[B-Greek] Why does the Greek New Testamentsometimes quote from theLXX and not from the proto-MT

Bart Torbert Bart.Torbert at ihsenergy.com
Thu Mar 11 16:28:39 EST 2004






Dear John,

I realize that at the time there was no single Hebrew text or probably any
sort of compilation of various texts.  The LXX may well have been the first
attempt at such, driven by the need of the Greek speaking Jews to come up
with something they could read.  This effort would require somebody(s) to
decide what was this bare minimum.  This selection could well have been
influenced in part by political differences.

Do we look at the LXX as the "Reader's Digest" of Jewish sacred text?
Just enough to provide the Greek speaking Jews with the core essentials,
even if there was not real tight editorial control between sections.

If the above is valid, there may have been a lesser emphasis on "quality."
What was in the LXX was sufficient for the masses to read, but everyone
knew that the original Hebrews texts existed and the Rabbis could refer to
them to resolve the tough questions.

Today however, we are short of these other versions.  We have to try to
milk what we have for all they are worth.

Bart Torbert
bart.torbert at ihsenergy.com




                                                                           
             "John Byron"                                                  
             <jbyron at ashland.e                                             
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             03/11/2004 12:10          <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>         
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                                       Re: [B-Greek] Why does the Greek    
                                       New   Testamentsometimes      quote 
                                       from  theLXX and not from the       
                                       proto-MT                            
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           




Bart,

Your concern for the 'quality' of the LXX as opposed to a Hebrew text seems
to suggest that a single Hebrew text existed. I am not sure that we can
argue that on the basis of the evidence we have. LXX translators were not
even consistent in the way they translated various Hebrew words into Greek.
Moreover, the LXX is, in many ways, a form of re-written bible which was a
common practice (i.e Targum). Apparently, there was not this concern for a
'quality' text in late antiquity as there is in the 21st century.



John Byron Ph.D.
Ashland Theological Seminary
910 Center St.
Ashland, OH 44805
jbyron at ashland.edu

>>> Bart Torbert <Bart.Torbert at ihsenergy.com> 03/11/04 01:44PM >>>





Dear Barbara,

What you say is very true.  But it does not answer the bigger question of
the "quality" of the LXX vs. Hebrew texts.

Bart Torbert
bart.torbert at ihsenergy.com





             "Barbara D. Colt
             "
             <babc2 at comcast.ne                                          To
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             b-greek-bounces at l
             ists.ibiblio.org                                      Subject
                                       Re: [B-Greek] Why does the Greek
                                       New Testament sometimes       quote
             03/11/2004 11:45          from  theLXX and not from the
             AM                        proto-MT whe












On 11 Mar 2004 at 12:12, Albert Pietersma wrote:

> in fact is a defense of the  Septuagint against its source text circa
> 130 BCE. The tale reflects vividly that certainly by  that time
> Egyptian Greek-speaking Jewry regarded the Septuagint (i.e. the
> Pentateuch) as a  text with an illustrious genealogy which had become
> an independent entity vis-a-vis its  parent.

If the Greeks of the Diaspora were anything like immigrants in the US
today, the third generation would have been for the most part unable
to read the original.  Some of them might have been able to talk
simple family talk with their grandmothers, but not much more.
That's why they needed a Greek translation, and they probably
regarded the Septuagint much as average people in our culture regard
whatever English translation may be used in their church.

  Barbara D. Colt, mailto:babc2 at comcast.net
St John the Evangelist, San Francisco
>From envy, hatred, and malice and all uncharitableness
Good Lord, deliver us.

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