Kultur und Identität. Wörtliches Übersetzen in der Septuaginta

Abstract

Abstract This article seeks to evaluate why the translators of the Septuagint often preferred literal to free renderings. After some general remarks on levels of literalness the author evaluates possible explanations for the literal renderings in the Septuagint. An alternative interpretation draws on the theories of the translation theorists Schleiermacher (1813) and Venuti (1995). It explains literalism as being rooted in the desire for conservation of the Jewish identity within the context of Hellenistic culture with the hebraicizing style serving as a means of resistance to Hellenism.