The Bible in Greek

Over the past few years I have compared many Old Testament passages in the Masoretic Hebrew text and the Septuagint as I have prepared to lead the weekly lectionary study at my local Episcopal church. Sometimes there are no striking differences, but often there are quite significant ones. Why do these differences exist? I alluded to the reasons briefly in an earlier post. I will now give more details. 1. The original Hebrew text had consonants but no vowels. In modern times we are accustomed to thinking of the vowels of the Masoretic Hebrew text as definitive. In many cases, though, different vowels are possible and make just as much sense. Sometimes the vowels that presumably underlie the Septuagint’s translation actually make the text easier to understand. 2. Manuscripts were handwritten. Letters could be confused with one another, depending on the scribe’s style of handwriting. ר (r) and ד (d), ו (w) and י (y), ב (b) and כ (k) are among the pairs of easily conf...

The Septuagint is a Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament, which was produced in Alexandria, Egypt around 200 B.C. However, it was not a translation of the Old Testament as we now know it (the Masoretic text). Why? The Septuagint was translated about 1,000 years before the Masoretic Hebrew text was established! The differences between the Septuagint and the Hebrew Old Testament are many. Some of them are minor, others major. One of the major differences is that the book of Jeremiah is about 7/8 as long in the Septuagint as in the Masoretic Hebrew text. Minor differences include changes in wording and the forms of names. Quite a few moderate differences arise from the perspective of the Greek-speaking translators, who lived in Alexandria several centuries after the exile, and the Hebrew writers, most of whom lived before or during the exile, or just after it. I will explore some of these differences in subsequent posts. It will be a fascinating journ...

I have loved languages since I was a small child. I like Biblical Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic among others. I will post here from time to time about my observations on the Bible in its original languages. I will also mention Syriac from time to time. (This is a form of Aramaic used for Christian writing. It was the concentration of my doctoral studies.) I do not have a doctrinal agenda. I am a language scholar, not a theologian. One of my reasons for starting this blog is that I want people to have a sound understanding of what the biblical text says before they go making sweeping doctrinal statements. Don’t be surprised if you learn a new thing or two!