SYMMACHUS, a famous Translator of the Books of the Old Testament, out of Hebrew into Greek. He was a Samaritan by Birth, and lived at the End of the second Century, under the Emperor Severus. Epiphanius says, that he was in good Reputation Epiphan. de ponder. & mensur.in his own Country, and held a considerable Rank among the learned Men of Samaria. But having an Ambition of becoming the Head and Master of them, and being disgusted at their Refusal of conferring this Dignity upon him, he left Samaria, and settled among the Jews. He even submitted to the receiving of a second Circumcision from them; for the Animosity between the Jews and Samaritans was carry’d so far, that they obliged all Proselytes from one Religion to the other to be re-circumcised.
After this Symmachus embraced Christianity,1 and herded with the Sect of the Ebionites. It was in Defence of these Hereticks against the Catholicks, that he undertook a new Translation of the Books of the Old Testament into Greek. To which end he gives the most favourable Turn he can to the Text, conformable to the Notions of that Sect, who acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the Messiah, but thought him not to be God, or the Son of God. They likewise deny’d a future Judgment, and maintained several other erroneous Doctrines.
The Method that Symmachus takes in his Translation, is very different from that of Aquila or Theodotion. Aquila endeavours, in a close and servile Manner, to give the literal Sense and Signification of every Word of the Text, without much regarding the Coherence of the Discourse, or the Meaning of the Text; so that his Translation was rather a Dictionary for teaching the literal Signification of the Terms, than a Translation for shewing the Sense of the Text. But Symmachus,2 on the contrary, endeavour’d much more to express what he thought to be the Meaning of the Text, than the Power of every Word. Theodotion keeps the middle Way between Aquila and Symmachus; his Version does not appear to be a Paraphrase, like that of Symmachus; nor a Dictionary, like that of Aquila. He strives to give the Sense of the Hebrew Text in Greek Words answering to the Hebrew, as far as the different Genus’s of the two Languages would allow. We have now only some Fragments of the Versions of these antient Translators, which have been gather’d together by the great Pains of the Reverend Father D. Bernard de Montfaucon, in two Volumes in Folio, intitled, The Hexapla of Origen. The antient Fathers have spoke of certain Hereticks call’d Symmachians, whom some think to have been the Disciples and Followers of Symmachus the Translator, of whom we are now speaking.
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