Robert A. Kraft [html version 10mr2004]
Originally published as pp. 53-68 (section I.3) in
Computer Assisted Tools for Septuagint Studies (CATSS). Volume 1: RUTH.
Project Directors Robert A. Kraft and Emanuel Tov.
Society of Biblical Literature: Septuagint and Cognate Studies 20 (Atlanta:
Scholars Press, 1986)
One of the major goals of the CATSS project is to facilitate the encoding and accessing 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 as well as newly discovered MS evidence. Initially, however, the goal is to be able to access by computer the major published apparatuses in the Göttingen editions and, where there is no Göttingen edition, in the larger Cambridge Septuagint or the best available alternative (e.g. Margolis for Joshua, Rahlfs' editio minor for Qohelet, Song, and 4 Maccabees). Insofar as it is possible, the "main text" to which the variants are attached is the best available eclectic text, which means Göttingen where it exists, or Rahlfs' short edition.
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 file intersperses the main text (Göttingen or [as with Ruth] Rahlfs) with the textual variants rather than keeping text and apparatus in separate blocks or files. For the "simple text and variant" files, the TLG "beta code" conventions have been retained to indicate "locators" (book, chapter, verse, etc.; see further below), with explicit chapter and verse numbers included; these are easily identified by the occurrence of a tilde "~" in column 1, usually followed by "x" (for chapter) and "y" (for verse). For the textual data itself, if the line contains a main text entry ("lemma"), that will begin in column 1. If the line records a variant reading rather than a main text lemma, column 1 is blank and column(s) 2(-3) 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 1 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 or an alternative reading ("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 this simple text and variant file is as follows [note that fixed width spacing is assumed for such records, not variable spacing]:
columns (spaces) beginning
from the left margin and
numbered horizontally 1
2
along each line 1234567890123456789012
(etc.)
|
| | | |
|
1 = start of lemma (if any) XXX...]...
2-3= sigla of variant (if any) +:
4 = start of variant (if any) XXX...
...= textual attestation
...(MSS)...
If there is a variant to the lemma that begins in column 1, 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 Göttingen 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 had been purchased from the 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
The "simple" format described above may not suffice for many purposes in computer assisted searching and sorting, where it may be important that each line have a tag indicating its exact location in the file. With the CATSS materials, the conventional chapter and verse locators in each book can be prefixed to each line automatically by means of an appropriate software program (e.g. the CATSS CONVERT utility). It may also be desirable to generate something similar to the CATSS four column code (within parentheses), described below, 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.
The format for such coding would introduce onto each line of the comprehensive file an initial fifteen "columns" (spaces, characters) to indicate the exact location of the particular item (book, chapter, verse, etc.). Thus column 1 of the "simple" format would become column 16 in the "explicit" format 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)...
For the sake of clarity, the examples that follow will employ the "explicit" format.
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.
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).
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
RT 01 12(1001) <gk>DIO/TI</gk>]
RT 01 12(1002) : <gk>DH\</gk> b(+<gk>O(/TI</gk>)
RT 01 12(1003) : <gk>DIA/</gk> MNdefhijmrsuyb2 OL
RT 01 12(1100) + <gk>TOU=TO</gk> MNdefhijmrsuyb2 OL
RT 01 12(1200) + <gk>O(/TI</gk> MNbdefhijmrsuvyb2 OL Thdt
Note that the elements
RT 02 09(3000) <gk>KAI\</gk>
RT 02 09(3101) <gk>O(/</gk> .. ]
RT 02 09(3201) <gk>TI</gk>]
RT 02 09(3202) : <gk>O(/TE</gk> abdefjlqw
RT 02 09(3203) : <gk>O(PO/TE</gk> MNhikmprtuvb2
RT 02 09(3204) : ubi OS
RT 02 09(3205) : si OC OL
The two dots after
RT 03 04(0100) <gk>KAI\</gk>
RT 03 04(0201) <gk>E)/STAI</gk>] > OC OE
RT 03 04(0301) <gk>E)N</gk> .. ]
RT 03 04(0401) <gk>TW=|</gk>]
RT 03 04(0402) : <gk>O(/TAN</gk> 30
RT 03 04(0500) <gk>KOIMHQH=NAI</gk>
Here, MS 30 lacks the words
RT 04 04(0101) <gk>KA)GW\</gk>] > b2
RT 04 04(0102) : <gk>KAI\</gk> .. aglnoptva2e2
RT 04 04(0200) + <gk>E)GW\</gk> aglnoptva2e2
RT 04 04(0301) <gk>EI)=PA</gk>] > ptvb2
RT 04 04(0302) : <gk>EI)=PON</gk> glnoe2
Here is a blatant two-for-one variation, treated somewhat artificially as a substitution and a "+" joined by "..".
RT 04 04(5101) <gk>KA)GW/</gk> ABabmxa2] > OL(ego)
RT 04 04(5102) : <gk>KAI\</gk> .. MNcdefghijklmopqrstuvb2e2
RT 04 04(5103) : et [post te ego sum] OA-ed
RT 04 04(5200) + <gk>E)GW/</gk> MNcdefghijklmopqrstuvb2e2
OL
RT 04 04(5301) <gk>EI)MI</gk>] > 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) +<et OA-codd OE OL
RT 04 04(5801) <gk>O(</gk>] > 30 (see below) OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5)
(see OE)
RT 04 04(5802) : ille OL
RT 04 04(5901) <gk>DE\</gk>] > OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5) OE
OL
RT 04 04(5902) : <gk>W(=DE 30</gk>(see above)
RT 04 04(6000) +<<gk>KAI\</gk> 30
RT 04 04(6101) <gk>EI)=PEN</gk>] > OA-ed(>3) OA-codd(>5)
The situation is complex: where most MSS have
Finally, in the two-for-one (or one-for-two) category, the treatment of
RT 01 05(0501) <gk>KAI/GE</gk>] > Akptv 18(~) OA OC OE OL
RT 01 12(2801) <gk>TOU=</gk>]
RT 01 12(2802) : <gk>KAI\</gk> MN*hyb2 71 OA `?'(k)
RT 01 12(2803) : <gk>KAI/GE</gk> `a'(b)
Here it would also be possible to treat the variants as ">" and
"+".
RT 02 16(0501) <gk>KAI/GE</gk>] > OL(>4)
RT 02 16(0502) : <gk>KAI\</gk> gklnowa2e2 OA OC
RT 03 12(1801) <gk>KAI/GE</gk>]
RT 03 12(1802) : <gk>KAI\</gk> hkmw
RT 03 12(1900) + <gk>EI)</gk> k
RT 03 12(2000) + <gk>O(/TI</gk> w
RT 03 12(2100) + quod(<gk>TI</gk>?) OS
RT 03 12(2200) + sed OL
Probably the
RT 04 10(0101) <gk>KAI/GE</gk>] > dkr OE OL(>14)
RT 04 10(0102) : <gk>KAI\ H(</gk> c
As with 03 12 (above), probably the
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 --
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 Göttingen edition will be used for both base text and variants, differences in punctuation in Rahlfs may be noted.
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 section 11 below 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 Göttingen 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 source 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.
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.
book verse
| chp | item
| | | | sub-variant
{comments}
| | | |
|
RT 03 05(0100) +<<gk>KAI\</gk> 18 {pr
type reading with
RT 03 05(0200) <gk>EI)=PEN</gk> a
<gk>KAI/-DE/</gk> variation
RT 03 05(0301) <gk>DE\</gk>] > 18
in
MS 18}
RT 03 05(0401) <gk>*ROUQ</gk>] > (~)OA-OL(~) {possible
transpostion}
RT 03 05(0500) <gk>PRO\S</gk>
RT 03 05(0601) <gk>AU)TH/N</gk>]
RT 03 05(0602) : <gk>AU)TH=|</gk> b {alternative
readings}
RT 03 05(0603) : <gk>AU)TO/N</gk> o*
RT 03 05(0700) + <gk>*ROUQ</gk> (~)OA-OL(~) {balances
earlier "(~)"}
RT 03 05(0800) <gk>*PA/NTA</gk>
RT 03 05(0901) ,] > (B-M)
{punctuation difference}
RT 03 05(1000) <gk>O(/SA</gk>
RT 03 05(1101) <gk>E)A\N</gk> ABacfkxb2] {base
text attestation}
RT 03 05(1102) : <gk>A)\N</gk> MN<gk>*D</gk>(10)bdeghijlmnopqrstuvwa2e2
RT 03 05(1200) <gk>EI)/PH|S</gk>
RT 03 05(1300) + <gk>PRO/S</gk> bcx {simple
plus}
RT 03 05(1401) +:<gk>ME</gk> bcx {complex
plus}
RT 03 05(1402) :+<gk>MOI *D</gk>(10)fhipqrtv OL OS
RT 03 05(1403) :+mihi OA OC OE
RT 03 05(1501) ,] > (B-M)
RT 03 05(1600) <gk>POIH/SW</gk>
RT 03 05(1700) .
RT 03 06(0101) <gk>KAI\</gk>] > OL(>5)
{extensive minus in OL}
RT 03 06(0201) <gk>KATE/BH</gk>] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0300) + <gk>*ROUQ</gk> glnoptvwe2
RT 03 06(0401) <gk>EI)S</gk>] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0501) <gk>TO\N</gk>] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0502) :<<gk>TH\N</gk> b'glnoptvwe2
RT 03 06(0601) <gk>A(/LW</gk>] > OL(>5)
RT 03 06(0602) : <gk>A(/LWNA *D</gk>(10)(vid)cghlmnoprtvwa2e2
{vid notation}
RT 03 06(0700) + , (B-M) {punctuation
added}
RT 03 06(0800) <gk>KAI\</gk>
RT 03 06(0900) <gk>E)POI/HSEN</gk>
RT 03 06(1001) <gk>KATA\</gk>]
RT 03 06(1002) : <gk>TA\</gk> 74 76
RT 03 06(1100) <gk>PA/NTA</gk>
RT 03 06(1201) ,] > (B-M)
RT 03 06(1300) <gk>O(/SA</gk>
RT 03 06(1401) <gk>E)NETEI/LATO</gk>]
RT 03 06(1402) : <gk>EI)=PEN</gk> u
RT 03 06(1501) <gk>AU)TH=|</gk>] > OL
RT 03 06(1502) : <gk>AU)TH/N</gk> oe2
RT 03 06(1600) <gk>H(</gk>
RT 03 06(1700) <gk>PENQERA\</gk>
RT 03 06(1800) <gk>AU)TH=S</gk>
RT 03 06(1900) .
RT 01 02(1401) <gk>KAI\</gk> (=c(a?)q(b) 236 [etc.])] >(>6)
Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1501) <gk>O)/NOMA</gk> ([etc. as above])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q*
OE(f)
RT 01 02(1601) <gk>TH=|</gk> (=c(a?) 236 [etc.])] >(>6) Bc*(~)q*
OE(f)
RT 01 02(1701) <gk>GUNAIKI\</gk> ([etc. as above])] >(>6)
Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1801) <gk>AU)TOU=</gk> (=c(a?)q(B) 236 [etc.])] >(>6)
Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 02(1901) <gk>*NWEMIN</gk> (R)] >(>6) Bc*(~)q* OE(f)
RT 01 04(0501) <gk>*MWABI/TIDAS</gk> (=A)]
RT 01 04(0502) : <gk>*MWABEI/TIDAS *B
RT 01 15(1301) <gk>H(</gk>] > B
RT 02 12(0901) <gk>KAI\</gk>] > Ba
RT 02 16(1401) <gk>A)/FETE</gk> AMNabdefhijkmqrsuxb2 OA OE(c) OS]
> Bca2 OC
OL (?)
RT 03 16(1601) <gk>*TI/S</gk> Aacgloxe2 OC OS] > B
RT 03 16(1701) <gk>EI)=</gk> Aacgloxe2 OC OS] > Bbna2 OE
RT 04 13(0801) <gk>KAI\</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) blgnowe2
RT 04 13(0901) <gk>E)GENH/QH</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) blgnowe2
RT 04 13(1001) <gk>AU)TW=|</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OL
RT 04 13(1101) <gk>EI)S</gk> (OS sub &)] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9)
bglnw OE(c) OL
RT 04 13(1201) <gk>GUNAI=KA</gk> (OS sub &)] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9)
OL
RT 04 13(1401) <gk>KAI\</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1501) <gk>EI)SH=LQEN</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1601) <gk>PRO\S</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 13(1701) <gk>AU)TH/N</gk>] > Ba2-OE(f)(>9) OE(c)(>4)
RT 04 15(2201) <gk>SOU</gk>] > B
RT 04 19(1301) <gk>*AMINADAB</gk> A]
RT 04 19(1303) : <gk>*AMEINADAB</gk> BMNacdegijklmnopqrtuvwxya2b2e2
RT 04 20(0201) <gk>*AMINADAB</gk> A OC OL]
RT 04 20(0203) : <gk>*AMEINADAB</gk> BMNabcdegijklmnopqrtuvwxya2b2e2
//end of article//