I neologismi nei Settanta e nell’antichità

The words defined as neologisms in the lexicons of the LXX are numerous, but there is a considerable fluctuation in the exact determination of their occurrences. This uncertainty also emerges in the works of authors who study the glossary of LXX. This inconsistency occurs because there are no shared criteria to define a term as a neologism. Some scholars have investigated the phenomenon of neologisms in LXX and have formulated criteria that, thanks to the contributions of papyri and the inscriptions, reduce their number and suggest prudence in their definition.

In this article, after an excursus on the reflection of LXX scholars on neologisms, the concept of neologism in antiquity is presented. The aim is to open the discussion to the possible influence of a "school" on the use of neologisms in LXX. It seems that there are indications that this influence existed. In the schools, in fact, they were taught the principles for coining new words that could not have been unknown to the translators and authors of the books of LXX. At the end of the article, the author claims that there are criteria which define with a good margin of probability a term in LXX is identified as a neologism, attributable either to the milieu to which an author or a translator belonged or to themselves.