Aquila of Sinope
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Aquila of Sinope was a 2nd Century CE native of Pontus in Anatolia known for producing a slavishly literal translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek around 130 CE.[1] He was a proselyte to Judaism and a disciple of Rabbi Akiba[1] (d. circa 135 CE).
Epiphanius (De Pond. et Mens. c. 15) preserves a tradition that he was a kinsman of the emperor Hadrian, who employed him in rebuilding Jerusalem (Aelia Capitolina), and that he was converted to Christianity, but, on being reproved for practising pagan astrology, converted to Judaism. He seems to be referred to in Jewish writings as עקילם. Aquila's version is said to have been used in place of the Septuagint in the synagogues. The Christians generally disliked it, alleging without due grounds that it rendered the Messianic passages, such as Isaiah 7:14,[1] incorrectly, but Jerome and Origen speak in its praise. Origen incorporated it in his Hexapla.
It was thought that this was the only copy extant, but in 1897 fragments of two codices were brought to the Cambridge University Library. These have been published—the fragments containing 1 Kings 20:7–17; 2 Kings 23:12–27 by F. C. Burkitt in 1897, and those containing parts of Psalms 90–103 by C. Taylor in 1899. See F. C. Burkitt's article in the Jewish Encyclopaedia.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Ewert, David (1990). A General Introduction to the Bible: From Ancient Tablets to Modern Translations. Zondervan, 108. ISBN 0310453712.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
