Parenthesis in J.B. Lightfoot's translation of the Didache

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
Post Reply
S Howell
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2018 4:30 pm

Parenthesis in J.B. Lightfoot's translation of the Didache

Post by S Howell »

Can anyone tell me why the parentheses are there? Does it mean that the bracketed words are missing from the Greek because the original text is damaged?
Thanks
User avatar
Ben C. Smith
Posts: 8994
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2015 2:18 pm
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Parenthesis in J.B. Lightfoot's translation of the Didache

Post by Ben C. Smith »

S Howell wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 4:35 pm Can anyone tell me why the parentheses are there? Does it mean that the bracketed words are missing from the Greek because the original text is damaged?
Thanks
Do you mean the (curly) braces on the ECW page? Those were italics in the original text, and I believe they simply highlight those bits which Lightfoot deemed to be quotations of or strong allusions to scriptural passages. The first passage so marked, for example, is "the way of life," which comes from Deuteronomy 30.15.
ΤΙ ΕΣΤΙΝ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ
User avatar
DCHindley
Posts: 3412
Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2013 9:53 am
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Parenthesis in J.B. Lightfoot's translation of the Didache

Post by DCHindley »

S Howell wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 4:35 pm Can anyone tell me why the parentheses are there? Does it mean that the bracketed words are missing from the Greek because the original text is damaged?
They are quotations from Judean scripture. In the 1992 edition, they are in quotation marks and the passages are stated in the footnotes. Online editions can be quirky.

DCH
S Howell
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2018 4:30 pm

Re: Parenthesis in J.B. Lightfoot's translation of the Didache

Post by S Howell »

Thank you both for your replies. To clarify, yes I do mean the translation on the ECW page. I was puzzled because the other English translations linked from ECW do not have the brackets.
Post Reply