Panel: SEPTUAGINT STUDIES - TOWARDS VOLUME II OF THE HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL LEXICON OF THE SEPTUAGINT (HTLS): OUTCOMES AND PERSPECTIVES



308.1 - CONSTRUCTING, DESCRIBING, AND RE-SEMANTIZING ANCIENT SLAVERY IN THE SEPTUAGINT AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE

AUTHORS:
Mambelli A. (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia/FSCIRE, Bologna ~ Bologna ~ Italy)
Text:
This article examines the specific lexical choices made by the Septuagint translators on the theme of slavery, which carry significant exegetical implications both within the Greek Bible and in its reception in early Christian literature. In particular, it focuses on the use of the term δοῦλος, which in non-biblical Greek refers to a "slave" with no personal rights and is used almost consistently in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew word ʻebed in contexts describing human beings' relationship with the God of Israel. The paper also presents selected findings from the lexical research conducted in preparation for the corresponding HTLS article.