mlinssen wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 2:49 pm
Thomas logion 96:
[ⲡⲉϫⲉ] ⲓ̅ⲥ̅ ϫⲉ ⲧ ⲙⲛ̄ⲧ ⲉⲣⲟ ⲙ̄ ⲡ ⲉⲓⲱⲧ` ⲉ ⲥ ⲧⲛ̄ⲧⲱ[ⲛ ⲉ ⲩ] ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ
ⲡⲉϫⲉ- ⲓⲥ ϫⲉ- ⲧ- ⲙⲛⲧ- ⲣⲣⲟ ⲛ- ⲡ- ⲉⲓⲱⲧ ⲉ- ⸗ⲥ ⲧⲟⲛⲧⲛ+ ⲉ- ⲟⲩ- ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ
said IS : the(F) reign-of(F) king of the father she is-comparable to a woman
ⲁ ⲥ ϫⲓ ⲛ̄ ⲟⲩ ⲕⲟⲩⲉⲓ ⲛ̄ ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ [ⲁ ⲥ ϩⲟ]ⲡ ϥ` ϩⲛ̄ ⲟⲩ ϣⲱⲧⲉ
ⲁ- ⸗ⲥ ϫⲓ ⲛ- ⲟⲩ- ⲕⲟⲩⲓ ⲛ- ⲥⲓⲣ ⲁ- ⸗ⲥ ϩⲱⲡ ⲛⲧⲟϥ ϩⲛ- ⲟⲩ- ϣⲱⲧⲉ
did she take [dop] a little [al] first-milk did she hide him in a(n) dough
ⲁ ⲥ ⲁⲁ ϥ ⲛ̄ ϩⲛ̄ ⲛ[ⲟϭ ⲛ̄] ⲛ ⲟⲉⲓⲕ` ⲡⲉⲧ ⲉⲩⲙ̄ ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙ̄ⲙⲟ ϥ ⲙⲁ[ⲣⲉ ϥ ⲥⲱ]ⲧⲙ̄
ⲁ- ⸗ⲥ ⲉⲓⲣⲉ ⲛⲧⲟϥ ⲛ- ϩⲟⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛⲟϭ ⲛ- ⲛ- ⲟⲉⲓⲕ ⲡⲉⲧ ⲟⲩⲛ- ⲙⲁⲁϫⲉ ⲙⲙⲟ⸗ ⲛⲧⲟϥ ⲙⲁⲣⲉ- ⲛⲧⲟϥ ⲥⲱⲧⲙ
did she make-be him of some(PL) great [al] loaf he-who there-be ear within he let! he hear
The usual recipe from my translation: first row is MS transcript, second row is Crum (and KELLIA CDO) dictionary entry, third row is translation
You'll all be familiar with it, its parallels can be found in the NT:
Matthew 13:33 Ἄλλην (Another) παραβολὴν (parable) ἐλάλησεν (spoke He) αὐτοῖς (to them): “Ὁμοία (Like) ἐστὶν (is) ἡ (the) βασιλεία (kingdom) τῶν (of the) οὐρανῶν (heavens) ζύμῃ (to leaven), ἣν (which) λαβοῦσα (having taken), γυνὴ (a woman) ἐνέκρυψεν (hid) εἰς (in) ἀλεύρου (of flour) σάτα (measures) τρία (three), ἕως (until) οὗ (of it) ἐζυμώθη (was leavened) ὅλον (all).”
Luke 13:20 Καὶ (And) πάλιν (again) εἶπεν (He said), “Τίνι (To what) ὁμοιώσω (shall I liken) τὴν (the) βασιλείαν (kingdom) τοῦ (-) Θεοῦ (of God)? 21 ὁμοία (Like) ἐστὶν (it is) ζύμῃ (to leaven), ἣν (which) λαβοῦσα (having taken), γυνὴ (a woman) ἔκρυψεν (hid) εἰς (in) ἀλεύρου (of meal) σάτα (measures) τρία (three) ἕως (until) οὗ (it) ἐζυμώθη (was leavened) ὅλον (all).”
Leaven is the word there, and the text of Thomas has ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ: that word can be found under one and the same dictionary entry for a few words, and that dictionary entry is
https://coptic-dictionary.org/results.c ... e&lang=any
ⲥⲓⲣ is what the second row says. click the link, and KELLIA will show the following:
ⲥⲓⲣ ⲥⲁⲓⲣ, ... first milk (colostrum), butter
ⲥⲓⲣ ⲥⲉⲣ leaven
ⲥⲓⲣ -- hair, line, stripe
ⲥⲓⲣ -- a malady
ⲥⲓⲣ -- jar
The top word looks pretty much like the word in Thomas, but the second word is what is in the canonicals:
https://coptic-dictionary.org/entry.cgi?tla=C3686 - and it is
leaven, Crum page 353a (
https://coptot.manuscriptroom.com/crum- ... &tla=C3686)
The word in Thomas is to be found via
https://coptic-dictionary.org/entry.cgi?tla=C3685 - and it is
colostrum, Crum page 353a also (
https://coptot.manuscriptroom.com/crum- ... &tla=C3685)
Crum has two entries for ⲥⲓⲣ, of which the one translated as 'first milk (colostrum), butter' is the main entry.
As variants he names ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ, ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ, ⲥⲏⲣⲉ (S), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲓⲣⲉ (A2).
The second entry translates to 'leaven' and notes as variants ⲥⲉⲣ, ⲥⲉⲣⲉ (S), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲓⲗ (F).
The letters between parentheses represent Coptic dialects: Sahidic (S), Akhmimic (A), Sub-Akhmimic (A2 or L - for Lycopolitan), Fayyumic (F).
Thomas is considered to be a text mainly in Sahidic, with some Akhmimic and Sub-Akhmimic
There are a few other dictionaries that attest to both words: CED 160; KoptHWb 193, 539; DELC 195; ChLCS 46b:
- J. Černý - "Coptic Etymological Dictionary", Cambridge, 1976 (CED)
- W. Westendorf - "Koptisches Handwörterbuch", Heidelberg, 1965 / 1977 (KoptHWb)
- W. Vychicl - "Dictionnaire Étymologique de la langue Copte", Leuven, 1983 (DELC)
- P. Cherix - "Lexique copte sahidique", V.18.1, 2006-2018 (ChLCS)
These are considered the "go-to dictionaries", so let's go there. As you can see, Westendorf has two pages on it, and those are rather far apart. There is a long story to it, so I'm saving it for last.
I am ignoring any other entries for ⲥⲓⲣ that lead to the other definitions above like hair, malady, jar and such
- Černý has two entries for ⲥⲓⲣ, of which the one translated as 'first milk (colostrum), butter' is the main entry.
The sub-entry to that is also ⲥⲓⲣ, translated as 'leaven'. Černý doesn't name any variants of either, so isn't helpful in that regard: he doesn't attest to the word in Thomas
- Vychicl (page 195!) also has two entries for ⲥⲓⲣ, of which the one translated as 'colostrum, first milk of a female after parturition' is the first entry.
As variants he names ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ, ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ, ⲥⲏⲣⲉ (S), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲉⲓⲣⲉ (L) - and that is an exact copy of what Crum has there.
The sub-entry to that is also ⲥⲓⲣ, translated as 'leaven'. As variants he names ⲥⲉⲓⲗ (F), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲣ, ⲥⲉⲣⲉ (S), and a probability for ⲥⲉⲉⲣ (S)
- Cherix (page 47a!) has a main entry for ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ with variants ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ, ⲥⲏⲣⲉ; he translates that to 'first milk, colostrum; cream, butter'.
The sub-entry to that is ⲥⲓⲣ with variants ⲥⲉⲣ, ⲥⲉⲣⲉ; he translates that to 'leaven, sourdough'.
Crum, Vychicl and Cherix attest to the word in Thomas, ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ, as a (very close) variant of the main word ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣⲉ:
colostrum or
first milk, butter - and Cherix adds
cream.
What's the story with Westendorf?
Wolfhart Westendorf also published a Coptic dictionary, yet he did that in parts - a lot of them, actually. Nine parts, published in between 1965 and 1977. 679 pages, consisting of the main dictionary and an addendum. Now it's not extraordinary to publish an addendum, not at all. A page or two perhaps, depending on the size of your book. Yet what does Westendorf have?
A main book consisting of 482 pages, and an addendum of 197 pages: nearly half of that
So on page 193 there is the entry for ⲥⲓⲣ and ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ, and on page 539 there's the "fixed entry". Now it is unclear whether that overrides the first entry or not, but here is the first page, 193:
- Westendorf has two entries for ⲥⲓⲣ, and both of them are labelled ⲥⲓⲣ - but the variants differ and so do the translations.
First entry: ⲥⲓⲣ with variants ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ(ⲉ), ⲥⲏⲣⲉ (S), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲉⲓⲣⲉ (A2); he translates it as 'butter, cream'.
Second entry: ⲥⲓⲣ with variants ⲥⲉⲣⲉ (S), ⲥⲉⲉⲣⲉ (A), ⲥⲉⲓⲗ (F); he translates it as 'leaven'.
So Westendorf also attests to the word in Thomas and out of the 5 go-to dictionaries (naturally including Crum) this variant is attested for by 4, translated as colostrum or first milk, butter - and Cherix adds cream, whereas Westendorf has only cream and butter.
Now that is a very, very safe bet to at least exclude 'leaven' as a translation, and the most probable translation is colostrum or first milk, or butter, with a possibility for cream as well. Is there anyone who has this variant under the entry for 'leaven'? No, most certainly not
Now what's with Westendorf's addendum, and why is it so incredibly large? I don't know the story there, but I do know that his "fixed" entry looks quite different from the first:
Westendorf page 539:
Only entry: ⲥⲓⲣ translated as 'butter' with variants
ⲥⲁⲉⲓⲣ(ⲉ) translated as 'leaven' and it is immediately followed by an explicit pointer to
(Till, Thomas 97,4) which refers to the edition princeps by Guillaumont et al, 1959.
A variant ⲥⲓⲉⲓⲣ is attested to (Sa, "Sahidic with Akhmimic tendencies"), also translated to 'leaven'
So Westendorf's "fixed entry" translates the word in Thomas with 'leaven' because that is what the editio princeps translated it with - and he corrects, or expands (?) his original entries with this one.
That's a never-ending circular reasoning, of course, and it can only be discarded, especially because there is nothing like a note or anything else to this alleged editio princeps, a flimsy work that promised an editio major - which never came, for reasons that aren't hard to imagine
So the word in Thomas is colostrum, attested for not only by the main and major authority in the field, Water E. Crum, but also by the majority of the "go-to dictionaries". Westendorf must either be discarded, given his circular reasoning, and then the score is 3 out of 4. Or he must be included and only his original entry counts, and then the score is 4 out of 5 - while adding a translation of 'cream, butter' without 'colostrum (first milk) in the case of Westendorf
One thing is absolutely uncontested: no one attests to the word in Thomas as 'leaven'
Now Thomas is fond of wordplay, and his text contains infants drinking milk (logion 22), as well as lactating breasts (logion 79) that also give milk - a copy of which is in the canonicals (see
viewtopic.php?p=119209#p119209). It is not strange in his text to have a woman put colostrum into dough in order to get great loaves out of it, and
it is very understandable that someone saw that and mistook the word for 'leaven' while translating it into Greek.
Which would make a solid case for Coptic Thomas being the source to the canonicals, and the original over any Greek version
Wouldn't it?