Folia Theologica 9. (1998)
György Benyik: Hungarian Bible Translation
228 GY. BENYIK manuscripts. His rendering of the Psalms,60 translated from Hebrew, is still the best in Hungarian, but its disadvantage is that Péchi translated Sabbatarian concepts into his work. This is especially true for the passages written about the Messiah. If these passages are removed however, what remains is the most precise Hungarian translation. He did not intend to translate for the wider public though he wrote comments on the text. Péchi had been strongly influenced by a commentary written by DAVID KIMCHI (1160-1235). Due to its strong anti-Christianism this commentary could have been published only in Biblia rabbinica Magna, which was compiled and published by FELIX PRATENSIS in Venice in 1517. His other sources, Sohar Tov, Midrash Tehilim and Josippon by Gurion he also got through Kimchi’s mediation. For his work he also used Biblia Hebraica by Sebastian Münster and therefore read the Christian interpretation, the David-Christ paralell into it. GYÖRGY KOMÁROMI CSIPKÉS (1628-1678) was a Calvinist preacher who, after finishing his studies in Utrecht, taught in Debrecen. He revised the so-called Amsterdam Bible published in Leydan (1718),61 but only a few copies reached Hungary. He also made his own version in which he translated many Hebraisms into the text.62 After long delay it was published in Layden in 1718 but the Archbishop of Eger seized it and kept it first in Kassa and then in Eger, where it was burnt or dis- troyed. Its main problem was that Csipkés had translated the words of baptismal ceremony in a different way. He wrote: „baptize them to the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit instead of the „in the name...” which formula was both in Károli and Káldy version. After the Act of Tolerance of Joseph II many copies were allowed into the country _____________ 60 Péchi Simon Psaltériuma. Szilárdy Áron (publ.). Budapest, 1913. PÉCHI, Simon. Szombatos Imádságos könyve. GUTTHMANN, Mihály, and HALMOS, Sándor (publ.). Budapest, 1914.; KŐVÁRY, László. Péchi Simon kan- zellár. Budapest, 1871.; KOHN, Sámuel. A szombatosok... Budapest, 1889.; KLANICZAY, Tibor. A magyar kés reneszánsz problémái és a barokk. Budapest, 1961.; DÁN, Róbert. Az erdélyi Szombatosok és Péchi Simon. Budapest, 1987.; DÁN, Róbert. Humanizmus, Reformáció és a héber nyelv Magyarországon. Budapest, 1973. 61 Janson-féle Biblia. Amsterdam, 1639. 62 BALLAGI, M. Tanulmányok a magyar bibliafordítások körül. NYTK 1864.; FÖLDVÁRI, L. Komáromi Csipkés György és Bibliája. Protestáns Szemle, 1891.
