신약성경 헬라어의 음역에서 다수의 원어들 가설

Multiple Originals Hypothesis on Transliteration of New Testament Greek -Re-consideration of Criteria of Textual Criticism and Source Criticism

Many scholars have held an orthographical view of phonological variants of transliterated words from Semitic into Greek in the Four Gospels. The scholars have assumed that the single original spelling or the single original reading can be reconstructed. And they have tried to single out "the correct spelling" from "corrupted spellings" and "the right spelling" from "erroneous spellings." This is based on the assumption that the correct spelling is the original spelling. This means that the single correct spelling has temporal priority in relation to textual criticism and source criticism. "The single original" hypothesis has functioned as criterion for textual criticism and source criticism. It is common, however, that the transliteration from a source language to a target language leads to phonological variants. I suggest four linguistic factors such as ① a different phonetic system, ② phonological representation caused by phonological rules, ③ phonetic change in the history of a language itself, and ④ the synchronic dialects of a language. If phonological variants can be explained by the four linguistic factors, all of them can be right spellings. Three cases can be illustrated: phonological variants of a local proper noun, Nazareth (Ναζαρέθ), phonological variants of a personal proper noun, Elizabeth (Ἐλισάβετ), and phonological variants of a transliterated sentence of the cry from the cross (ηλι ηλι λαμα ζαϕανι; Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34). Six variants of Nazareth such as Ναζαρά, Ναζαράθ, Ναζαράτ, Ναζαρέδ, Ναζαρέτ, and Ναζαρέθ are predictable, explainable, and acceptable. Five spellings of Elizabeth such as Ἐλισάβη, Ἐλισάβε, Ἐλισάβετ, Ἐλισάβεθ, and Ἐλισάβεθ are predictable, explainable, and acceptable. And the phonological variants of ηλι ηλι λεμα σαβαχθανι are predictable, explainable, and acceptable. The phonological variants of the three cases caused by the four linguistic factors imply that original spellings can be multiple. Transliteration from Semitic into Greek, in most cases, leads to phonological variants due to the four linguistic factors. Accordingly, when transliterated words of the Four Gospels are investigated, multiple originals hypothesis should be applied. This means that there is a need for textual criticism and source criticism to rethink the criterion that the single correct spelling has temporal priority.