This is a continuation of a consideration of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint, a translation of the Hebrew before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah. The final clause of the first verse under consideration follows:
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 53:10d (Tanakh) |
Isaiah 53:10d (NET) |
Isaiah 53:10d (NETS) |
Isaiah 53:11a (Elpenor English) |
| and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (בְּיָד֥וֹ) [Table]. | and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him (yāḏ, בידו). | And the Lord wishes to take away (ἀφελεῗν) [Table] | the Lord also is pleased to take away (ἀφελεῖν) from |
I had begun to consider other occurrences of forms ἀφαιρέω (Table) in Isaiah to get a feel for any potential relationship between ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω) and בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ). Since a form of ἀφαιρέω was the translation of a form of סוּר (sûr) in two of the three examples I considered in another essay,1 I have continued with those occurrences in Isaiah.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 27:9 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 27:9 (NET) |
Isaiah 27:9 (NETS) |
Isaiah 27:9 (Elpenor English) |
| By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged (יְכֻפַּ֣ר); and this is all the fruit to take away (הָסִ֣ר) his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up [Table]. | So in this way Jacob’s sin will be forgiven (kāp̄ar, יכפר), and this is how they will show they are finished sinning [Note 23: and this [is] all the fruit of removing (sûr, הסר) his sin]: They will make all the stones of the altars like crushed limestone, and the Asherah poles and the incense altars will no longer stand. | Because of this the lawlessness of Iakob will be removed (ἀφαιρεθήσεται). And this is his blessing, when I remove (ἀφέλωμαι) his sin, when they make all the stones of the altars broken pieces like fine dust, and their trees will not remain, and their idols will be cut down like a forest far away [Table]. | Therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be taken away (ἀφαιρεθήσεται); and this is his blessing, when I shall have taken away (ἀφέλωμαι) his sin; when they shall have broken to pieces all the stones of the altars as fine dust, and their trees shall not remain, and their idols shall be cut off, as a thicket afar off. |
Here both יְכֻפַּ֣ר (kāp̄ar) and הָסִ֣ר (sûr) were translated with forms of ἀφαιρέω in the Septuagint, ἀφαιρεθήσεται and ἀφέλωμαι respectively. There is one other occurrence of a form of כָּפַר (kāp̄ar) in Isaiah translated with a form of ἀφαιρέω in the Septuagint.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 28:18 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 28:18 (NET) |
Isaiah 28:18 (NETS) |
Isaiah 28:18 (Elpenor English) |
| And your covenant with death shall be disannulled (וְכֻפַּ֚ר), and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. | Your treaty with death will be dissolved (kāp̄ar, וכפר); your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it. | lest it also take away (ἀφέλῃ) your covenant of death. And your hope regarding Hades will not remain; if a rushing storm comes, you will be trampled down by it. | except it also take away (ἀφέλῃ) your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. |
The final occurrence of a form of סוּר (sûr) in Isaiah translated with a form of ἀφαιρέω in the Septuagint follows.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 58:9 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 58:9 (NET) |
Isaiah 58:9 (NETS) |
Isaiah 58:9 (Elpenor English) |
| Then shalt thou call, and the LORD (וַֽיהֹוָ֣ה) shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away (תָּסִ֚יר) from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; | Then you will call out, and the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, ויהוה) will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must remove (sûr, תסיר) the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully. | Then you shall cry out, and God (ὁ θεὸς) will listen to you; while you are still speaking, he will say, Here I am. If you remove (ἀφέλῃς) from you a bond and a stretching of the hand and a murmuring word | Then shalt thou cry, and God (ὁ Θεὸς) shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove (ἀφέλῃς) from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech; |
The Masoretic text had וַֽיהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) here. It was not corroborated in the Septuagint with κύριος. Though deciphering the manuscript is difficult for me, I think the Dead Sea Scroll version of Isaiah has ויהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) here. At least I’m reasonably convinced it is not אלהים (‘ĕlōhîm).
So far I haven’t convinced myself that בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ) was the word or even the concept the rabbis translated with ἀφελεῖν (a form of ἀφαιρέω). The word בְּיָד֥וֹ (yāḏ) does seem to be in the Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea scrolls. With a presumed date of 125 BCE (the modern designation for Before Christ, BC) this is not a simple matter of Masoretes altering the text after rejecting Jesus as Messiah.
I’ve belabored this point because I actually like the idea that the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in [Jesus’] hand. I appreciate the succinctness of this statement in the Masoretic text. And I’m not prepared to give it up without a fight. But I also appreciate the time capsule effect of the Septuagint, a glimpse into the rabbis’ understanding of biblical Hebrew before they rejected Jesus as Messiah, a cataclysm as devastating to Israel’s intellectual history as the worldwide flood was to antediluvian geography.
Who buried the Dead Sea scrolls?2 Were they archivists preserving revered sacred texts for posterity? Or were they disposing of flawed texts in the only manner they thought worthy of disposing of a flawed text which also contained the Name יְהֹוָה (Yᵊhōvâ)? Though I think the latter explanation is more plausible, it doesn’t help me to know what they thought was flawed about the text. Nor does it help me to pick a side or choose a dog in this hunt.
I came across the following on Christian History for Everyman:
Rumor has it that the Dead Sea Scrolls contained a copy of Isaiah exactly matching the Isaiah found in our modern Bibles…It’s true that there was a report in 1947 that the Qumran…text of Isaiah matched the Masoretic text. It was retracted, however, in 1948…The scroll of Isaiah found at Qumran is a third text-type, matching neither the Septuagint (LXX) nor the Masoretic text.
Among the Qumran texts was a scroll of Jeremiah. This is very significant because the LXX version of Jeremiah is seven chapters shorter than the Masoretic, and what remains is in a different order!
The Dead Sea Scrolls backs up the LXX version, not our Masoretic Bibles.3
Mr. Pavao, the webmaster of Christian History for Everyman, cited The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as his source for this information. I couldn’t confirm that online. I did find the following in “The Qumrān texts and other scrolls” in Britannica online:
The most important manuscripts from what is now identified as Cave 1 of Qumrān are a practically complete Isaiah scroll (1QIsaa), dated about 100–75 BCE, and another very fragmentary manuscript (1QIsab) of the same book. The first contains many variants from the Masoretic text in both orthography and text, and the second is very close to the Masoretic type and contains few genuine variants.
Another line in the same article was intriguing: “Several texts in the paleo-Hebrew script show that this script continued to be used side by side with the Aramaic script for a long time.”4 Here is an opportunity to find causes of textural variation I haven’t even begun to consider. First, however, I have many other examples of forms of ἀφαιρέω in Isaiah in the Septuagint to consider, mostly to keep all the data in one place, I suspect.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 4:1 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 4:1 (NET) |
Isaiah 4:1 (NETS) |
Isaiah 4:1 (Elpenor English) |
| And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away (אֱסֹ֖ף) our reproach. | Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, “We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you—take away (‘āsap̄, אסף) our shame!” | Seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes; just let your name be called upon us; take away (ἄφελε) our reproach.” | And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own raiment: only let thy name be called upon us, [and] take away (ἄφελε) our reproach. |
Here, the Hebrew word אֱסֹ֖ף (‘āsap̄) was translated ἄφελε (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 7:20 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 7:20 (NET) |
Isaiah 7:20 (NETS) |
Isaiah 7:20 (Elpenor English) |
| In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume (תִּסְפֶּֽה) the beard. | At that time the Lord will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the hair off the head and private parts; it will also shave off (sāp̄â, תספה) the beard. | On that day the Lord will shave with the great and drunken razor—which is beyond the river of the king of the Assyrians—the head and the hair of the feet, and he will cut off (ἀφελεῗ) the beard. | In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove (ἀφελεῖ) the beard. |
Here, the Hebrew word תִּסְפֶּֽה (sāp̄â) was translated ἀφελεῖ (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 8:8 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 8:8 (NET) |
Isaiah 8:8 (NETS) |
Isaiah 8:8 (Elpenor English) |
| And he shall pass (וְחָלַ֚ף) through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. | It will spill (ḥālap̄, וחלף) into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.” | and he will take away (ἀφελεῗ) from Judea any man who can lift his head or who is capable to accomplish anything; his camp will be such as to fill the breadth of your country. God is with us. | and he shall take away (ἀφελεῖ) from Juda [every] man who shall be able to lift up his head, [and every one] able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of thy land, [O] God with us. |
Here, the Hebrew word וְחָלַ֚ף (ḥālap̄) was translated ἀφελεῖ (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint. The rabbis, it seems, used their knowledge of what actually happened to unpack Hebrew idioms, metaphors or euphemisms for the Greek reader, including translating עִמָּֽנוּאֵֽל (ʿimmānû’ēl) μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός, God is with us (NETS), [O] God with us (Elpenor English).
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 9:14 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 9:14 (NET) |
Isaiah 9:14 (NETS) |
Isaiah 9:14 (Elpenor English) |
| Therefore the LORD will cut off (וַיַּכְרֵ֨ת) from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. | So the Lord cut off (kāraṯ, ויכרת) Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day. | So the Lord took away (ἀφεῗλεν) from Israel head and tail, great and small in one day— | So the Lord took away (ἀφεῖλε) from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day: the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail. |
Here, the Hebrew word וַיַּכְרֵ֨ת (kāraṯ) was translated ἀφεῗλε(ν) (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint. The additional text in the Elpenor English version of the Septuagint is verse 15 in the Masoretic text and the BLB Septuagint.
|
Masoretic Text |
Septuagint |
||
|
Isaiah 16:2 (Tanakh/KJV) |
Isaiah 16:2 (NET) |
Isaiah 16:2 (NETS) |
Isaiah 16:2 (Elpenor English) |
| For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out (מְשֻׁלָּ֑ח) of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. | At the fords of the Arnon the Moabite women are like a bird that flies about when forced from (šālaḥ, משלח) its nest. | For you will be as a nestling taken away (ἀφῃρημένος) from a bird that is flying, O daughter of Moab! And then, O Arnon, | For thou shalt be as a young bird taken away (ἀφηρημένος) from a bird that has flown: [even] thou shalt be [so], daughter of Moab: and then do thou, O Arnon, |
Here, the Hebrew word מְשֻׁלָּ֑ח (šālaḥ) was translated ἀφηρημένος (a form of ἀφαιρέω) in the Septuagint.
I’ll continue this in another essay.
Tables comparing Isaiah 28:18; 58:9; 4:1; 7:20; 8:8; 9:14 and 16:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 28:18; 58:9; 4:1; 7:20; 8:8; 9:14 and 16:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.
| And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. | And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. | Your treaty with death will be dissolved; your agreement with Sheol will not last. When the overwhelming judgment sweeps by, you will be overrun by it. |
| μὴ καὶ ἀφέλῃ ὑμῶν τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν ᾅδην οὐ μὴ ἐμμείνῃ καταιγὶς φερομένη ἐὰν ἐπέλθῃ ἔσεσθε αὐτῇ εἰς καταπάτημα | μὴ καὶ ἀφέλῃ ὑμῶν τὴν διαθήκην τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ὑμῶν ἡ πρὸς τὸν ᾅδην οὐ μὴ ἐμμείνῃ· καταιγὶς φερομένη ἐὰν ἐπέλθῃ, ἔσεσθε αὐτῇ εἰς καταπάτημα |
| lest it also take away your covenant of death. And your hope regarding Hades will not remain; if a rushing storm comes, you will be trampled down by it. | except it also take away your covenant of death, and your trust in Hades shall by no means stand: if the rushing storm should come upon you, ye shall be beaten down by it. |
| Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; | Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; | Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond; you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’ You must remove the burdensome yoke from among you and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully. |
| τότε βοήσῃ καὶ ὁ θεὸς εἰσακούσεταί σου ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῗ ἰδοὺ πάρειμι ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς ἀπὸ σοῦ σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ῥῆμα γογγυσμοῦ | τότε βοήσῃ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς εἰσακούσεταί σου· ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρεῖ· ἰδοὺ πάρειμι. ἐὰν ἀφέλῃς ἀπὸ σοῦ σύνδεσμον καὶ χειροτονίαν καὶ ρῆμα γογγυσμοῦ |
| Then you shall cry out, and God will listen to you; while you are still speaking, he will say, Here I am. If you remove from you a bond and a stretching of the hand and a murmuring word | Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech; |
| And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. | And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. | Seven women will grab hold of one man at that time. They will say, “We will provide our own food, we will provide our own clothes; but let us belong to you—take away our shame!” |
| καὶ ἐπιλήμψονται ἑπτὰ γυναῗκες ἀνθρώπου ἑνὸς λέγουσαι τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν φαγόμεθα καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἡμῶν περιβαλούμεθα πλὴν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ σὸν κεκλήσθω ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἄφελε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν | ΚΑΙ ἐπιλήψονται ἑπτὰ γυναῖκες ἀνθρώπου ἑνὸς λέγουσαι· τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν φαγόμεθα καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἡμῶν περιβαλούμεθα πλὴν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ σὸν κεκλήσθω ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς, ἄφελε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν |
| Seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes; just let your name be called upon us; take away our reproach.” | And seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own raiment: only let thy name be called upon us, [and] take away our reproach. |
| In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. | In the same day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by them beyond the river, by the king of Assyria, the head, and the hair of the feet: and it shall also consume the beard. | At that time the Lord will use a razor hired from the banks of the Euphrates River, the king of Assyria, to shave the hair off the head and private parts; it will also shave off the beard. |
| ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ξυρήσει κύριος τῷ ξυρῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ μεμεθυσμένῳ ὅ ἐστιν πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ βασιλέως Ἀσσυρίων τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰς τρίχας τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τὸν πώγωνα ἀφελεῗ | ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ξυρήσει Κύριος τῷ ξυρῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ καὶ μεμεθυσμένῳ, ὅ ἐστι πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ βασιλέως ᾿Ασσυρίων, τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰς τρίχας τῶν ποδῶν, καὶ τὸν πώγωνα ἀφελεῖ |
| On that day the Lord will shave with the great and drunken razor—which is beyond the river of the king of the Assyrians—the head and the hair of the feet, and he will cut off the beard. | In that day the Lord shall shave with the hired razor of the king of Assyria beyond the river the head, and the hairs of the feet, and will remove the beard. |
| And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. | And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. | It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, O Immanuel.” |
| καὶ ἀφελεῗ ἀπὸ τῆς Ιουδαίας ἄνθρωπον ὃς δυνήσεται κεφαλὴν ἆραι ἢ δυνατὸν συντελέσασθαί τι καὶ ἔσται ἡ παρεμβολὴ αὐτοῦ ὥστε πληρῶσαι τὸ πλάτος τῆς χώρας σου μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ θεός | καὶ ἀφελεῖ ἀπὸ τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας ἄνθρωπον, ὃς δυνήσεται κεφαλὴν ἆραι ἢ δυνατὸν συντελέσασθαί τι, καὶ ἔσται ἡ παρεμβολὴ αὐτοῦ ὥστε πληρῶσαι τὸ πλάτος τῆς χώρας σου· μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός |
| and he will take away from Judea any man who can lift his head or who is capable to accomplish anything; his camp will be such as to fill the breadth of your country. God is with us. | and he shall take away from Juda [every] man who shall be able to lift up his head, [and every one] able to accomplish anything; and his camp shall fill the breadth of thy land, [O] God with us. |
| Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. | Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day. | So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail, both the shoots and stalk in one day. |
| καὶ ἀφεῗλεν κύριος ἀπὸ Ισραηλ κεφαλὴν καὶ οὐράν μέγαν καὶ μικρὸν ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ | καὶ ἀφεῖλε Κύριος ἀπὸ ᾿Ισραὴλ κεφαλὴν καὶ οὐράν, μέγαν καὶ μικρὸν ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ, πρεσβύτην καὶ τοὺς τὰ πρόσωπα θαυμάζοντας (αὕτη ἡ ἀρχὴ) καὶ προφήτην διδάσκοντα ἄνομα (οὗτος ἡ οὐρά) [additional text is verse 15 in the BLB Septuagint] |
| So the Lord took away from Israel head and tail, great and small in one day— | So the Lord took away from Israel the head and tail, great and small, in one day: the old man, and them that respect persons, this is the head; and the prophet teaching unlawful things, he is the tail. |
| For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. | For it shall be, that, as a wandering bird cast out of the nest, so the daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon. | At the fords of the Arnon the Moabite women are like a bird that flies about when forced from its nest. |
| ἔσῃ γὰρ ὡς πετεινοῦ ἀνιπταμένου νεοσσὸς ἀφῃρημένος θύγατερ Μωαβ ἔπειτα δέ Αρνων | ἔσῃ γὰρ ὡς πετεινοῦ ἀνιπταμένου νεοσσὸς ἀφηρημένος, θύγατερ Μωάβ. ἔπειτα δέ, ᾿Αρνῶν, πλείονα |
| For you will be as a nestling taken away from a bird that is flying, O daughter of Moab! And then, O Arnon, | For thou shalt be as a young bird taken away from a bird that has flown: [even] thou shalt be [so], daughter of Moab: and then do thou, O Arnon, |
Pingback: Psalm 22, Part 3 | The Gospel and the Religious Mind
Pingback: Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 8 | The Gospel and the Religious Mind
Pingback: Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 7 | The Gospel and the Religious Mind
Pingback: Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11 | The Gospel and the Religious Mind