THE ANCIENT VERSIONS OF LAMENTATIONS

The Ancient Versions of the Old Testament can be utilised for different purposes.Two of the most important usages of the Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgate and theTargums are their use in the process of reconstructing the Hebrew text of the OldTestament and the reception of the Old Testament in different communities. Thispaper explores the value of the Ancient Versions of Lamentations in these tworespects, discussing a representative number of examples. As far as the Hebrew textis concerned, the Ancient Versions were translated from a text close to theMasoretic Text. The Targum and Septuagint shed light on the reception of Lamentationsin different Jewish communities, although the Septuagint was transmittedmainly in the Christian community. The Peshitta and Vulgate shed light on thereception in different Christian communities.