Sisaliku jäljed piiblitõlkes. Lõunaeestikeelse Vana Testamendi saatusest
A lizard’s trace in bible translation: on the history of the South Estonian version of the Old Testament

Summary/Abstract: Hitherto the south Estonian translation of the old testament published in 1796 by Heinrich andreas Erxleben, the then pastor of Kambja, has not merited much attention in the history of Estonian Bible translation. traditionally, the end of the 18th century has been considered a quiet period in the development of literary Estonian. as the north Estonian publication of the Full Bible in 1739 had set the standard for literary Estonian interest in the development of the south Estonian version faded. Yet, a closer look at Erxleben's edition reveals a surprisingly interesting text as far as translation history is concerned. namely, the text consists of two parts differing in the method of translation. its final part (beginning with the Book of Judges) draws on the north Estonian printed Bible, while the usage has been adapted towards south Estonian and trimmed following the example of Luther's German translation. the result looks like a south Estonian translation to be expected at the end of the 18th century. However, the wording of the initial part (up to the end of the Book of Joshua) mostly coincides with that of a manuscript translation done a century earlier and presumably authored by andreas Virginius, the then pastor of Kambja, and his son adrian Virginius. the translation attributed to the Virginiuses has survived as a north Estonian copy done by an unknown scribe. Using translation analysis, personal history data and a few linguistic observations the article attempts to specify the possible relations of the two translations and to find out more about the emergence and evolution of the south Estonian translation of the Bible.

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