. What Is the Masoretic Text? John Whiteford. Joseph. Particularly when the Septuagint and the Hebrew text are in agreement, we will better understand the Septuagint as a translation if we compare it with the Hebrew text that it is clearly a translation of. On our last post, we looked briefly at the actions of the scribes when they wrote their revisions of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts around … Simply by choosing one Hebrew text over another, they were able to subvert the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, His healing of the blind, His crucifixion, and His salvation of the Gentiles.” (3). The LXX has a shorter version of Jeremiah than the Masoretic text of 1008 AD, yet both short and long versions have been found in Hebrew copies at Qumran: "The short text of Jeremiah, as found in the Septuagint, which is about one-eighth shorter than the Masoretic text, has been found in Hebrew form among the scrolls, which also attest to the longer form. 8. What books does the Septuagint have that the Masoretic Text does not? 4. I. Septuagint Chronology of Gen 5, 11 is correct: 1. I have weighed the value of both the Septuagint (LXX) and the Masoretic Text (MT) and have found not only the scholarly work and veracity of the MT to stand the test but also the archaeological evidence to verify the dating in the MT. The Septuagint and Peshitta texts were preserved within the Church, and so the Church believes that the text of the Old Testament was been authoritatively preserved in these textual traditions. In the “Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs” of 1848, which was a reply to the epistle of Pope Pius IX, “To The Easterns,” the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, along with the other assembled bishops stated: texts, even while writing the N.T. . Why Orthodox Christians Prefer the Septuagint: Part 2. The direct quote from St. Ireneaus, “Moreover this version of those Scriptures (Septuagint) having been made before our Lord came down, and finished before any Christians were to be seen; (for our Lord was born about the forty-first year of Augustus’ reign, but Ptolemy, under whom the Scriptures were translated, was much more ancient:) truly shameless and bold are they proved, who would fain now translate otherwise, upon our refuting them out of the very Scriptures and shutting them up unto the faith of the coming of the Son of God. Its message is especially pertinent for our times, when there is widespread confusion and ignorance about the true nature of Christ’s Church and about the right approach to Holy Scripture. If we are to say that the Bible has been inspired, we need to know what it contains. Scholars have been discussing this issue for millennia, but one aspect of this debate has garnered considerable attention in our circles recently: the Masoretic (MT) vs. In Christ Fr. Third, the Septuagint was used by both the Greek Fathers of the Church, and Orthodox liturgical services (in other words, this text became part of the Orthodox church Tradition). The Greek Septuagint teaches a local flood. Some of these become evident in my following rendering. dss vs mt. Hebrew – behold, a “young woman” shall conceive. The Septuagint (for example in the Alexandrinus or Vaticanus texts) is older than the Masoretic. It is extremely helpful to understand the range of meaning of the original Hebrew text (when we clearly have it). New posts New profile posts Latest activity. In comparison to the textual evidence that we have for the New Testament Greek text, this is a very late manuscript. Septuagint (LXX) text vs. Masoretic (MT) text Old Testament – know your Bible! ( Log Out /  And in the above quote, I think there may be a translation problem, though I don't have the Russian text, and my Russian would probably be too limited to tell for sure by myself -- but when it says "some of the citations taken from the Old Testament and found in the New mainly use the Septuagint text," it is awkwardly worded enough for me to guess that Metropolitan Hilarion meant to say that most (not just "some") of the quotes of the Old Testament in the New Testament are based on the Septuagint... because as a matter of fact, that is true. Firstly it is important to remember that the LXX translation of the Old Testament was explicitly Jewish. Menu. Examining the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text. For example, in Gen 11:11 the Samaritan … However they are added in the SP. Some forums can only be seen by registered members. In any case, the differences, due to copying errors and slips of the pen, are quite minor and, generally, the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint will produce the identical translation into English. Jesus Christ and Apostles did not use the Septuagint. On our last post, we looked briefly at the actions of the scribes when they wrote their revisions of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts around … ( Log Out /  The Masoretic Text is the traditional Hebrew text of the Jewish bible, “This monumental work was begun around the 6th century ad and completed in the 10th by scholars at Talmudic academies in Babylonia and Palestine.” (1). DSS LXX vs MT. the Septuagint is far more accurate as well. The Septuagint, also known as the Greek Old Testament, is the earliest translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek dated to three centuries before Christ walked the earth. In fact, what is the Masoretic text, and how do we know that it is reliable? Septuagint vs. Masoretic Text. There was a time when many Protestant scholars assumed that the Septuagint was an often loose translation of the Hebrew text, and that when it differed from the Masoretic Text, it was due to changes made by the translators. “The Hebrew Text that has served as the basis for most translations of the Old Testament into English is based almost entirely on the Leningrad Codex, which dates from 1008 A.D. While the Masoretic Text was completed rather late (the oldest copies we have Why do Protestants usually prefer the Masoretic over the Septuagint? What change? 2. Home. First, the wikipedia page has an inaccurate dating of the Septuagint. (The other books of the Hebrew Bible … 2. That the Septuagint is the most authoritative text in the Orthodox Church is something that is confirmed in just about any Orthodox catechetical text you could consult. I can’t agree, however, with: “It would seem that the Septuagint (LXX) translation is not only far more ancient than the Masoretic Text . The New Testament quotes could not have come from the Masoretic text, because it did not exist at the time the New Testament was written; it would not be translated for another 1000 years! The rabbis who compiled the Masoretic text were not accountable to the High Priest in Jerusalem. Where alternate readings existed, the Masoretic text incorporated the one which supported the Talmudic tradition, which was developing in parallel with the establishment of the Masoretic canon. The Septuagint exhibits considerable differences among themselves and they disagree with the Masoretic Text. e-Mail; Home Septuagint Geneva LXX/KJV CRL ECF Articles Nave's Books on CD Audio Books eBooks; Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II … Source. The Septuagint versus the Masoretic The English version of the Septuagint text, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton compared to the English version of the Masoretic text in the King James translation. The oldest more or less complete Septuagint manuscripts are Codex Vaticanus (4th century AD) and Codex Alexandrinus (5th century AD). Yea, all the Apostles too, who are more ancient than all these, agree with the aforesaid translation, and the translation harmonizes with the Apostolical tradition.” (8). Does the Orthodox Church teach that the Septuagint is more reliable than the Hebrew text of the Old Testament? Schaff is citing that the Greek Septuagint was widely used during the time of Jesus Christ and Apostolic Christianity. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. And what it corrects in the Masoretic Text demonstrates that the MT was altered by anti-Christian rabbis in the first and second centuries A.D. “These are not random, inconsequential differences between the texts. The Masoretic text was compiled by Jews several hundred years AD, therefore by Jews who had rejected Jesus. The Septuagint (so-called because legend has it that 70 biblical scholars in Alexandria undertook to translate the Jewish scripture into Greek) when examined by more modern Greek scholars seems to not be a … The Masoretic Text (MT ... (Septuagint, Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch) is closest to the theoretical Urtext is disputed. “[The Septuagint] was translated from Hebrew over several centuries, and the translations began to be revised shortly after they were completed. Rather, these appear to be places where the Masoretes (or their forebears) had a varied selection of texts to consider, and their decisions were influenced by anti-Christian bias. (7). 0 0. The Septuagint version of some books, such as Daniel and Esther, are longer than those in the Masoretic Text, which were affirmed as canonical by the rabbis. How do we know? (Isa 55:11) Steve Rudd November 2017. The Septuagint, a Greek translation composed around the second century BCE, actually shares over 6000 commonalities with the Samaritan Pentateuch and less with the Jewish Masoretic Text. Compare the above with the Latin Vulgate: But you carried a tabernacle for your Moloch, and the image of your idols, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves (Douay-Rheims translation of the Vulgate). If my articles are helpful and you would like to contribute, please donate. If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim. 6. Is the Septuagint a Divinely Inspired Translation. Just an English translation of both from their original text in one place for comparison). There never was one textus recepticus, but the consensus within the Jewish community was entirely in favour of the Septuagint until it became clear that many of its readings pointed too clearly to Christ. The Birth of Talmudic Rabbinical Judaism. Matt. Septuagint vs Masoretic Texts (Torah, Tanakh, doctrine, women) User Name: Remember Me: Password Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! The Greek Septuagint teaches a local flood. I can look into fixing it when I have some more time. The Masoretic text is the true text, because the Dead Seas scrolls were written by the Essenes. On our last blog post, The Septuagint vs the Masoretic Text, we looked briefly at the history of the Alexandrian Septuagint (LXX), how the Jewish High priest and Sanhedrin approved it and how its creation was celebrated every year with a special festival. Enjoy! 2. So why do many Protestant Bibles use the Masoretic Text? Introduction en.wikipedia.org Leningrad Codex. It is the authoritative text of the Old Testament for the Orthodox Church, and the text that the Holy Spirit has preserved for us. The following article was written in 1914, when St. Hilarion was an archimandrite and a professor of the Imperial Moscow Spiritual Academy. text of the Jews. if so wouldnt that give credibility to the septuagint or its source given DDS are old (older than 2nd century)? On March 15, 2020 March 18, 2020 By Tony Fluerty In Bible History, Old Testament History and Culture. This validates the Septuagint even more, as we have the apostles of Christ directly quoting from it, and the fact that the New Testament itself was written in Greek. However, since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we now know that the Septuagint is based on a different, and older Hebrew text than the Masoretic text. It is a more faithful representation of the original Scriptures, and perhaps this is one reason why the apostles quoted from it and accorded it fully as the inspired Word of God.Sources: 1. I searched in the internet to know the 6000 differences between the three, and found that supposedly 1900 of them where the Septuagint agrees with the Samaritan [editor’s note: the questioner is referring here to the Samaritan Pentateuch], but I found nothing. In bibles, the Old Testament is translated from the Masoretic text, from 1000 A.D. To scholars, these variants are uniquely valuable because of their antiquity: The Dead Sea Scrolls are a thousand years older than our earliest complete edition of the Masoretic Text. Since they are making a new version from the Hebrew Bible as well?” No, because the difference is the Septuagint only translates from Hebrew to Greek with precision, while the Masoretic text isn’t even technically a translation as they are both using Hebrew, meaning it’s a change. I see some of the confusion. In the “Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs” of 1848, which was a reply to the epistle of Pope Pius IX, “To The Easterns,” the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, along with the other assembled bishops stated: Septuagint vs. Masoretic Text. We have written in a previous article (“The Neutralization of the Netherworld”) that the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament represents an ancient and authentic Hebrew tradition. The Masoretic text is about 1000 years NEWER than the Septuagint. The Septuagint (LXX) translation is both more accurate and more ancient than the Masoretic Text. “The Old Testament Scriptures were translated into Greek two centuries before Christ, and were read and expounded in the public worship of God, which was open to all.” (6). Several modern translations correct this clearly erroneous text based on the Septuagint and Vulgate to read: Therefore Saul said, "O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? John Whiteford. The Septuagint text is the text that the Church has preserved. What are some additions to some books that are in both? The Septuagint text is the text that the Church has preserved. Fr. Search forums. The Alexandrian Septuagint vs the Masoretic Text: part 2 World Domination and the destiny of the Jews. 3rd Century B.C. To St. Ireneaus, Ebionism and other heresies were aided by anti-Christian alterations of the Hebrew scripture, as evident by the comparison to the pre-Christian Septaugint. Joseph Gleason of Preachers Institute. The Masoretic text differs from the Septuagint in hundreds of places. The Septuagint versus the Masoretic The English version of the Septuagint text, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton compared to the English version of the Masoretic text in the King James translation. 3. Church Holy Days. The Septuagint versus the Masoretic The English version of the Septuagint text, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton compared to the English version of the Masoretic text in the King James translation. I see no reason why Bibles shouldn't be translated from either of these two ancient Jewish text types. There is some indication that versions of the Septuagint were corrected by the Church to reflect then extant Hebrew versions. And so we have always held that the Septuagint is the authoritative version of the Old Testament. Septuagint vs Masoretic Texts (Torah, Tanakh, doctrine, women) User Name: Remember Me: Password Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! It would seem that the Septuagint (LXX) translation is not only far more ancient than the Masoretic Text . There are TWO completely different books each called the Septuagint. However, this is not the same translation used in so many bibles across America for the OT. The text of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Peshitta reads somewhat in-between the Masoretic Text and the old Greek. What's new Search. Had the Samaritans just left the text alone, they never would have been caught red handed with irrefutable proof (Abraham was not 15 years old when Terah died), that they deliberately corrupted the Samaritan Pentateuch chronology in Gen 5,11. In the "Encyrlical of the Eastern Patriarchs" of 1848, which was a reply to the epistle of Pope Pius IX, "To The Easterns," the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, along with the other assembled bishops stated: "Our Church holds the infallible and genuine deposit of the Holy Scriptures: of the Old Testament a true and perfect version, of the New the divine original itself." The Septuagint, a Greek translation composed around the second century BCE, actually shares over 6000 commonalities with the Samaritan Pentateuch and less with the Jewish Masoretic Text. … text of the Old Testament is translated from the Masoretic text is the authoritative version of the... 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