Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 251 Georgian Scientists ქართველი მეცნიერები Vol. 4 Issue 5, 2022 https://doi.org/10.52340/gs.2022.04.05.27 Rendering of the Verbs and Verbals of Saying in the Georgian Versions of the Books of the Minor Prophets Lela Tsikhelashvili Associate Professor, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Humanities Abstract It is well known that the Septuagint Greek is characterized by the use of more than one (as a rule, two) verbs and verbals (participles) of saying before the direct speech, which is a Hebraism, for instance: καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Αμως καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Αμασιαν …] Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah… [Amos 7:14]. The aim of the given paper is to analyze the issue of rendering of the verbs and participles of saying into Georgian. With this aim, I have compared the old Georgian translation/edition (X-XI cc.) of all the twelve books of Minor Prophets with the Georgian version of the Hellenophile period (XII – XIII cc.). Observation of the Georgian versions of the Bible has proved that the earlier translator takes more account of the nature of the Georgian language. Therefore, the old versions of the Bible occupy a somewhat intermediate position between the formal and dynamic translations, whereas the translator- revisor of the Hellenophile period tries hard to preserve formal-structural or semantic equivalence with the Greek language. Keywords: Georgian versions of the Bible, verbs and verbals of saying, biblical translations. Introduction It is well known that the Septuagint Greek is characterized by the use of more than one (as a rule, two) verbs and verbals (participles) of saying (verba dicendi) before the direct speech, which is a Hebraism, for instance: καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Αμως καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Αμασιαν …]33 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah… [Amos 7:14 KJV]; ... ἐλάλησεν κύριος ἐν χειρὶ Αγγαιου τοῦ προφήτου λέγων ] .... came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying [Hag. 2:1 KJV]; καὶ ἀνεβόησαν πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπαν…] 33 For Greek I have used the academic text of LXX [1, 2] and the program `Bible Works’ [3]. Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 252 Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said… [Jon. 1:14 ] a.o. In such cases, the pleonastically used second form is the verb λέγω in the aorist or participle λέγων (present, active, nominative), which follow certain verbs of saying: ἀποκρίνομαι “to answer“, ἐπερωτάω “to ask“, ἀπαγγέλλω “to announce, report“, ἐντέλλω “to command“, ἀναβοάω “to cry out“, βοάω “to cry out“, λαλέω “to speak“, θρηνέω “to mourn“, ἀνακράζω “to cry out“ a.o. The same language phenomenon – usage of two verbs and verbals of saying – is peculiar of the New Testament [4, p. 217], for instance: ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων πᾶσιν ὁ Ἰωάννης...] John answered, saying unto them all... [Lk. 3:16 KJV]; … κράζοντα καὶ λέγοντα… ] …crying out and saying… [Lk. 4:41 KJV] a.o. The aim of the paper is to study the translation of the verbs and participles of saying in the Georgian versions of the Bible. With this aim, I have compared the old Georgian translation of the Books of Minor Prophets (Bibles of Oshki (978-979) and Jerusalem (XI c.)) with the Georgian version of the Hellenophile period (Bibles of Gelati (XII-XIII cc.), Saba (XVII-XVIII cc.) and Bakar (1743)).34 Currently it is scientifically proved that the Books of the Bible were mostly translated from Greek. This process started very soon after Georgia’s conversion to Christianity (the first half of the 4th century), however, a major portion of manuscripts have not reached our times. Although the process of translation/edition of the Biblical books from Greek lasted for centuries, the attitude of Georgian translators/editors to the Greek original texts differed through epochs. Although the translators of the earlier period (V-XI cc.) tried to make a precise translation, they also took into consideration the nature of the Georgian language and did not always preserve the formal equivalence to the original text, whereas the translators of the Hellenophile trend (XI-XIII cc.) tried their best to make an adequate, precise translation from Greek. It is well known that the Gelati Catenae Bible is a new edition/translation obtained as a result of comparison of the old translation with the text of the Septuagint. As the old (OJ) and Gelati versions (GSB) of the Bible are derived from the Greek originals of one and the same tradition, the changes made in the Gelati Bible can be explained only by a different style and technique of the translator, and the different attitude of the latter to the Greek original text.35 Research Outcomes i) Research has proved that a peculiar feature of the Books of Minor Prophets is the use of one36 or more verbs or verbals of saying before direct speech.37 Out of the twelve books, one exception in this regard is only the Prophecy of Zechariah, in which three forms of verbs of saying are used. In case of two forms, it is natural to use either ἐπηρώτησα + εἶπα or ἐλάλησεν + λέγων types of patterns, whereas 34 These two versions of the Bible almost exactly repeat the text of the Gelati version. Therefore, I will not focus on these versions. 35 A-1108 represents an autographic manuscript. Therefore, the changes made in this edition cannot be considered as scribal errors. 36 In this case, only one form is given in the Biblical Greek as well: the verb λέγω or the participle λέγων. 37 After direct speech or when inserted between, only one verb of saying is used. Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 253 in case of three forms, the above-mentioned verbs are added by both the verb λέγω in the aorist and its participle λέγων (1,2, 8, 9): (1) καὶ ἀπεκρίθη καὶ εἶπεν πρός με λέγων... ] და მომიგო და მრქუა მე38: OJ. და მომიგო და თქუა ჩემდამო მეტყუჱლმან: SB.39 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, [Zech. 4:6 KJV]. (2) καὶ ἐπηρώτησα καὶ εἶπον πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον τὸν λαλοῦντα ἐν ἐμοὶ λέγων τί ἐστιν ταῦτα κύριε] და ვჰკითხე ანგელოზსა მას, რომელი-იგი მეტყოდა, [და] ვთქუ: რაჲ არიან ესენი, უფალო? OJდა ვიკითხე და ვთქუ ანგელოზისა მიმართ, მზრახვალისა ჩემ შორის, მეტყუჱლმან: რა არიან ესენი, უფალო? SB So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? [Zech. 4:4 KJV].40 ii) In general, it is characteristic of the Septuagint text to use participle λέγων (present, active, nominative) without the article before the direct speech, at the very end of the main clause. This represents a Hebraism. Such λέγων is of predicative nature; hence, in the old translation (OJ) it is given in the form of a finite verb siţq`ua/tquma/rquma which is more natural for Georgian. In the Gelati Bible (SB), which is a precise, word for word translation, the participle λέγων is translated by a participle. In Georgian, its solid equivalent is meţq`uel (მეტყუელ “speaker, (person) saying”) subjective/active participle, which is a syntactically isolated attribute, the modified member of which is often omitted (1, 2, 3, 8, 9): (3) ... ἐλάλησεν κύριος ἐν χειρὶ Αγγαιου τοῦ προφήτου λέγων] ... იტყოდა უფალი ჴელითა ანგეა წინაწარმეტყუელისაჲთა და თქუა: OJ თქუა უფალმან ჴელითა ანგეა წინაჲსწარმეტყუჱლისათა, მეტყუჱლმან: SB. ... came the word of the LORD by the prophet Haggai, saying, [Hag. 2:1 KJV]. tqu-a meţq`uel-man say - S3:AOR saying-ERG iii) The participle λέγων is sometimes represented with an article and agrees with the modified word in gender, case and number. Such attributive participle is given in the old translation of the Bible (OJ) in the form of a finite verb of the attributive clause. As subordinating conjunctions are characteristic of Old Georgian, the old translator adds a relative pronoun romel (რომელ “which/who”) to the subordinate clause. The situation is the same in the English translation. Attributive λέγων participle is translated in the Gelati version (SB) by means of subjective/active participle, which represents a syntactically isolated attribute. For Georgian syntax, it is unusual to use a great number of constructions 38 In the old translation, one form is left untranslated. 39 I have used the electronic edition of the academic text of the old Georgian versions of Georgian Bible [5]. 40 In this case, in Greek, there are four forms before the direct speech (two verbs and two participles), although the participle τὸν λαλοῦντα does not refer to the speaker, the subject. Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 254 with subjective/active participle. This is peculiar of the translations of the Hellenophile period (XII – XIII cc.) (4): (4) καὶ ὄψεται ἡ ἐχθρά μου καὶ περιβαλεῖται αἰσχύνην ἡ λέγουσα πρός με ποῦ κύριος ὁ θεός σου...] და მიხილოს მე მტერმან ჩემმან და დაფაროს იგი სირცხჳლმან, რომელი მეტყოდა მე: სადა არს უფალი ღმერთი შენი?.. OJ. და ჰხედვიდეს მტერი ჩემი და გარე-მოისხას სირცხჳლი, მეტყუჱლმან ჩემდამო: სადა არს უფალი ღმერთი შენი?.. SB. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the LORD thy God?.. [Mic. 7:10 KJV]. romel-i m-e- ţq`-od-a me which- NOM O1-REL. PREF- say- SUF-S3:IMP I- DAT “who said to me” meţq`uel-man čem-da-mo saying-ERG I-GEN-ADV-POST “(the person) speaking with me“ In the Greek language, the participle λέγω takes the noun in the accusative case with the preposition πρός. Based on the analyzed material, such nouns are given in the old translation in the form of indirect objects in the dative case, whereas in the Gelati Bible we find a noun/pronoun in the genitive-adverbial case with a postposition mi(mart)/mo(mart) (4). iv) Analysis of the empirical material has proved that in Greek, the verb λέγω forms two kinds of syntactic constructions: it takes either the indirect object in the dative case, or the noun in the accusative with the preposition πρὸς. In the first case, the indirect object is translated by the indirect object in the dative case in all manuscripts (5). In the second case, the noun in the accusative, with the preposition πρός of the verb λέγω in Oshki and Jerusalem MSS (OJ) is translated by means of an indirect object of rquma (რქუმა “to tell”) trivalent verb (a syntactic construction which is more natural for Georgian as a polypersonal type of language), whereas in the Gelati version (GSB) we find a bivalent verb tquma (თქუმა “to say”) and a noun/pronoun in the genitive-adverbial case with the postposition mi(mart)/mo(mart) (1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9). As we can see, in the Hellenophile version, the noun with a preposition is translated by means of a noun with a postposition, in order to achieve formal precision: (5) καὶ προσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ πρωρεὺς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ...] და მოუჴდა მას მენავჱ იგი და ჰრქუა მას: OJ. და მოვიდა მისდამი მეპრორე და ჰრქუა მას: GSB. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him... [Jon. 1:6 KJV]. h-rqu-a ma-s O3-tell-S3:AOR he-DAT “told him” Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 255 (6) καὶ εἶπα πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον τὸν λαλοῦντα ἐν ἐμοί...] და ვარქუ ანგელოზსა მას, რომელი მეტყოდა მე: OJ. და ვთქუ ანგელოზისა მიმართ, მზრახვალისა ჩემ შორის: GSB. Then said I to the angel that talked with me... [Zech. 5:10 KJV]. v-tqu angeloz-is-a mimart S1-say:AOR angel-GEN-ADV to:POST “I said to the angel” Constructions of the type “vtqu angelozisa mimart“ are not natural for Georgian [6, p. 185]. Constructions of this type are frequently found in the translations of Hellenophile style (they are frequent in Gelati Codex) and represent a syntactic Greekism. v) One of the peculiarities of the Prophecy of Zechariah is a frequent use of the attributive participle λαλῶν with an article. In all cases, it serves as an attribute to the word ὁ ἄγγελος (ანგელოზ “angel“). This participle is not found in the books of other minor prophets and is rare in the Holy Scriptures in general. The rule of translation of this word is the same as the rule of translation of the attributive participle λέγων (see iii). In the Gelati Bible, a solid equivalent of the participle λαλῶν is subjective/active participle mzraxval (მზრახვალ “talker, (person) talking”) (2, 6, 7, 9): (7) καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ λαλῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ εἶπεν πρός με ἀνάβλεψον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου... ]და გამოვიდა ანგელოზი იგი, რომელი41 მეტყოდა,42 და მრქუა მე: აღიხილენ თუალნი შენნი... OJ. და განვიდა ანგელოზი, მზრახვალი ჩემ შორის და თქუა ჩემდამო: აღიხილენ თუალნი შენნი... GSB. Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me… [Zech. 5:5 KJV]. mzraxval-i čem šoris talking-NOM I:GEN between:POST “(the person) talking with me” In the Septuagint Greek, the participle λαλῶν takes the noun in the dative case with the preposition ἐν. Based on the analyzed data, in the earlier translations (OJ) such nouns are given in the form of an indirect object in the dative case. However, in the Gelati version (GSB), such nouns are represented in the genitive case and they are followed by a postposition šoris (შორის “between”) (7). vi) I have already presented the rules and patterns of Georgian translation of verbs and participles of saying before the direct speech. Naturally, the above-mentioned does not exclude deviations from these rules in the process of translation. This especially refers to the old translation preserved in the Oshki and Jerusalem Codexes (the above-mentioned is less vivid in the exact formal translation of Hellenophile period found in the Gelati version). The data of the Oshki and Jerusalem MSS enables 41 In this case also, the old translator adds a relative pronoun romel (რომელ “which/who”) in the subordinate clause. 42 The polypersonal nature of the Georgian verb makes it possible to omit the personal pronoun. In the given example, the indirect object expressed by the first person pronoun is omitted with the verb meţq`oda (მეტყოდა “to speak”). Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 256 identify the type of changes made by the old translator in the process of translation. The aim of the translator was to achieve stylistic appropriateness of the text, avoid complicated constructions or tautology. Let us discuss a couple of examples: (8) καὶ ἀπεκρίθη καὶ εἶπεν πρός με λέγων...] და მომიგო და მრქუა მე: OJ და მომიგო და თქუა ჩემდამო მეტყუჱლმან: SB. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, [Zech. 4:6 KJV]. In fact, all the above-mentioned rules of translation are preserved in the given example, but the earlier translator (OJ) omits the verb corresponding to the participle λέγων in order to simplify the construction. The Gelati Bible offers exact translation. (9) καὶ ἐπηρώτησα καὶ εἶπον πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον τὸν λαλοῦντα ἐν ἐμοὶ λέγων τί ἐστιν ταῦτα κύριε და ვჰკითხე ანგელოზსა მას, --- რომელი-იგი მეტყოდა, [და] ვთქუ: რაჲ არიან ესენი, უფალო? OJ და ვიკითხე და ვთქუ ანგელოზისა მიმართ, მზრახვალისა ჩემ შორის, მეტყუჱლმან: რა არიან ესენი, უფალო? SB I answered43 and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? [Zech. 4:4 KJV]. As for the given example, four forms of saying (two verbs and two participles) are found together before the direct speech in the Septuagint Greek. Therefore, the old translator (OJ) omits the verb εἶπον and does not translate it in order to avoid an overly complicated construction. In this case also, the Gelati Bible contains exact, adequate translation. In many cases, accurate translation is given in the Oshki and Jerusalem MSS. Conclusion Thus, observation of the Georgian translations/editions of the Bible with reference to verbs and verbals of saying has proved that the translators of the old and Hellenophile periods try to make precise translation of the text and address the issue with great veneration. However, the earlier translator takes more account of the nature of the Georgian language. Therefore, the old translations of the Bible occupy a somewhat intermediate position between the formal and dynamic translations (although “there are numerous signs of formal-structural translation“ [7, p. 471]). The translator of the Hellenophile period tries hard to preserve formal-structural or semantic equivalence with the Greek language. It is well known that the language of translation of the Biblical Books was recognized by the Georgian writers as a standard language. Hence, it is quite natural that examples of usage of two forms of verbs of saying before direct speech are sometimes found in the original Georgian hagiography (V- 43 In Greek and Georgian, we find the verb “to ask”. Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 257 XI cc.). This language phenomenon started to disappear gradually beginning from the 12th century. Yet, in rare cases, this phenomenon is found in the texts of the 17th and 18th centuries as well. References 1. Ziegler, Joseph (ed). Jeremias – Baruch – Threni – Epistula Jeremiae. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 1976. 504 p. 2. Ziegler, Joseph (ed). Duodecim Prophetae. Vol XIII. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. 1984. 3. The Computer program Bible Works. Version 10.0.4.216. https://www.bibleworks.com/ 4. Blass, F. and Debrunner, A. A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Cambridge. Chicago, Illinois: The Cambridge University Press. The University of Chicago Press. 1961. 263 p. 5. The electronic edition of the academic text of Old Georgian versions of the Georgian Bible: http://www.bible.ge/Manuscript/2win.htm 6. Mirotadze, Natia. The Influence of the Biblical Translation on the Postpositional System of the Georgian Literary Language. Oriental Languages in Translation. IV. Krakow. 2013. pp.179-187. 7. Danelia, Korneli. mxaţvruli enisa da sţilis zogierti saķitxi bibliur çignta ჳveli qartuli targmanis mixedvit [Certain Issues Related to the Literary Language and Style Based on the Old Georgian Translation of the Biblical Books]. Narķvevebi Kartuli samçerlobo enis isţoriidan [Essays on the History of the Literary Georgian Language]. I. Tbilisi: Tbilisi State University Press. 1998. pp. 443-500. Abbreviations B – A-455, Bakar Codex , the published version (1743); G – A-1108, Gelati Codex (XII-XIII cc.); Hag. – Haggai, Jon. – Jonah, J – Jer-11/7, Jerusalem Codex (XI c.); KJV – King James Version English Bible, Lk. – Luke, MSS – manuscripts; Mic. – Micah, O – Ath-1, Oshki Codex (978-979); S – A-51, Mtskheta Codex (XVII-XVIII cc.); Zech. – Zechariah; LXX – Septuagint. ADV – adverbial case; AOR – aorist; DAT – dative case; ERG – ergative case; GEN – genitive case; IMP – imperfect; NOM – nominative case; O1 – marker of the 1st objective person; O3 – marker of the 3rd objective person; POST – postposition; REL. PREF – relative prefix; SUF – suffix; S1 – marker of the 1st subjective person; S3 – marker of the 3rd subjective person. https://www.bibleworks.com/ http://www.bible.ge/Manuscript/2win.htm Georgian Scientists/ქართველი მეცნიერები ტ. 4 N 5, 2022 258 მეტყველების წრის ზმნის პირიანი და უპირო ფორმების გადმოტანა მცირე წინასწარმეტყველთა წიგნების ქართულ ვერსიებში ლელა ციხელაშვილი ასოცირებული პროფესორი, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, ჰუმანიტარულ მეცნიერებათა ფაკულტეტი რეზიუმე ცნობილია, რომ სეპტუაგინტის ბერძნულისთვის დამახასიათებელია მეტყველების წრის ერთზე მეტი (როგორც წესი, ორი) ზმნის პირიანი თუ უპირო ფორმის (მიმღეობის) გამოყენება პირდაპირი ნათქვამის წინ, რაც ებრაიზმს წარმოადგენს, მაგალითად: καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Αμως καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Αμασιαν …] მიუგო ამოს და ჰრქუა ამასიას: [ამოს 7:14]. სტატიის მიზანს წარმოადგენს მეტყველების წრის ზმნებისა და მიმღეობების ქართულად გადმოტანის საკითხის შესწავლა. ამ მიზნით ერთმანეთს შევადარეთ მცირე წინასწარმეტყველთა წიგნების ძველი (X-XI სს.) და ელინოფილური პერიოდის (XII–XIII სს.) ბიბლიის ქართული თარგმანები/ რედაქციები. ბიბლიის ქართული ვერსიების შესწავლამ ცხადყო, რომ ძველი მთარგმნელი, მართალია, ცდილობს სათარგმნი ტექსტის ზუსტად გადმოტანას, მაგრამ, იმავდროულად, ითვალისწინებს ქართული ენის ბუნებასაც. ამიტომ ბიბლიის ძველ ქართულ თარგმანს ერთგვარად შუალედური ადგილი უჭირავს ფორმალურ და დინამიკურ თარგმანებს შორის. ელინოფილური პერიოდის მთარგმნელ-რედაქტორი კი ამ საკითხშიც ცდილობს დაიცვას ბერძნულთან ფორმალურ-სტრუქტურული თუ შინაარსობრივი ეკვივალენტურობა. საკვანძო სიტყვები: ბიბლიის ქართული ვერსიები, მეტყველების წრის ზმნები, ბიბლიურ წიგნთა თარგმანები.