Some extremists, perhaps due to their angry wailing, bitter spirit, and sometimes unfounded animadversions, have made any hint of uncertainty concerning the LXX to be anathema to the “scholars” – especially the wanna-be (think-they-are) scholars. This should not be. All who think there is likelihood of versions of the Greek Old Testament created in early church history do not belong on the quack list. Consider the words of John Owen (1616-1683), who is generally respected in Reformed and Western evangelical circles (at least when he is not writing too dogmatically about the Bible).
“Hence some, not understanding whence this testimony was cited by the apostle, have inserted his words into the Greek Bible…” p. 107
“14. First, it is evident that they are exceedingly mistaken who affirm that the apostle cites all his testimonies out of the translation of the LXX, as we intimated is by some pleaded, in the close of the preceding discourse. The words he useth, in very few of them agree exactly with the Greek version of the Old Testament that is now extant,—though apparently, since the writing of this Epistle, it hath grown in its verbal conformity unto the allegations as reported in the New; and in most of them he varieth from it, either in the use of his own liberty, or in a more exact rendering of the original text. Should he have had any respect unto that translation, it were impossible to give any tolerable account whence he should so much differ from it almost in every quotation, as is plain that he doth.
“15. It is also undeniably manifest, from this view of his words, that the apostle did not scrupulously confine himself unto the precise words either of the original or any translation whatever,—if any other translation, or targum, were then extant besides that of the LXX. Observing and expressing the sense of the testimonies which he thought meet to produce and make use of, he used with great liberty, as did other holy writers of the New Testament, according to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, by who inspiration he wrote, in expressing them by words of his own. And who shall blame him for so doing? Who should bind him to the rules of quotations, which sometimes necessity, sometimes curiosity, sometimes the cavils of other men, impose upon us in our writings? Herein the apostle used that liberty which the Holy Ghost gave unto him, without the least prejudice unto truth of the faith of the church... pp. 113-114
“19. I say, then, it is highly probable that the apostle, according to his wonted manner, which appears in almost all the citations used by him in this Epistle, reporting the sense and importance of the places in words of his own, the Christian transcribers of the Greek Bible inserted his expressions into the text; either as judging them a more proper version of the original, whereof they were ignorant, than that of the LXX., or out of a preposterous zeal to take away the appearance of a diversity between the text and the apostle’s citation of it. And thus, in those testimonies where there is a real variation from the Hebrew original, the apostle took not his words from the translation of the LXX., but his words were afterward inserted into that translation. And this, as we have partly made to appear already in sundry instances, so it shall now briefly be further confirmed; for,—
“20. First, Whereas the reasons of the apostle for his application of the testimonies used by him in his words and expressions are evident, as shall in particular be made to appear; so no reason can be assigned why the LXX (if any such LXX. there were) who translated the Old Testament, or any other translators of it, should so render the words of the Hebrew text.”
“Exercitation V. Testimonies Cited By the Apostle Out of the Old Testament,” An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume I, John Owen (W. H. Gould, editor), Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980, pp. 113-115.
Commenting on “I regarded them not” in Hebrews 8:9, Owen writes:
“But expositors do find or make great difficulties herein. It is generally supposed that the apostle followed the translation of the LXX. in the present copy whereof the words are so expressed; but how they came to render בָּעַ֥לְתִּי by ἠμέλησα, they are not agreed. Some say the original copies might differ in some letters from those we now enjoy. Therefore it is thought they might read, as some think, ָּבָּחֱלְתִּי, ‘neglexi,’ or נְעַ֥לְתִּי, ‘fastidivi,’—‘I neglected,’ or ‘loathed them.’ And those who speak most modestly, suppose that the copy which the LXX. made use of, had one of these words instead of בָּעַ֥לְתִּי, which yet is the truer reading; but because this did not belong to the substance of the argument which he had in hand, the apostle would not depart from that translation which was then in use amongst the Hellenistical Jews.
“But the best of these conjectures are uncertain, and some of them by no means to be admitted. Uncertain it is that the apostle made any of his quotations out of the translation of the LXX.; yea, the contrary is certain enough, and easy to be demonstrated. Neither did he write this epistle unto the Hellenistical Jews, or those who lived in or belonged unto their dispersions, wherein they made use of the Greek tongue; but unto the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judea principally and in the first place, who made no use of that translation. He expressed the mind of the Scripture, as he was directed by the Holy Ghost, in words of his own. And the coincidence of these words with those in the present copies of the LXX. hath been accounted for in our Exercitations.
Dangerous it is, as well as untrue, to allow of alterations in the original text, and then upon our conjectures to supply other words into it than what are contained in it. That is not to explain, but to corrupt the Scripture.
An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews, Volume VI, John Owen (1616-1683), (W. H. Gould, editor),Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1980, p. 130.
John Owen was no dufus. If I am reading him correctly, he believed the extant LXX words of the 4th & 5th century manuscripts did not necessarily predate the writing of the New Testament (therefore could have been conformed to match the New Testament).
2 comments:
Great to read your work. Thank you.
It's always good to check our sources and our logic and admit that we know little. "We" here includes me and the rest of the human race, including the scholars. Just because they know more than I do, does not mean that they know very much. Some times the things they know, just aren't so. I am in favor of learning all we can within the will of God. Knowledge is a good thing when used for God's glory. But not all that is presented as knowledge is knowledge. Some of it is "science falsely so called" (I Tim. 6:20).
I remember that as a much younger man I ran across something that pointed out that "the" Septuagint is not monolithic, but that there are versions of it that differ among themselves and it has a mostly unknown past. I already had suspicions that some claims that, e.g., "Biblical writer ____ here quotes the LXX", might be overstated. But when I found out that the LXX is another piece of jello impossible to nail down, I felt even more justified in my suspicion that not all I was reading about the LXX and its alleged quoters was necessarily true.
I'll be interested to see what the scholars at the Academic Symposium on the Septuagint can contribute since they will all be defenders of the pre-scientific-doubt texts (what I'd call the Received Texts of the OT and NT, but what they would call the Reformation Texts). Jeff Riddle (Reformed Baptist defender of the TR) has apparently recently been involved in the starting of what is called the Reformation Bible Society which will host this symposium as its first event. See https://www.reformationbiblesociety.org/ and http://www.jeffriddle.net/2024/02/2024-reformation-bible-society-august-3.html.
E. T. Chapman
I think that Academic Symposium on the Septuagint by the Reformation Bible Society should put out some good information on the subject. I look forward to hearing what they say. I expect the talks should be made available online after the fact.
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