Prejean, Abigail

Liberty University Digital Commons

Title – Lost in Translation: A Linguistic Understanding of the Use of the Middle Voice in the Septuagint of Esther Program of Study – Biblical Studies Presentation Type – Choose one of the following: Oral PresentationSubtype – Choose one of the following for poster or oral presentation types: Textual or Investigative Mentor(s) and Mentor Email - Dr. Jillian Ross (jross37@liberty.edu)Student name(s) and email(s) – Abigail Prejean (aprejean@liberty.edu)Abstract example: This paper will examine the use of the middle voice in the Septuagint of Esther by utilizing current linguistic research that pertains to what is known as the middle voice. The middle voice is a grammatical feature which is found within the Greek language. Most of the definitions and examples of the middle voice in Greek tend to be centered around the Koine Greek period in particular, since that is the period in which the New Testament was written. Since the Septuagint of Esther was written in an earlier time period within the Koine Greek period than the New Testament, there are usages of the middle voice that do not fit within the given definitions and categories that the Biblical Greek field has to offer. Another challenge with the Septuagint of Esther in particular is the collection of six apocryphal sections which are  interspersed throughout the text. Since these additions are not found in the Hebrew Masoretic text, no clues are available as to why verbs in these sections have a strange use of the middle voice. Therefore, this paper seeks to use the modern linguistic research to find clues as to what could be triggering the use of the middle voice in verbs that do not seem to be carrying a middle meaning. This can be done by studying the middle voice cross-linguistically to evaluate what functions the middle voice has throughout human language as a whole. This paper also seeks to explain the importance of using the field of linguistics in conjunction with the field of biblical languages in order to analyze those languages more effectively which can lead to more accurate exegesis work which can result in a better understanding of the truths contained within God’s word. 

Lost in Translation: A Linguistic Understanding of the Use of the Middle Voice in the Septuagint of Esther

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