r. grant jones - notes on the septuagint (abridged by g. tzavelas)

7/23/2019 R. Grant Jones - Notes on the Septuagint (Abridged by G. Tzavelas)

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Notes on the Septuagint(http://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spindex.htm)

2000 by R. Grant Jones

Compiled, edited and abriged b !. "#a$elas (%&&')


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Table of Contents

rologue....................................................................................................................................................................................................... *ntrodu+tion..................................................................................................................................................................................................%"he Septuagint in arl Christian -ritings................................................................................................................................................. "he Septuagint in the Ne "estament....................................................................................................................................................... &0uotations in Ne "estament 1rder..........................................................................................................................................................%21ld "estament 0uotations in the Ne "estament..................................................................................................................................... 31++asions here "he Septuagint *s 0uoted in the Ne "estament against the sense o the 4ebre text................................................31++asions here a 5asoreti+ 6eading *s 0uoted in the Ne "estament against the sense o the Septuagint..........................................2

7ppendix 7: 8ead Sea S+rolls9Septuagint 7lignments 7gainst the 5asoreti+ "ext................................................................................ 7ppendix ;: ;ooks o the Septuagint........................................................................................................................................................'7ppendix C: atristi+ !uidan+e or Septuagint "ranslation......................................................................................................................'27ppendix 8: 7 Colle+tion o 6eeren+es to the


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Prologue

"hese pages ere generated to satis m +uriosit about the Ne "estament authorsB relian+e on the Septuagint and to pro$ide arameork to address the uestion o the appropriate sour+e text or 1ld "estament translations into nglish. Aor those ho are ne tothe Septuagint, * ha$e pro$ided an *ntrodu+tion, dis+ussing the histor o that translation. "he Septuagint in the arl Chur+haddressesho the -estern Chur+h departed rom relian+e on the Septuagint under the inluen+e o Derome, though earlier riters had generallread the Septuagint and deended using it instead o the 4ebre text. * ha$e in$estigated the Ne "estament authorsB dependen+e onthe Septuagint largel b +omparing Ne "estament uotations o the 1ld ith both the Septuagint and an nglish translation o the5asoreti+ (4ebre) text. Aor ea+h uotation, * ha$e prepared a separate +omparison page, in+luding the !reek o the Ne "estament,the !reek o the Septuagint, and nglish translations o the Ne "estament, the Septuagint, and the 5asoreti+ text. "he Septuagint in

the Ne "estamentsummari#es the methodolog * emploed in assessing those +omparisons and the results * dis+o$ered. "he "able o0uotations in Ne "estament 1rderin+ludes a set o smbols to indi+ate the extent o agreement (in terms both o meaning and oord +hoi+e) beteen uotations and sour+es. 7 listing o uotations in 1ld "estament orderis a$ailable to a+ilitate sour+e textlo+ation. 7 large number o uotations agree in sense ith the Septuagint, but disagree ith the 5asoreti+ text 9 * ha$e +ompiled a listo these $erses, and a listo the o++asions (ar smaller in number) here the Ne "estament author preerred a 5asoreti+ reading tothat o the Septuagint. Ainall, in the appendix, the reader ill ind a sample o readings rom the 8ead Sea S+rolls hi+h support theSeptuagint against the 5asoreti+ textE a listing and +omparison o dieren+es beteen the Septuagint and the 5asoreti+ text in the

book o !enesisE a table shoing the books o the Septuagint as the appear in 6ahls and in the three great un+ial manus+riptsE and a+olle+tion o patristi+ +omments hi+h ha$e bearing on the translation o the Septuagint.lease note: * am not an expert in either !reek or 4ebre. 7 phsi+ist b edu+ation, * ha$e no ormal training in religion, theolog ors+ripture studies. * urge readers to treat the results presented here ith +aution. Should anone ind errors 9 parti+ularl in m+ategori#ation o the uotations as either in or out o agreement ith the 5asoreti+ text 9 * ill gladl a++ept inormed +orre+tion. "he

reader ho (perhaps ith isdom) doubts the $alidit o m +hara+teri#ations o the degree o agreement in meaning beteenuotations and sour+e texts ma ish to rel on the judgment o the !reek Ne "estament (th edition), hi+h is also presented in the"able o 0uotations in Ne "estament order.

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http://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spintro.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spfathers.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spexecsum.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spexecsum.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/sptableNT.htmlhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/sptableNT.htmlhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splistOld.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splist1.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splist1.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splistMT.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spappendix.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spfathers.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spexecsum.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spexecsum.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/sptableNT.htmlhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/sptableNT.htmlhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splistOld.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splist1.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splist1.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/splistMT.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spappendix.htmhttp://home.earthlink.net/~rgjones3/Septuagint/spintro.htm


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Introduction

"he Septuagint is the most an+ient translation o the 1ld "estament into !reek. "he translators ere likel Des o the dispersion,li$ing in 7lexandria, gpt.

"he beginning o the Deish presen+e in gpt is dii+ult to date pre+isel. "here ma ha$e been a Deish +olon there as earl as thetenth +entur ;C, hen Shishak (Shashan) in$aded alestine and took treasures rom the temple and the kingFs pala+e (% Chroni+les%.9?). ;ut +ertainl a number o Des li$ed in gpt ater the murder o !edaliah (~'?2 ;C), hen Gthe +aptains o the or+es setout and ent to gptE or the ere araid o the ChaldeansG (% Hings %'9%2). Deremiah, ;aru+h, and the prin+esses also ent intogpt at that time, though Deremiah prophe+ied that the ould all Gperish b the sord and b amine, until not one is letG (Deremiah

3.2, .%). 1ne expe+ts, on the basis o that prophe+, that this as not the beginning o a permanent settlement. 7 lasting Deishpresen+e in gpt +an, hoe$er, be deinitel dated rom the the time o the ounding o the +it o 7lexandria in 33% ;C, hen7lexander the !reat granted them +iti#enship.

*n time, the Des in 7lexandria lost amiliarit ith 4ebre, and spoke !reek instead. *t as natural, then, that the ould reuire atranslation o the s+riptures into !reek or publi+ orship in the snagogues and or pri$ate stud. 7n a++ount o the translation o theSeptuagint is told in "he >etter o 7risteas, hi+h +laims that 8emetrius halereus, ho ran the roal librar in 7lexandria, urged theking (hiladelphus (%?'9% ;C)) to obtain a +op o the Deish la or the librar. hiladelphus sent a deputation to the high priestlea#ar in Derusalem, and the result as that se$ent9to elders arri$ed in gpt ith a +op o the 4ebre la ritten on rolls oskins in golden letters. "he ere gi$en a++ommodations on the island o haros, and +ompleted their translation in se$ent9to das."he same basi+ a++ount is gi$en in 7ristobulus, hilo, and Dosephus.

$en i the a++ount gi$en in the >etter o 7risteas is ina++urate, it seems +lear that the 4ebre 1ld "estament as a$ailable in !reekin 7lexandria beore the birth o Christ. 7s Christianit began to spread, the Septuagint as used ith persuasi$e ee+t b Christianapologists 9 so ell, in a+t, that in time the Des o the dispersion repla+ed it ith neer orks. Aor instan+e, a proselte to Dudaismnamed 7uila +ompleted a extremel literal translation o the 1ld "estament into !reek about the ear %?. 1ther translations eremade b "heodotion o phesus and a +ertain Smma+hus, +alled an bionite, also in the se+ond +entur.

"he most an+ient manus+ripts o the +omplete (or nearl +omplete) Septuagint are knon as Iati+anus, Sinaiti+us, and 7lexandrinus.Iati+anus and Sinaiti+us ha$e been dated to the mid9ourth +entur, and 7lexandrinus to the ith.

;ased on an earlier 4ebre original, the Septuagint departs rom the 5asoreti+ textJ reuentl. G"he book o Deremiah isnoteorth,G or instan+e, Gin that the present 4ebre text diers substantiall rom the !reek $ersion (the Septuagint) in both +ontentand order. "hus the Septuagint omits se$eral passages (e.g., 33.9%2) and +ombines the ora+les against oreign nations into a singlese+tion olloing %'., though in a dierent order. *n addition, there are man smaller dieren+es rom $erse to $erse. 6emarkabl,among the portions o the text o Deremiah in 4ebre that are ound among the 8ead Sea S+rolls are not onl those that rele+t thestandard 4ebre text but also those that rele+t the text tradition represented b the Septuagint. *t is likel, then, that these to texttraditions represent the +ontrasting editorial ork on the book o Deremiah that took pla+e in gpt (the Septuagint tradition) and inalestine or ;ablon (the traditional 4ebre text).G K*ntrodu+tion to the book o Deremiah, "he Ne 1xord 7nnotated ;ible, page

@2&.L 7round the end o the irst +entur, the 4ebre text as standardi#ed to a orm nearl identi+al ith the modern 5asoreti+ text.Iariant readings, su+h as those represented in the Septuagint, ere no longer transmitted in the 4ebre language.

7nother +ontrast beteen the Septuagint and the modern 4ebre 1ld "estament in$ol$es the +anon o s+ripture. "he Septuagintin+ludes se$eral books and se+tions o books absent rom the modern 4ebre text: sdrasE "obitE DudithE 93 5a++abeesE the-isdom o SolomonE the -isdom o Sira+h (++lesiasti+us)E ;aru+hE the pistle o DeremiahE "he Song o the "hree ChildrenE 8anieland SusannaE 8aniel, ;el and the 8ragonE 7dditions to the ;ook o stherE salm 'E and the raer o 5anasseh. "he dieren+e in+ontent has been explained in $arious as. erhaps the most straightorard a++ount is that the Des o 7lexandria had a relati$el

broad +anon, hi+h as generall adopted b the Christians as the emploed the Septuagint as their 1ld "estament. "he Des oalestine, hen the established their +anon around the turn o the irst +entur at the +oun+il o Damnia, ma ha$e been reiterating the

position that had been more or less settled in alestine or some time 9 though some books just made (sther, ++lesiastes, the Song oSolomon, and #ekiel, or instan+e) or missed (Sira+h) the +ut. "he +onli+t ith Christians ma ha$e ser$ed as a +atalst to push theDes o the dispersion into the alestinian +amp. "his arti+le 9 +on+erned ith the text o the books ithin the 4ebre +anon 9 ill notaddress the +ontro$ers surrounding the 1ld "estament +anon in an depth.

Arom the time o Derome (earl ith +entur), 1ld "estament translations to the $erna+ular in the -est ha$e used the 4ebre as theprimar sour+e 9 the Septuagint has been relegated to a se+ondar role. (*n+identall, some are under the mistaken impression 9 gi$enb misleading language in the prea+e to the ?@@ edition 9 that the 8oua 1ld "estament as translated rom a >atin text based on theSeptuagint. Mnortunatel, DeromeFs Iulgate 9 apart rom the salms and the books then a$ailable onl in !reek 9 b and large ollosthe 4ebre text.) *t is hoped that the reader ill re+onsider the isdom o this +ourse o a+tion, gi$en the +lear preeren+e the Ne"estament displas or Septuagint readings. Aortunatel, a ne nglish translation o the Septuagint is being prepared or publi+ationin %&&.

"his arti+le +omprises to main se+tions. "he irst deals ith the earl Chur+hBs use o the Septuagint 9 parti+ularl their sense that the4ebre text as unreliable. *t begins ith the dis+ussion beteen Derome and 7ugustine regarding the ormerBs de+ision to +rat his>atin translation rom the a$ailable 4ebre text, rather than rom the Septuagint. *t is rom DeromeBs ateul +hoi+e that the -estderi$es its tradition o a$oring the 4ebre to the !reek. "he se+ond part o this arti+le pro$ides a detailed +omparison o the Ne"estament uotations rom the 1ld. "hese ere made to assess the extent to hi+h the Ne "estament authors depended on the

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Septuagint instead o the 4ebre text. Con+lusions are gi$en in the "he Septuagint in the Ne "estament.

J "he 5asoreti+ text is the sour+e rom hi+h modern translations into nglish are made. -hile the oldest +omplete manus+ripts othe Septuagint date rom the ourth +entur, the oldest +omplete 4ebre 1ld "estament, the >eningrad Codex, as +opied in ~ &&?7.8. 5odern nglish translations o the 1ld "estament rel primaril on the >eningrad Codex as published in the 4ebrai+aStuttgartensia. Aor examples o Septuagint departures rom the 5asoreti+ text supported b the 8ead Sea S+rolls, see the appendix.

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The Setuagint in !arly Christian "ritings

7 undamental +hange in the a the Chur+h $ieed the 1ld "estament as engineered b St. Derome, earl in the ith +entur. Mntilthat time, the Chur+h had relied on the Septuagint in the ast and on a >atin translation o the Septuagint in the -est. -hen Deromeset about to make a ne translation into >atin, he determined to re$ert to 4ebre or his sour+e text.

"he Chur+h being an essentiall +onser$ati$e institution, his de+ision to ollo su+h a no$el +ourse as +riti+i#ed. *t is interesting toread his response to that +riti+ism, or he explains his de+ision on the basis o apostoli+ pre+edent 9 that is, that the Ne "estamentauthors made reeren+e to the 4ebre 1ld "estament rather than to the Septuagint on se$eral o++asions:

* ha$e re+ei$ed letters so long and eagerl desired rom m dear 8esiderius ... entreating me to putour riends in possession o a translation o the entateu+h rom 4ebre into >atin. "he ork is+ertainl ha#ardous and it is exposed to the atta+ks o m +alumniators, ho maintain that it isthrough +ontempt o the Se$ent that * ha$e set to ork to orge a ne $ersion to take the pla+e othe old. "he thus test abilit as the do ineE hereas * ha$e again and again de+lared that *dutiull oer, in the "aberna+le o !od hat * +an, and ha$e pointed out that the great gits hi+hone man brings are not marred b the inerior gits o another. ;ut * as stimulated to undertakethe task b the #eal o 1rigen, ho blended ith the old edition "heodotionBs translation and usedthroughout the ork as distinguishing marks the asterisk and the obelus, that is the star and thespit, the irst o hi+h makes hat had pre$iousl been dee+ti$e to beam ith light, hile theother transixes and slaughters all that as superluous.

;ut * as en+ouraged abo$e all b the authoritati$e publi+ations o the $angelists and 7postles,in hi+h e read mu+h taken rom the 1ld "estament hi+h is not ound in our manus+ripts. Aorexample, 1ut o gpt ha$e * +alled m SonB (5att. %.'): Aor he shall be +alled a Na#areneB(*bid. %3): and "he shall look on him hom the pier+edB (Dohn @.3): and 6i$ers o li$ingater shall lo out o his bellB (Dohn .3?): and "hings hi+h ee hath not seen, nor ear heard,nor ha$e entered into the heart o man, hi+h !od hath prepared or them that lo$e himB ( Cor.%.@), and man other passages hi+h la+k their proper +ontext. >et us ask our opponents thenhere these things are ritten, and hen the are unable to tell, let us produ+e them rom the4ebre. "he irst passage is in 4osea, (.), the se+ond in *saiah (.), the third in Oe+hariah(%.&), the ourth in ro$erbs (?.), the ith also in *saiah (2.). ...

7re e +ondemning our prede+essorsP ; no meansE but olloing the #ealous labors o thoseho ha$e pre+eded us e +ontribute su+h ork as lies in our poer in the name o the >ord. "hetranslated beore the 7d$ent o Christ, and expressed in ambiguous terms that hi+h the knenot. -e ater 4is assion and 6esurre+tion rite not prophe+ so mu+h as histor. Aor one stleis suitable to hat e hear, another to hat e see. "he better e understand a subje+t, the bettere des+ribe it. 4earken then, m ri$al: listen, m +alumniatorE * do not +ondemn, * do not +ensurethe Se$ent, but * am bold enough to preer the 7postles to them all. *t is the 7postle throughhose mouth * hear the $oi+e o Christ, and * read that in the +lassii+ation o spiritual gits theare pla+ed beore prophets ( Cor. %.%?E ph. .), hile interpreters o++up almost the loest

pla+e. -h are ou tormented ith jealousP -h do ou inlame the minds o the ignorantagainst meP -here$er in translation * seem to ou to go rong, ask the 4ebres, +onsult theirtea+hers in dierent tons. "he ords hi+h exist in their S+riptures +on+erning Christ our+opies do not +ontain. KArom DeromeBs 7polog, ;ook **, Ni+ene and ost Ni+ene Aathers,Se+ond Series, Iol 3.L

"his is a as+inating passage. Airst, note that Derome as +orre+t in his statement that se$eral Ne "estament passages ollo the4ebre meaning in distin+tion rom the reading in the Septuagint. ;ut it is +urious that he belie$ed the passage


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uestioned, and $alidated onl ith great dii+ult.

Aor m part, * ould mu+h rather that ou ould urnish us ith a translation o the !reek $ersiono the +anoni+al S+riptures knon as the ork o the Se$ent translators. Aor i our translation

begins to be more generall read in man +hur+hes, it ill be a grie$ous thing that, in the readingo S+ripture, dieren+es must arise beteen the >atin Chur+hes and the !reek Chur+hes,espe+iall seeing that the dis+repan+ is easil +ondemned in a >atin $ersion b the produ+tion othe original in !reek, hi+h is a language $er idel knonE hereas, i an one has beendisturbed b the o++urren+e o something to hi+h he as not a++ustomed in the translation takenrom the 4ebre, and alleges that the ne translation is rong, it ill be ound dii+ult, i not

impossible, to get at the 4ebre do+uments b hi+h the $ersion to hi+h ex+eption is taken mabe deended. 7nd hen the are obtained, ho ill submit, to ha$e so man >atin and !reekauthorities: pronoun+ed to be in the rongP ;esides all this, Des, i +onsulted as to the meaningo the 4ebre text, ma gi$e a dierent opinion rom ours: in hi+h +ase it ill seem as i our

presen+e ere indispensable, as being the onl one ho +ould reute their $ieE and it ould be amira+le i one +ould be ound +apable o a+ting as arbiter beteen ou and them. KArom 7ugustineo 4ippoBs, >etter >QQ*, Ni+ene and ost9Ni+ene Aathers, Airst Series, Iolume .L

*t ould perhaps be an interesting stud to determine the extent to hi+h using dierent 1ld "estament texts has +ontributed to theseparation beteen ast and -est through the +enturies. Clearl, 7ugustineBs on relian+e on a poor >atin translation o the book o6omans led him into erroneous +on+lusions regarding original sin.

7ugustine ent on to state his desire that Derome ould pro$ide a resh translation o the 1ld "estament into >atin rom theSeptuagint, sin+e it atin rom a +op o the Septuagint +ontaining1rigenBs smbols.

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1rigenBs re+onstru+tion o the Septuagint as thought ne+essar, apparentl, be+ause o the di$ersit o readings in the man +opies in+ir+ulation. *n a+t, in addition to 1rigenBs $ersion, to other re+ensions o the Septuagint ere prepared earl in the ourth +entur:one b >u+ian o 7ntio+h, and the other b 4es+hius o gpt. "he 4ebre then a$ailable to Derome did not share the problem omultiple $ariant readings. "his is perhaps the true reason h Derome +hose to translate rom the 4ebre instead o the !reek. Ret,rom DeromeBs remarks earlier, e +an onl surmise that his 4ebre text as somehat dierent rom our on, or his knoledge othe 4ebre language as inexa+t.

(1ne hundred ears ago, it as though that the ourth +entur un+ial manus+ript knon as Iati+anus rele+ted a neutral Septuagint text9 neutral in the sense that it is relati$el unee+ted b 1rigen, >u+ian and 4es+hiusB eorts. 7lexandrinus as said to sho signs o

both 1rigen and >u+ianBs re$isions. ;ut the reuent +orresponden+e beteen 7lexandrinus and the Ne "estament suggested that it

preser$ed a more an+ient text. 7t that time, no irm judgment o Sinaiti+us had been ormed. * do not kno hat the +urrent state os+holarship is on this matter. *n terms o printed editions o the Septuagint, the Complutensian olglot, printed in ', rele+ts the>u+iani+ re+ension to an extent, hile the 7ldine edition o '@, the 4es+hian. "he Septuagint text used in the +omparisons in thisarti+le is that o Sir >aren+e ;renton (?'). ;rentonBs text is based on IalpBs ?@ edition, hi+h in turn depends upon theSixtine edition o '?. "his last +orresponds roughl ith Iati+anus. xtensi$e use has also been made o 7lred 6ahlsBsemi9+riti+al edition o @3', espe+iall to identi $ariant readings.)

"he dii+ult in$ol$ed in lo+ating a relati$el uniorm sour+e rom hi+h to translate should not be an o$erhelming deterrent totranslation. * it ere, e ould not ha$e the Ne "estament in nglish toda: $ariant readings in the multiple extant Ne "estamentmanus+ripts ha$e eli+ited se$eral re+ensions o that text sin+e rasmusB time. So, though it as true that the 4ebre text had beenstandardi#ed to an extent sin+e the Septuagint as generated, and as thus likel to be more uniorm than the !reek, these a+ts hardl

justi abandoning the 1ld "estament o the apostles.

Contrast 1rigenBs $iepoint ith DeromeBs. "hough he as aare o numerous instan+es o di$ergen+e beteen the Septuagintreadings and those o the 4ebre, et his trust in !odBs pro$iden+e pre$ented him rom automati+all assuming that the !reek $ersion

as in error. 4o +ould !od ha$e suered 4is Chur+h to use an erroneous $ersion o s+ripture or the irst to hundred ears o *tsexisten+eP

7gain, through the hole o Dob there are man passages in the 4ebre hi+h are anting in our+opies, generall our or i$e $erses, but sometimes, hoe$er, e$en ourteen, and nineteen, andsixteen. ;ut h should * enumerate all the instan+es * +olle+ted ith so mu+h labor, to pro$e thatthe dieren+e beteen our +opies and those o the Des did not es+ape meP *n Deremiah * noti+edman instan+es, and indeed in that book * ound mu+h transposition and $ariation in the readingso the prophe+ies. 7gain, in !enesis, the ords,

the high priest and the priests, that sometimes the meaning e$en does not seem to be akinP 7nd,orsooth, hen e noti+e su+h things, e are orthith to reje+t as spurious the +opies in use in ourChur+hes, and enjoin the brotherhood to put aa the sa+red books +urrent among them, and to+oax the Des, and persuade them to gi$e us +opies hi+h shall be untampered ith, and ree romorger 7re e to suppose that that ro$iden+e hi+h in the sa+red S+riptures has ministered tothe edii+ation o all the Chur+hes o Christ, had no thought or those bought ith a pri+e, orhom Christ diedE hom, although 4is Son, !od ho is lo$e spared not, but ga$e 4im up or usall, that ith 4im 4e might reel gi$e us all thingsP

*ndeed, 1rigen remained true to the Septuagint, but he also per+ei$ed great $alue in knoledge o the 4ebre, parti+ularl indis+ussions ith the Des.

*n all these +ases +onsider hether it ould not be ell to remember the ords, etter rom 1rigen to 7ri+anus, 7nte9Ni+ene Aathers,Iolume .L

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-e ind the same regard or the Septuagint a e ears earlier, in the se+ond +entur, hen e examine the ritings o Sts. *renaeus o>ons and Dustin 5artr. *n his 7gainst 4eresies, *renaeus dis+ussed one point o +ontention beteen the Des and Christians o hisda o$er the 1ld "estament 9 the prophe+ o the $irgin in *saiah .:

!od, then, as made man, and the >ord did 4imsel sa$e us, gi$ing us the token o the Iirgin.;ut not as some allege, among those no presuming to expound the S+ripture, Kthus: L ordBs ad$ent, that there might remain no suspi+ion that

per+han+e the Des, +ompling ith our humor, did put this interpretation upon these ords. "heindeed, had the been +ogni#ant o our uture existen+e, and that e should use these proos romthe S+riptures, ould themsel$es ne$er ha$e hesitated to burn their on S+riptures, hi+h dode+lare that all other nations partake o KeternalL lie, and sho that the ho boast themsel$es as

being the house o Da+ob and the people o *srael, are disinherited rom the gra+e o !od. KArom*renaeus, 7gainst 4eresies, ;ook ***, Chapter QQ*, 7nte9Ni+ene Aathers, Iolume .L

*renaeus argued that sin+e the Des themsel$es made this translation 9 hi+h pro$es the deit o the Sa$ior 9 long beore the ad$ent oChrist, it is ree rom biasE hile their ne translations (those o 7uila and "heodotion) are tainted b their hatred or Christianit."he extent o *renausB admiration or the Septuagint +an be gauged rom the olloing a++ount o the histor o the translation, hi+hhints at di$ine in$ol$ement. "his a++ount diers somehat rom that gi$en in "he >etter o 7risteas, dis+ussed in the *ntrodu+tion:

Aor beore the 6omans possessed their kingdom, hile as et the 5a+edonians held 7sia, tolemthe son o >agus, being anxious to adorn the librar hi+h he had ounded in 7lexandria, ith a+olle+tion o the ritings o all men, hi+h ere KorksL o merit, made reuest to the people oDerusalem, that the should ha$e their S+riptures translated into the !reek language. 7nd the 9or at that time the ere still subje+t to the 5a+edonians 9 sent to tolem se$ent o their elders,ho ere thoroughl skilled in the S+riptures and in both the languages, to +arr out hat he haddesired. ;ut he, ishing to test them indi$iduall, and earing lest the might per+han+e, b taking+ounsel together, +on+eal the truth in the S+riptures, b their interpretation, separated them romea+h other, and +ommanded them all to rite the same translation. 4e did this ith respe+t to allthe books. ;ut hen the +ame together in the same pla+e beore tolem, and ea+h o them+ompared his on interpretation ith that o e$er other, !od as indeed gloriied, and theS+riptures ere a+knoledged as trul di$ine. Aor all o them read out the +ommon translationKhi+h the had preparedL in the $er same ords and the $er same names, rom beginning to

end, so that e$en the !entiles present per+ei$ed that the S+riptures had been interpreted b theinspiration o !od. 7nd there as nothing astonishing in !od ha$ing done this, 9 4e ho, hen,during the +apti$it o the people under Nebu+hadne##ar, the S+riptures had been +orrupted, andhen, ater se$ent ears, the Des had returned to their on land, then, in the times o 7rtaxerxesking o the ersians, inspired sdras the priest, o the tribe o >e$i, to re+ast all the ords o theormer prophets, and to re9establish ith the people the 5osai+ legislation.

*renaeus, as 7ugustine did more than to +enturies later, a+knoledged that the itness o the Ne "estament authors is in a$or othe Septuagint:

Sin+e, thereore, the S+riptures ha$e been interpreted ith su+h idelit, and b the gra+e o !od,and sin+e rom these !od has prepared and ormed again our aith toards 4is Son, and has

preser$ed to us the unadulterated S+riptures in gpt, here the house o Da+ob lourished, leeingrom the amine in CanaanE here also our >ord as preser$ed hen 4e led rom the perse+utionset on oot b 4erodE and Ksin+eL this interpretation o these S+riptures as made prior to our

>ordBs des+ent Kto earthL, and +ame into being beore the Christians appeared 9 or our >ord asborn about the ort9irst ear o the reign o 7ugustusE but tolem as mu+h earlier, under homthe S+riptures ere interpretedE 9 Ksin+e these things are so, * sa, L trul these men are pro$ed to

be impudent and presumptuous, ho ould no sho a desire to make dierent translations, hene reute them out o these S+riptures, and shut them up to a belie in the ad$ent o the Son o!od. ;ut our aith is steadast, uneigned, and the onl true one, ha$ing +lear proo rom theseS+riptures, hi+h ere interpreted in the a * ha$e relatedE and the prea+hing o the Chur+h isithout interpolation. Aor the apostles, sin+e the are o more an+ient date than all these Khereti+sL,agree ith this aoresaid translationE and the translation harmoni#es ith the tradition o theapostles. Aor eter, and Dohn, and 5atthe, and aul, and the rest su++essi$el, as ell as theirolloers, did set orth all propheti+al Kannoun+ementsL, just as the interpretation o the elders+ontains them.

age o '


10/77

"hus, in *renaeusB $ie, just as !od preser$ed the *sraelites through the time o amine sae in the land o gpt, !od kept his ordsae in 7lexandria though the instrumentalit o unbiased Deish translators.

-riting just a e ears earlier than *renaeus, Dustin 5artr presented the same histor o the SeptuagintBs produ+tion. "hen he added:

"hese things, e men o !ree+e, are no able, nor do e narrate i+tionsE but e oursel$es ha$ingbeen in 7lexandria, sa the remains o the little +ots at the haros still preser$ed, and ha$ing heardthese things rom the inhabitants, ho had re+ei$ed them as part o their +ountrBs tradition, eno tell to ou hat ou +an also learn rom others, and spe+iall rom those ise and esteemedmen ho ha$e ritten o these things, hilo and Dosephus, and man others. KArom DustinBs4ortator 7ddress to the !reeks, 7nte9Ni+ene Aathers, Iolume .L

"hough he as illing to debate the Des on the basis o their $ersion o s+ripture, Dustin alleged that the Des had remo$ed passageshi+h he dis+o$ered onl in the Septuagint.

*n short, the $ast majorit o earl Christian riters uoted extensi$el rom the Septuagint, and some +onsidered it a di$inel inspiredtranslation. St. Clement o 6ome, riting in the irst +entur, pro$ides the earliest non9+anoni+al example. *t has been estimated thatapproximatel hal o his 1ld "estament uotations are dire+tl rom the Septuagint, the remainder being $ariations due to impere+tmemor on the one hand and the use o a text +loser to the se+ond +entur !reek translations o "heodotion or 7uila on the other.Mntil the religious +ontro$ers ith Christians arose, the Septuagint as held in $er high regard b Des also. hilo o 7lexandria 9ho, ith *renaeus and Dustin, belie$ed that the se$ent9to translators had mira+ulousl produ+ed identi+al translations thoughisolated in separate +ells 9 and Dosephus are eminent examples.

;ut it is also true that all the Aathers o the Chur+h did not share an a$ersion to the 4ebre text. 1ne +an ind examples here the+onsulted ith those knoledgeable in 4ebre in order to gain a deeper understanding o the ;ibli+al message. St. ;asil the !reat,or instan+e, in +ommenting on the text


11/77

The Setuagint in the #e$ Testa%ent

General &bser'ations

"he olloing table pro$ides a summar o$er$ie o Ne "estament uotations rom the 1ld "estament. "ent9our 1ld "estamentbooks, listed in the irst +olumn o the table 9 !enesis through 5ala+hi 9 , are uoted in sixteen Ne "estament books 9 5atthethrough % eter 9, named in the top ro. "he ro inblue pro$ides the total number o uotations rom the 1ld "estament in ea+h Ne"estament book. *n addition, this line shos the total o all $erses in the 1ld "estament books uoted, the total number o uotations(3%&), and the reuen+ o uotations or those books taken as a hole. "hus, or the % 1ld "estament books listed, the a$eragereuen+ o uotations is ?.& per e$er thousand $erses. 1 +ourse, i the entire 1ld "estament ere taken into a++ount, the

uotation reuen+ ould be mu+h loer. "o in+lude $erse +ounts rom books not uoted (Doshua, Dudges, T % Chroni+les, et+.)ould, hoe$er, ensnare us in the uestion o the 1ld "estament +anon, hi+h is outside the s+ope o the present in$estigation.

7s a guide to reading the table, note that the book o !enesis has '&? $erses and is uoted 3 times in the Ne "estament. "henumber o uotations rom !enesis, di$ided b the number o $erses in that book and multiplied b &&&, ields %&.2 9 impling that!enesis as a bit more poppular ith Ne "estament authors than the a$erage 1ld "estament book. Continuing along the G!enesisGro, e see that our o these uotations appear in the book o 7+ts, and nine in 6omans. >ooking along the +olumns, obser$e that the

book o Dohn uotes the 1ld "estament onl times 9 the least o an gospel. Dohn uotes the salms times, *saiah times, andOe+hariah ti+e. (Ara+tional uotations ill be explained shortl.)

Some additional remarks about the table: () the reader ma noti+e that ra+tional uotations are listed. "he reason or this is that in+ases su+h as 5atthe '.33 and '.3?, multiple 1ld "estament books +ontain the same uotation. Sin+e it is impossible to tell hi+h

book is being uoted, ea+h is gi$en partial +redit. Aor instan+e, 5atthe ma ha$e had xodus %.%, >e$iti+us @.% or8euteronom @.% in mind in 5atthe '.3?. a+h 1ld "estament book is thus gi$en one9third +redit.

(%) "he $erse +ount or ea+h book is based on the 7uthori#ed Iersion. "he Septuagint ill ha$e dierent $erse +ounts or some othese books. *t as m judgment that the $ariation in book length beteen the Septuagint and 4ebre9based nglish translationsould be an insignii+ant a+tor. "he greatest dis+repan+ies ill be or Deremiah, 8aniel and Dob, books not parti+ularl popular ith

Ne "estament authors.

(3) 5an o these 3%& distin+t uotations are o the same 1ld "estament passage. Aor instan+e, ea+h time the author o the book o

age @ o '

Table 1: Quotations Overview

(oo) *cts Ro% Gal +eb

,--/ 20 ,1 / 2- 2 ,/ /0 , ,- ,0 ,0 , , - / ,2 ,

!enesis '&? 3 %&.2 % % 9 9 @ % 9 9 9 2 9 9

xodus %3 3.33 %'.? .33 3 %.' &.' 3 9 &.' 9 9 3 &.' 9

>e$iti+us ?'@ '.33 .? 3.?3 % % 9 % 9 &.' % 9 9 9 9 9

Numbers %?? % .' &.' 9 9 &.' 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

8eut. @% 3.33 2.? &.3 2.' '.' 9 3 % % &.' 9 &.' 9 9

Samuel ?& .% 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

% Samuel 2@ %.' 3.2 9 9 9 9 9 &.' 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Hings ?2 % %.' 9 9 9 9 9 % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Dob && % .@ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

salms %2 2.' 3. @ ' %.' 3 % 9 % 9 9 2 9 % 9

ro$erbs @' 2 2.2 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 %

*saiah %@% 2'.' '&. .' 2 ' ? 2 % 9 9 9 % 9 2 9

Deremiah 32 ' 3. 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 % 9 9 9

#ekiel %3 .' .% 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 .' 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

8aniel 3'2 ' 3. % % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

4osea ?2 3.2 3 9 9 9 % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Doel 3 % %. 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

7mos 2 % 3. 9 9 9 9 % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Donah ? %&.? 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

5i+ah &' % @ % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

4abakkuk '2 . 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

4aggai 3? %2.3 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Oe+hariah % 33.% 3 9 % 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

5ala+hi '' %. 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

3 of

'erses

3 of

5uot.

6uot.

fre5. 7t 7) 8) Jn , Cor 2 Cor !h

,

T%

2

T% Ja%

,

Pet

2

Pet

Total


12/77

4ebres uotes salm @'., it is +ounted as a separate +itation.

Noti+e that iteen 1ld "estament books rom the 4ebre +anon are not uoted at all: Doshua, Dudges, 6uth, % Hings, T %Chroni+les, #ra, Nehemiah, sther, ++lesiastes, Song o Solomon, >amentations, 1badiah, Nahum, and Oephaniah.

1 those that are uoted, salms and *saiah are the most popular, olloed b 8euteronom and xodus. "hese our books sho goodstrength o usage a+ross the span o Ne "estament books. ight9to per+ent o all 1ld "estment uotations are rom just six books:!enesis, xodus, >e$iti+us, 8euteronom, salms and *saiah.

* the si#e o the 1ld "estament books is taken into a++ount, one reali#es that the tin orks o 5ala+hi and 4abakkuk ere $er ri+hith meaning or the Ne "estament authors. -hen popularit is measured in this a, *saiah and 8euteronom +ome in third andourth respe+ti$el. 4osea is ith and Oe+hariah sixth.

1ther obser$ations: almost /3 o the uotations in 6omans are rom *saiah, hile 3U o the uotations in 4ebres are rom salms.5atthe and >uke rel on the books o the >a or almost &U o their uotes (this jumps to '& U ith 5ark), but Dohn a$oids the"orah almost +ompletel, +on+entrating instead on salms, *saiah and Oe+hariah.

#ekiel, a relati$el large book, is uoted onl one and one9hal times in the Ne "estament. *t has the loest uotation reuen+ oran book a+tuall reeren+ed.

*gree%ent $ith the Setuagint

Methodology

"he basi+ set o uotations or this stud as urnished b the G*ndex o 0uotationsG in 7land, Hara$idopoulos, 5artini and 5et#gerFs"he !reek Ne "estament, Aourth 6e$ised dition, published b the Mnited ;ible So+ieties. 4ereater, * ill reer to this sour+e asM;S. * as unable, hoe$er, to see an +onne+tion beteen % Samuel .? and % Corinthians 2.?, listed in M;S as a uotation, so *deleted this item rom the set. "o additional ex+eptions: M;S presents 5t %.' as a single uotation rom to sour+es 9 *saiah 2%.and Oe+hariah @.@. *t seems +lear, hoe$er, that this should be $ieed as to non9o$erlapping uotations, sin+e *saiah 2%. simpl

pro$ides an opening phrase hi+h the uotation rom Oe+hariah ollos. *n addition, M;S $ies >uke .?9@ as a uotation rom

*saiah 2. alone. 4oe$er, sin+e >uke has introdu+ed a line rom *saiah '?.2 into the midst o that uotation, * ha$e olloed suit.

* must sa that se$eral o the uotations in the *ndex hardl seem like uotations at all. *n addition, se$eral passages hi+h seem airl+learl to be uotations (8aniel .3/%. in 5atthe %.'/5ark 3.E *saiah 22.% in 5ark @.?E Sira+h . in 5ark &.@EDeremiah . in 5ark .E *saiah '3.% in 5ark '.%?E 5ala+hi .'92 in >uke .E salm 2%.%/salm %.% in 6omans %.2E*saiah ?.% in eter 3.E salm %.?, @ in 6e$elation %.%E *saiah %%.%% in 6e$elation 3.E and others) are missing rom the *ndex. *as tempted to s+rub the list o uotations o uestionable entries (8euteronom %'.' is a good example) and augment it ith moreorth ones. 4oe$er, emploing an obje+ti$e set o uotations pro$ided b an outside sour+e bolsters the obje+ti$it o the ork. *naddition, the uestionable uotations and the +andidates or in+lusion appear not to inluen+e the o$erall +on+lusions in an signii+anta.

Aor ea+h uotation, * ha$e prepared a side9b9side +omparison o the Ne "estament and Septuagint !reek texts. "o add +larit, andto pro$ide an opportunit to assess agreement ith the 5asoreti+ 4ebre text, * supplemented this primar !reek +omparison ith;rentonFs nglish translation o the Septuagint, and the 1ld and Ne "estament passages in the nglish o the @& 7meri+an

age & o '

Figure 1: Distribution of Quotations from Old Testament Books


13/77

Standard Iersion. 5 on +omments appear at the bottom o ea+h page. "he +omparison ormat is des+ribed in more detail here.

(1ne ord o +aution: * am no expert in !reek. -ith tools su+h as those pro$ided at the erseus roje+t eb site, * +an translate Ne"estament and Septuagint passages. 4oe$er, * ha$e little to no amiliarit ith 4ebre. "hus, * ha$e relied on a $ariet otranslations 9 and the deinitions gi$en in RoungFs 7nalti+al Con+ordan+e 9 to assess the meaning o the 5asoreti+ text.)

7s * pro+eeded to prepare side9b9side +omparisons or the uotations, * noti+ed a tenden+ on the part o Ne "estament authors tode$iate rom the exa+t ording o the Septuagint, though the oten kept the same sense, or applied the text in a no$el a. Aorinstan+e, the ould +hange the person and/or number o a $erb to suit their purposes. Stri+tl speaking, these ere usuall de$iationsrom both the 4ebre and the SeptuagintE thus, these de$iations seemed o no +onseuen+e in the e$aluation o the inluen+e o theSeptuagint on the Ne "estament. 4oe$er, there ere +ases here the Septuagint and the 4ebre diered in meaning, and the Ne

"estament olloed one against the sense o the other.

* determined, thereore, to +ategori#e the +omparisons in to separate as. Airst, * ould assess the meaning o the texts, ande$aluate the degree o agreement: here the Septuagint and the 5asoreti+ text dier in meaning, did the Ne "estament author ollothe sense o the Septuagint against the 4ebre, or did he ollo the 4ebre against he SeptuagintP Se+ond, * ould assess the degreeto hi+h the Ne "estament author emploed poeti+ li+ense in his use o the Septuagint.

Assessment of Agreement in Meaning

"he Ne "estament authors sho a +lear preeren+e or the Septuagint o$er 5asoreti+ readings. "he olloing table pro$ides asele+tion o thirt o the more signii+ant Ne "estament de$iations toard the Septuagint. "he se+ond +olumn shos the Ne"estament ording, and the rightmost +olumn has the ording rom the 4ebre 1ld "estament. *n ea+h +ase, the Ne "estamentauthor is true to the Septuagint. Mnderlining is used to highlight dieren+es beteen 4ebre and !reek. 7ll uotations are rom the6e$ised Standard Iersion.

5atthe relies on the Septuagint or the assertion that the 5essiahFs mother as to be a $irgin (5atthe .%3). Desus himsel ollos

age o '

Table : !am"le #ew Testament Quotations of the !e"tuagint

&ld Testa%ent97asoretic Text

#e$9&ld

Testa%ent Ref #e$ Testa%ent9Setuagint

5atthe .%3/

*saiah .

G;ehold, a $irgin shall +on+ei$e and bear a son,

and his name shall be +alled mmanuelG (hi+h

means, !od ith us).

;ehold, a oung oman shall +on+ei$e and bear

a son, and shall +all his name *mmanuel.

5atthe %.%/

*saiah %.

Gand in his name ill the !entiles hope.G and the +oastlands ait or his la.

5atthe 3.9'/

*saiah 2.@9&

GAor this peopleFs heart has gron dull, and their

ears are hea$ o hearing, and their ees the

ha$e +losedG

5 ake the heart o t his peop le at, and their ears

hea$, and shut their ees

5atthe '.?9@/

*saiah %@.3

Gin $ain do the orship me, tea+hing as

do+trines the pre+epts o men.G

and their ear o me is a +ommandment o men

learned b rote

5atthe %.2/salm ?.% G1ut o the mouths o babes and su+klings thouhast brought pere+t p raiseG b the mouths o babes and inants thou hastounded a bulark

>uke 3.92/

*saiah &.39'

Gand all lesh shall see the sal$ation o !od.G and all lesh shall see it t ogether

>uke .?9@/

*saiah 2.9%

Gto pro+laim release to the +apti$es and

re+o$ering o sight to the blindG

to p ro+laim libert to t he +apt i$es, and the

opening o the prison to those ho are bound

7+ts .%93/

7mos '.%'9%

G7nd ou took up the tent o 5olo+h, and the

star o the god 6ephan, the igures hi+h ou

made to orshipG

Rou shall take up Sakkuth our king, and

Haian our star9god, our images, hi+h ou

made or oursel$es

7+ts ?.3%933/

*saiah '3.9?

G*n his humiliationjusti+e as denied him, -ho

+an des+ribe his generationP Aor his lie is taken

up rom the earth.G

; oppression and judgment he as taken

aaE and as or his generation, ho +onsidered

that he as +ut o out o the land o the li$ing

7+ts 3./

4abakkuk .'

G;ehold, ou s+oers, and onder, and perishG >ook among the nat ions, and seeE onder and be

astounded

7+ts '.29/7mos @.9%

Gthat the rest o men ma seek the >ord, and allthe !entiles ho are +alled b m nameG

that the ma possess t he remnant o dom andall the nations ho are +alled b m name

6omans %.%/

*saiah '%.'

G"he name o !od is blasphemedamong the

!entiles be+ause o ou.G

"heir rulers ail, sas the >168, and

+ontinuall all the da m name is despised

6omans @.%9%?/

*saiah &.%%9%3

"hough the number o the sons o *srael be as

the sand o the sea, onl a remnant o them shall

be sa$edG

Aor though our people *srael be as the sand o

the sea, onl a remnant o them ill return

6omans &.%&/

*saiah 2'.

G* ha$e shon msel to t hose ho did not ask

or meG

* as read to be sought b those ho did not

ask or me


14/77

the traditional Septuagint ording in +ondemning the hariseesF traditions (5atthe '.?9@). "he Septuagint +learl prophesies that

Desus ill heal the blind (>uke .?9@) 9 but the 5asoreti+ text is more obs+ure. "he Septuagint oretold that the 5essiahFs deathould be unjust (7+ts ?.3%933) and that the !entiles ould seek the >ord (7+ts '.29). "he 4ebre has the nations beingGpossessedG along ith dom. aul knos that a remnant o *srael ill be sa$ed be+ause he as reading the 1ld "estament in !reek(6omans @.%9%?). erhaps i his topi+ ere the return to the 4ol >and and not sal$ation, he ould ha$e ound the 4ebre readingmore suitable. Aolloing the !reek, he knos that the 5essiah ill +onuer his peopleFs sin 9 not that he ould +ome to those hohad alread +leansed themsel$es rom sin, as the 4ebre ould ha$e it (6omans .%29%). aulFs thought that Desus ould rule the!entiles also depends on a Septuagint reading (6omans '.%). "he author o the book o 4ebres 9 to pro$e the deit o Christ 9

pro+laims the truth that Desus is orshipped b all the angels o !od (4ebres .2). ;ut the 4ebre 1ld "estament does not +ontainthat $erse. 7lso on the basis o the !reek 1ld "estament, that author asserts that the in+arnation as prophe+ied (4ebres &.'9) 9that Desus ould ha$e a bod, hi+h he ould oer or our san+tii+ation (4ebres &.&). "he 5asoreti+ text at this point stressesauditor +apabilit. Ainall, here the 5asoreti+ text des+ribed a non$iolent suering ser$ant, the Septuagint prophesied a sinless5essiah ( eter %.%%).

"he "able o 0uotations in Ne "estament 1rder +ontains a +olumn entitled G5eaning.G Some uotations are annotated in this

+olumn ith a GD,G an G4G or a G8.G 7 GDG indi+ates that the uotation agrees ith the Septuagint agains the sense o the 5asoreti+text, an G4G that the uotation supports the 4ebre sense against the Septuagint. "he uotation is marked b a G8G hen the uotationdisagrees in meaning ith both the Septuagint and the 4ebre. "he olloing table summari#es the disagreement o the Ne"estament ith the Septuagint as a sour+e. "he general stru+ture o the table is the same as "able abo$e. Aor ea+h Ne "estament

book, the number o uotations rom ea+h 1ld "estament book is shon, but the number o times the Ne "estament reading diers inmeaning rom the Septuagint text 9 both G4G and G8G readings 9 is also indi+ated. "hus, 5atthe diers in sense rom the Septuagint@ times out o ' uotations. "hree o these disagreements o++ur hen 5atthe uotes rom *saiah. >ooking along the ros, notethat 8euteronom is uoted against the sense o the Septuagint times, to o these uotations o++urring in the book o 6omans.

age % o '

&ld Testa%ent97asoretic Text

The MT omits this $uotation

#e$9&ld

Testa%ent Ref #e$ Testa%ent9Setuagint

6omans .@9&/

salm 2@.%%

G>et their table be+ome a snare and a trap , a

p itall and a ret ribut ion or t hemE let their e es

be darkened so t hat the +annot see, and bend

their ba+ks or e$er.G

>et their on table beore them be+ome a

snareElet t heir sa+rii+ial easts K4eb. 9 or

se+urit L be a trap. >et their ees be darkened,

so that the +annot seeE and make their loins

tremble +ontinuall

6omans .%29%/

*saiah '@.%&9%

G"he 8eli$erer ill +ome rom Oion, he ill

banish ungodliness rom Da+obG

7nd he ill +ome to Oion as 6edeemer, to t hose

in Da+ob ho turn rom transgression

6omans .3/

*saiah &.3

GAor ho has knon the mind o the >ord, or

ho has been his +ounselorPG

-ho has dire+ted the Spirit o the >168, or as

his +ounsellor instru+ted himP6omans '.%/

*saiah .&

G"he root o Desse shall +ome, he ho rises to

rule the !ent ilesE in him shall the !entiles

hope.G

the root o Desse shall stand as an ensign to the

peop lesE him shall the nations seek

4eb .2/ 8eut. 3%.3 G>et all !odFs angels orship him.G

4eb %.29?/

salm ?.92

G"hou didst make him a little loer than the

angelsG

thou hast made him a little less t han !od

4eb %.3/ *saiah ?. G* ill put mtrust in him.G * ill hope in him

4eb 3.'/

salm @'.9?

G"oda, hen ou hear his $oi+e, do not harden

our hearts as in the rebellion.G

1 that toda ou ould hearken to his $oi+e

4arden not our hearts, as at 5 eribah

4eb ?.?9%/

Der. 3.393

Gor the did not +ontinue in m +o$enant, and

so * paid no heed to them, sas the >ordG

m +o$enant hi+h the broke, though * as

their husband, sas the >168

4eb &.'9/

salm &.29?

GSa+rii+es and oerings t hou hast not des iredE

but a bod hast thou p rep ared or meG

Sa+rii+e and oering thou dos t not desireE but

thou hast gi$en me an open ear

4eb &.393?/

4ab %.39

Gand i he shrinks ba+k, m soul has no p leasure

in him.G

;ehold, he hose soul is not upright in him shall

ail K4eb. 9 is pued upL

4eb .%/

!enesis .3

G; aith Da+ob ... boingin orship o$er the

head o his sta.G

"hen *s rael boed himsel upon the head o his

bed

4eb %.'92/

ro$ 3.9%

GAor t he >ord dis+iplines him hom he lo$es,

and +hastises e$er son hom he re+ei$es.G

or the >168 repro$es him hom he lo$es, as a

ather the son in hom he delights

Dames .2/ ro$ 3.3G!od opposes the proud, but gi$es gra+e to the

humble.G

"oard the s+orners he is s+ornul, but to the

humble he shos a$or

et %.%%/

*saiah '3.@

4e +ommitted no s inE no guile as ound on his

lips

although he had done no $iolen+e, and there as

no de+eit in his mouth

et .?/

ro$ .3

G* the righteous man is s +ar+el s a$ed, here

ill the impious and sinner appearPG

* the righteous is reuited on earth, ho mu+h

more the i+ked and the sinner


15/77

"he olloing to tables summari#e these results, pro$iding per+entage agreement or ea+h 1ld "estament and Ne "estament book.Aor instan+e, Oe+hariah is uoted times, ' o hi+h are in agreement ith the meaning o the Septuagint text. "hus, the Ne"estament ollos the SeptuagintFs $ersion o Oe+hariah .U o the time. Similarl, >uke ollos the Septuagint in % o %2

passages, or a per+entage agreement W @%.3.

age 3 o '

Table %: &nstan'es where the #ew Testament Differs in Meaning from the !e"tuagint

(oo) 7t 7) 8) Jn *cts Ro% , Cor 2 Cor Gal !h , T% 2 T% +eb , Pet 2 Pet

%%.'/3%& @/' 3/% %/%2 / &/& 3.'/2 %/ &/& &/& &/' &/ &/ /3 &/ /% &/

!enes is &/3 &/% &/% 9 9 &/ &/@ &/% 9 & / &/ 9 9 & /2 &/ 9 9

xodus &/3.33 &/.33 &/3 &/%.' &/&.' &/ &/3 &/ &/ 9 &/&.' 9 9 &/3 &/&.' &/ 9

>e$iti+us &/'.?3 &/3.?3 &/% &/% 9 &/ &/% 9 &/&.' &/% 9 9 9 9 &/ &/ 9

Numbers &/% &/&.' 9 9 &/&.' 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 9

8eut. /3.33 /&.3 %/2.' /'.' 9 &/3 %/ &/% &/ &/% &/&.' &/ 9 / &/&.' 9 9

Samuel &/ 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9% Samuel &/%.' 9 9 9 9 9 &/&.' 9 &/ 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9

Hings &/% 9 9 9 9 9 &/% 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Dob %/% 9 9 9 9 9 / / 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

salms /2.' /@ &/' &/ &/ &/ &/%.' &/3 &/% 9 &/% 9 9 &/2 9 &/% 9

ro$erbs &/2 9 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 &/ &/ &/% &/

*saiah '.'/2'.' 3/ &/.' &/2 &/ &/' &.'/? /2 &/% &/ 9 9 9 &/% 9 /2 9

Deremiah &/' &/ 9 9 9 9 9 &/ &/ 9 9 9 9 &/% 9 9 9

#ekiel &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 &/.' 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

8aniel &/' &/% &/% &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

4osea / /3 9 &/ 9 9 &/% &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Doel &/% 9 9 9 9 &/ &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

7mos &/% 9 9 9 9 &/% 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Donah &/ &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

5i+ah /% /% 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

4abakkuk &/ 9 9 9 9 &/ &/ 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9

4aggai &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9

Oe+hariah %/ /3 &/ 9 /% 9 9 9 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9

5ala+hi 3/ / / / 9 9 &/ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

3 of

5uot. Ja%

Total


16/77

1ther +on+lusions +an be dran. Considering the Ne "estament as+omprised o the snopti+ gospels, Dohn, 7+ts, aulFs epistles,4ebres, and the +atholi+ epistles, the olloing agreement

per+entages are ound:

Snopti+ gospels 9 ?2.@

Dohn 9 @%.@

7+ts 9 &&

aulFs epistles 9 @.%4ebres 9 @.3

Catholi+ epistles 9 @.

* e group >ukeFs ritings, >uke and 7+ts, e ind an agreementrate o @U. Clearl, the gospels tend to di$erge rom the Septuagintmost reuentl, ith 5atthe shoing the most disagreement.

>ooking instead at the sour+e books, the agreement beteen the Ne"estament and the Septuagintal $ersions o Dob, 5i+ah and 5ala+hiis uite poor.

erhaps the most impressi$e aspe+t o "able relates to the ex+ellentagreement or !enesis, xodus and salms, ith almost 3@

uotations dran rom these three books, and onl one disagreement.1$erall, the agreement in sense beteen the Ne "estament and theSeptuagint is @3U. "his +ompares a$orabl ith the rate oagreement beteen the Ne "estament uotations and the 4ebre1ld "estament, 2?U. 7n analsis o the degree o agreement

beteen the 4ebre 1ld "estament and Ne "estament uotations 9similar to that just presented or the Septuagint 9 ma be $ieed

belo

Aigure % +ompares the results presented in "able ith similar results +omparing agreement beteen the Ne "estament and the

5asoreti+ text. Septuagint results are presented in blue, hile those or the 5asoreti+ text are in red. Note in parti+ular the tenden+o the Ne "estament authors to disagree ith the 5asoreti+ $ersion o *saiah.

*n a+t, among all the books uoted rom most reuentl 9 !enesis, xodus, >e$iti+us, 8euteronom,, salms and *saiah 9 theSeptuagint does better than the 5asoreti+ text.

5asoreti+ readings are preerred b the Ne "estament authors hen the reeren+e Dob, Oe+hariah and 5ala+hi. *t is understandable,thereore, that Derome, in his +ritiues o the Septuagint, emphasi#ed passages rom 4osea and Oe+hariah to support his +ontention thatthe Ne "estament authors di$erged rom the Septuagint hene$er the !reek departed in meaning rom the 4ebre. $identl, heas embarrassed b the Septuagint 9 and this embarrassment blinded him to the Ne "estamentBs preeren+e to that $ersion.


17/77age ' o '

Figure : Agreement by Old Testament Book ,!e"tuagint versus -ebrew.


18/77

Similar results are presented b Ne "estament book immediatel belo.

7s a rule, ea+h Ne "estament author agrees ith the Septuagint translators more reuentl than ith the 5assoretes. "he moststriking +ontrasts are in DohnFs gospel, 7+ts, 6omans, !alatians, 4ebres, Dames and eter.

7lthough, as noted abo$e, the disagreement ith the Septuagint is most pronoun+ed in the snopti+ gospels, these di$erge rom the5asoreti+ text e$en more strongl than the do rom the Septuagint. "his is not at all hat one ould ha$e expe+ted rom readingDeromeBs >i$es o *llustrious 5en. e$i, apostle and aoretimes publi+an, +omposed a gospel o Christ at irst

age 2 o '

Figure %: Agreement by #ew Testament Book ,!e"tuagint versus -ebrew.


19/77

published in Dudea in 4ebre or the sake o those o the +ir+um+ision ho belie$ed, but this as aterards translated into !reekthough b hat author is un+ertain. "he 4ebre itsel has been preser$ed until the present da in the librar at Caesarea hi+hamphilus so diligentl gathered. * ha$e also had the opportunit o ha$ing this $olume des+ribed to me b the Na#arenes o ;orea, a+it o Sria, ho use it. *n this it is to be noted that here$er the $angelist, hether on his on a++ount or in the person o our >ordthe Sa$iour uotes the testimon o the 1ld "estament he does not ollo the authorit o the translators o the Septuagint but the4ebre.= "he reader +an himsel test the $erit o this statement dire+tl or b +onsulting Aigure 3, hi+h shos that e$en 5atthe

preerred the Septuagint to the 4ebre.

)resentation of #ew Testament Divergen'es from the !e"tuagint

Aor +ompleteness, * present here a table (similar to "able % abo$e) shoing those instan+es here the Ne "estament ollos the4ebre sense against the Septuagint. "o o these, 5ala+hi 3. (3 times) and *saiah ?. (ti+e), are uoted b se$eral Ne"estament authors. Sin+e 6omans @.33/*saiah ?. is +ounted as hal a uotation, the Ne "estament ollos the 4ebre against thesense o the Septuagint ?.' times.

7s ith "able %, the uotations rom the Ne "estament in "able 2 are rom the 6e$ised Standard Iersion. "he Septuagint +olumn isrom ;rentonFs translation, as it is in the olloing.

"he olloing table depi+ts o++asions here the Ne "estament di$erges in meaning rom both the 4ebre o the 5assoretes and theSeptuagint. Mnderlined tpe is used to indi+ate dis+repan+ies in meaning. ;old indi+ates the ords so +olored are omitted rom the

Ne "estament uotation. Certain ords are itali+i#ed in 5ark %.%@93& to a+ilitate +omparison. "he translations in both the Ne

"estament and 5asoreti+ "ext +olumns are rom the 6e$ised Standard Iersion.

age o '

Table /: #ew Testament Quotations in Agreement with the -ebrew Against the !ense of the !e"tuagint

#e$ Testa%ent97asoretic Text Setuagint

or ho ill resist me, and abide

#e$9&ld

Testa%ent Ref

5att %.'/

4osea .

G1ut o gpt ha$e * +alled m son.G out o gpt ha$e * +alled his +hildren.

5att .&/

5ala+hi 3.G;ehold, * send m messenger beore th a+e,

ho shall prepare th a beore thee.G

;ehold, * send orth m messenger, and he shall

sur$e the a beore me.

Dohn @.3/

Oe+h. %.&G"he shall look upon him hom the ha$e

pier+ed.G

"he shall look upon me, be+ause the ha$e

mo+ked me.

6om @.33/

*saiah ?.Ga stumbling stone and a ro+k o oenseG a stumbling stone, neither against the alling o a

ro+k

6om .3'/

Dob .G1r ho has gi$en a git to him that he might be

repaid.G

Cor 3.@/Dob '.3

G4e +at+hes the ise in their +ratinessG ho takes the ise in their isdom


20/77

7ll together, there are su+h instan+es in the Ne "estament (the additional 3 being dupli+ates o uotations presented in "able ?)."he distribution is as ollos: 5atthe (), 5ark (%), >uke (), 6omans (%), Corinthians () and 4ebres (). "hese instan+es,

together ith the ?.' rom "able , tall to %%.' +ases here the Ne "estament disagrees ith the sense o the Septuagint (see "able3 abo$e).

Assessment of theAgreement in 0ording between the #ew Testament and the !e"tuagint

*n the pre$ious se+tion, the agreement in meaning beteen Ne and 1ld "estament passages as e$aluated. *n the olloing, thepre+ision o agreement in ording ill be examined. 7s is expe+ted, the per+entage o uotations ith exa+t or near exa+t dupli+ationin ording is loer than the per+entage agreeing in sense or intention. Derome (>etter >I**), ater re$ieing passages su+h as those in"able ? abo$e, remarked: ord our !od ith all

our heart, and ith all our soul, and ithall our mind.G

7nd thou shalt lo$e the >ord th !od ith

all th mind, and ith all th soul, and ithall th strength

and ou shall lo$e the >168 our !od

ith all our heart, and ith all our soul,and ith all our might

5att %.@9&/

Oe+h .%93

G7nd the took the thirt pie+es o sil$er,

the p ri+e o him on hom a pri+e had been

set b some o the sons o *srael, and the

ga$e them or the potterFs ield, as the >ord

dire+ted me.G

7nd the eighed or m p ri+e thirt

pie+es o sil$er. 7nd the >ord said to me,

8rop them into the urna+e, and * ill see i

it is good metal, as * as pro$ed or their

sakes. 7nd * took the thirt p ie+es o

sil$er, and +ast them into the urna+e in the

house o the >ord.

7nd the eighed out as m ages thirt

shekels o sil$er. "hen the >168 said to

me, GCast into the treasurG 9 the lordl

pri+e at hi+h * as p aid o b them. So

* took the thirt pie+es o sil$er and +ast

them into the treasur in the house o the

>168.


21/77

"he table o uotations in Ne "estament order in+ludes a +olumn labelled ith the olloing letters:

9 pere+t or near9pere+t uotation rom the Septuagint 9 onl minor dieren+es, su+h as ord order, arti+les, in+onseuentialpronouns, et+.

S 9 pere+t but some ords repla+ed ith snonmns (example 9 6omans @.) or ith ords o related meaning.

1 9 the Ne "estament omits portions o the Septuagint text 9 ellipsis (example 9 5ark .29).

> 9 poeti+ li+ense emploed b the Ne "estament author: a portion o the Septuagint is repla+ed or re+onstru+ted (example 94ebres &.'9).

7 9 the Ne "estament author augments the Septuagint ith additional ording (example 9 6omans .@9&).

A 9 ragmentar (some ords in +ommon 9 repla+ements as reuent or more so).

9 e to no ords in +ommon (empt set).

ere+t () uotations and those simpl in$ol$ing an ellipsis (1) sho the highest idelit to the Septuagint, hile the other end o thespe+trum is represented b +ases here e to no +ommon ords +an be ound () or here the same ords appear, but in aragmentar ashion (A). *n beteen are the +ases o poeti+ li+ense (>) and those here libert o a more restrained orm has beentaken 9 through the use o snonmns (S) and b the augmentation (7) o the 1ld "estament ording ith an idea oreign to the literalsense o the text.

xamples o these last three are perhaps in order. 5ala+hi 3. is an example o an = 9 the Ne "estament author, olloing thesense o the 5asoreti+ text 9 repla+es the idea o the messenger sur$eing the a o the 5essiah ith that o preparation. 7notherexample o an = is pro$ided b Corinthians 3.%&/salm @.. "here, ord knos the thoughts o men= is altered to ord knos the thoughts o the ise.=

7s an example o the Ne "estament authorsB use o snonmns (S), +onsider !alatians .3&/!enesis %.&. "he Septuagint translatesas, 9tpe uotations amounting to about %@ per+ent. "hird, roughl per+ent o uotations(%% altogether) are ragmentar or unre+ogni#able as uotations. 1 these, onl % are introdu+ed b a ormula o uotation, su+h as /., - ,1., /.- 2.2


22/77

Further 5viden'e of the &nfluen'e of the !e"tuagint

-h does Stephen sa that se$ent9i$e entered into gpt hen Doseph sent or them (7+ts .), hen the 5asoreti+ text +learlreports there ere se$ent in allP G7ll the persons o the house o Da+ob ho +ame into gpt ere se$entG 9 !enesis 2.%. *tappears, hoe$er, that Stephen as not in error. 4e as simpl ba+king the Septuagint a++ount: Gall the souls o the house o Da+obho +ame ith Doseph into gpt ere se$ent9i$e souls.G (*n+identall, this Septuagint reading o se$ent9i$e is also ound in oneo the s+rolls rom 0umran.)

"he 4ebre ba+ks this reading o !enesis &.%: G7nd 7rphaxad begat Salah.G "he Septuagint has, G7nd 7rphaxad begat Cainan,and Cainan begat Sala.G Similarl, the 4ebre in !enesis .%93 is translated as: G7nd 7rphaxad li$ed i$e and thirt ears, and

begat SalahE 7nd 7rphaxad li$ed ater he had begat Salah our hundred and three ears, and begat sons and daughters. 7nd Salah

li$ed thirt ears, and begat ber.G ;ut the Septuagint has, G7nd 7rphaxad li$ed a hundred and thirt9i$e ears, and begot Cainan.7nd 7rphaxad li$ed ater he had begotten Cainan, our hundred ears, and begot sons and daughters, and died. 7nd Cainan li$ed ahundred and thirt ears and begot SalaE and Cainan li$ed ater he had begotten Sala, three hundred and thirt ears, and begot sonsand daughters, and died.G "he apostle >uke apparentl had the Septuagint a++ount in mind hen he listed the an+estr o the Christ.4e rote, Ghi+h as the son o Sala, hi+h as the son o Cainan, hi+h as the son o 7rphaxad.G (>uke 3.3'932).

aul lea$es a +lue in !alatians 3.29: GNo to 7braham and his seed ere the promises made. 4e saith not, 7nd to seeds, as omanE but as o one, 7nd to th seed, hi+h is Christ. 7nd this * sa, that the +o$enant, hi+h as +onirmed beore o !od in Christ,the la, hi+h as our hundred and thirt ears ater, +annot disannul, that it should make the promise o none ee+t.G 8oes the4ebre support a span o 3& ears rom the gi$ing o the promises to 7braham and the gi$ing o the >aP 7pparentl not, or thee$angeli+al apologist !leason 7r+her in his ;ible 8ii+ulties asserts that 2' ears passed beteen those to e$ents. 7r+herFs+on+lusion is that the time inter$al in mind is beteen a subseuent +onirmation o the promises (to Da+ob in !enesis 2.%9) and the

produ+tion o the tablets on Sinai. "his, hoe$er, seems a +le$er dodge. aul sas +learl that the time beteen !odFs making thepromises to 7braham and the gi$ing o the la as 3& ears. -here did he get su+h an idea 9 i a +areul examination o the

+hronolog supports a number +loser to 2' earsP "he likel explanation is that that aul as reading the SeptuagintFs xodus %.&:G7nd the sojourning o the +hildren o *srael, hile the sojourned in the land o gpt and the land o Chanaan, as our hundred andthirt ears.G

"hat aul relied upon the Septuagint is made strikingl +lear rom 6omans 3.%9?. "his entire passage is +ontained in one psalm inthe Septuagint. "he olloing table shos 6omans 3.%9? in the 7SI, ;rentonFs nglish translation o salm .3, and the !reek or

both Ne "estament and Septuagint passages.

"he 4ebre or salm .3 ends ith Gno, not so mu+h as one,G so aul +annot ha$e obtained the entire uotation rom this salmalone i he ere reading rom the 4ebre. *n a+t, i aul ere reling upon the 4ebre, he had to string together phrases rom sixseparate lo+ations in this passage: salm .93 (or '3.93), '.@, &.3, &., *saiah '@.9@, and salm 32.. *t ould be a remarkable+oin+iden+e i aul 9 using the 4ebre alone 9 ere to +olle+t just these ragments in just the same order as the appear in theSeptuagint. (7nother explanation is that the SeptuagintFs rendering o salm .3 is a later modii+ation b Christians, a alsii+ation othe original Septuagint reading to bring it into agreement ith 6omans. 4oe$er, i that ere the +ase, one onders h a more exa+trepresentation o 6omans 3.& and is not presented in the SeptuagintFs salm .9%, leading into the uotation in "able @ abo$e.)0uite plainl, the most plausible explanation is that, in 6omans 3.%9?, aul as uoting salm .3 rom the Septuagint.

age %& o '

Table 6: 7omans %81*12 in the #ew Testament and )salm 1(8% in the !e"tuagint

#T !nglish ?*S@A Setuagint !nglish ?(rentonA #T Gree) Setuagint Gree)

"he ha$e all turned aside,

the are together be+ome

unproitableE

"here is none that doeth good, no,not, so mu+h as one:

"heir throat is an open sepul+hreE

-ith their tongues the ha$e used

de+eit:

"he poison o asps is under their

lips:

-hose mouth is ull o +ursing and

bitterness:

"heir eet are sit to shed bloodE

8estru+t ion and miser are in their

asE

7nd the a o pea+e ha$e the

not knon:

"here is no ear o !od beoretheir ees.

"he are all gone out o the a,

the are together be+ome good or

nothing,

there is none that does good, nonot one.

"heir throat is an open sepul+hreE

ith their tongues the ha$e used

de+eitE

the poison o asps is under their

lips:

hose mouth is ull o +ursing and

bitternessE

their eet are sit to shed blood:

destru+tion and miser are in their

asE

and the a o pea+e the ha$e

not knon:

there is no ear o !od beore theirees.

,

,

:

,

,

:

,

:

, :

, ,

,

:

,

,

:

,

:

, :


23/77

"here are also man allusions in the Ne "estament to the Septuagint. Aor instan+e, in 6e$elation ., Dohn sends greetings to these$en +hur+hes in 7sia rom Ghe ho is.G *n nglish, the reeren+e ma not be ob$ious. ;ut, in the !reek, Dohn uses the phrase o n,the exa+t ords !od spoke rom the burning bush in xodus 3. (Septuagint) ater 5oses asked 4is name. 7s a se+ond example, theauthor o the book o 4ebres seems to ha$e had -isdom .%2 in mind hen riting 4ebres .3.

3on'lusions

"he Ne "estament is a itness to the Chur+hBs use o the Septuagint as sa+red s+ripture in its earliest das. "his use +ontinuedthroughout the Chur+h until earl in the ourth +entur, hen Derome undertook a translation rom the 4ebre o his da. -e ha$eseen in the se+tion on the Septuagint in the Aathers that Derome agreed ith the proposition that the Chur+hBs 1ld "estament should bethe same one uoted in the Ne "estament. ;ut he held the $ie 9 hi+h e ha$e shon abo$e to be maniestl in+orre+t 9 that the

Ne "estament authors ere aithul to the 4ebre 1ld "estament.

*s the example o Ne "estament usage sui+ient grounds or a return to the Septuagint as the basis or 1ld "estament translationP7re there good reasons or translating rom the 4ebre 5asoreti+ text, as is the almost uni$ersal pattern in the -estern orldP *tmight be argued that the 4ebre o the 5assoretes is truer to the original that the Septuagint, but this is doubtul gi$en the existen+e o$ariant readings in the 4ebre beore the se+ond +entur 7.8. "he +urrent 4ebre text is indeed the one sele+ted b the rabbis at theend o the irst +entur, hi+h be+ame the standard 4ebre 1ld "estament thereater. 4oe$er, legislation b a bod outside the

boundaries o the Chur+h +an hardl be binding on 4er. *t +ould be argued that, e$en though there ere $ariant readings in the4ebre at earlier times, e +an oten be airl +ertain that the 4ebre o the 5assoretes and the 4ebre the Septuagint as based onare identi+al. *n those +ases, e should translate rom the 4ebre, and b doing so bring the sense into nglish ith greater exa+tness.*n response, this seems more o an argument or using the 4ebre as a translation aid than as the basis or translation. Su+h usageould doubtless be laudable. 4oe$er, this approa+h should be undertaken ith +aution. 7s the meaning o ords +hanges ith timethe Septuagint !reek ma oten pro$ide insight into the meaning o the 4ebre at the time o translation, and so should not be reelrepla+ed ith an a+ademi+ +onje+ture.

Derome mentioned ith embarrassment +ertain passages in the Septuagint hi+h he belie$ed to be in+orre+tl translated rom the4ebre. ;ut beore e +an +on$i+t the Septuagint o translation error, e ha$e to produ+e, at a minimum, the 4ebre text uponhi+h the Septuagint is based. Sin+e that text no longer exists, a++usations o mistranslation remain unpro$en +onje+tures. 7nd e$eni the Septuagint is thi+k ith mistranslation, its errors are reuentl san+tioned b the Ne "estament. Aor instan+e, i the ordord hath reigned rom the ood.= Neither othese is in the Septuagint e possess toda. 7s a third example, Dustin uoted the olloing, possibl rom #ra or Nehemiah:


24/77

the Septuagint 9 hi+h implies the reje+tion o the authorit o the Ne "estament. "he argument in a$or o returning to theSeptuagint notes the general (though not uni$ersal) relian+e on it b the Ne "estament authors and their olloers in the earlChur+h. "he Ne "estament +an be more ull understood and appre+iated, it is argued, i read in +onjun+tion ith the Septuagint,

be+ause the language o the !reek 1ld "estament is present throughout the Ne, both in o$ert uotations and allusions. "he theologo the Chur+h, as explained b the Aathers o the irst se$eral +enturies, rests on the ording o the Septuagint. * this theolog is trueand orth o deense, then it is +riti+al that the Chur+h be thoroughl amiliar ith the ;ible o 4er ounders and earl deenders.

*t seems +lear to me that the +ase in a$or o the Septuagint is the stronger o the to. ;ut the same primar argument in a$or otranslation rom the Septuagint 9 Ne "estament pre+edent 9 implies that the Christian should be aare o 5asoreti+ readings. *n likemanner, our desire to understand the theolog o the earl Chur+h in the light o 4er s+riptures entails the need to retain amiliarit

ith those s+riptures 9 su+h as the ones uoted b Dustin 5artr abo$e 9 hi+h appear to ha$e dropped out o the 1ld "estament o$erthe ears. *n m $ie, then, the ideal 1ld "estament ill be based on the Septuagint as the primar sour+e, and ill in+lude extensi$eootnotes in+luding signii+ant $ariant readings rom all other sour+es, in+luding the 5asoreti+ text, the 8ead Sea S+rolls, theSamaritan entateu+h, and the Aathers o the Chur+h.

*gree%ent in 7eaning (et$een the #e$ Testa%ent 6uotations and the +ebre$ &ld Testa%ent

7s or the Septuagint +omparison, this analsis relies on the "able o 0uotations in Ne "estament 1rder. "hat table +ontains a+olumn entitled G5eaningG ith annotations: GD,G G4G or G8.G 7 GDG indi+ates that the uotation agrees ith the Septuagint againsthe sense o the 5asoreti+ text, an G4G that the uotation supports the 4ebre sense against the Septuagint. "he uotation is marked

b a G8G hen the uotation disagrees in meaning ith both the Septuagint and the 4ebre. "he olloing table summari#es thedisagreement o the Ne "estament ith the 4ebre 1ld "estament as a sour+e. Aor ea+h Ne "estament book, the number ouotations rom ea+h 1ld "estament book is shon, but the number o times the Ne "estament reading diers in meaning rom the4ebre 1ld "estament text 9 both GDG and G8G readings 9 is also indi+ated. "hus, 5atthe diers in sense rom the 5asoreti+ text 2times out o ' uotations. Nine o these disagreements o++ur hen 5atthe uotes rom *saiah. >ooking along the ros, note that

8euteronom is uoted against the sense o the 5asoreti+ text 3 times, % o these uotations o++urring in the book o 6omans.

"he next to tables summari#e these results, pro$iding per+entage agreement or ea+h 1ld "estament and Ne "estament book. Aorinstan+e, Oe+hariah is uoted times, 2 o hi+h are in agreement ith the meaning o the 5asoreti+ text. "hus, the Ne "estamentollos the 4ebre $ersion o Oe+hariah ?'.U o the time. Similarl, >uke ollos the 5asoreti+ reading in % o %2 passages, or a

per+entage agreement W ?&.U.

age %% o '

Table 19: &nstan'es where the #ew Testament Differs in Meaning from the Masoreti' Tet

(oo) 7t 7) 8) Jn *cts Ro% , Cor 2 Cor Gal !h , T% 2 T% +eb , Pet 2 Pet

,0,.920 ,9/ /92- 92 /9,/ ,09/0 9,- 29,0 /9,0 09 09, ,9, ,-9- ,9/ -9,2 09,

Genesis /9, 092 092 B B 09/ ,9> 092 B ,9/ 09, B B 29 09, B B

!xodus 29,. 09/. 09 092. 090. ,9,, 09 0 9, 0 9, B 090. B B 09 090. ,9, B

8e'iticus 09,.1 09.1 092 092 B 09, 092 B 090. 092 B B B B 09, 09, B

#u%bers ,92 090. B B 090. B B B B B B B 1 B B B B

eut. ,9/. 29,0. 29. 29. B 09 29- ,92 09, 292 090. 09, B 29/ 090. B B

, S a%uel 09, B B B B 09, B B B B B B B B B B B

2 Sa%uel 092. B B B B B 090. B 09, B B B B 09, B B B

, Dings 092 B B B B B 092 B B B B B B B B B B

Job 092 B B B B B 09, 09, B B B B B B B B B

Psal%s 209-. ,9> 09 09- ,9- 29,, -9,2. 09 ,92 B 092 B B 19, B 092 B

Pro'erbs 9 B B B B B ,9, B B B B B B ,9, ,9, 292 09,

Isaiah /.9. >9,, 29/. 9 9/ 9 ,.9,1 9 ,92 ,9, B B B ,92 B /9 B

Jere%iah 29 09, B B B B B 09, 09, B B B B 292 B B B

!Ee)iel 09, B B B B B B B 09,. B B B B B B B B

aniel 09 092 092 09, B B B B B B B B B B B B B

+osea /9- 29 B 09, B B ,92 ,9, B B B B B B B B B

Joel ,92 B B B B ,9, 09, B B B B B B B B B B

*%os 292 B B B B 292 B B B B B B B B B B B

Jonah 09, 09, B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

7icah ,92 ,92 B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

+aba))u) 29/ B B B B ,9, 09, B B 09, B B B ,9, B B B

+aggai 09, B B B B B B B B B B B B 09, B B B

Fechariah ,9- ,9 09, B 092 B B B B B 09, B B B B B B

7al achi 09/ 09, 09, 09, B B 09, B B B B B B B B B B

3 of

5uot. Ja%

Total 2.9,


25/77

7lthough the agreement beteen the Ne "estament and theSeptuagint as seen to be loest in the gospels, the 5asoreti+ textared e$en more poorl here. ro+eeding as beore, e ind theolloing or natural Ne "estament groupings:

Snopti+ gospels 9 2.2

Dohn 9 .

7+ts 9 '.&

auline epistles 9 2'.%4ebres 9 '.

Catholi+ epistles 9 '%.@

>ukeFs uotations agree in meaning ith the 5asoreti+ text .3U othe time. *t appears, then, that agreement ith the 5asoreti+ text is

best in the gospels, and +onsiderabl orse in aulFs ritings and theother epistles.

"he most remarkable number in the table at the let is the agreementper+entage or the book o *saiah, onl 33.2U. 1ther important books9 salms and 8euteronom 9 also sho strong di$ergen+e rom the5asoreti+ text. ;ut the Ne "estamentFs tenden+ to disagree ith*saiah is striking.

age %3 o '

Table 11: )er'entageAgreement by OldTestament Book

!enesis ?.

xodus @%.2

>e$iti+us &&

Numbers '&

8euteronom &

Samuel &&

% Samuel &&

Hings &&

Dob &&

salms 3.@

ro$erbs 2.

*saiah 33.2

Deremiah 2&

#ekiel &&

8aniel &&

4osea %.@

Doel '&

7mos &

Donah &&

5i+ah '&

4abakkuk '&

4aggai &&

Oe+hariah ?'.

5ala+hi &&

"otal 2?.3

Table 1: )er'entageAgreement by #ewTestament Book

5atthe &.

5ark ?'.%

>uke ?&.

Dohn .

7+ts '

6omans '?.% Cor &.2

% Cor ?&

!alatians 2&

phesians &&

"imoth &&

% "imoth &

4ebres '.

Dames '

eter .

% eter &&

"otal 2?.3


26/77

6uotations in #e$ Testa%ent &rder

"he table to belo lists all uotations rom the 1ld "estament hi+h appear in the Ne. "he +olumn labeled G5eaningG +ontains+hara+ters hi+h indi+ate hether the parti+ular +itation agrees in meaning ith the Septuagint here that diers rom the 5asoreti+(4ebre) text 9 or $i+e $ersa. "he +olumn labeled G0ualitG gi$es a sense or the agreement in ord +hoi+e and order beteen the

Ne "estament and the Septuagint. 7 ke to the smbols is pro$ided at the bottom o this page and on the "able o Contents rame.

8etailed +omparisons or ea+h +itation +an be $ieed b in the ebsite.

age % o '

Table 1%: Quotations &n #ew Testament Order

"eight 7eaning 6uality

5atthe .%3a J M DX

J M

J A

J >

J S

J M D S

J X

J X

J

J

.'92 J A

>

J

X

&.3'932 >X

J >X

J X

J A

J M D

J M D X

J S

J

J X

'.?9@ J M D XY

1

J

J

>

#e$ Testa%entReference

&ld Testa%entSource

*saiah .

.%3b *saiah ?.?, &

%.2 5 i+ah '.% 8X

%.' 4osea . 4

%.? Deremiah 3.' X

3.3 *saiah &.3

. 8euteronom ?.3

.2 salm @.9%

. 8euteronom 2.2

.& 8euteronom 2.3 DX

*saiah @.9% 8X

'.%

/%

/%

xodus %&.3

8euteronom '.

'.%

/%

/%

xodus %&.

8euteronom '.?

'.3 8euteronom %.

'.33

/%

/%

>e$iti+us @.%

Numbers 3&.%

'.3?

/3

/3

/3

xodus %.%

>e$iti+us %.%&

8euteronom @.%

'.3 >e$iti+us @.?

?. *saiah '3. 8

@.3 4osea 2.2 D

5 i+ah .2

.& 5 ala+hi 3. 4

%. 4osea 2.2 D

%.?9%& *saiah %.93 8

%.% *saiah %.

%.& Donah .

3.9' *saiah 2.@9&

3.3' salm ?.% 8

'.a

/%

/%

xodus %&.%

8euteronom '.2

'.b xodus %.

*saiah %@.3

?.2 8euteronom @.'

@.

/%

/%

!enesis .%

'.%

@.' !enesis %.%

@. 8euteronom %.

@.?9@

/%

/%

xodus %&.%92

8euteronom '.29%&

@.@ >e$iti+us @.?

%.'a

%.'b

J

J

*saiah 2%.

Oe+hariah @.@

>

>X


27/77age %' o '

"eight 7eaning 6ual ity

5atthe %.@ J

J

%.2 J M D

J

J 7

J S

J

%2.2a A

>

J A

J >X

J M D S >

J M D 1X

J

J X

A

J

J

J

7

7 S

>

J

>

J

>

>

J

J

J M D >

#e$ Testa%ent

Reference

&ld Testa%ent

Source

salm ?.%'9%2

%.3 *saiah '2.

salm ?.%

%.% salm ?.%%9%3

%%.% 8euteronom %'.'

%%.3%

/%

/%

xodus 3.2,

3.'

%%.3 8euteronom 2.' 8X

%%.3@ >e$iti+us @.?

%%. salm &.

%3.3@ salm ?.%2

%.3& 8aniel .3

%2.3 Oe+hariah 3. X

salm &.

%2.2b 8aniel .3

%.@9& Oe+hariah .%93 8

%.2 salm %%.

5ark .% 5ala+hi 3. 4

.3 *saiah &.3 .% *saiah 2.@9& M

.29 *saiah %@.3

.&a

/%

/%

xodus %&.%

8euteronom '.2

.&b xodus %.

&. 8euteronom %., 3

&.2

/%

/%

!enesis .%

'.%

&.9? !enesis %.%

&.@

/%

/%

xodus %&.%92

8euteronom '.29%&

7

7

.@9& salm ?.%'9%2 . *saiah '2.

%.&9 salm ?.%%9%3

%.@ 8euteronom %'.'

%.%2

/%

/%

xodus 3.2,

3.'

%.%@93& 8euteronom 2.9' 8X

%.3 >e$iti+us @.?

%.3%a 8euteronom 2.

%.3%b

/%

/%

8euteronom .3'

*saiah '.%

X

%.33a 8euteronom 2.' 8X

%.33b >e$iti+us @.?

%.32 salm &.

3.%2 8aniel .3

.% Oe+hariah 3. X

.2%a salm &.

.2%b 8anel .3

'.3 salm %%.

>uke %.%3

/3

/3

/3

xodus 3.%,

3.%,

3.'

>

>

>

%.% >e$iti+us %.?

3.92 *saiah &.39'


28/77age %2 o '


J

J

J

J

J >X >

J 7 S

J

J

J

J

J >

J

>

X

J M D >

J

J >

J >

J

J >J M D

J M D S 1

J A

J

J

J

J

J

J

J M D 7XJ M D

A

>

J

J

J A

J >

#e$ Testa%ent

Reference

&ld Testa%ent

Source

>uke . 8euteronom ?.3

.? 8euteronom 2.3 DX

.&9 salm @.9%

.% 8euteronom 2.2

.?9@

.?

J

J

*saiah 2.9%

*saiah '?.2

M DZ

D

Y

.% 5ala+hi 3. 4 ?.& *saiah 2.@ M

&.%a 8euteronom 2.' 8X

&.%b >e$iti+us @.?

3.3' salm ?.%2

?.%&

/%

/%

xodus %&.%92

8euteronom '.29%&

@.3? salm ?.%2

@.2 *saiah '2.

%&. salm ?.%%

%&.%? 8euteronom %'.'

%&.3 xodus 3.2

%&.%93 salm &. %.% 8aniel .3

%%.3 *saiah '3.%

%%.2@ salm &.

%3.3& 4osea &.?

%3.2 salm 3.'

Dohn .%3 *saiah &.3

%. salm 2@.@

2.3 salm ?.% D

2.' *saiah '.3

&.3 salm ?%.2

%.3 salm ?.%'9%2

%.' Oe+hariah @.@ %.3? *saiah '3.

%.& *saiah 2.&

3.? salm .@

'.%'

/%

/%

salm 3'.@

2@.

>

>

@.% salm %%.?

@.32

/%

/%

xodus %.2

Numbers @.%

@.3 Oe+hariah %.& 4

7+ts .%&a salm 2@.%'

.%&b salm &@.?

%.9% Doel %.%?93% %.%'9%? salm 2.?9

%.3& salm 3%.

%.3 salm 2.&

%.393' salm &.

3.3

/%

/%

xodus 3.2,

3.'

3.%% 8euteronom ?.'92

3.%3a 8euteronom ?.@

3.%3b >e$iti+us %3.%@


29/77age % o '


J

>

J M D

1

> >

7X

>

J M D >XJ

J M D

J

J M D >

J M

J M D 1

J S

J >XY

J

J M D J

J M D S

J M D

J

J M D

J

J M D

J 1

J

J

J 7

J

J

J

r. grant jones - notes on the septuagint (abridged by g. tzavelas)

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