A Tale of Two Scholars: Max L. Margolis (1866–1932) and Harry M. Orlinsky (1908–1992)

followed.But before moving in that direction, allow me to provide an extensive quotation from Orlinsky about Margolis' handling of Greek Joshua's Hebrew text:Margolis' frequent statements that Greek "minuses" were the result of the (Old) Greek translator were based on "an assertion that had never been demonstrated, one that -even if it came from so erudite a scholar as Margolis -failed to do any justice to the Septuagint translator of his Sacred Hebrew text in the first place, and which failed to derive from an objective study of the character of the Septuagint of Joshua in the second place."In a memorable observation Orlinsky continues: "Margolis' characterization of the Septuagint of Joshua was justified neither a priori or a posteriori.It was in line with the equally gratuitous statement made three decades previously by George Adam Smith that Joshua was 'not regarded by the (LXX) translators as sharing the peculiar sanctity of the Torah.'"Orlinsky declares that the individual responsible for Greek Joshua "was no whit less faithful to his Hebrew Vorlage than the translators of the Torah were to their Hebrew Vorlage … The Greek text of Joshua derived from a Hebrew text that differed from that of our preserved (so-called Masoretic) Hebrew text both in the matter of minuses and of pluses." 2 The example of Margolis led Orlinsky to chose the Septuagint as one of the major emphases of his scholarship.It is also likely that Orlinsky was drawn to Greek Joshua as a result of his working through Margolis' myriad contributions in this regard.This is true even though Greek Joshua was not the object of Orlinsky's sustained studies as was especially the case with the Book of Job and to a lesser, but surely not negligible, degree with prophetic books, such as Isaiah.3 Throughout Orlinsky made creative use of Margolis' rigorous methodology even as he turned to other subject matter or, more rarely, expressed a critical attitude toward one or more of Margolis' insights.Which is to say that Orlinsky was an independent scholar even as he reflected the influence of Margolis.Margolis was born in the village of Meretz, located in the Russian province of Vilna (in present-day Lithuania).Even as a child he was exposed to secular subjects in addition to his education in traditional Judaism.Ultimately, he attended, and graduated from, a gymnasium in Berlin.Among his achievements was his placement as the top student in Greek.His knowledge of Latin was on display when he wrote his doctoral dissertation in that language in support of his quest for a PhD at Columbia College (as the University was then called).The title of this erudite work, "The commentary of Rashi in the Tractate Erubin viewed insofar as it is possible to be applied for the investigation of the Talmudic text," serves 2 Orlinsky, "Septuagint," 110-111.3 From Orlinsky's many publications see his "Studies" and "Treatment."

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