Hebrews and the resiliant LXX

Joseph Crea Joseph.Crea@worldnet.att.net
Sun, 26 Apr 1998 23:57:21 +0000 (00893653041, 19980426235719.AAA3001@LOCALNAME) 

Hello, Steve & Matt!

At 08:00 AM 4/27/98 +1000, Steve Carson-Rowland wrote:

--snip--


>STEVE CR (27/4)

>Now I really am confused. The LXX Pentateuch existed BC? It was a Greek

>translation of the OT Pentateuch?

>

>Well, I'm indebted to another evangelical for the following which once

>again calls on our trusty, non-LXX friend, the writer of Hebrews.

>

>From "The New Testament Use of the Old Testament" by Moises Silva (from

>'Scripture and Truth' p. 150)

>

>"In Hebrews 11:21 we read that Jacob, when he was at the point of death,

>blessed Joseph's sons "and worshipped upon the top of his staff." These

>words are an exact quotation from the LXX of Genesis 47:31 (kai

>prosekynesen epi to akron tes rhabdou autou). The difficulty arises when we

>check our English versions of Genesis, which say nothing about a staff;

>rather, they speak of Israel (Jacob) as bowing down on the head of his

>*bed*... "

>

>For Matt's benefit I have checked my Greek NT which claims to be "the Greek

>text underlying the English Authorised Version of 1611" and it is the Greek

>above. I have no way of checking the Greek of the LXX, but book 'Scripture

>and Truth' is a fairly scholarly book.

>

>Now apart from establishing a BC Pentateuchal LXX (which we all agree on),

>doesn't this show that the writer of Hebrews used the LXX (only

>Pentateuchal of course)?

>

>I have the question mark because.. it seems so to me. But I'm sure there's

>another good explanation...

>

>Got it! Yes, the Pentateuchal LXX existed BC, but.. the writer of Hebrews

>didn't quote from it. He quoted the MT, changing the text subtly to make

>his inspired point, but in no way violating the original meaning of the

>text, and then when Origen came to produce his rest-of-the-OT-LXX he simply

>amended his translation in line with this extract from Hebrews.



CREA
    For what it's worth, here's a quick listing of NT citations from the LXX
Penateuch (and which differ from the Hebrew text of the same).  Since Matt
is willing to concede the existence of a BCE LXX Pentateuch, this would seem
to clinch the argument that the NT cited from a BCE LXX (at least as regards
the Torah).


Acts 3:22 -->  Deuteronomy 18:15

Acts 7:14 -->  Genesis 46:27

Romans 9:17 -->  Exodus 9:16

I Corinthians 5:13 -->  Deuteronomy 17:7

I Corinthians 10:20 --> Deuteronomy 32:17

Galatians 3:10 --> Deuteronomy 27:26

Hebrews 1:6 -->  Deuteronomy 32:43

Hebrews 11:5 --> Genesis 5:24

Hebrews 11:21 --> Genesis 47:31

Hebrews 12:15 --> Deuteronomy 29:18



With Mettaa,

Joseph Crea
<Joseph.Crea@worldnet.att.net>