Asiatic Quarterly Review (Full Title: The Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review, and Oriental and Colonial Record): Volume XIII, No. 26 [‎491r] (106/238)

Quarterly Report on Semitic Studies and Orientalism. 319
from other sources. It is the business of the textual critic to get behind
the official text, and to recover so far as he can the various recensions,
which it has displaced. In this work, he is aided by ancient versions, but
especially by the Septuagint. Of the versions, the Septuagint alone is
actually earlier than the fixing of the Hebrew text. In point ot age, indeed,
it must yield to the Samaritan Pentateuch, the archetype of which may
have been in the hands of the Samaritans in the days of Nehemiah, but the
polemical bias of that people, and the relatively late date of the MSS. on
which the printed text depends, detract largely from the value of its evidence,
which is moreover limited to the Torah.”
In the “Zeitschrift fiir die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft” (Part 2,
1902), Kahle has published an interesting article on the new system
of Hebraic punctuation, preserved in fragments of manuscripts brought
from Cairo to Cambridge. Consequently there are three different systems
known and employed by the Rabbis in writing the “ vowel-points.”
We have to notice several commentaries on the Old Testament: Exodus-
Leviticus by Baentsch* (Hand-Kommentar zum Alten Testament, by
Nowack;) Leviticus by Bertholet,+and Chronicles by Bengizerj (Kurzer
Hand-Commentar zum Alten Testament, by Marti).
Karl Kautzsch, son of the celebrated theologian, has published an
interesting study on chapters i., ii., xlii. 7-17 of the book of Job, that is to
say on the prologue and epilogue of this most remarkable book of the Old
Testament.§ He therein disputes the recent hypothesis of Budde and
Duhm, according to which the prologue and epilogue of Job had formed
an account of the story of Job previous to the exile. I myself have
supported this same hypothesis, in 1886, during my course of lectures at
the Geneva University. Kautzsch endeavours to show that the prologue
and epilogue are inseparable from the book of Job, and that, like this last,
they are subsequent to the exile. The discussion of this opinion would be
too long.
To the Doyen Bruston of the Faculty of Theology at Montauban is due
the publication of a study of critical exegesis of much value on the Songs
of Debora. || The author, whose works of exegesis, so conscientiously and
so accurately made, deserve much appreciation, arrives at the follow
ing conclusion : “That the text of this song of victory is less corrupted
than one would expect, taking its antiquity into account and the numerous
obscurities it presents. Some additions and some errors of transcription
are all that can be found. The division and the masoretic vocalization,
however, are very defective in several places.”
The “ Real-Encyclopadie des Judentums,” by Hamburger, has been
enriched by the addition of two new supplements (Abteilung III., Supple
ments V. und VI.: Schlussheft)^. These two last parts, which include
numerous interesting articles, are the best of this authoritative work,
* Gottingen, Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1900.
f Tubingen und Leipzig, Siebeck, 1901. | Ibid.
§ “ Das Volksbuch von Hiob und der Ursprung vonHiob,” chaps, i., ii., xlii. 7-17.
Tubingen, Mohr, 1900.
|| Montauban, Laforgue, 1901. 11 Leipzig, Koehler, 1900-1901.