Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/313
Context
The Suda (“Stronghold”) is an encyclopedic lexicon
written by an unknown scholar during the late 10th century. It compiles copious
information in alphabetical entries for use by the learned philologist, in particular on
grammar, history, and biography, referring to a broad range of sources from Classical
Antiquity to the Early Byzantine period. This passage from the lemma on Origen (s.v.
Ὠριγένης) describes how Origen prepared his famous edition of the Bible at Caesarea in
the early 3rd century. Here the author depends on the account of Eusebius written
roughly 650 year earlier.
Text
τοσαύτην δὲ ἔσχε σπουδὴν περὶ τὰς θείας γραφάς, ὥστε καὶ τὴν ῾Εβραϊκὴν
διάλεκτον, ἐναντιουμένην τῇ τε ἡλικίᾳ καὶ τῇ οἰκείᾳ φύσει, ἐκμαθει̂ν, καὶ δίχα τῶν οʹ
ἑρμηνευτῶν ἄλλας ἐκδόσεις εἰς ἓν συναγαγεῖν, ᾽Ακύλα λέγω τοῦ Ποντικοῦ καὶ Θεοδοτίωνος
καὶ Συμμάχου τω̂ν ᾽Εβιωναίων (αἵρεσις δέ ἐστιν αὐτω̂ν ψιλὸν τὸν Χριστὸν ἄνθρωπον
δοξαζόντων)· οἵ τινες τὸ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγέλιον ὑπεμνημάτισαν, δι’ οὗ καὶ τὸ ἴδιον
δόγμα βεβαιῶσαι σπεύδουσιν. ὁμοίως δὲ πέμπτην καὶ ἕκτην καὶ ἑβδόμην ἔκδοσιν. ἐκ τῶν
Εὐσεβίου τοῦ Παμφίλου ἱστοριῶν περὶ ᾽Ωριγένους. τοσαύτη δὲ εἰσήγετο τῷ ᾽Ωριγένει τῶν
θείων λόγων ἀπηκριβωμένη ἡ ἐξέτασις, ὡς μόνας πρωτοτύπους αὐτοῖς ῾Εβραίων στοιχείοις
γραφὰς κτῆμα ἴδιον ποιήσασθαι ἀνιχνεῦσαί τε τὰς τῶν ἑτέρων παρὰ τοὺς οʹ τὰς ἱερὰς γραφὰς
ἑρμηνεύσαντα ἐκδόσεις καί τινας ἑτέρας παρὰ τὰς κατημαξευμένας ἑρμηνείας ἐναλλαττούσας,
τὴν ᾽Ακύλου καὶ Συμμάχου καὶ Θεοδοτίωνος, ἐφευρεῖν, ἃς ἐξ ἀπορρήτων οὐκ οἲδ᾿ ὁπόθεν
τυχὸν τῷ πάλαι λανθανούσας χρόνῳ εἰς φῶς ἀνιχνεύσας προήγαγεν. ἔν γε μὴν τοῖς ῾Εξαπλοῖς
τῶν Ψαλμῶν μετὰ τὰς ἐπισήμους τέσσαρας ἐκδόσεις οὐ μόνον πέμπτην, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕκτην καὶ
ἑβδόμην παραθεὶς ἑρμηνείαν, ἐπὶ μιᾶς αὔθις σεσημείωται, ὡς ἐν Ἱεριχοῖ εὑρημένης ἐν πίθῳ.
ταύτας δὲ ἁπάσας εἰς ἓν συναγαγὼν διελθών τε πρὸς κῶλον καὶ ἀντιπαραθεὶς ἀλλήλαις μετὰ
καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς Ἑβραίων σημειώσεως, τὰ τῶν λεγομένων ῾Εξαπλῶν ἡμῖν ἀντίγραφα καταλέλοιπεν,
ἰδίως δὲ τὴν ᾽Ακύλου καὶ Συμμάχου καὶ Θεοδοτίωνος ἔκδοσιν ἅμα τῇ τῶν οʹ ἐν τοι̂ς
Τετραπλοι̂ς ἐπισκευάσας.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Adler 1933Translation
Moreover, Origen
possessed such diligence for the Divine Scriptures that he made a thorough study of
Hebrew, contrary to his age and natural inclination. Alongside the translation by the
Seventy he compiled other editions (of the Bible) into a single work. I am referring to
those by Aquila of Pontus, Theodotion, and Symmachus, a member of the Ebionites (their
heresy was the belief that Christ was a mere man). These (Ebionites) wrote a commentary
on the Gospel of Matthew with which they are eager to validate their own doctrine.
Likewise he edited the fifth, sixth, and seventh editions. From the history of Eusebius
Pamphili concerning Origen. Origen subjected the Divine Words to such meticulous
scrutiny that he personally acquired only original manuscripts in the actual Hebrew; he
tracked down editions by other translators besides the Seventy; and, having translated
those editions, he discovered certain others to take the place of the hackneyed
translations by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion—from secret sources, I have no idea
where—which, although having disappeared long ago, he tracked down and brought to light.
Moreover, in the Hexapla text of Psalms, he inserted, after these four well-known
versions, not only a fifth but also a sixth and a seventh translation. On one of them he
has noted that it was found at Jericho in a storage jar. Gathering all of these into a
single work, he divided them into clauses, comparing and contrasting them against one
another, along with the very notations of the Hebrew scholars. He has left us copies of
the so-called Hexapla, and prepared separately a version that contains
Aquila and Symmachus and Theodotion together with the Seventy in the
Tetrapla.
Translation Note
Adapted from SOL (trans. P. Little et al., 2000-)Works Cited
- 1 Unknown, Suidae lexicon, ed. Ada Adler, repr. Munich and Leipzig: K. G. Saur, 2001, vol. 1, 5 vols., Lexicographici Graeci, 1.1-1.5; 11–15 (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1928), letter: ω, entry: 182.618.13-35.
Additional Bibliography
- Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography, 2000
- Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography, 2000
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/313.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/313.About this Entry
Entry Title: Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Unknown, Suda ω 182.618.13-35”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife