Sunday, December 28, 2008

Upcoming

I am currently looking through questions surrounding Melito's list. Some scholars such as Dr. McDonald and De Wette believe he includes the Wisdom of Solomon, while others such as Sundberg and Beckwith reject this idea. My opinion on the matter is still in process (expect an upcoming post) and will be greatly shaped by the information provided by Dr. Lee and Dr. Finley along with whatever else I can collect on my own. It is an interesting topic and if anyone has anything that might aid in the matter the contribution would be much appreciated.

Some of the questions being posed:

Dr. Lee (Notable Expert on Canon)

1) Is the translation: “the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon and his Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job…” that apparent? Only judging from the Greek, is Beckwith and Bruce’s translation reasonably plausible?
2) Granted that the Wisdom of Solomon was common in early Christianity, but isn’t Melito’s list coming from the Jews? Did the Jews in the area he got his list from regard the Wisdom of Solomon as Scripture?
3)I asked my teacher Dr. Finley about Melito’s list and he suggested that it might not be a minority view (or that the subject itself is more controversial). He cites... My question: How big is the disagreement? What other scholars take your view (so far I’ve got De Wette and Lake) and are there others that would side with Beckwith and the rest?

Dr. Finley (
Professor and Chair, Old Testament & Semitics)
1) ...you also included that it conforms more closely to Codex B of the LXX and is closer in its titles of books. My question: If it is conforming more closely to LXX titles of books wouldn't the Wisdom of Solomon's addition have a better chance? I ask this because Dr. Lee appeals to the citing of Wisdom along with Proverbs in Vaticanus, Sinaticus and Alexandrinus. How do the titles applied to these books correspond with the title in Melito's list?
2)The ref in Eccl. Hist 4.22.9...is there something in the Greek that might tip us off that it is not being used as a title but rather something more descriptive?

(Greek Professor)
1) According to the Greek, which way would you translate it? What reasons do you see against and in support of the two translations? With the presence of the other sources, how would you translate it?