Why Does Jonah Snore in the LXX Translation (Jonah 1:5-6)? From the Theological Sobriety of the Patristic Exegesis to the Facetiousness of a Hellenizing Translation

Abstract

Ever since antiquity the Book of Jonah raised numerous problems of translation and interpretation, caused especially by its way, uncommon to the biblical books, of presenting the missionary activity of a prophet. If the ancient translations and interpretations generally reached a consensus about the sober message of the book, the LXX translation sets itself apart by seemingly reflecting a comical understanding of the original text. On the basis of other ancient translations and interpretations of the passage of Jonah 1:5-6, our study aims at explaining how the LXX translator could have understood the text and made him render it differently than the original.