Papers by Ville Mäkipelto
Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, 2017
The article reconstructs the textual growth of the death and burial accounts of Joshua (Josh 24:2... more The article reconstructs the textual growth of the death and burial accounts of Joshua (Josh 24:28–31, Judg 2:6–9) in the light of documented evidence preserved in the LXX and the MT. It is argued that LXX Josh 24:28–31 generally preserves the earliest extant version from which the others have been edited to various new contexts. The article then discusses some implications of this reconstruction for literary and redaction criticism of Josh 24. Since redaction critics often neglect the LXX as a witness to an earlier Hebrew text, untenable conclusions have been advanced about the compositional history of Josh 24.
English abstract: Creative Editing of Scripture in the Textual History of the Book of Joshua. Bib... more English abstract: Creative Editing of Scripture in the Textual History of the Book of Joshua. Biblical studies have shown that many Jewish scribes in the Second Temple Period did not merely copy the Hebrew scriptures but also made creative changes to the texts they transmitted. Even a brief look at the complex textual history of the Book of Joshua illuminates many such creative editorial changes. This article examines three different cases in which an editor-scribe either introduced changes to an existing text or created a new composition based on an older text. The focus is on comparable documented evidence. Thus, the article offers a cross-section of the various sources (MT, LXX, Qumran, Samaritan Joshua) for the textual history of the Book of Joshua.
This article examines the editorial technique of large-scale transpositions through three case st... more This article examines the editorial technique of large-scale transpositions through three case studies from the Hebrew Bible. There is documented evidence from various textual witnesses that Josh 8:30–35, 1 Kgs 22:41–51, and the oracles against the nations in Jeremiah have been transposed during the transmission of these books. Insights gained from these cases illuminate the use of this editorial technique. All three transpositions reflect theological motivations related to meanings attributed to certain places, events, people, and revered texts. Transpositions of large textual units were generally achieved by two scribal methods: swapping the order of two sequential textual units or relocating a textual unit to a new context. The latter procedure led to compensatory revisions both within and around the texts. The article also discusses the methodology of studying transpositions and their text-critical evaluation.
Books by Ville Mäkipelto
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenchaft, 2018
The Hebrew Bible is a product of ancient editing, but to what degree can this editing be uncover... more The Hebrew Bible is a product of ancient editing, but to what degree can this editing be uncovered? “Uncovering Ancient Editing” argues that divergent textual witnesses of the same text, so-called documented evidence, should be the starting point for such an endeavor.
The book presents a fresh analysis of Josh 24 and related texts as a test case for refining our knowledge of how scribes edited texts. Josh 24 is envisioned as a gradually growing Persian period text, whose editorial history can be reconstructed with the help of documented evidence preserved in the MT, LXX, and other ancient sources.
This study has major implications for both the study of the book of Joshua and text-historical methodology in general.
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Papers by Ville Mäkipelto
Books by Ville Mäkipelto
The book presents a fresh analysis of Josh 24 and related texts as a test case for refining our knowledge of how scribes edited texts. Josh 24 is envisioned as a gradually growing Persian period text, whose editorial history can be reconstructed with the help of documented evidence preserved in the MT, LXX, and other ancient sources.
This study has major implications for both the study of the book of Joshua and text-historical methodology in general.
The book presents a fresh analysis of Josh 24 and related texts as a test case for refining our knowledge of how scribes edited texts. Josh 24 is envisioned as a gradually growing Persian period text, whose editorial history can be reconstructed with the help of documented evidence preserved in the MT, LXX, and other ancient sources.
This study has major implications for both the study of the book of Joshua and text-historical methodology in general.