Greek ἀρχιερεύς in Gothic translation

Abstract

One of the most remarkable examples of variation in the Gothic Bible is the translation of the Greek compound ἀρχιeρeύς ‘chief priest’, accorded as many as seven different Gothic renderings. By examining the distribution of the Gothic examples and the contexts in which they occur, this paper challenges the traditional assumptions on the variation and argues that the variants are due to the exegetical and creative inputs of the translator. It is improbable that the variation was brought about under the influence of pre-Vulgate Latin and unlikely that the different renderings were introduced by putative post-Wulfilian revisers of the Gothic text. The findings call into question the traditional narrative of Wulfila’s single-handed translation of the Bible into Gothic.