Aquila's Secunda Editio: Evaluating the Appropriation and Evolution of a Concept

Abstract

Scholars have used the concept of a secunda editio (‘second edition’) of Aquila since the eighteenth century to address numerous cruces interpretum of reception history and rabbinic tradition, including Aquila’s relationship to Onqelos and more. However, Jerome is the only witness in Late Antiquity for Aquila’s second edition and he mentions it only in relation to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In this essay, I endeavour to answer the question, How should we understand Jerome’s testimony of a second edition of Aquila? After surveying how scholars have appropriated the notion of a second edition, I analyse the internal evidence of Jerome’s attributions to the first or second editions of Aquila, compared with external evidence, and then consider the relevance of dual attributions of Aquila apart from Jerome. Following a reappraisal of Jerome’s comments and their reception, I suggest tentative answers to the above research question and consider some ramifications.