 02 16(1401) A)/FETE AMNabdefhijkmqrsuxb2 OA OE(c) OS] > Bca2 OC
OL (?)
RT 03 16(1601) *TI/S Aacgloxe2 OC OS] > B
RT 03 16(1701) EI)= Aacgloxe2 OC OS] > Bbna2 OE
RT 04 13(0801) KAI\] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) blgnowe2
RT 04 13(0901) E)GENH/QH] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) blgnowe2
RT 04 13(1001) AU)TW=|] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OL
RT 04 13(1101) EI)S (OS sub &)] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) bglnw OE(c) OL
RT 04 13(1201) GUNAI=KA (OS sub &)] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OL
RT 04 13(1401) KAI\] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1501) EI)SH=LQEN] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1601) PRO\S] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1701) AU)TH/N] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 15(2201) SOU] > B
RT 04 19(1301) *AMINADAB A]
RT 04 19(1303) : *AMEINADAB BMNacdegijklmnopqrtuvwxya2b2e2
RT 04 20(0201) *AMINADAB A OC OL]
RT 04 20(0203) : *AMEINADAB BMNabcdegijklmnopqrtuvwxya2b2e2
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