JeremiAh 31:37
In the Septuagint (Greek text), JeremiAh 31:37 reads:
‘Tade legei kurion:’
or,
‘Thus says the/Lord:’
‘Ean upsothe ho ourano eisto meteoron,’
or,
‘If should/be/raised/up the sky in height,’
‘Kai eantapeinothe to epeinothe tes ges kato,’
or,
‘And/if lowered the floor of/the land below,’
‘Kai ego ouk apodokimo to genos IsraEl, legei Kyrios,’
or,
‘And I will/not reject the/race of/IsraEl, says the/Lord,’
‘Peri panton on epoieson,’
or,
‘For all/the/things that they’ve/done.’
However, the Hebrew text (as translated) reads this way:
‘Thus says the Lord: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of IsraEl for all that they have done, declares the Lord.’
As you can see, there is a significant difference between the meanings of the two different text sources. For the Septuagint says that IsraEl will not be rejected, but the Hebrew text says that they will be cast off. Which of the two is right?
Well, verse 36 in the Greek text provides the answer to the question, for it says there:
‘If these Laws before Me should cease to be,
Then the race of IsraEl will no longer stand
As a nation before Me
Throughout the rest of their days.’
So, God is clearly saying that IsraEl could be rejected. And as the result, we have deferred to the conclusion of the Hebrew text and must assume that an early Septuagint translator simply couldn’t believe that IsraEl might be rejected. And because of this, he added the negative word not (ouk) to the sentence.
Then, doesn’t this error prove the Septuagint to be the inferior text? No, not necessarily, because we continually find obvious errors in both (Hebrew and Greek) sources. And far too often, the Septuagint follows logical reasoning better and it offers details that are not found in modern Hebrew texts. So, we tend to trust the Greek text, while keeping an eye out for errors.
Jerusalem, August 18th, 1891. To the Honorable BARON HIRSCH. RESPECTED SIR: – I, a Christian, but a lover of the seed of Jacob, especially because of the promises of God yet remaining to them and the Holy Land, address you upon a subject which I know lies close to your heart. That you may know of my interest in your people, I will cause to be sent to you a copy of each of two volumes of my own writings, in which the promises of God to your nation are cited and commented upon. At present, accompanied by my wife, I am in Palestine, taking a hasty view of the land of promise and its people, and considering the prospects of the soon fulfilment of the predictions of the prophets. As you will see from my books, we find the testimony of the prophets to be, that your nation will be greatly blessed and returned to divine favor between now and the year 1915, A.D. The present persecutions in Russia we believe to be a mark of divine favor rather than the reverse. The Lord declares that ...
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