[B-Greek] a question in LXX

Maurice A. O'Sullivan mauros at iol.ie
Mon Aug 30 06:52:58 EDT 2004


At 05:43 30/08/2004, Revdpickrel at wmconnect.com wrote:

>I know it means twentieth, but the Hebrew
>says the seventh and tenth not seventh and twentieth, see my problem.  I
>hoping I was translating it incorrectly and someone would point out my
>misunderstanding.

You are into deep waters here ( pardon the pun ) because the "discrepancy" 
you have noticed has all to do with differing calendar systems -- a topic 
on which the literature  (and scholarly differences) is extensive.

 >> The fact is that both the Greek text and the Book of Jubilees have 
different dates, but also want to indicate the period of a year ( the 
Ethiopian Enoch does so explicitly <<
[ Westermann, Claus. Genesis I-II: A Commentary. Trans. John A. Scullion, 
S.J. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984 ]


Taken as a given that P ( the Priestly Writer ) is responsible the passage 
you quote, Westermann writes:

 >>
7:6 (P) gives merely the six hundredth year of Noah's life as the date of 
the beginning of the flood. 7:11a (P) however introduces the precise dating 
of each stage of the flood even to the very day, and this is continued in 
7:23; 8:3b, 4, 5, 13, 14. It is quite surprising that the stages are given 
with such precision for an event like the flood. The only other place in 
the Old Testament where something similar occurs is in the prophecy of 
Ezekiel which is chronologically close to the beginnings of the priestly 
writing. It is certain therefore that this must be a contribution of P 
himself and that it could not have been in the tradition he received. 
Moreover "the numbering can only be understood in the light of the 
Babylonian calendar"; "for the ancient Israelite calendar did not reckon 
the months by ordinals but gave each month its specific name" E. Auerbach, 
VT 2 (1952) 340-341.
<<<

Note the reference to " the tradition he received " -- so who is know what 
tradition had been received by the writer(s) of the Greek, let alone 
Jubilees? Yet the emphasis on _one_ year ( irrespective of how it is 
measured ) is common to all.

BTW, just how seriously the users of the different calendars took them is 
shown by this passage in Jubilees :

 >> 32 And you, command the children of Israel so that they shall guard the 
years in this number, three hundred and sixty-four days, and it will be a 
complete year. And no one shall corrupt its (appointed) time from its days 
or from its feasts because all (of the appointed times) will arrive in them 
according to their testimony,
33 and they will not pass over a day, and they will not corrupt a feast. 
But if they are transgressed, and they do not observe them according to his 
commandment, then they will corrupt all of their (fixed) times, and the 
years will be moved from
34 within this (order), and they will transgress their ordinances. And all 
of the sons of Israel will forget, and they will not find the way of the 
years. And they will forget the new moons and (appointed) times and 
sabbaths. And they will set awry
35 all of the ordinances of the years. For I know and henceforth I shall 
make you know-but not from my own heart, because the book is written before 
me and is ordained in the heavenly tablets of the division of days-lest 
they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk in the feasts of the 
gentiles, after their errors and after their ignorance
36 And there will be those who will examine the moon diligently because it 
will corrupt the (appointed) times and it will advance from year to year 
ten days.
37 Therefore, the years will come to them as they corrupt and make a day of 
testimony a reproach and a profane day a festival, and they will mix up 
everything, a holy day (as) profaned and a profane (one) for a holy day, 
because they will set awry
38 the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees. Therefore, I shall 
command you and I shall bear witness to you so that you may bear witness to 
them because after you have died your sons will be corrupted so that they 
will not make a year only three hundred and sixty-four days. And therefore, 
they will set awry the months and the (appointed) times and the sabbaths 
and the feasts, and they will eat all of the blood with all flesh.<<

I realise this goes beyond your original query, but perhaps you were 
missing the wood for just two trees? <g>



Maurice A. O'Sullivan  [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros at iol.ie





More information about the B-Greek mailing list