Acknowledgements
This book is a revised version of my doctoral thesis that I wrote at the University of Helsinki and defended publicly in January 2018. During my years as a doctoral candidate, I was surrounded by great scholars and other open-hearted people who have each in their own way contributed to this project. I wish to offer them my deepest thanks.
Professor emerita Anneli Aejmelaeus, my Doktormutter, has been my guide in the world of Septuagint studies and textual criticism. Throughout these years, she has read my work with great care and insight, offering comments which were always pertinent and to the point. My other supervisor Professor Ismo Dunderberg always encouraged me to look at the larger picture and to approach neighbouring fields of study with curiosity. I am grateful for his feedback, particularly concerning academic writing. Professor John M. G. Barclay of Durham University (although he was not my supervisor on any official paper) has shown great generosity in meeting with me and thinking through my work with me. His support and encouragement has been an invaluable gift during this project.
Being a member of the Academy of Finland’s Centre of Excellence Changes in Sacred Texts and Traditions has provided me with the wonderful experience of being part of an interdisciplinary, international and collegial research community. My thanks to all of the members of the centre, to its leader Professor Martti Nissinen, and particularly to the other members of Team Two: Text and Authority: Paavo Huotari, Dr Tuukka Kauhanen, Marketta Liljeström, Dr Drew Longacre, Dr Jessi Orpana, Dr Elina Perttilä, Marika Pulkkinen, Dr Christian Seppänen and Miika Tucker. Your valuable comments and encouragement were integral to this project.
The Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Helsinki has been a supportive environment for my growth as a biblical scholar and acculturation in academia. I am grateful to my colleagues who took an interest in my project and offered their advice during the process, Dr Kirsi Valkama in particular. I am indebted to the members of the New and Old Testament Doctoral Seminars for their feedback and to the 4th floor researcher community for its warm peer support.
My 9-month research visit to Durham University in 2014–2015 had a formative influence on this study. Professor Francis Watson generously read and discussed my work at its very early stages. I am grateful for and astonished at his ability to concentrate on the strengths of my writing and to see the potential of the developing arguments. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the New Testament Research Seminar for the stimulating atmosphere and collegial support during my stay. I would like to also thank the members of the Bailey 37a office and Dr Madison Pierce and Dr Robbie Griggs in particular: it was a privilege sharing the office with you.
I am grateful to the Jutikkala Fund of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for funding the first year of my dissertation project, and to the Doctoral Programme in Theology at the University of Helsinki, which employed me for the remaining three years.
My sincere thanks to Professor Susan Docherty and Professor J. Ross Wagner, the preliminary examiners of my doctoral dissertation, who offered their helpful comments and suggestions. Professor Wagner also acted as my opponent during the public defence of the dissertation, and I would like to thank him for the inspiring discussion.
I offer my thanks to Tessa Schild from Brill for her help in the process of completing the manuscript.
Last but not least, I thank my parents Heli and Antti, my brother Aleksi and my sister Pinja-Liisa for their loving support over these years.