Sunday, December 23, 2007

The Desire of all Nations

O Rex géntium et desiderátus eárum, lapísque anguláris, qui facis útraque unum: veni et salva hóminem, quem de limo formasti.

O King of nations, and their Desired, the Cornerstone Who dost make both one: come and save mankind whom Thou didst form out of clay.In the Authorised Version, Haggai 2:6-7 reads:

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.

It is tempting to read this as the source for the exspectatio gentium of the O Emmanuel or the desideratum gentium of O Rex. Indeed the Vulgate (v. 8) reads et veniet desideratus cunctis gentibus. However the Neo-Vulgate reads et venient thesauri cunctarum gentium. Moreover the RSV reads so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, i.e. the wealth of the nations will bankroll the temple, this suggests that in the Hebrew it is not the pure longing of the nations that is being described but materialistic desires.

The Septuagint reads καὶ ἥξει τὰ ἐκλεκτὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν - transliterated (caps for long vowels) kai hExei ta eklekta pantOn tOn ethnOn - the choice things of all the nations.

The literal interlinear translation of the Old Testament edited by John R Kohlenberger III has: and they will come one desired of all of the nations. That suggests that thesauri (treasures) is correct and not desideratus (desire).

[Please don't ask me to untangle the differences between the Neo-Vulgate and its predecessors - is it simply a better edition of Jerome's single text, did Jerome produce many translations and this is another selection than the received text? is it merely an improved translation from the Hebrew?]