„Ich weiß, dass mein Erlöser lebt.“

Abstract

This article investigates the Septuagint and the Vulgate texts of Job 19:25–27 which have both been used as “proof texts” for the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. The respective Greek and Latin texts are thoroughly compared to the Hebrew MT, assuming that the proto-massoretic text was the supposed parent text of both versions. Some of the differences between the parent text and the translations can be explained by the fact that the unvocalized Hebrew text gave reason to “intelligent guesses”. Most original readings of the versions, however, can be shown to have resulted from theological interpretation. The Vulgate version, notably, seems to build not on the Hebrew text only but also on the Septuagint, in spite of Jerome’s commitment to the idea of Hebraica veritas and his normal practice to use a Hebrew parent text.