volume 10, issue 1, 2018, pages 76-88

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsDZWU1397
Published online: 2018-06-01
Published in print: 2018-06-30

Abstract: In Greek superscriptions of psalms, there are four isolated grammatical forms that are difficult to interpret: isolated genitive, isolated dative, preposition ὑπέρ with the genitive, preposition εἰς with the accusative. The only context that may help us to interpret these expressions is that it is a superscription. With the genitive, we may presume an ellipsis of a noun in the nominative (psalm etc.) and then interpret it as an objective genitive (psalm about something). The dative is a denotation of a person/thing indirectly connected with the
action (pertaining to someone). Prepositional phrases express the theme (about/on something, regarding something). If this hypothesis is correct, all these expressions are roughly synonymous. This seems to be corroborated by the fact that the author of the Greek superscriptions interchanges various grammatical forms of the same or similar nouns: συνέσεως – εἰς σύνεσιν, τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησοµένοις – ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησοµένων, ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἀσσυρίου – πρὸς τὸν Ἀσσύριον, εἰς τὴν ἡµέραν τοῦ σαββάτου – περὶ σαββάτου, τῆς µιᾶς σαββάτων – δευτέρᾳ σαββάτου.