Can we trust the Septuagint?
score:13
The Masoretic (Hebrew) text is closer to the Bible Jesus used, but Septuagint (LXX) was the one used by the New Testament writers.
In most of the Old Testament, the differences are not very significant. However, in a few places the Masoretic and LXX have sharp differences. For example:
Isaiah 7:14 NRSV from Masoretic Text: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
Many modern Bible translations prefer the LXX in passages that are quoted in the New Testament:
Isaiah 7:14 ESV from Septuagint: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
When this verse is quoted in the gospel of Matthew, it is clearly the Septuagint version:
Matthew 1:23 NRSV "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."
For that reason alone, I'd be reluctant to dismiss the Septuagint entirely. The ideal (short of learning Hebrew and Greek) would be a translation with lots of footnotes to indicate where the Hebrew and the LXX disagree, and explanations of why the translators prefer one or the other. Failing that, it's beneficial to have several translations available to see how different translators handled these passages.
Upvote:0
Septuagint
Exodus 1:5 But Joseph was in Egypt. And all the souls born of Jacob were seventy-five.
"I prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord, lord, king of the gods, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance... - Deuteronomy 9:25 (Septuagint)
According to my copy of the Septuagint, Noe is 167 years old when he has his son Lamech. Lamech is 188 years old when he has his son Noe and Noe enters the ark at the ripe old age of 600 years. Now I'm no mathematician but.... That adds up to good old Mathusala, the oldest man to ever live, living past the flood by 14 years! How can that be?
3 Kings 16:28 has Josaphat ascending the throne of Judah in the 11th year of king Ambri of Israel. But then he ascends the same throne again in 3 kings 22:41 but this time in the 4th year of king Achaab of Israel.
Upvote:5
According to some of the church fathers, some of the rabbis changed some readings in their Hebrew Bible to make it less Messianic. If you read the Septuagint (or an English translation of it), you will notice the Septuagint (which was a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures done by Jews a few hundred years before Christ was ever born) seems to be more messianic than the Masoretic text (the standard Hebrew text of the Hebrew Scriptures). Whether the original text of the old testament was closer to the Septuagint and the rabbis changed it to be less messianic (as some of the early church fathers claim), or whether the Masoretic text is faithful to the original and the Jews who translated the Septuagint just did a bad job, I don't know. What I do know is that when the apostles quoted the Old Testament in the New Testament Greek, they usually quoted the Septuagint. So I am willing to give the Septuagint a fair look when comparing translations.
My suspicion is that the original was somewhere between the Septuagint, the Masoretic Text, the Dead Sea scroll, and the Samaritan Torah. I think all these are derivatives of the original, and the original could probably be reconstructed applying textual criticism to these like we have done with the New Testament.
More post
- 📝 What does "give that which is holy to dogs" mean?
- 📝 Does the Church acknowledge any revealed book given to Jesus by God?
- 📝 Core teaching of Christianity
- 📝 How can Jesus saw Nathanael in John1:48 when he was not at that place?
- 📝 How do Latter-day Saints explain testimonies of profound experiences with the Holy Spirit in other denominations?
- 📝 When did "he descended into hell" become part of the Apostles' Creed?
- 📝 How do Protestants understand the blessedness of Mary in Luke 1:48?
- 📝 Is there a name for the position that Trinitarianism isn't necessarily wrong, but is theological speculation?
- 📝 Have Creationists advanced any particular Theories of Origin that they claim are falsifiable via the scientific method?
- 📝 C.S. Lewis Reference: True Myths
- 📝 Are we living with Angels in flesh?
- 📝 Was Jesus Plan B?
- 📝 Do reformed theologians call "God the Father" Jehovah?
- 📝 Doesn't the scriptures clearly state that buying and preparing spices mean that the messiah must have died on a Wednesday Pesach?
- 📝 Are there biblical examples that justify fantasy-scare?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, if there is human dignity is there also an angelic dignity?
- 📝 Why does Jesus refer to Himself as something distinct from God?
- 📝 In what manner does the LDS believe we may become like God?
- 📝 Giving to the church or giving to the poor?
- 📝 Binding of Satan -- for amillennialists
- 📝 Does every denomination / sect have a catechism?
- 📝 Why do Catholics have to go to regular confession to have their sins forgiven if they pray The Lord's Prayer and ask for forgiveness daily?
- 📝 Was Psalms 45:6 Mistranslated?
- 📝 Meaning of the word Anointed
- 📝 For traditional sources, how does the Catholic Church distinguish between holy truth and human speculation from the same author?
- 📝 When did the practice of Confession in the Catholic Church begin?
- 📝 Are any of the LDS gods without beginning or end, or are they all created at a certain point in time?
- 📝 What is the meaning of the phrase "Entertaining Angels"?
- 📝 Judges vs kings
- 📝 Why is the date of the 2016 Passover a month late when compared to Easter?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How can we trust the Bible after it has been translated to another language?
- 📝 Can we trust the Septuagint?
- 📝 If the Bible has been changed over the years, can we still trust it?
- 📝 If the Ten Commandments say “thou shalt not kill” how can a Christian fight in a war?
- 📝 How can the Son not know what the Father knows?
- 📝 How can the sun be created after day and night?
- 📝 Can somebody summarize the different "branches" of Christianity to me, and explain why they exist in the first place?
- 📝 How can I tell the difference between the Moral law and other laws in the old testament?
- 📝 Where can I find out more about other people rising from the dead, when Jesus died on the Cross?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 What is the basis for the claim that the entire New Testament can be reconstructed apart from original and copied manuscripts?
- 📝 According to the Roman Catholic church, who can baptize a new believer?
- 📝 Can you be a Christian and serve in the Military?
- 📝 When the Bible says "forever," how can we tell it really means forever?
- 📝 Why can the Catholic Church declare one person a saint but has never declared another damned?
- 📝 Can the Word of God and God's wisdom be beneficial to an unbeliever?
- 📝 How can a Pope be chosen from outside the conclave?
- 📝 What is the basis for the belief by some groups that a Christian can live a sinless life?
- 📝 Can different levels of the Church hierarchy provide different types of blessings?
- 📝 Where can I find the Orthodox response to the Augsburg Confession?
- 📝 Can any sin be forgiven? (According to the teaching of the Catholic Church)
- 📝 How does 1 John 2:19 fit with the teaching that Christians can lose their salvation
- 📝 How can Christians reconcile the request to prohibit same-sex marriage and the lawfulness of h*m*sexuality itself?
- 📝 Where can I find sources showing ecclesiastical vestments of the 1200s?
- 📝 Can a child presented by a same sex couple be validly baptized in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 How can John the Baptist be the greatest man born of woman, when Jesus was also born of woman?
- 📝 Can I go to church on the internet?
- 📝 What is the scriptural basis for the idea that salvation can still be obtained after death?