Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 3

Posted on June 11, 2024 by admin

In another essay I began to consider the genders of Greek pronouns in Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV):

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God [Table], not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

I was taught that faith, πίστεως, was excluded from the clause this is not your own doing because this, τοῦτο, is neuter and πίστεως is feminine. If that were true, however, it would exclude grace as well: Τῇ…χάριτι is also feminine. “In other words, both grace and faith would be your own doing…”¹

My reasons for including grace in the clause this is not your own doing have nothing to do with the genders of Τῇ…χάριτι and τοῦτο, but with many other passages of Scripture and a not insignificant amount of personal experience.²

I began a New Testament survey of πίστεως to see if I could find other Scriptures that persuade “me that faith is of my own doing.” I’ll begin with the first occurrence of πίστεως I skipped accidentally in the previous essay (Acts 6:1-5 ESV):

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said,³ “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore,⁴ brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit⁵ and of wisdom, whom we will appoint⁶ to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full⁷ of faith (πίστεως) and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

Here, men of good repute (μαρτυρουμένους, a passive form of μαρτυρέω) were further characterized as full of the Spirit (πλήρεις πνεύματος) and of wisdom (καὶ σοφίας).⁸ If any of you lacks wisdom (σοφίας, a form of σοφία), James wrote, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without⁹ reproach, and it will be given him.¹⁰ I have no way to gain wisdom from the Lord apart from the near continuous internal dialogue with his indwelling Spirit and his word. In fact, it is easiest to distinguish his Spirit from the clutter inside me when we are directly engaged with the Bible.

Stephen was full of faith (|πλήρης| πίστεως) and of the Holy Spirit (καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου).¹¹ Here, full of faith precedes and of the Holy Spirit. This is probably more to the point. Once the Lord’s wisdom began to penetrate the thickness of my disbelief (or my self-belief and self-reliance), once I began to see that it was kind of stupid to rely on my faith when his was available to me through his indwelling Spirit, there was no more question that faith is not [my] own doing; it is the gift of God.¹²

To persist in relying on my own faith once I have learned from Him (Matthew 11:28-30) would indicate a chafing at his yoke, a refusal to be led by his Spirit (Galatians 5:13-18). I would be relying still on my own love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, trying still to manufacture my own joy and peace. I would be striving still to have a righteousness of my own derived from the law, rather than relying on the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.¹³ It would indicate an arrogant refusal to enter his rest (Hebrews 4:7-13), once I have received his Holy Spirit and learned from Him.

But what about before? Was the faith that received his Holy Spirit initially mine in the sense that it originated with me? Or was it mine in the sense that it was given to me? Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the promise of the Father (Acts 1:4, 5 ESV):

And while staying with them [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father (τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ πατρὸς), which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Not only was He God’s promise but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit was a statement of fact according to Jesus. The Greek word translated you will be baptized was βαπτισθήσεσθε, a passive form of βαπτίζω in the indicative mood. The only requirements stated were not to depart from Jerusalem (ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων μὴ χωρίζεσθαι) and to wait (περιμένειν, an infinitive form of περιμένω). Granted, He spoke to the apostles whom he had chosen (Acts 1:1, 2 ESV).

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up,¹⁴ after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.

Given the apostles’ obedience to Jesus’ commands, it seems reasonable to assume some kind of faith here, but whose? [H]e had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles seems like an odd construction: ἐντειλάμενος, translated he had given commands (ESV), is a participle of ἐντέλλω in the middle voice:

The Greek middle voice shows the subject acting in his own interest or on his own behalf, or participating in the results of the verbal action. In overly simplistic terms, sometimes the middle form of the verb could be translated as “the performer of the action actually acting upon himself” (reflexive action).

For example: “I am washing myself.” “I” is the subject of the sentence (performing the action of the verb) and yet “I” am also receiving the action of the verb. This is said to be in the “Middle Voice”. Many instances in the Greek are not this obvious and cannot be translated this literally.

Every form of ἐντέλλω that occurs in the New Testament is in the middle voice (see table below). None are in the active voice. In other words, such commands were meant to be obeyed with the authority and power of the one making them rather than that of those receiving them: τοῖς ἀποστόλοις is the indirect object, to the apostles, and finally, διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου, through (or “by” or “in the midst of”) the Holy Spirit. It is a fairly expressive description of what it means to be in Christ.

So, I have the Holy Spirit of God acting on behalf of the apostles (dare I say, in the apostles?) to carry out Jesus’ commands even before He indwells the apostles. I want to consider another example of a form of ἐντέλλω for comparison (Acts 13:44-48 ESV).

The next Sabbath almost the whole city [of Pisidian Antioch] gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him [Table]. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles [Table]. For so the Lord has commanded us (ἐντέταλται ἡμῖν), saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed [Table].

Paul and Barnabas quoted from Isaiah 49:6 (see table below).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 49:6 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 49:6 (NET)	Isaiah 49:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 49:6 (English Elpenor)
And he said, It is a light thing (נָקֵ֨ל) that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.	he says, “Is it too insignificant a task (qālal, נקל) for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”	And he said to me, “It is a great thing (μέγα) for you to be called my servant so that you may set up the tribes of Iakob and turn back the dispersion of Israel. See, I have made you a light of nations, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth.”	And he said to me, [It is] a great thing (μέγα) for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth.

The part of this quotation Paul and Barnabas excluded, which was also excluded apparently from the Masoretic text and the NETS translation of the Septuagint, is quite telling: εἰς διαθήκην γένους, for the covenant of a race (English Elpenor), is only true of Jesus. Still, they were willing to quote the rest, which is also true of Jesus, under the heading: οὕτως γὰρ ἐντέταλται ἡμῖν ὁ κύριος, For so the Lord has commanded us (ESV). In other words, Paul and Barnabas recognized that the words of an ancient prophecy granted God’s authority and power to them to bring (or, be for) salvation to the ends of the earth.

The Lord said something similar to Ananias about Saul (aka Paul) (Acts 9:10-19a ESV).

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem [Table]. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel [Table]. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus¹⁵ who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like¹⁶ scales fell from¹⁷ his eyes, and he regained his sight.¹⁸ Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened [Table].

Ananias, unaware as yet that the Lord had already arrested Saul (Acts 9:3-9), was concerned about the authority (ἐξουσίαν, a form of ἐξουσία) Saul had received (Acts 9:1, 2) from the chief priests to bind all who call on [Jesus’] name.¹⁹ But the Lord informed him of the good works, which God prepared beforehand, that [Saul, aka Paul] should walk in them:²⁰ he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.²¹

Now there were²² in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch,²³ and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” [Table]. Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus [Table]. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole²⁴ island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain²⁵ magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.²⁶

Now Paul²⁷ and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia.²⁸

Here again, the Holy Spirit was instrumental in bringing Jesus’ words to Ananias to pass. There are two more issues I want to consider before concluding this essay.

First, if I intend to take the middle voice of forms of ἐντέλλω seriously, I’m compelled to understand παρήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς in Acts 1:4, he ordered them (ESV), differently. The Greek word παρήγγειλεν is a form of παραγγέλλω: “to pass on a message, transmit a message, tell, communicate; to give orders, give a command, issue an order; to charge, command; to instruct, direct, order, advise; to summon (to appear), summon (to one’s help).” That Jesus “communicated to the apostles” what He was doing in and through them by his Holy Spirit honors both the middle voice of ἐντειλάμενος in Acts 1:2, he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen (ESV), and Jesus’ saying: No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.²⁹

Finally, I want to spend a few moments considering and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed:³⁰ καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον.

Since ἐπίστευσαν is a 3^rd person singular form of πιστεύω, a more accurate translation might be: and [he] believed, as many as were appointed to eternal life. In other words, an individual’s faith was credited to being among those who enjoyed the continuing effect³¹ of having been appointed to eternal life. The Greek word translated appointed was τεταγμένοι, a participle of the verb τάσσω in the perfect tense and middle and passive voices: “to appoint; to give orders to; to indicate by way of instruction; to ordain; to prescribe; to indicate as binding, indicate as a standard or rule” (middle meaning); “to be set in array; to be well ordered; to be appointed” (passive meaning). This corresponds quite accurately to Jesus’ saying: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.³²

But what of those who were not appointed to eternal life, were not drawn by the Father and did not believe? If I believe that they are eternally condemned I might be persuaded that their unbelief was their own choice. It’s a small step from there to believing that my faith was my own choice, perhaps even my own doing: Isn’t that the reason that I am saved and they are condemned?

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes (ὁ πιστεύων) in him (εἰς αὐτὸν) should not perish but have eternal life [Table]…Whoever believes in him is not condemned,³³ but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.³⁴

If, on the other hand, I take Jesus at his word—And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself³⁵—I begin to hear the temporal nature of the passive meaning of τεταγμένοι: “to be set in array; to be well ordered; to be appointed.” Not all appointments are scheduled for the same moment in time. God’s sequencing, God’s timing for his own purposes, may go a long way to helping me understand my question: “Why did He give me his own Holy Spirit then [as a twenty-something atheist stoner] and not when I was five?”³⁶

I’ll pick this up in another essay. According to a note (180) in the NET, Paul and Barnabas alluded to Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6. Tables comparing the Greek of their allusion to that of the Septuagint follow.

Acts 13:47b (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 42:6b (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 42:6b (Septuagint Elpenor)
τέθεικα σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν	ἔδωκά σε…εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν	ἔδωκά σε…εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν
Acts 13:47b (NET)	Isaiah 42:6b (NETS)	Isaiah 42:6b (English Elpenor)
I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles	I have given you…as a light to nations	I have given thee…for a light of the Gentiles

What follows from Isaiah 49:6 seems more like a partial quotation than an allusion:

Acts 13:47b (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 49:6b (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 49:6b (Septuagint Elpenor)
τέθεικα σε εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναι σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς	τέθεικά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς	δέδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς
Acts 13:47b (NET)	Isaiah 49:6b (NETS)	Isaiah 49:6b (English Elpenor)
I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.	I have made you a light of nations, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth.	I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth.

The table mentioned above follows. I have added “[to]” before pronouns to remind myself that they are indirect objects in the dative case.

Forms of ἐντέλλω in the New Testament
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
Matthew 28:20	πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν	all that I have commanded [to] you
Matthew 17:9	ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς	Jesus commanded [to] them
Matthew 19:7	ὑμῖν Μωϋσῆς ἐνετείλατο	Moses command [to] one
Mark 10:3	ὑμῖν ἐνετείλατο Μωϋσῆς	Moses command [to] you
Mark 13:34	τῷ θυρωρῷ ἐνετείλατο	he…commands [to] the doorkeeper
John 8:5	\|ἡμῖν\| Μωϋσῆς ἐνετείλατο	Moses commanded [to] us
John 14:31	\|ἐνετείλατο\| μοι ὁ πατήρ	the Father has commanded [to] me
Hebrews 9:20	ἐνετείλατο πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὁ θεός	God commanded for you
Hebrews 11:22	ἐνετείλατο	gave directions
Acts 1:2	ἐντειλάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις	he had given commands…to the apostles
Matthew 4:6	τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται	He will command [to] his angels
Luke 4:10	τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται	He will command [to] his angels
John 15:14	ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαι ὑμῖν	I command [to] you
John 15:17	ἐντέλλομαι ὑμῖν	I command [to] you
Acts 13:47	ἐντέταλται ἡμῖν ὁ κύριος	the Lord has commanded [to] us

Tables comparing Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Acts 6:2, 3; 6:5; James 1:5; Acts 1:2; 9:17, 18; 13:1 and 13:6 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 42:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 42:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 42:6 (NET)
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;	I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;	“I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people and a light to the nations,

Isaiah 42:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 42:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἐκάλεσά σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν	ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐκάλεσά σε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ κρατήσω τῆς χειρός σου καὶ ἐνισχύσω σε καὶ ἔδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν
Isaiah 42:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 42:6 (English Elpenor)
I, the Lord God, have called you in righteousness, and I will take hold of your hand and strengthen you; I have given you as a covenant to a race, as a light to nations,	I the Lord God have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will strengthen thee: and I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles:

Isaiah 49:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 49:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 49:6 (NET)
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.	And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.	he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant, to reestablish the tribes of Jacob, and restore the remnant of Israel? I will make you a light to the nations, so you can bring my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”

Isaiah 49:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 49:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπέν μοι μέγα σοί ἐστιν τοῦ κληθῆναί σε παῖδά μου τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς Ιακωβ καὶ τὴν διασπορὰν τοῦ Ισραηλ ἐπιστρέψαι ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς	καὶ εἶπέ μοι· μέγα σοί ἐστι τοῦ κληθῆναί σε παῖδά μου τοῦ στῆσαι τὰς φυλὰς ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ τὴν διασπορὰν τοῦ ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐπιστρέψαι· ἰδοὺ δέδωκά σε εἰς διαθήκην γένους, εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν τοῦ εἶναί σε εἰς σωτηρίαν ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς
Isaiah 49:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 49:6 (English Elpenor)
And he said to me, “It is a great thing for you to be called my servant so that you may set up the tribes of Iakob and turn back the dispersion of Israel. See, I have made you a light of nations, that you may be for salvation to the end of the earth.”	And he said to me, [It is] a great thing for thee to be called my servant, to establish the tribes of Jacob, and to recover the dispersion of Israel: behold, I have given thee for the covenant of a race, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation to the end of the earth.

Acts 6:2, 3 (NET)	Acts 6:2, 3 (KJV)
So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.	Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

Acts 6:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 6:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 6:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
προσκαλεσάμενοι δὲ οἱ δώδεκα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν εἶπαν· οὐκ ἀρεστόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς καταλείψαντας τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διακονεῖν τραπέζαις	προσκαλεσαμενοι δε οι δωδεκα το πληθος των μαθητων ειπον ουκ αρεστον εστιν ημας καταλειψαντας τον λογον του θεου διακονειν τραπεζαις	προσκαλεσαμενοι δε οι δωδεκα το πληθος των μαθητων ειπον ουκ αρεστον εστιν ημας καταλειψαντας τον λογον του θεου διακονειν τραπεζαις

But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

Acts 6:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 6:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 6:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐπισκέψασθε δέ, ἀδελφοί, ἄνδρας ἐξ ὑμῶν μαρτυρουμένους ἑπτά, πλήρεις πνεύματος καὶ σοφίας, οὓς καταστήσομεν ἐπὶ τῆς χρείας ταύτης	επισκεψασθε ουν αδελφοι ανδρας εξ υμων μαρτυρουμενους επτα πληρεις πνευματος αγιου και σοφιας ους καταστησομεν επι της χρειας ταυτης	επισκεψασθε ουν αδελφοι ανδρας εξ υμων μαρτυρουμενους επτα πληρεις πνευματος αγιου και σοφιας ους καταστησωμεν επι της χρειας ταυτης

Acts 6:5 (NET)	Acts 6:5 (KJV)
The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.	And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

Acts 6:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 6:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 6:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἤρεσεν ὁ λόγος ἐνώπιον παντὸς τοῦ πλήθους καὶ ἐξελέξαντο Στέφανον, ἄνδρα \|πλήρης\| πίστεως καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ Φίλιππον καὶ Πρόχορον καὶ Νικάνορα καὶ Τίμωνα καὶ Παρμενᾶν καὶ Νικόλαον προσήλυτον Ἀντιοχέα	και ηρεσεν ο λογος ενωπιον παντος του πληθους και εξελεξαντο στεφανον ανδρα πληρη πιστεως και πνευματος αγιου και φιλιππον και προχορον και νικανορα και τιμωνα και παρμεναν και νικολαον προσηλυτον αντιοχεα	και ηρεσεν ο λογος ενωπιον παντος του πληθους και εξελεξαντο στεφανον ανδρα πληρης πιστεως και πνευματος αγιου και φιλιππον και προχορον και νικανορα και τιμωνα και παρμεναν και νικολαον προσηλυτον αντιοχεα

James 1:5 (NET)	James 1:5 (KJV)
But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him.	If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

James 1:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	James 1:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	James 1:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν λείπεται σοφίας, αἰτείτω παρὰ τοῦ διδόντος θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς καὶ μὴ ὀνειδίζοντος καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ	ει δε τις υμων λειπεται σοφιας αιτειτω παρα του διδοντος θεου πασιν απλως και μη ονειδιζοντος και δοθησεται αυτω	ει δε τις υμων λειπεται σοφιας αιτειτω παρα του διδοντος θεου πασιν απλως και ουκ ονειδιζοντος και δοθησεται αυτω

Acts 1:2 (NET)	Acts 1:2 (KJV)
until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.	Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

Acts 1:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 1:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 1:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας ἐντειλάμενος τοῖς ἀποστόλοις διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου οὓς ἐξελέξατο ἀνελήμφθη	αχρι ης ημερας εντειλαμενος τοις αποστολοις δια πνευματος αγιου ους εξελεξατο ανεληφθη	αχρι ης ημερας εντειλαμενος τοις αποστολοις δια πνευματος αγιου ους εξελεξατο ανεληφθη

Acts 9:17, 18 (NET)	Acts 9:17, 18 (KJV)
So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”	And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Acts 9:17 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 9:17 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)<	Acts 9:17 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ἀπῆλθεν δὲ Ἁνανίας καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ ἐπιθεὶς ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας εἶπεν· Σαοὺλ ἀδελφέ, ὁ κύριος ἀπέσταλκεν με, Ἰησοῦς ὁ ὀφθείς σοι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ᾗ ἤρχου, ὅπως ἀναβλέψῃς καὶ πλησθῇς πνεύματος ἁγίου	απηλθεν δε ανανιας και εισηλθεν εις την οικιαν και επιθεις επ αυτον τας χειρας ειπεν σαουλ αδελφε ο κυριος απεσταλκεν με ιησους ο οφθεις σοι εν τη οδω η ηρχου οπως αναβλεψης και πλησθης πνευματος αγιου	απηλθεν δε ανανιας και εισηλθεν εις την οικιαν και επιθεις επ αυτον τας χειρας ειπεν σαουλ αδελφε ο κυριος απεσταλκεν με ο οφθεις σοι εν τη οδω η ηρχου οπως αναβλεψης και πλησθης πνευματος αγιου

Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,

And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

Acts 9:18 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 9:18 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 9:18 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέπεσαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὡς λεπίδες, ἀνέβλεψεν τε καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐβαπτίσθη	και ευθεως απεπεσον απο των οφθαλμων αυτου ωσει λεπιδες ανεβλεψεν τε παραχρημα και αναστας εβαπτισθη	και ευθεως απεπεσον απο των οφθαλμων αυτου ωσει λεπιδες ανεβλεψεν τε παραχρημα και αναστας εβαπτισθη

Acts 13:1 (NET)	Acts 13:1 (KJV)
Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood) and Saul.	Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Acts 13:1 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 13:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 13:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)
῏Ησαν δὲ ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ κατὰ τὴν οὖσαν ἐκκλησίαν προφῆται καὶ διδάσκαλοι ὅ τε Βαρναβᾶς καὶ Συμεὼν ὁ καλούμενος Νίγερ καὶ Λούκιος ὁ Κυρηναῖος, Μαναήν (τε Ἡρῴδου τοῦ τετραάρχου σύντροφος) καὶ Σαῦλος	ησαν δε τινες εν αντιοχεια κατα την ουσαν εκκλησιαν προφηται και διδασκαλοι ο τε βαρναβας και συμεων ο καλουμενος νιγερ και λουκιος ο κυρηναιος μαναην τε ηρωδου του τετραρχου συντροφος και σαυλος	ησαν δε τινες εν αντιοχεια κατα την ουσαν εκκλησιαν προφηται και διδασκαλοι ο τε βαρναβας και συμεων ο καλουμενος νιγερ και λουκιος ο κυρηναιος μαναην τε ηρωδου του τετραρχου συντροφος και σαυλος

Acts 13:6 (NET)	Acts 13:6 (KJV)
When they had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,	And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

Acts 13:6 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 13:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 13:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Διελθόντες δὲ ὅλην τὴν νῆσον ἄχρι Πάφου εὗρον ἄνδρα τινὰ μάγον ψευδοπροφήτην Ἰουδαῖον ᾧ ὄνομα \|Βαριησοῦ\|	διελθοντες δε την νησον αχρι παφου ευρον τινα μαγον ψευδοπροφητην ιουδαιον ω ονομα βαριησους	διελθοντες δε την νησον αχρι παφου ευρον τινα μαγον ψευδοπροφητην ιουδαιον ω ονομα βαριησους

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

¹ Keep Yourelves From Idols, Part 2

² Ibid.

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον.

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δέ (NET: But) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουν (KJV: Wherefore).

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αγιου following Spirit (KJV: Holy Ghost). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had καταστήσομεν in the future tense and indicative mood here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had καταστησωμεν in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood (“we may appoint”).

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had πλήρης, a masculine or feminine singular adjective in the nominative case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had πληρη, a neuter plural adjective in the nominative or accusative case, or a masculine or feminine singular adjective in the accusative case. Faith (πίστεως) is feminine and Spirit (πνεύματος) is neuter.

⁸ Acts 6:3 (ESV)

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had μὴ here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had ουκ.

¹⁰ James 1:5 (ESV)

¹¹ Acts 6:5b (ESV)

¹² Ephesians 2:8b (ESV) Table

¹³ Philippians 3:9b (NET)

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀνελήμφθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ανεληφθη. These appear to be alternate spellings of the same part of speech.

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had Ἰησοῦς here. The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὡς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ωσει.

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀπέπεσαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απεπεσον. These appear to be alternate spellings of the same part of speech.

¹⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραχρημα (KJV: forthwith) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁹ Acts 9:14 (ESV)

²⁰ Ephesians 2:10b (ESV)

²¹ Acts 9:15b (ESV) Table

²² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τινες (KJV: certain) near the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τετραάρχου here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τετραρχου. These appear to be alternate spellings of the same part of speech.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὅλην here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἄνδρα preceding a certain (NET: a magician). The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²⁶ Acts 13:1-6 (ESV) The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Βαριησοῦ in the genitive case here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βαριησους in the nominative case.

²⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τον preceding Paul. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁸ Acts 13:13, 14a (ESV) Table

²⁹ John 15:15 (ESV)

³⁰ Acts 13:48b (ESV) Table

³¹ “The basic thought of the perfect tense is that the progress of an action has been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect. In other words, the progress of the action has reached its culmination and the finished results are now in existence.” From “Verb Tenses: Perfect Tense,” Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions) on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

³² John 6:44a (ESV) Table

³³ Son of God – John, Part 1; Son of God – John, Part 2; Son of God – John, Part 3; Son of God – John, Part 4; Son of God – John, Part 5; A Door of Hope, Part 1; Westworld, Part 3

³⁴ John 3:16, 18 (ESV)

³⁵ John 12:32 (ESV)

³⁶ Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Posted on May 28, 2024 by admin

I mentioned in another essay how difficult it is for me to recognize when I’m worshiping an idol. This essay will be somewhat exploratory because I suspect that there is an idol in here somewhere. I’m just not entirely sure where as I begin.

In a Bible study on the book of James my Pastor quoted from Ephesians (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV):

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God [Table], not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Sometime later, as we shared a meal, I said that it was nice to hear those verses without the customary caveat. He didn’t know what I was talking about. I explained that this and faith were different genders in Greek, and so faith was excluded from the phrase not your own doing. He had never heard such a thing and pulled up the verses on his phone. I admitted I didn’t really believe it any more in any practical way but that I had heard it all my life, and that it still came to mind whenever I considered Ephesians 2:8.

He said it didn’t make any sense: yes, τοῦτο, translated this (ESV), is neuter and πίστεως, translated faith (ESV), is feminine, but so is χάριτι, translated grace (ESV). I said I should probably look more deeply into it. So, here I go.

First, χάριτι in the text was actually Τῇ…χάριτι, translated by grace (ESV) because both words are in the dative case. The example cited in GREEK NOUNS (Shorter Definitions) was, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.¹ Here τῇ προσευχῇ and τῇ δεήσει were translated by prayer and [by] supplication respectively because all are in the dative case.

The Greek words translated faith were πίστεως in the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, and της πιστεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.² My Pastor was right: If πίστεως is excluded from this (τοῦτο) is not your own doing,³ because πίστεως is feminine and τοῦτο is neuter, then Τῇ…χάριτι should be excluded for the same reason. In other words, both grace and faith would be your own doing (ἐξ ὑμῶν); literally, “out from you.”

In another essay I wrote: “I’m not qualified to engage that argument,” thinking, I suppose, that it was too esoteric for my current knowledge of Koine Greek. But now it appears that I was just too lazy to engage the text. My reasons for including grace in the clause this is not your own doing have nothing to do with the genders of Τῇ…χάριτι and τοῦτο, but with many other passages of Scripture and a not insignificant amount of personal experience. I cannot exclude faith solely on the basis of the gender of πίστεως and της.

Are there other Scriptures that persuade me that faith is of my own doing? I’ll begin with a New Testament survey of πίστεως ⁴ (Acts 11:19-24 ESV).

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen (Acts 8:1-3) traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [Table]. The report of this came to the ears of the church in⁵ Jerusalem,⁶ and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose [Table], for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

The Greek words translated who believed in—and a great number who believed turned to the Lord⁷—were ὁ πιστεύσας in the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, and simply πιστευσας in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text (KJV: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord). Adding ὁ to πιστεύσας (a participle of the verb πιστεύω) leaves the possibility open that some who believed had not yet turned (ἐπέστρεψεν, a form of ἐπιστρέφω) to the Lord (Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15).

What interests me more in this context is: And the hand of the Lord was with them:⁸ καὶ ἦν χεὶρ κυρίου μετ᾿ αὐτῶν. The pronoun αὐτῶν is masculine, feminine and neuter, and most likely⁹ refers back to the Hellenists (τοὺς Ἑλληνιστὰς) and forward to a great number who believed: πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας. In other words, the hand of the Lord is cited preceding the faith of a great number of the Hellenists. Was Luke simply being polite to the Lord when the actual situation was that the faith of a great number of the Hellenists was of their own doing?

When [Barnabas] came and saw the grace (τὴν χάριν) of God, he was glad.¹⁰ What was the grace of God that Barnabas saw (ἰδὼν, a form of εἴδω)? he exhorted [the great number of the Hellenists who believed] to remain faithful (προσμένειν, an infinitive form of προσμένω) to the Lord with steadfast purpose.¹¹ It sounds as if Luke attributed their faith to the grace of God. Was he puffing God up with false praise when the actual situation was that the faith of a great number of the Hellenists was of their own doing?

The text continued: for [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.¹² The Greek word translated faith here was πίστεως, a form of the noun πίστις. Being full of the Holy Spirit (πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου) precedes being full of faith. This makes sense since πίστις, translated faithfulness (ESV), is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law¹³…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law [Table].¹⁴

Since I am making so much of the word order, should I assume that Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith because he was a good man (ἦν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς)? I’ve made that assumption before. It’s not false unless I’m thinking causatively: goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη) is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. So I assume now that Luke and the Holy Spirit used full of the Holy Spirit and of faith to clarify their intended meaning: for he was a good man.¹⁵ And a great many people were added to the Lord.¹⁶

This is not my experience. I don’t see a great many people…added to the Lord in my immediate vicinity. I won’t blame the hand of the Lord. That leaves: I am not a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. I’ll own that and continue to Do [my] best to present [myself] to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.¹⁷ But If I rejected that diagnosis, would I blame those who are dead in…trespasses and sins for their lack of faith in Christ?

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [Table] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind [Table].¹⁸

So, blaming them would depend, I suppose, on who I credit for making me alive together with Christ.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace (τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ) in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [Table].¹⁹

Approached in this way it becomes quite telling that my faith and my works are absent here: This is about God’s mercy, God’s great love, God made us alive together with Christ (συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ) by God’s grace, God raised us up with him (συνήγειρεν, a form of συνεγείρω) and seated us with him (συνεκάθισεν, a form of συγκαθίζω) in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Why? For his own purpose: so that in the coming ages he might show (ἐνδείξηται, a form of ἐνδείκνυμι) the immeasurable riches of his grace.

There is nothing uncertain about so that…he might show: ἐνδείξηται is a subjunctive form of ἐνδείκνυμι in a purpose clause: “the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”²⁰ The only uncertainty here is why English translators persist in their refusal to translate Greek verbs in the subjunctive mood in purpose or result clauses into English. But when does/did all of this happen?

The verbs συνεζωοποίησεν, συνήγειρεν, συνεκάθισεν and even ἐνδείξηται are in the aorist tense and συνεζωοποίησεν, συνήγειρεν and συνεκάθισεν are in the indicative mood:

The aorist is said to be “simple occurrence” or “summary occurrence”, without regard for the amount of time taken to accomplish the action. This tense is also often referred to as the ‘punctiliar’ tense. ‘Punctiliar’ in this sense means ‘viewed as a single, collective whole,’ a “one-point-in-time” action, although it may actually take place over a period of time. In the indicative mood the aorist tense denotes action that occurred in the past time, often translated like the English simple past tense.

For example: “God…made us alive together with Christ.” Eph 2:5

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6²¹

When I begin to perceive any of this as true corresponds to when I received the Holy Spirit. When I as a five-year-old child prayed a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to escape from burning in hell for all eternity, nothing happened except that I believed I didn’t need to fear hell.²² When I as a twenty-something atheist stoner prayed, “If you’re really out there, I really want to know you,”²³ the Holy Spirit invaded my ψυχή: “soul, life, creature, living being, physical life, life-force; corpse, dead person; an individual person.”

I didn’t think much of the Gospel then. Been there, done that, I thought. The Gospel just didn’t work out for me. This time I was going to do it right. The objective truth of the Bible was irrelevant to me. Its truth was like that of a contract. There were things for me to do and things God would do in exchange. He knew what the contract I held in my hand said, and so could I.²⁴

In no objective sense did I as a twenty-something atheist stoner turn in faith to Jesus Christ. I was more like a bibliolater standing before the Bible as Israel stood before Mount Sinai, saying, All that the LORD has spoken [I] will do.²⁵ I didn’t keep my promise. He certainly knew I couldn’t keep my promise. Why did He give me his own Holy Spirit then and not when I was five?

I want to pause here to compile a brief dossier on Barnabas (Acts 4:33-37; 9:26-31; 11:22, 25, 26 ESV):

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet [Table].

And when [Paul, aka Saul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple [Table]. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him [Table]. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied [Table].

The report of this (Acts 11:19-21) came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul [aka Paul], and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians [Table].

The people who tried to lead the five-year-old me to the Lord, led me to atheism instead. It was certainly not their intent, just a fact. The twenty-something bibliolater me went back to the same church of the very same people, believing they were right and I was wrong. The difference? I was about twenty years older, but more to the point, I had been given the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. When I heard teaching or preaching the Holy Spirit brought other Scriptures to my mind. Sometimes those Scriptures agreed with what was taught or preached. That was a good day. Sometimes they did not. But I was studying the Bible on my own with the Holy Spirit, the Father and his Son. Eventually, Paul’s writings, writings that may never have been written (Acts 13:1-3) if Barnabas had not gone to Tarsus to look for Saul and brought him to Antioch, led me to Jesus. It is impossible for me to credit all of this to my faith or my effort, though I cannot imagine it transpiring apart from both.

The solution I return to over and over is:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε , a form of ὑπακούω) so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation (τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν κατεργάζεσθε) with fear and trembling, for it is God who works (ὁ ἐνεργῶν) in you, both to will (τὸ θέλειν) and to work (τὸ ἐνεργεῖν) for his good pleasure (τῆς εὐδοκίας) [Table].²⁶

I’ll pick this up in another essay. A table comparing Acts 11:22 in the NET and KJV follows.

Acts 11:22 (NET)	Acts 11:22 (KJV)
A report about them came to the attention of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.	Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

Acts 11:22 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 11:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 11:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ἠκούσθη δὲ ὁ λόγος εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς οὔσης ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν Βαρναβᾶν ἕως Ἀντιοχείας	ηκουσθη δε ο λογος εις τα ωτα της εκκλησιας της εν ιεροσολυμοις περι αυτων και εξαπεστειλαν βαρναβαν διελθειν εως αντιοχειας	ηκουσθη δε ο λογος εις τα ωτα της εκκλησιας της εν ιεροσολυμοις περι αυτων και εξαπεστειλαν βαρναβαν διελθειν εως αντιοχειας

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 3

¹ Philippians 4:6 (ESV)

² For a brief discussion of these textural differences see αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 2 .

³ Ephesians 2:8b (ESV) Table

⁴ I’ll return to consider Acts 6:5 in another essay.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῆς οὔσης ἐν (“that was in”) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had της εν.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Ἰερουσαλὴμ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιεροσολυμοις in the dative case.

⁷ Acts 11:21b (ESV) Table

⁸ Acts 11:21a (ESV) Table

⁹ Perhaps I should say, “is in closest proximity to.” I can’t eliminate the possibility that αὐτῶν also refers to some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke…preaching the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20 ESV), but then the hand of the Lord seems more laissez faire, not opposed to them, rather than the cause of what transpired.

¹⁰ Acts 11:23a (ESV) Table

¹¹ Acts 11:23b (ESV) Table

¹² Acts 11:24 (ESV)

¹³ Galatians 5:18 (ESV)

¹⁴ Galatians 5:22, 23 (ESV)

¹⁵ Acts 11:24a (ESV)

¹⁶ Acts 11:24b (ESV)

¹⁷ 2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)

¹⁸ Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)

¹⁹ Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV)

²⁰ From “Verbal Moods: Subjunctive Mood,” Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

²¹ From “Verb Tenses: Aorist Tense,” Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

²² You Must Be Gentle, Part 3

²³ αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 1

²⁴ Who Am I? Part 3

²⁵ Exodus 19:8b (ESV) Table

²⁶ Philippians 2:12, 13 (ESV)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Posted on March 9, 2024 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint. I’ll begin with part of the Lord’s curse of the serpent to briefly consider another issue:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:15 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 3:15 (NET)	Genesis 3:15 (NETS) Table	Genesis 3:15 (English Elpenor)
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise (יְשֽׁוּפְךָ֣) thy head, and thou shalt bruise (תְּשׁוּפֶ֥נּוּ) their heel.’	And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike (šûp̄, ישופך) your head, and you will strike (šûp̄, תשופנו) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will watch (τηρήσει) your head, and you will watch (τηρήσεις) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against (τηρήσει) thy head, and thou shalt watch against (τηρήσεις) his heel.

An entry titled “Seed of the woman” in Wikipedia online reads:

In Christianity, Genesis 3:15 is known as the protevangelium. This is a compound of two Greek words, protos meaning “first” and evangelion meaning “good news” or “gospel”. Thus, the verse is commonly referred to as the first mention in the Bible of the “good news” of salvation…

Identification of the “seed of the woman” with Jesus goes back at least as far as Irenaeus (180 AD)^[12][13]…

I think of the NET as the “honest Bible,” not because it is necessarily the best overall translation, but because of its notes which “open the books” as it were on the scholarly guesswork that goes into Bible translation. An article by the Assistant Editor of the NET, “Consideration of Contexts in the Translation Philosophy of the NET Bible: Discussion and Examples,” reads:

Genesis 3:15 has had a long history of interpretation. At issue presently is whether this text refers to a single entity in conflict with another single entity, or whether groups are in view. The text of the verse in the NET Bible is as follows [not in the version online from which I quote]:

And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; they will attack your head, but you will attack their heel.

…At this time, the future coming of the Messiah had not been revealed, neither to the initial participants of the narrative nor to the author of the book. Therefore, it would be foreign to the original context to bring that meaning back into the passage in translation.

So the Lord God took this opportunity to address the origin of man’s antipathy for snakes? Whether the man and woman or Moses knew of the “coming of the Messiah” is irrelevant. The Lord God knew. Did He converse with a snake about the destiny of snakes or with the ancient serpent,¹ who is the devil and Satan?²

I will utilize the work of scholars shamelessly when it corresponds to what the Lord is teaching me of Himself from his word. When it doesn’t, I remember Paul’s insight into those who would have dragged the Galatians under the law (Galatians 4:17 NET):

They court you eagerly, but for no good purpose; they want to exclude you, so that you would seek them eagerly.

I don’t often encounter aggressive scholars attempting to exclude me from the grace of God. I must decide, however, if I will believe the scholar’s work I am reading at any given moment or the Lord’s leading through his word. It’s really not a difficult decision: The Lord fills me with faith³ in Him and his word. Scholars are powerless to do likewise.

The Wikipedia entry “Seed of the woman” continued:

In Romans 16:20, there is perhaps the clearest reference to the Protoevangelium in the New Testament, “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” Here, the seed of the woman is identified as “the God of peace”, and yet the Church is identified as the feet that will bruise Satan’s head.^[18] Martin Luther, in his Lectures on Romans, also identifies the seed of the woman with “the word of God in the church”.^[19]

This connection seemed forced until I searched for τηρήσει, translated watch (Septuagint), the word the rabbis chose for יְשֽׁוּפְךָ֣ (šûp̄), translated bruise (Tanakh, KJV) and strike (NET). It only occurs once in the New Testament (John 14:22-24 NET).

“Lord,” Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “what has happened that you are going to reveal yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey (τηρήσει, a form of τηρέω) my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and take up residence with him [Table]. The person who does not love me does not obey (τηρεῖ, another form of τηρέω) my words. And the word you hear is not mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

Choosing obey for τηρήσει and τηρεῖ highlighted one aspect of τηρέω: “to act and live in conformity to.” But consider another word of the Lord (John 12:31-33 NET):

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die) [Table].

It is not readily apparent how to “act and live in conformity to” this word. It is fairly straightforward how “to guard, keep watch over” it; how “to remain alert in anticipation” of it; how “to watch out for the loss of” it and “to inspect” it “closely”:

What is the judgment of this world? Jesus will draw all to Himself. How will the ruler of this world be driven out? Jesus will draw all to Himself. What did He mean by: I am lifted up from the earth? He said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die (e.g., crucifixion). The Greek word translated when was ἐὰν, if. In other words, if Jesus is crucified, He will draw all to Himself. To say He will not draw all to Himself is logically equivalent to saying He was not crucified: modus tollens.

Keeping this word makes it much easier to obey another in faith (Matthew 28:18-20 NET):

Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me [Table]. Therefore⁴ go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit [Table], teaching them to obey (τηρεῖν, another form of τηρέω) everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [Table].

The Lord turned to the woman:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:16 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:16 (NET)	Genesis 3:16 (NETS)	Genesis 3:16 (English Elpenor)
Unto the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply thy pain (עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ) and thy travail (וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ); in pain (בְּעֶ֖צֶב) thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.’	To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor (hērāyôn, והרנך ) pains (ʿiṣṣāḇôn, עצבונך); with pain (ʿēṣeḇ, בעצב) you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”	And to the woman he said, “I will increasingly increase your pains (τὰς λύπας σου) and your groaning (καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου); with pains (ἐν λύπαις) you will bring forth children. And your recourse will be to your husband, and he will dominate you.”	And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains (τὰς λύπας σου) and thy groanings (καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου); in pain (ἐν λύπαις) thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

In the Septuagint two different Hebrew words, עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ (ʿiṣṣāḇôn) and בְּעֶ֖צֶב (ʿēṣeḇ), were translated with forms of λύπη: λύπας and λύπαις. Jesus used the analogy of a woman’s reactions to childbirth to forewarn and promise his disciples how they would react to his death and resurrection (John 16:20-22 NET).

I tell you the solemn truth, you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice; you will be sad (λυπηθήσεσθε, a form of λυπέω), but your sadness (λύπη) will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has distress (λύπην, another form of λύπη) because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer⁵ remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow (λύπην, another form of λύπη) now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.

The Lord turned to the man.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:17-19 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:17-19 (NET)	Genesis 3:17-19 (NETS)	Genesis 3:17-19 (English Elpenor)
And unto Adam He said: ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil (בְּעִצָּבוֹן֙) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.	But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil (ʿiṣṣāḇôn, בעצבון) you will eat of it all the days of your life.	Then to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it, cursed is the earth in your labors; with pains (ἐν λύπαις) you will eat it all the days of your life;	And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat– of that thou hast eaten, cursed [is] the ground in thy labours, in pain (ἐν λύπαις) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.	It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.	thorns and thistles it shall cause to grow up for you, and you will eat the herbage of the field.	Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’	By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”	By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the earth from which you were taken, for you are earth and to earth you will depart.”	In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth thou art and to earth thou shalt return.

Here again, בְּעִצָּבוֹן֙ (ʿiṣṣāḇôn)—in toil (Tanakh), in sorrow (KJV), in painful toil (NET)—was translated with a form of λύπη: ἐν λύπαις. Paul alluded to this worldly sadness [that] brings about death (2 Corinthians 7:8-10 NET):

For even if I made you sad (ἐλύπησα, a form of λυπέω) by my letter, I do not regret having written it (even though I did regret it, for I see that my letter made you sad [ἐλύπησεν, another form of λυπέω], though only for a short time). Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad (ἐλυπήθητε, another form of λυπέω), but because you were made sad (ἐλυπήθητε, another form of λυπέω) to the point of repentance. For you were made sad (ἐλυπήθητε, another form of λυπέω) as God intended, so that you were not harmed in any way by us. For sadness (λύπη) as intended by God produces a repentance that leads⁶ to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness (λύπη) brings about death.

This worldly sadness (λύπη) [that] brings about death⁷ was the Lord’s word to Adam (e.g., humanity): cursed is the earth in your labors; with pains (ἐν λύπαις) you will eat it all the days of your life⁸…until you return to the earth from which you were taken, for you are earth and to earth you will depart.⁹ But sadness (λύπη) as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation.¹⁰ In another essay I wrote:

The serpent trusted (Genesis 3:4, 5) his own partially true knowledge rather than God’s command. The woman trusted (Genesis 3:6) the serpent’s knowledge and her own desires rather than God’s command. The man trusted (Genesis 3:6) his wife rather than God’s command.

While there was no way to undo what had been done, this analysis points the way to a repentance that leads to salvation; namely, to trust God’s word over that of all others. The narrative continued:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:20 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:20 (NET)	Genesis 3:20 (NETS)	Genesis 3:20 (English Elpenor)
And the man called his wife’s name Eve (חַוָּ֑ה); because she was the mother of all living (חָֽי).	The man named his wife Eve (ḥaûâ, חוה), because she was the mother of all the living (ḥay, חי).	And Adam called the name of his wife Life (Ζωή), because she is the mother of all the living (τῶν ζώντων).	And Adam called the name of his wife Life (Ζωή), because she was the mother of all living (τῶν ζώντων).

Though this is an interesting choice of names, I find it difficult to glean whether Adam had repented or continued to trust in his wife. Nevertheless, the Lord God made clothes for both of them, to cover their newly perceived nakedness.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:21 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:21 (NET)	Genesis 3:21 (NETS)	Genesis 3:21 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֜ים) made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) made leather tunics for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ), which was corroborated by Κύριος in the Septuagint. If Adam or Eve had any lingering uncertainty about death, the corpses of the animals the Lord skinned to clothe them was a vivid education.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:22-24 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:22-24 (NET)	Genesis 3:22-24 (NETS)	Genesis 3:22-24 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) said: ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever’ [Table].	And the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”	Then God (ὁ θεός) said, “See, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now perhaps he might reach out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεός) said, Behold, Adam is become as one of us, to know good and evil, and now lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and [so] he shall live forever–
Therefore HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken [Table].	So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) sent him forth from the orchard of delight to till the earth from which he was taken [Table].	So the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) sent him forth out of the garden of Delight to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken.
So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep (לִשְׁמֹ֕ר) the way to the tree of life.	When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard (šāmar, לשמר) the way to the tree of life.	And he drove Adam out and caused him to dwell opposite the orchard of delight, and he stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turns, to guard (φυλάσσειν) the way to the tree of life.	And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep (φυλάσσειν) the way of the tree of life.

The Lord God’s word is true: He did what He said and made it so. They will surely die. I’ll pick this up in another essay.

According to a note (72) in the NET Jesus alluded to Isaiah 66:14. A table comparing the Greek of John 16:22b with that of Isaiah 66:14 in the Septuagint follows:

Isaiah 66:14 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 66:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 66:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πάλιν δὲ ὄψομαι ὑμᾶς, καὶ χαρήσεται ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία, καὶ τὴν χαρὰν ὑμῶν οὐδεὶς \|αἴρει\| ἀφ᾿ ὑμῶν	καὶ ὄψεσθε καὶ χαρήσεται ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ὑμῶν ὡς βοτάνη ἀνατελεῖ καὶ γνωσθήσεται ἡ χεὶρ κυρίου τοῖς σεβομένοις αὐτόν καὶ ἀπειλήσει τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν	καὶ ὄψεσθε, καὶ χαρήσεται ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ὑμῶν ὡς βοτάνη ἀνατελεῖ καὶ γνωσθήσεται ἡ χεὶρ Κυρίου τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπειλήσει τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν
Isaiah 66:14 (NET)	Isaiah 66:14 (NETS)	Isaiah 66:14 (English Elpenor)
but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.	You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall grow like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to those who worship him, and he shall threaten those who disobey him.	And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear him, and he shall threaten the disobedient.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:16; 3:17; 3:18; 3:19; 3:20; 3:21; 3:24 and Isaiah 66:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:16; 3:17; 3:18; 3:19; 3:20; 3:21; 3:24 and Isaiah 66:14 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of Revelation 20:2, John 16:21 and 2 Corinthians 7:10 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:16 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:16 (KJV)	Genesis 3:16 (NET)
Unto the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.’	Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.	To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”

Genesis 3:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἶπεν πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει	καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ εἶπε· πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τὰς λύπας σου καὶ τὸν στεναγμόν σου· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα σου ἡ ἀποστροφή σου, καὶ αὐτός σου κυριεύσει
Genesis 3:16 (NETS)	Genesis 3:16 (English Elpenor)
And to the woman he said, “I will increasingly increase your pains and your groaning; with pains you will bring forth children. And your recourse will be to your husband, and he will dominate you.”	And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pains and thy groanings; in pain thou shalt bring forth children, and thy submission shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Genesis 3:17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:17 (KJV)	Genesis 3:17 (NET)
And unto Adam He said: ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.	And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;	But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ the ground is cursed because of you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τῷ δὲ Αδαμ εἶπεν ὅτι ἤκουσας τῆς φωνῆς τῆς γυναικός σου καὶ ἔφαγες ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου ἐν λύπαις φάγῃ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου	τῷ δὲ ᾿Αδὰμ εἶπεν· ὅτι ἤκουσας τῆς φωνῆς τῆς γυναικός σου καὶ ἔφαγες ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες, ἐπικατάρατος ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις σου· ἐν λύπαις φαγῇ αὐτὴν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου
Genesis 3:17 (NETS)	Genesis 3:17 (English Elpenor)
Then to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it, cursed is the earth in your labors; with pains you will eat it all the days of your life;	And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it only not to eat– of that thou hast eaten, cursed [is] the ground in thy labours, in pain shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.

Genesis 3:18 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:18 (KJV)	Genesis 3:18 (NET)
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.	Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;	It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field.

Genesis 3:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι καὶ φάγῃ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ	ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελεῖ σοι, καὶ φαγῇ τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ
Genesis 3:18 (NETS)	Genesis 3:18 (English Elpenor)
thorns and thistles it shall cause to grow up for you, and you will eat the herbage of the field.	Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.

Genesis 3:19 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:19 (KJV)	Genesis 3:19 (NET)
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’	In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.	By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Genesis 3:19 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φάγῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου ἕως τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐξ ἧς ἐλήμφθης ὅτι γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ	ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου σου φαγῇ τὸν ἄρτον σου, ἕως τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι σε εἰς τὴν γῆν, ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης, ὅτι γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ
Genesis 3:19 (NETS)	Genesis 3:19 (English Elpenor)
By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the earth from which you were taken, for you are earth and to earth you will depart.”	In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread until thou return to the earth out of which thou wast taken, for earth thou art and to earth thou shalt return.

Genesis 3:20 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:20 (KJV)	Genesis 3:20 (NET)
And the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.	And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.	The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:20 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αδαμ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ Ζωή ὅτι αὕτη μήτηρ πάντων τῶν ζώντων	καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ᾿Αδὰμ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ Ζωή, ὅτι αὕτη μήτηρ πάντων τῶν ζώντων
Genesis 3:20 (NETS)	Genesis 3:20 (English Elpenor)
And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she is the mother of all the living.	And Adam called the name of his wife Life, because she was the mother of all living.

Genesis 3:21 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:21 (KJV)	Genesis 3:21 (NET)
And HaShem G-d made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.	Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.	The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Genesis 3:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐποίησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ Αδαμ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ χιτῶνας δερματίνους καὶ ἐνέδυσεν αὐτούς	Καὶ ἐποίησε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ χιτῶνας δερματίνους καὶ ἐνέδυσεν αὐτούς
Genesis 3:21 (NETS)	Genesis 3:21 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God made leather tunics for Adam and for his wife and clothed them.	And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin, and clothed them.

Genesis 3:24 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:24 (KJV)	Genesis 3:24 (NET)
So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life.	So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.	When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:24 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐξέβαλεν τὸν Αδαμ καὶ κατῴκισεν αὐτὸν ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς καὶ ἔταξεν τὰ χερουβιμ καὶ τὴν φλογίνην ῥομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς	καὶ ἐξέβαλε τὸν ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ κατῴκισεν αὐτὸν ἀπέναντι τοῦ παραδείσου τῆς τρυφῆς καὶ ἔταξε τὰ Χερουβὶμ καὶ τὴν φλογίνην ρομφαίαν τὴν στρεφομένην φυλάσσειν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς
Genesis 3:24 (NETS)	Genesis 3:24 (English Elpenor)
And he drove Adam out and caused him to dwell opposite the orchard of delight, and he stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword that turns, to guard the way to the tree of life.	And he cast out Adam and caused him to dwell over against the garden of Delight, and stationed the cherubs and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

Isaiah 66:14 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 66:14 (KJV)	Isaiah 66:14 (NET)
And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.	And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.	When you see this, you will be happy, and you will be revived. The Lord will reveal his power to his servants and his anger to his enemies.

Isaiah 66:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 66:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὄψεσθε καὶ χαρήσεται ὑμῶν ἡ καρδία καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ὑμῶν ὡς βοτάνη ἀνατελεῖ καὶ γνωσθήσεται ἡ χεὶρ κυρίου τοῖς σεβομένοις αὐτόν καὶ ἀπειλήσει τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν	καὶ ὄψεσθε, καὶ χαρήσεται ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ὑμῶν ὡς βοτάνη ἀνατελεῖ· καὶ γνωσθήσεται ἡ χεὶρ Κυρίου τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπειλήσει τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσιν
Isaiah 66:14 (NETS)	Isaiah 66:14 (English Elpenor)
You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall grow like grass, and the hand of the Lord shall be known to those who worship him, and he shall threaten those who disobey him.	And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear him, and he shall threaten the disobedient.

Revelation 20:2 (NET)	Revelation 20:2 (KJV)
He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.	And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Revelation 20:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Revelation 20:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Revelation 20:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἐκράτησεν τὸν δράκοντα, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν Διάβολος καὶ ὁ Σατανᾶς, καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτη	και εκρατησεν τον δρακοντα τον οφιν τον αρχαιον ος εστιν διαβολος και σατανας και εδησεν αυτον χιλια ετη	και εκρατησεν τον δρακοντα τον οφιν τον αρχαιον ος εστιν διαβολος και ο σατανας ο πλανων την οικουμενην ολην και εδησεν αυτον χιλια ετη

John 16:21 (NET)	John 16:21 (KJV)
When a woman gives birth, she has distress because her time has come, but when her child is born, she no longer remembers the suffering because of her joy that a human being has been born into the world.	A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

John 16:21 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 16:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 16:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἡ γυνὴ ὅταν τίκτῃ λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς· ὅταν δὲ γεννήσῃ τὸ παιδίον, οὐκέτι μνημονεύει τῆς θλίψεως διὰ τὴν χαρὰν ὅτι ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸν κόσμον	η γυνη οταν τικτη λυπην εχει οτι ηλθεν η ωρα αυτης οταν δε γεννηση το παιδιον ουκ ετι μνημονευει της θλιψεως δια την χαραν οτι εγεννηθη ανθρωπος εις τον κοσμον	η γυνη οταν τικτη λυπην εχει οτι ηλθεν η ωρα αυτης οταν δε γεννηση το παιδιον ουκετι μνημονευει της θλιψεως δια την χαραν οτι εγεννηθη ανθρωπος εις τον κοσμον

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NET)	2 Corinthians 7:10 (KJV)
For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.	For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Corinthians 7:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Corinthians 7:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἡ γὰρ κατὰ θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον ἐργάζεται· ἡ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου λύπη θάνατον κατεργάζεται	η γαρ κατα θεον λυπη μετανοιαν εις σωτηριαν αμεταμελητον κατεργαζεται η δε του κοσμου λυπη θανατον κατεργαζεται	η γαρ κατα θεον λυπη μετανοιαν εις σωτηριαν αμεταμελητον κατεργαζεται η δε του κοσμου λυπη θανατον κατεργαζεται

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 10

¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος here in the nominative case, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τον οφιν τον αρχαιον (KJV: that old serpent) in the accusative case.

² Revelation 20:2 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article ὁ preceding Satan. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

³ The Greek word translated faithfulness in Paul’s description of the fruit of the Spirit is πίστις: live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16 NET).

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had οὖν here. The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had οὐκέτι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ουκ ετι (KJV: no more).

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐργάζεται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κατεργαζεται (KJV: worketh).

⁷ 2 Corinthians 7:10b (NET)

⁸ Genesis 3:17b (NETS)

⁹ Genesis 3:19b (NETS)

¹⁰ 2 Corinthians 7:10a (NET)

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 1

Posted on February 5, 2024 by admin

I don’t worship statues, I thought, when I first encountered the end of John’s letter: Little children, keep yourselves¹ from idols.² It might be easier if I did, not necessarily the keeping part: Prostrating myself before some statue in some temple on a cold stone floor, naked, sounds kinky. I like it. But it would be easier to recognize when I was doing it.

I’ve been home a lot recently, able to attend church and Bible study. The Pastor’s sermon series was on Genesis and the Bible study was an in depth look and discussion. I became increasingly uncomfortable with where my mind was going, especially in the 3^rd chapter of Genesis. I had stopped treating it like the word of God and had begun to treat it like a Delphic Oracle that I could or should outsmart somehow.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:16, 17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NETS)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem G-d commanded the man (הָֽאָדָ֖ם), saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; [Table]	Then the Lord God commanded the man (‘āḏām, האדם), “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard,	And the Lord God commanded Adam (τῷ Αδαμ), saying, “You shall eat for food of every tree that is in the orchard, [Table]	And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam (τῷ ᾿Αδὰμ), saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die’ [Table].	but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”	but of the tree for knowing good and evil, of it you shall not eat; on the day that you eat of it, you shall die by death” [Table].	but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil– of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die.
Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:6 (NET)	Genesis 3:6 (NETS)	Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And when the woman (הָֽאִשָּׁ֡ה) saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight (תַֽאֲוָה) to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired (וְנֶחְמָ֤ד) to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat [Table].	When the woman (‘iššâ, האשה) saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive (ta’ăvâ, תאוה) to the eye, and was desirable (ḥāmaḏ, ונחמד) for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.	And the woman (ἡ γυνὴ) saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing (ἀρεστὸν) for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful (ὡραῗόν) to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate [Table].	And the woman (ἡ γυνή) saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant (ἀρεστὸν) to the eyes to look upon and beautiful (ὡραῖόν) to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

I focused on the woman because that was where the text gives the most hope for understanding why this happened. The man’s motivations were more inscrutable or inanely mundane: “This is the food my wife gave me, so I ate it.”³ There are two different words for desire in the Masoretic text leading to the moment the woman took of its fruit and ate.⁴ A note (18) in the NET translated the Hebrew: “that good was the tree for food, and that desirable it was to the eyes, and desirable was the tree to make one wise.”

The rabbis who translated the Septuagint didn’t choose any forms of θέλω or θέλημα for these words. Rather, they chose ἀρεστὸν (a form of ἀρεστός) for תַֽאֲוָה (ta’ăvâ), and ὡραῖόν (a form of ὡραῖος) for וְנֶחְמָ֤ד (ḥāmaḏ). But who cares about the Septuagint? Let’s just go with it. This happened because the woman exercised her free will, even if the man just followed her lead.

Let me get naked and prostrate myself before free will to see if I can recognize that I am naked and prostrate before a man-made idol: The first thing that occurs to me is that free will must be evil, since it caused the woman to disobey God’s command. Well, I don’t like being naked and prostrate before something evil, so the first thing I’ll do is add free will to God’s word.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:27, 28 (Tanakh)	Genesis 1:27, 28 (NET)	Genesis 1:27, 28 (NETS)	Genesis 1:27, 28 (English Elpenor)
And G-d created man (הָֽאָדָם֙) in His own image, in the image of G-d created He him; male (זָכָ֥ר) and female (וּנְקֵבָ֖ה) created He them [Table].	God created humankind (‘āḏām, האדם) in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male (zāḵār, זכר) and female (nᵊqēḇâ, ונקבה) he created them.	And God made humankind (τὸν ἄνθρωπον); according to divine image he made it; male (ἄρσεν) and female (καὶ θῆλυ) he made them [Table].	And God made man (τὸν ἄνθρωπον), according to the image of God he made him, male (ἄρσεν) and female (καὶ θῆλυ) he made them.
And G-d blessed them; [and gave them free will] and G-d said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth’ [Table].	God blessed them [and gave them free will] and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”	And God blessed them [and gave them free will], saying, “Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and all the cattle and all the earth and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth” [Table].	And God blessed them [and gave them free will], saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth.

Now that free will has been given by God, it needs some power and purpose. Otherwise, why would I prostrate myself naked before it? Just kinky fun? No, it was not just that free will prompted the woman to disobey God, she might have obeyed God of her own free will. There’s no evidence for that in the text, but what good is free will if it is incapable of obedience?

So now, I can use my idol to judge God: If the woman’s God-given free will lacked the power, authority, whatever, to make it possible for her to have obeyed God, then God was unfair, vindictive, evil in a word. God is not evil. Therefore by free will human beings may choose righteousness and obedience. The woman might have rewritten the whole story if she had directed her free will toward righteousness and obedience rather than sin and disobedience.

About this time I recognized that I’d been here before.⁵

God promised Solomon a wise and discerning mind superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you¹—in the dream. But Solomon broke every law God gave the kings of Israel while wide-awake. Surely Solomon’s alleged wisdom was grossly overstated!

Okay, enough of this self-righteous snit. You notice what just happened. I’m all up in arms because the wise and discerning mind God allegedly gave Solomon was neither wise enough nor discerning enough to protect Solomon from falling afoul of the laws God gave the kings of Israel. I reasoned that God-given discernment at a minimum should have made the king wise enough to follow God’s rules for kings, or God-given discernment can’t be discernment given by God. It must have been only a dream.

There is a significant difference between the wise and discerning mind God gave to Solomon and the woman’s free will. The wise and discerning mind is stated explicitly:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
1 Kings 3:11, 12 (Tanakh)	1 Kings 3:11, 12 (NET)	3 Reigns 3:11, 12 (NETS)	3 Kings 3:11, 12 (English Elpenor)
And God said unto [Solomon], Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; [Table]	God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,	And the Lord said to him, “Because you requested this thing from me and did not request for yourself many days and did not request riches and did not request lives of your enemies but requested for yourself understanding to listen to judgment, [Table]	And the Lord said to him, Because thou hast asked this thing of me, and hast not asked for thyself long life, and hast not asked wealth, nor hast asked the lives of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to hear judgment;
Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise (חָכָ֣ם) and an understanding (וְנָב֔וֹן) heart (לֵב); so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee [Table].	I grant your request and give you a wise (ḥāḵām, חכם) and discerning (bîn, ונבון) mind (lēḇ, לב) superior to that of anyone who has preceded or will succeed you.	behold, I have done according to your word; behold, I have given you a prudent (φρονίμην) and wise (καὶ σοφήν) heart (καρδίαν); like you there has not been before you, and after you there shall not arise similar to you [Table].	behold, I have done according to thy word: behold, I have given thee an understanding (φρονίμην) and wise (καὶ σοφήν) heart (καρδίαν): there has not been [any one] like thee before thee, and after thee there shall not arise one like thee.

On the other hand, the woman’s free will was an inference derived from two Hebrew words that can mean desire. Eventually, I had to come to terms with Solomon’s wealth and his God-given wise and discerning mind.⁶

[Solomon’s wealth] which is at least possible to measure, has been coupled in a promise with a wise and discerning mind¹ which is difficult to measure. Solomon’s wealth is hard to deny (whether I argue with the superlative degree of it or not)…

Is it possible that a wise and discerning mind given by God, would not be wise or discerning enough to prevent Solomon’s disobedience to God’s laws? That’s what the Bible seems to be saying here. And Solomon’s wealth is sort of the kicker to make that point.

God judged his creation very good.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:31a (Tanakh)	Genesis 1:31a (NET)	Genesis 1:31a (NETS)	Genesis 1:31a (English Elpenor)
And G-d saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very (מְאֹ֑ד) good (ט֖וֹב) [Table].	God saw all that he had made—and it was very (mᵊ’ōḏ, מאד) good (ṭôḇ, טוב)!	And God saw all the things that he had made, and see, they were exceedingly good (καλὰ λίαν) [Table].	And God saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good (καλὰ λίαν).

Is it possible that a creation (including the woman, the man and the serpent) judged very good (Tanakh, KJV, NET, English Elpenor) or exceedingly good (NETS) by God would not be good enough to prevent the woman’s, the man’s or the serpent’s disobedience to God’s one commandment? That’s what the Bible seems to be saying here.

We imagine that the woman, the man and the serpent knew God better than we do, that they saw Him as they conversed with Him. The Hebrew word מִפְּנֵי֙ (pānîm) does occur in the text, translated ἀπὸ προσώπου (Septuagint), from the presence (Tanakh, KJV, NETS), from (NET) and from the face (English Elpenor).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:8, 10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:8, 10 (NET)	Genesis 3:8, 10 (NETS)	Genesis 3:8, 10 (English Elpenor)
And they heard (וַיִּשְׁמְע֞וּ) the voice (ק֨וֹל) of HaShem G-d walking (מִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ) in the garden (בַּגָּ֖ן) toward the cool (לְר֣וּחַ) of the day (הַיּ֑וֹם); and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence (מִפְּנֵי֙) of HaShem G-d amongst the trees of the garden [Table].	Then the man and his wife heard (šāmaʿ, וישמעו) the sound (qôl, קול) of the Lord God moving about (hālaḵ, מתהלך) in the orchard (gan, בגן) at the breezy time (rûaḥ, לרוח) of the day (yôm, היום), and they hid from (pānîm, מפני) the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.	And they heard (καὶ ἤκουσαν) the sound (τὴν φωνὴν) of the Lord God walking about (περιπατοῦντος) in the orchard (ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ) in the evening (τὸ δειλινόν), and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence (ἀπὸ προσώπου) of the Lord God in the midst of the timber of the orchard [Table].	And they heard (Καὶ ἤκουσαν) the voice (τῆς φωνῆς) of the Lord God walking (περιπατοῦντος) in the garden (ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ) in the afternoon (τὸ δειλινόν); and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face (ἀπὸ προσώπου) of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.
And [Adam] said: ‘I heard (שָׁמַ֖עְתִּי) Thy voice (קֹֽלְךָ֥) in the garden (בַּגָּ֑ן), and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself’ [Table].	The man replied, “I heard (šāmaʿ, שמעתי) you moving about (qôl, קלך) in the orchard (gan, בגן), and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”	And he said to him, “I heard (ἤκουσα) the sound of you (τὴν φωνήν σου) walking about (περιπατοῦντος) in the orchard (ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ), and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself” [Table].	And he said to him, I heard (ἤκουσα) thy voice (τῆς φωνῆς σου) as thou walkedst (περιπατοῦντος) in the garden (ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ), and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

A quick survey of the occurrences of מפני (pānîm) in the early chapters of Genesis, which I won’t undertake here, makes it difficult to believe that it was meant to imply that the woman, the man or the serpent literally saw God’s face. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.⁷ So, we imagine that they saw Jesus. Nude? The woman doesn’t strike me as one who would need to eat forbidden fruit to realize she was naked if she had already seen Jesus in shiny white clothes. All the text says is that they heard his words and knew that He responded to their words.

The Lord God’s voice…walking in the garden (Tanakh/KJV/English Elpenor) is a curious turn of phrase. I suppose it could be understood as “the voice of the Lord God, walking in the garden.” But it seems to explain the alternative translations: the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard (NET) and the sound of the Lord God walking about in the orchard (NETS).

The Hebrew words לְר֣וּחַ (rûaḥ) הַיּ֑וֹם (yôm), which I suppose would literally translate, “in” or “toward the spirit of the day,” were translated various ways: toward the cool of the day (Tanakh), in the cool of the day (KJV), at the breezy time of the day (NET), in the evening (NETS) and in the afternoon (English Elpenor). In the Tanakh on chabad.org it was understood as the direction the Lord’s voice walked: to the direction of the sun.⁸ And despite the fact that the rabbis who translated the Septuagint chose no form of πνεῦμα for לְר֣וּחַ (rûaḥ) here, I’m reminded of Jesus’ words to Nicodemus (John 3:5-8 ESV):

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit (πνεύματος), he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table]. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit (πνεύματος) is spirit (πνεῦμα). Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind (πνεῦμα) blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound (τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ), but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (πνεύματος).”

Jesus’ comfort level with the interplay of spirit and wind calms me and encourages me to think that the woman, the man and the serpent communed with a voice in the wind or a voice in the Spirit. I assume then that the face or presence of the Lord was their perception of proximity to that voice. But the NET translation of לְר֣וּחַ (rûaḥ), at the breezy time, seems to be more of a hedge translation, taking no sides as it were whether God came to them calmly or furiously:

The expression is traditionally rendered “cool of the day,” because the Hebrew word רוּחַ (ruakh) can mean “wind.” U. Cassuto (Genesis: From Adam to Noah, 152-54) concludes after lengthy discussion that the expression refers to afternoon when it became hot and the sun was beginning to decline. J. J. Niehaus (God at Sinai [SOTBT], 155-57) offers a different interpretation of the phrase, relating יוֹם (yom, usually understood as “day”) to an Akkadian cognate umu (“storm”) and translates the phrase “in the wind of the storm.” If Niehaus is correct, then God is not pictured as taking an afternoon stroll through the orchard, but as coming in a powerful windstorm to confront the man and woman with their rebellion. In this case קוֹל יְהוָה (qol y^ehvah, “sound of the Lord”) may refer to God’s thunderous roar, which typically accompanies his appearance in the storm to do battle or render judgment (e.g., see Ps 29).

Though they knew Him in some sense, knowing God means more than hearing his voice and disobeying Him.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 9:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 9:10 (NET)	Psalm 9:11 (NETS)	Psalm 9:11 (English Elpenor)
And they that know (יֽוֹדְעֵ֣י) thy name (שְׁמֶ֑ךָ) will put their trust (וְיִבְטְח֣וּ) in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.	Your loyal followers trust in you, [NET note 21: Heb “and the ones who know (yāḏaʿ, יודעי) your name (šēm, שמך) trust (bāṭaḥ, ויבטחו) in you”] for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.	And let those who know (γινώσκοντες) your name (τὸ ὄνομά σου) hope (ἐλπισάτωσαν) in you, because you did not forsake those who seek you, O Lord.	And let them that know (γινώσκοντες) thy name (τὸ ὄνομά σου) hope (ἐλπισάτωσαν) in thee: for thou, O Lord, hast not failed them that diligently seek thee.

The Hebrew word שְׁמֶ֑ךָ (šēm), translated thy name (Tanakh, KJV) and your name (NET), might have been translated your reputation, your fame or your glory. The Greek translation of שְׁמֶ֑ךָ (šēm) τὸ ὄνομά σου—your name (NETS) and thy name (English Elpenor)—might have been translated your reputation, your fame or news of you. The Hebrew word וְיִבְטְח֣וּ (bāṭaḥ), will put their trust (Tanakh, KJV) and trust (NET), was translated ἐλπισάτωσαν in the Septuagint, hope (BLB, Elpenor). But ἐλπισάτωσαν might have been translated have confident assurance, be confident or put trust.

A note on the root word ἐλπίζω in the Koine Greek Lexicon online reads:

Does not mean “to hope” in the sense of “longing for” or “wishing”; but of “confident assurance.”

The serpent trusted (Genesis 3:4, 5) his own partially true knowledge rather than God’s command. The woman trusted (Genesis 3:6) the serpent’s knowledge and her own desires rather than God’s command. The man trusted (Genesis 3:6) his wife rather than God’s command. Though I hadn’t seen it before, Paul may have written the best summation of what transpired in the garden (Romans 1:18-21 NET).

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal⁹ power and divine nature—have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made (Genesis 1-2). So people are without excuse. For although they knew (γνόντες, a form of γινώσκω) God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their senseless hearts were darkened [Table].

Paul also wrote (1 Corinthians 8:2, 3 NET):

If¹⁰ someone thinks he knows¹¹ something, he does not yet¹² know¹³ to the degree that he needs to know (γνῶναι, another form of γινώσκω). But if someone loves (ἀγαπᾷ, a form of ἀγαπάω) God, he is known (ἔγνωσται, another form of γινώσκω) by God.

Rather than inventing a category free will along with a lot of convoluted arguments, it seems to make more sense to stick with desire: the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.¹⁴ The Greek word translated the desires was ἐπιθυμεῖ, an indicative form of the verb ἐπιθυμέω in the active voice and present tense. In other words, “the flesh desires against the Spirit.” Accepting the truth of this statement, even in the garden where everything was very good, cuts through a lot of unnecessary intellectual clutter.

So, the flesh desiring against the Spirit of God was the cause of sin, rather than its result, as James wrote (James 1:13-15 ESV):

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,”¹⁵ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας). Then desire (ἡ ἐπιθυμία) when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

God cannot be tempted with evil. I take that to heart, for I can imagine an argument that God didn’t need to give free will to human beings in any explicit way, it was simply bequeathed as a part of his image. But if God cannot be tempted by evil, He doesn’t possess free will in any sense that is most meaningful to human beings. Apart from the ability to be tempted with evil, free will loses all its explanatory power, and most of its appeal, for human beings.

It is written in the prophets, Jesus said, ‘And they will all be taught (διδακτοὶ, a form of διδακτός) by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.¹⁶ And that’s what God continued to do for the woman and the man in their time, and continues to do for any who read his words in the Bible any time. Paradise may be lost, but the Garden of Eden was only a shadow of the good things to come.¹⁷

Tables comparing Psalm 9:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and the Greek of Psalm 9:10 (9:11) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 John 5:21; Romans 1:20; 1 Corinthians 8:2 and James 1:13 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 9:10 (Tanakh)	Psalm 9:10 (KJV)	Psalm 9:10 (NET)
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.	And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.	Your loyal followers trust in you, for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.

Psalm 9:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 9:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλπισάτωσαν ἐπὶ σὲ οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸ ὄνομά σου ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντάς σε κύριε	καὶ ἐλπισάτωσαν ἐπὶ σοὶ οἱ γινώσκοντες τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκατέλιπες τοὺς ἐκζητοῦντάς σε, Κύριε
Psalm 9:11 (NETS)	Psalm 9:11 (English Elpenor)
And let those who know your name hope in you, because you did not forsake those who seek you, O Lord.	And let them that know thy name hope in thee: for thou, O Lord, hast not failed them that diligently seek thee.

1 John 5:21 (NET)	1 John 5:21 (KJV)
Little children, guard yourselves from idols.	Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

1 John 5:21 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 5:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 5:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τεκνία, φυλάξατε ἑαυτὰ ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων	τεκνια φυλαξατε εαυτους απο των ειδωλων αμην	τεκνια φυλαξατε εαυτα απο των ειδωλων αμην

Romans 1:20 (NET)	Romans 1:20 (KJV)
For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.	For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 1:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 1:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασιν νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε αἴ_διος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους	τα γαρ αορατα αυτου απο κτισεως κοσμου τοις ποιημασιν νοουμενα καθοραται η τε αιδιος αυτου δυναμις και θειοτης εις το ειναι αυτους αναπολογητους	τα γαρ αορατα αυτου απο κτισεως κοσμου τοις ποιημασιν νοουμενα καθοραται η τε αιδιος αυτου δυναμις και θειοτης εις το ειναι αυτους αναπολογητους

1 Corinthians 8:2 (NET)	1 Corinthians 8:2 (KJV)
If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know.	And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

1 Corinthians 8:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 8:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 8:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἴ τις δοκεῖ ἐγνωκέναι τι, οὔπω ἔγνω καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι	ει δε τις δοκει ειδεναι τι ουδεπω ουδεν εγνωκεν καθως δει γνωναι	ει δε τις δοκει ειδεναι τι ουδεπω ουδεν εγνωκεν καθως δει γνωναι

James 1:13 (NET)	James 1:13 (KJV)
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.	Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

James 1:13 (NET Parallel Greek)	James 1:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	James 1:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος λεγέτω ὅτι ἀπο θεοῦ πειράζομαι· ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἀπείραστος ἐστιν κακῶν, πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς οὐδένα	μηδεις πειραζομενος λεγετω οτι απο του θεου πειραζομαι ο γαρ θεος απειραστος εστιν κακων πειραζει δε αυτος ουδενα	μηδεις πειραζομενος λεγετω οτι απο θεου πειραζομαι ο γαρ θεος απειραστος εστιν κακων πειραζει δε αυτος ουδενα

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the neuter reflexive pronoun ἑαυτὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the masculine εαυτους. A note in the Koine Greek Lexicon explained: “Although it is technically used of the 3rd person, it is also used for the 1st and 2nd person…”

² 1 John 5:21 (ESV) The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αμην (KJV: Amen) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³ Genesis 3:12 Table

⁴ Genesis 3:6b (ESV) Table

⁵ From Solomon’s Wealth, Part 4

⁶ From Solomon’s Wealth, Part 5

⁷ John 1:18 (ESV) Table

⁸ Rashi’s commentary reads: “to the direction of the sun: To that direction in which the sun sets, and this is the west, for toward evening, the sun is in the west, and they sinned in the tenth [hour]. — [from Gen. Rabbah 19:8, Sanh. 38B].”

⁹ In the NET parallel Greek text eternal was spelled αἴ_διος, and ἀΐδιος in the NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

¹⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: And) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐγνωκέναι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειδεναι (KJV: that he knoweth).

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὔπω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουδεπω ουδεν (KJV: nothing yet).

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔγνω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγνωκεν (KJV: he knoweth).

¹⁴ Galatians 5:17a (ESV) Table

¹⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article του preceding God. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁶ John 6:45 (NET) Table

¹⁷ Hebrews 10:1a (NET)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Posted on November 6, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:11 (Tanakh/KJV)	Genesis 3:11 (NET)	Genesis 3:11 (NETS)	Genesis 3:11 (English Elpenor)
And He said (וַיֹּ֕אמֶר): ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’	And the Lord God said (‘āmar, ויאמר), “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”	And he said (καὶ εἶπεν) to him, “Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it?”	And God said (καὶ εἶπεν…ὁ Θεός) to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?

Here the Hebrew verb וַיֹּ֕אמֶר (‘āmar) was translated And He said (Tanakh, KJV) or And the Lord God said (NET). A note (28) in the NET explained:

Heb “and he said.” The referent (the Lord God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

It goes a long way to explaining the different translations in the Septuagint: καὶ εἶπεν (BLB), And he said (NETS), or καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς (Elpenor), And God said (English Elpenor). But why did He ask this misleading question in the first place? Why didn’t He just come straight out with it, right here in the beginning?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (NET)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (NETS)	Isaiah 46:9b, 10 (English Elpenor)
I am God (אֵל֙), and there is none else; I am God (אֱלֹהִ֖ים), and there is none like me [Table],	I am God (‘ēl, אל), I have no peer; I am God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים), and there is none like me,	I am God (ὁ θεός), and there is no other besides me [Table],	I am God (ὁ Θεός), and there is none other beside me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure (חֶפְצִ֖י) [Table]:	who announces the end from the beginning and reveals beforehand what has not yet occurred; who says, ‘My plan will be realized, I will accomplish what I desire (ḥēp̄eṣ, חפצי);’	declaring the last things first, before they happen, and at once they came to pass, and I said, “My whole plan shall stand, and I will do all the things I have planned (βεβούλευμαι)” [Table],	telling beforehand the latter events before they come to pass, and they are accomplished together: and I said, all my counsel shall stand, and I will do all things that I have planned (βεβούλευμαι):

It has taken the better part of a lifetime for me to recognize that these declarative statements, of which I am so fond, are remedial education for dullards. This is the take-home message I was expected to understand from the first two chapters of Genesis, and probably would have if not for a heart and mind dominated by sin, that innate drive to do my own thing even if, especially if, God disapproves.

Paul’s confession comes readily to mind (Romans 7:7b, 8a NET):

I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.” But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.

The “educated” minds I fawned over when I was younger would have me believe that God was not unique, knowledgeable or determined to accomplish all his pleasure until Isaiah declared Him so sometime after his alleged prophecies came to pass, because “God” was the creation of lying Jews. But what happens if I assume that the Creator of the heavens and the earth¹ was already unique, knowledgeable and determined to accomplish all his pleasure in the beginning? What might I understand if I don’t assume that He was ignorant of what had transpired, guessing by some form of reasoning and in need of Adam’s confirmation that He had guessed correctly?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:12 (NET)	Genesis 3:12 (NETS)	Genesis 3:12 (English Elpenor)
And the man said: ‘The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’	The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”	And Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”	And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me– she gave me of the tree and I ate.

With my mind cleansed of the idea that God was ignorant, guessing at what had transpired and seeking Adam’s confirmation, buttressed by the knowledge that He was already unique, knowledgeable and determined to accomplish all his pleasure, I assume that Adam’s response was what God wanted to achieve when He asked the question. A table comparing Adam’s answer to the narrator’s description of what had transpired follows.

Adam

Narrator

The woman whom you gave me,

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him” [Table]…So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh [Table]. Then the Lord God made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man [Table].

Genesis 2:18, 21, 22 (NET)

she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.

Genesis 3:12 (NET)

She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it [Table].

Genesis 3:6b (NET)

The Lord God asked Eve a similar question.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:13 (NET)	Genesis 3:13 (NETS)	Genesis 3:13 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) said unto the woman: ‘What is this thou hast done?’ And the woman said: ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’	So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”	And God (κύριος ὁ θεὸς) said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text which was corroborated by Κύριος in both versions of the Septuagint, though the NETS translation God might indicate the existence of another version without Κύριος. A table comparing Eve’s answer to the narrator’s description of what had transpired follows.

Eve

Narrator

The serpent tricked me,

The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die [Table], for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” [Table].

Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)

and I ate.

Genesis 3:13b (NET)

When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it [Table].

Genesis 3:6a (NET)

Both Adam and Eve responded to God’s questions with true answers accurately restating events as related by the narrator of Genesis. The Lord God asked the serpent no questions.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:14, 15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (NET)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (NETS)	Genesis 3:14, 15 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֥ים) said unto the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this, cursed (אָר֤וּר) art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed (‘ārar, ארור) are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) said to the snake, “Because you have done this, cursed (ἐπικατάρατος) are you from all the domestic animals and from the wild animals of the earth; upon your chest and belly you shall go, and earth you shall eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed (ἐπικατάρατος) above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise (יְשֽׁוּפְךָ֣) thy head, and thou shalt bruise (תְּשׁוּפֶ֥נּוּ) their heel.’	And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike (šûp̄, ישופך) your head, and you will strike (šûp̄, תשופנו) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will watch (τηρήσει) your head, and you will watch (τηρήσεις) his heel.”	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against (τηρήσει) thy head, and thou shalt watch against (τηρήσεις) his heel.

Here again the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text. It was corroborated by Κύριος in both Greek versions of the Septuagint and Lord in both English translations. Though the Lord God asked the serpent no questions, Rashi described the serpent’s answer to the question: “Why have you done this?”

Now the serpent was cunning: What is the connection of this matter here? Scripture should have juxtaposed (below verse 21): “And He made for Adam and for his wife shirts of skin, and He dressed them.” But it teaches you as a result of what plan the serpent thrust himself upon them. He saw them naked and engaging in intercourse before everyone’s eyes, and he desired her. — [from Gen. Rabbah 18:6]²

And I shall place hatred: You intended that the man should die when he would eat first, and you would marry Eve, and you came to Eve first only because women are easily enticed, and they know how to entice their husbands. Therefore, “I shall place hatred.”³

So, according to Rashi Eve’s nudity stirred-up lust and a murderous plot in the serpent’s heart: the serpent coveted Adam’s wife. If God had clothed Eve properly and given her a shelter for “engaging in intercourse” away from “everyone’s eyes” perhaps none of this would have happened. But I wonder why Rashi assumed that the serpent wanted Eve rather than Adam. All this conjecture leads away from the point:

God questioned Adam: Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?⁴ Adam answered truthfully relative to the narration of Genesis. The Lord God questioned Eve: What is this you have done?⁵ She didn’t deny Adam’s answer but added her own perspective truthfully relative to the narration of Genesis. The Lord God asked the serpent no questions at all. Was He unfair? Did He curse the serpent on Eve’s word alone? No, He didn’t need anyone to tell Him what He already knew.

I’m reminded of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:14, 15 NET):

But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty⁶ again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life” [Table]. The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come⁷ here to draw water.”

The Samaritan woman was already drinking out of Jesus’ hand, so to speak. But rather than explaining straightforwardly that the fountain of water springing up to eternal life He spoke of was the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit, as I would have preferred, Jesus’ mind took an abrupt turn (John 4:16 NET):

He⁸ said to her, “Go call your husband (τὸν ἄνδρα |σου|) and come back here.”

The Samaritan woman might have obeyed Jesus and run to fetch her man: ἄνδρα, a form of ἀνήρ means man as well as husband. But she seemed to grasp his meaning (John 4:17, 18 NET):

The woman replied,⁹ “I have no husband (ἄνδρα).” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband (ἄνδρα),’ for you have had five husbands (ἄνδρας), and the man you are living with now is not your husband (ἀνήρ). This you said truthfully (ἀληθὲς, a form of ἀληθής)!”

The Greek word translated man above was the masculine ὃν rather than the feminine ἥν. I would have known nothing of this woman’s past except for Jesus’ word, which she corroborated when she called, not her husband but, the whole town to Jesus: Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.¹⁰ Jesus remained focused on truth (John 4:23, 24 NET):

But¹¹ a time is coming—and now is here—when the true (ἀληθινοὶ, a form of ἀληθινός) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth (ἀληθείᾳ), for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth (ἀληθείᾳ).

The Father seeks (ζητεῖ, a form of ζητέω) such people to be his worshipers, those who will worship the Father in spirit and truth.¹² This is quite moving: For the Son of Man came to seek (ζητῆσαι, another form of ζητέω) and to save the lost (τὸ ἀπολωλός).¹³ Is that why the Lord God questioned Adam and Eve? He sought them as worshipers after they disobeyed Him? To read Jesus’ out-of-his-way effort, to find something truthful in the Samaritan woman He sought, back into the Lord God’s questions to Adam and Eve seems difficult.

Neither the narrator nor the Lord God called Adam’s or Eve’s responses truthful. I’m the one comparing them to the narration and declaring them true. Perhaps it’s safer to say, that I hear Jesus’ personality in the Lord God’s questions. I tell you the solemn truth, Jesus said, the Son can do nothing on his own initiative, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.¹⁴ And, I always do those things that please him.¹⁵ This seems like one of those places He saw the Father doing and did likewise.

What I call the Old Testament was written uniquely for, and primarily to, that 12-year-old boy who grew into the man I know as Jesus Christ. And it is his understanding of the Scriptures that I want to know. He is the One who proved Paul’s saying true: live by the Spirit and you will not carry out (οὐ μὴ τελέσητε ¹⁶) the desires of the flesh.¹⁷ He found a loving Father in the pages of Scripture: One who gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life;¹⁸ One who did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him;¹⁹ One who does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance;²⁰ One who gave all authority in heaven and on earth²¹ to his Son that his Son will draw all people to²² Himself. Now this is eternal life, the Son prayed to his Father, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.²³

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:11; 3:12; 3:13; 3:14 and 3:15 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:11; 3:12; 3:13; 3:14 and 3:15 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of John 4:15; 4:16; 4:17 and 4:23 the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:11 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:11 (KJV)	Genesis 3:11 (NET)
And He said: ‘Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?’	And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?	And the Lord God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

Genesis 3:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τίς ἀνήγγειλέν σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες	καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· τίς ἀνήγγειλέ σοι ὅτι γυμνὸς εἶ, εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, οὗ ἐνετειλάμην σοι τούτου μόνου μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔφαγες
Genesis 3:11 (NETS)	Genesis 3:11 (English Elpenor)
And he said to him, “Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, of this one alone, not to eat from it?”	And God said to him, Who told thee that thou wast naked, unless thou hast eaten of the tree concerning which I charged thee of it alone not to eat?

Genesis 3:12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:12 (KJV)	Genesis 3:12 (NET)
And the man said: ‘The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.’	And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.	The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”

Genesis 3:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Αδαμ ἡ γυνή ἣν ἔδωκας μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ αὕτη μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου καὶ ἔφαγον	καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ᾿Αδάμ· ἡ γυνή, ἣν ἔδωκας μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, αὕτη μοι ἔδωκεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ ἔφαγον
Genesis 3:12 (NETS)	Genesis 3:12 (English Elpenor)
And Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”	And Adam said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me– she gave me of the tree and I ate.

Genesis 3:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:13 (KJV)	Genesis 3:13 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said unto the woman: ‘What is this thou hast done?’ And the woman said: ‘The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’	And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.	So the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῇ γυναικί τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέν με καὶ ἔφαγον	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῇ γυναικί· τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνή· ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέ με, καὶ ἔφαγον
Genesis 3:13 (NETS)	Genesis 3:13 (English Elpenor)
And God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The snake tricked me, and I ate.”	And the Lord God said to the woman, Why hast thou done this? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Genesis 3:14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:14 (KJV)	Genesis 3:14 (NET)
And HaShem G-d said unto the serpent: ‘Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.	And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:	The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the cattle and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.

Genesis 3:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τῷ ὄφει ὅτι ἐποίησας τοῦτο ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει σου καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύσῃ καὶ γῆν φάγῃ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ὄφει· ὅτι ἐποίησας τοῦτο, ἐπικατάρατος σὺ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει σου καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορεύσῃ καὶ γῆν φαγῇ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου.
Genesis 3:14 (NETS)	Genesis 3:14 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God said to the snake, “Because you have done this, cursed are you from all the domestic animals and from the wild animals of the earth; upon your chest and belly you shall go, and earth you shall eat all the days of your life.	And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this thou art cursed above all cattle and all the brutes of the earth, on thy breast and belly thou shalt go, and thou shalt eat earth all the days of thy life.

Genesis 3:15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:15 (KJV)	Genesis 3:15 (NET)
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.’	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.	And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔχθραν θήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν	καὶ ἔχθραν θήσω ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματός σου καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῆς· αὐτός σου τηρήσει κεφαλήν, καὶ σὺ τηρήσεις αὐτοῦ πτέρναν
Genesis 3:15 (NETS)	Genesis 3:15 (English Elpenor)
And I will put enmity between you and between the woman and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will watch your head, and you will watch his heel.”	And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed, he shall watch against thy head, and thou shalt watch against his heel.

John 4:15 (NET)	John 4:15 (KJV)
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”	The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

John 4:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ γυνή· κύριε, δός μοι τοῦτο τὸ ὕδωρ, ἵνα μὴ διψῶ μηδὲ διέρχωμαι ἐνθάδε ἀντλεῖν	λεγει προς αυτον η γυνη κυριε δος μοι τουτο το υδωρ ινα μη διψω μηδε ερχωμαι ενθαδε αντλειν	λεγει προς αυτον η γυνη κυριε δος μοι τουτο το υδωρ ινα μη διψω μηδε ερχομαι ενθαδε αντλειν

John 4:16 (NET)	John 4:16 (KJV)
He said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.”	Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

John 4:16 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)
λέγει αὐτῇ· ὕπαγε φώνησον τὸν ἄνδρα \|σου\| καὶ ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους υπαγε φωνησον τον ανδρα σου και ελθε ενθαδε	λεγει αυτη ο ιησους υπαγε φωνησον τον ανδρα σου και ελθε ενθαδε

John 4:17 (NET)	John 4:17 (KJV)
The woman replied, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said, ‘I have no husband,’	The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

John 4:17 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:17 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:17 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀπεκρίθη ἡ γυνὴ καὶ εἶπεν \|αὐτῷ\|· οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· καλῶς εἶπας ὅτι ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω·	απεκριθη η γυνη και ειπεν ουκ εχω ανδρα λεγει αυτη ο ιησους καλως ειπας οτι ανδρα ουκ εχω	απεκριθη η γυνη και ειπεν ουκ εχω ανδρα λεγει αυτη ο ιησους καλως ειπας οτι ανδρα ουκ εχω

John 4:23 (NET)	John 4:23 (KJV)
But a time is coming—and now is here—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.	But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:23 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 4:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 4:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀλλὰ ἔρχεται ὥρα καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ὅτε οἱ ἀληθινοὶ προσκυνηταὶ προσκυνήσουσιν τῷ πατρὶ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ τοιούτους ζητεῖ τοὺς προσκυνοῦντας αὐτόν	αλλ ερχεται ωρα και νυν εστιν οτε οι αληθινοι προσκυνηται προσκυνησουσιν τω πατρι εν πνευματι και αληθεια και γαρ ο πατηρ τοιουτους ζητει τους προσκυνουντας αυτον	αλλ ερχεται ωρα και νυν εστιν οτε οι αληθινοι προσκυνηται προσκυνησουσιν τω πατρι εν πνευματι και αληθεια και γαρ ο πατηρ τοιουτους ζητει τους προσκυνουντας αυτον

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

¹ Gensis 1:1b (NET) Table

² From Rashi’s commentary to Genesis 3:1 (Tanakh), chabad.org

³ From Rashi’s commentary to Genesis 3:15 (Tanakh), chabad.org

⁴ Genesis 3:11 (NET)

⁵ Genesis 3:13a (NET)

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had διψήσει here in the future tense and indicative mood, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had διψήσῃ (KJV: shall…thirst) in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood. Since the negation is οὐ μὴ here, διψήσῃ is the stronger of the two: the subjunctive of emphatic negation.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had διέρχωμαι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ερχωμαι (KJV: come).

⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους (KJV: Jesus) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτῷ (“to him”) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁰ John 4:29a (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

¹² John 4:23b (NET)

¹³ Luke 19:10 (NET)

¹⁴ John 5:19 (NET) Table

¹⁵ John 8:29b (NET) Table

¹⁶ This is a subjunctive of emphatic negation: “However, when this combination [οὐ µή (ou mē)] is attached to an Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is what has been termed the Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation. As was pointed out above, the Subjunctive Mood indicates the probability of an event, and the Aorist Tense emphasizes an action as simply occurring, without any specific reference to time, apart from the use of an adverbial modifier (e.g., that which would describe when, where, how much, or how often). Thus, when you have οὐ µή (ou mē) in combination with the Aorist Subjunctive, what occurs is the absolute and unequivocal denial of the probability of an event EVER OCCURING at any moment or time in the future.” From “EMPHATIC NEGATIONS IN BIBLICAL GREEK” on the BLB Blog online.

¹⁷ Galatians 5:16 (NET)

¹⁸ John 3:16 (NET) Table

¹⁹ John 3:17 (NET) Table

²⁰ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

²¹ Matthew 28:18b (NET) Table

²² John 12:32b (NET)

²³ John 17:3 (NET)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 9

Posted on August 18, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:1 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:1 (NET)	Genesis 3:1 (NETS)	Genesis 3:1 (English Elpenor)
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) had made. And he said unto the woman: ‘Yea, hath G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) said: Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’ [Table]	Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?”	Now the snake was the most sagacious of all the wild animals that were upon the earth, which the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεός) had made. And the snake said to the woman, “Why is it that God (ὁ θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree that is in the orchard’?” [Table]	NOW the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεός) made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God (ὁ Θεός) said, Eat not of every tree of the garden?

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֑ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was corroborated by Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint. But the serpent said אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, and ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint.

When did this happen? Is it still Friday, the sixth day? I’m going to say, no, because the text sounds like the sixth day was concluded before this happened: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.¹ So, is it Saturday, the Sabbath? Again, I’ll say, no, because of the way I hear the text (Genesis 2:1-3 NET):

The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them [Table]. By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing [Table]. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation [Table].

So, I’m going to say that this conversation between Eve and the serpent occurred sometime between the following Sunday and Eve’s first conception. And the latter is just for my convenience, so I don’t have to deal with the ramifications of a child conceived before Adam sinned. I’ll leave that kind of speculation to Dan Brown. Maybe I’ll see the movie if Ron Howard is so inclined.

Eve corrected the serpent’s error:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:2, 3 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (NET)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (NETS)	Genesis 3:2, 3 (English Elpenor)
And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; [Table]	The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;	And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard, [Table]	And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’ [Table].	but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’”	but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God (ὁ θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die’” [Table].	but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God (ὁ Θεός) said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Here Eve called God אֱלֹהִ֗ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and ὁ Θεός in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:4, 5 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (NETS)	Genesis 3:4, 5 (English Elpenor)
And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die; [Table]	The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die,	And the snake said to the woman, “You will not die by death, [Table]	And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
for G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G-d (כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים), knowing good and evil’ [Table].	for God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God (ĕlōhîm, כאלהים), knowing good and evil.”	for God (ὁ θεὸς) knew that on the day you eat of it, your eyes would be opened, and you would be like gods (θεοὶ) knowing good and evil” [Table].	For God (ὁ Θεός) knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods (θεοί), knowing good and evil.

Here the serpent called God אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and ὁ Θεός in the Septuagint. He told Eve ye shall be as G-d, כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was translated θεοί (gods) in the Septuagint. The Masoretic text was translated gods in the KJV and angels in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Satan’s working (ἐνέργειαν τοῦ σατανᾶ): with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,² especially false wonders (τέρασιν ψεύδους). In another essay I developed a working definition of signs and wonders, and false wonders:

I’ll try to use forms of σημεῖον for the sign, the thing itself, and forms of τέρας for the wonder, the voice of the sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), the effect it has on the one who witnesses the sign, to believe (Tanakh/KJV/NET) the messenger and ultimately the word of God.³

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, Jesus warned, and perform great signs and wonders (τέρατα, another form of τέρας) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.⁴ Without specifying exactly what any particular sign would be, Jesus warned that the wonder, the voice of the sign, would not result in confidence in the truth, God’s word, the Scriptures: great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.⁵

The serpent had nothing to do with this particular sign (Genesis 2:16, 17 NET):

Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard [Table], but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die” [Table].

The serpent simply appropriated God’s instruction to give Eve a false wonder. The Greek word translated perform in Jesus’ saying perform great signs and wonders was not a form of ποιέω. It was δώσουσιν, a form of δίδωμι: to give. The table below comparing God’s words to the serpent’s words highlights the subtlety, shrewdness, sagacity and craftiness of the serpent.

God said… (Genesis 2:16b NET)	The serpent said… (Genesis 3:1b NET)
You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard	Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?

I suppose it’s possible to think that the serpent was even more shrewd than this. The English translation of the Elpenor Septuagint renders it: Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? In any case the serpent asked Eve a question which seemed like an obvious misunderstanding, easy to correct or clarify. When she did so, the serpent’s reply was more direct.

God said… (Genesis 2:17 NET)	The serpent said… (Genesis 3:4, 5 NET)
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die	Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Surely you will not die, is almost too direct. It tips the serpent’s hand too soon. But studying the Bible gives me potentially more knowledge than Eve had living in the moment. And the serpent’s directness coupled with the absence of any biblical evidence to the contrary persuades me that Eve never heard God’s words directly. So the serpent didn’t refute God as far as Eve knew, only his messenger, Adam.

Is there a wife alive who doesn’t know that her husband is often confused and misunderstands the things she says? How much confidence does that inspire? Couldn’t Adam have misunderstood or miscommunicated God’s words? And that brings me to the serpent’s false wonder:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:6 (NET)	Genesis 3:6 (NETS)	Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat [Table].	When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.	And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate [Table].	And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

The false wonder was that Eve believed, not the word of God or his messenger (her husband) but, the serpent’s word. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive…⁶ The Greek word translated to deceive here was πλανῆσαι, a form of πλανάω: “to lead astray, cause to wander; to misguide, lead away from the right path; to mislead, deceive (someone)…origin of the English word ‘planet’ meaning wanderer because while the stars are fixed in place, the planets seemed to wander around the night sky.”

But I am afraid, Paul wrote, that⁷ just as the serpent deceived (ἐξηπάτησεν, a form of ἐξαπατάω) Eve by his treachery (πανουργίᾳ), your⁸ minds may be led astray (φθαρῇ, a form of φθείρω) from a sincere and pure devotion⁹ to Christ.¹⁰ His description of this false wonder sounds almost like seduction. And Adam was not deceived (ἠπατήθη, a form of ἀπατάω), but the woman, because she was fully deceived (ἐξαπατηθεῖσα, a form of ἐξαπατάω), fell into transgression (παραβάσει, a form of παράβασις).¹¹ In other words, Adam was not seduced, not by the serpent, and not by Eve to whatever extent she had become a false prophet (ψευδοπροφῆται, a form of ψευδοπροφήτης) of the serpent’s words.

Adam heard God’s command with his own ears. Adam violated God’s command with his eyes wide open because violating God’s command is what Adam wanted to do (Romans 5:12-14 NET):

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed (παραβάσεως, another form of παράβασις) [Table].

Adam’s disobedience, his transgression of God’s command, opened both their eyes:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:7 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:7 (NET)	Genesis 3:7 (NETS)	Genesis 3:7 (English Elpenor)
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles [Table].	Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.	And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves [Table].	And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them.

I don’t think Eve intended to disobey God but rather to be like God, knowing good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֥וֹב; Greek: καλὸν, a form of καλός) and evil (Hebrew: raʿ, וָרָֽע; Greek: πονηρόν, a form of πονηρός).¹² She only knew good up to that moment: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֖וֹב; Greek: καλὰ, another form of καλός)!¹³ I know that, but did she?

In the science fiction movie Blade Runner replicants were man-made humans used off-world as slaves, soldiers or sex-workers. Some were smarter, most were stronger, than natural-born human beings. All were created with four year lifespans. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) returned to earth seeking an audience with his creator to gain a longer life for himself and his replicant friends/accomplices. His way was impeded by Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a reluctant thug of a law enforcement officer called a blade runner, tasked with hunting down and killing Roy and his friends/accomplices, the rebellious replicants natural-born human beings now feared and outlawed. Deckard’s boss Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) put a fine point on his situation: “You know the score, Pal. If you’re not cop, you’re little people.”

Replicants were created as fully grown adults. In this Adam and Eve seem more like replicants than their natural-born descendants. Replicants were implanted with “false memories to give them the years of experiences that humans take for granted, creating a ‘cushion or pillow for their emotions.’”¹⁴ It seems fitting somehow that human beings would give their creation “false memories.” It makes sense to me that God would give something similar but true to his creation. Though the text doesn’t say it, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that God taught Adam and Eve the content of Genesis 1 on that first Sabbath day. (If He went on to the content of Genesis 2, I need to reconsider Eve’s knowledge of God’s prohibition.)

Be that as it may, Eve’s faith in the serpent’s word introduced her to evil.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 3:8-10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:8-10 (NET)	Genesis 3:8-10 (NETS)	Genesis 3:8-10 (English Elpenor)
And they heard the voice of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) amongst the trees of the garden.	Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) among the trees of the orchard.	And they heard the sound of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) in the midst of the timber of the orchard.	And they heard the voice of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) in the midst of the trees of the garden.
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’	But the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?
And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’	The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”	And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.”	And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֖ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text which was corroborated by Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ and Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint. And Adam and Eve, though covered in clothing of their own design and manufacture, were naked and ashamed, and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of 2 Corinthians 11:3 the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:8 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:8 (KJV)	Genesis 3:8 (NET)
And they heard the voice of HaShem G-d walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem G-d amongst the trees of the garden.	And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.	Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.

Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἤκουσαν τὴν φωνὴν κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε Αδαμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου	Καὶ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν, καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου
Genesis 3:8 (NETS)	Genesis 3:8 (English Elpenor)
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God in the midst of the timber of the orchard.	And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:9 (KJV)	Genesis 3:9 (NET)
And HaShem G-d called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’	And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?	But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν Αδαμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Αδαμ ποῦ εἶ	καὶ ἐκάλεσε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ᾿Αδάμ, ποῦ εἶ
Genesis 3:9 (NETS)	Genesis 3:9 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”	And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?

Genesis 3:10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 3:10 (KJV)	Genesis 3:10 (NET)
And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’	And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.	The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὴν φωνήν σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι καὶ ἐκρύβην	καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, καὶ ἐκρύβην
Genesis 3:10 (NETS)	Genesis 3:10 (English Elpenor)
And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.”	And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)
But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.	But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Corinthians 11:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως, ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν ῞Ευαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος [καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος] τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν	φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον	φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to Who Am I? Part 15

Back to Keep Yourselves from Idols, Part 1

¹ Genesis 1:31 (NET) Table

² 2 Thessalonians 2:9b (NET)

³ Wonders and False Wonders, Part 1

⁴ Matthew 24:24 (NET)

⁵ Wonders and False Wonders, Part 1

⁶ Matthew 24:24a (NET)

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μή πως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μηπως (KJV: lest by any means).

⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτως (KJV: so) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁰ 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)

¹¹ 1 Timothy 2:14 (NET)

¹² Genesis 3:5b (NET) Table

¹³ Genesis 1:31a (NET) Table

¹⁴ Replicant, Fictional history

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 8

Posted on June 19, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:19, 20 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:19, 20 (NET)	Genesis 2:19, 20 (NETS)	Genesis 2:19, 20 (English Elpenor)
And out of the ground HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֜ים) formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof [Table].	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.	And out of the earth God (ὁ θεὸς) furthermore formed all the animals of the field and all the birds of the sky and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and anything, whatever Adam called it as living creature, this was its name [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and he brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was the name of it.
And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet (עֵ֖זֶר) for him [Table].	So the man named all the animals, the birds of the air, and the living creatures of the field, but for Adam no companion (ēzer, עזר) who corresponded to him was found.	And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky and to all the animals of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper (βοηθὸς) like him [Table].	And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a help (βοηθὸς) like to himself.

I’ll pause to highlight that יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֜ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text was simply ὁ Θεὸς in the Septuagint. Also, I want to spend a few moments with עֵ֖זֶר (ēzer), translated help meet (Tanakh/KJV) and companion (NET) both here and in Genesis 2:18.

A note (57) in the NET reads:

Traditionally “helper.” The English word “helper,” because it can connote so many different ideas, does not accurately convey the connotation of the Hebrew word עֵזֶר (ʿezer). Usage of the Hebrew term does not suggest a subordinate role, a connotation which English “helper” can have. In the Bible God is frequently described as the “helper,” the one who does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, the one who meets our needs. In this context the word seems to express the idea of an “indispensable companion.” The woman would supply what the man was lacking in the design of creation and logically it would follow that the man would supply what she was lacking, although that is not stated here. See further M. L. Rosenzweig, “A Helper Equal to Him,” Jud 139 (1986): 277-80.

This is what the word meant to Moses when he named his sons:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Exodus 18:4 (Tanakh)	Exodus 18:4 (NET)	Exodus 18:4 (NETS)	Exodus 18:4 (English Elpenor)
and the name of the other was Eliezer: ‘for the G-d (אֱלֹהֵ֤י) of my father was my help (בְּעֶזְרִ֔י), and delivered (וַיַּצִּלֵ֖נִי) me from the sword of Pharaoh.’	and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said, “The God [ĕlōhîm, אלהי] of my father has been my help [ēzer, בעזרי] and delivered [nāṣal, ויצלני] me from the sword of Pharaoh”).	and the name of the second, Eliezer (“for the God [ὁ…θεὸς] of my father was my help [βοηθός], and he delivered [ἐξείλατό] me from the hand of Pharao”).	and the name of the second, Eliezer, saying, For the God (ὁ…Θεὸς) of my father [is] my helper (βοηθός), and he has rescued (ἐξείλατό) me out of the hand of Pharao.

The Lord as help or helper delivered or rescued Moses’ life. How often is the woman cast as the beauty whose love and grace tames the beast who becomes her husband?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:21, 22 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:21, 22 (NET)	Genesis 2:21, 22 (NETS)	Genesis 2:21, 22 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֧ים) caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof [Table].	So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was asleep, he took part of the man’s side and closed up the place with flesh.	And God (ὁ θεὸς) cast a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs and filled up flesh in its place [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) brought a trance upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and filled up the flesh instead thereof.
And the rib, which HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֧ים) had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man [Table].	Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) made a woman from the part he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.	And the rib that he had taken from Adam the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) fashioned into a woman and brought her to Adam [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam.

How magical this must have seemed to people who knew nothing of anesthesia or surgery or DNA or cloning. Now, though this particular procedure may be a bit out of reach, it seems like a routine and mostly anticipated outcome of applied knowledge and power.

I really have nothing to say here about the presence of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ; Tanakh: Hashem; NET: Lord) in the Masoretic text or the sporadic presence or absence of κύριος (NETS: Lord) in the Septuagint. It seems more or less random to me. I have no idea why editors would add יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) or translators would refuse to translate it in these particular verses. So, I’ll take a few moments to reprise some of the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint.

Mostly I’ll point to two articles I found online, good articles in my opinion worth the time it takes to read them. I’ll quote and comment on a few things I take issue with. In “Septuagint: Why The Greek Old Testament Still Matters” Greg Lanier wrote:

What Exactly Is the Septuagint?

Before discussing its relevance, we have to clarify what is meant by Septuagint. But that is part of the problem. The term itself, when paired with the (the Septuagint, or the LXX), and combined with the fact that you can purchase a copy, might give the false impression that “the Septuagint” is a singular book, produced by a single committee, and published in a single place at a single time.

Replace Septuagint with Bible and one can make exactly the same argument. I’ll continue to use the definite article with Septuagint (and Bible, for that matter) because the language feels forced and awkward without it.

Mr. Lanier then gave an interesting sketch of the origins of the Septuagint, many useful biblical examples and reasons for considering the Septuagint in one’s personal Bible study. He began, however, with one potentially misleading statement:¹

Most Christians know that their personal copy of the OT is a translation from the ancient Hebrew text…

I certainly “knew” that growing up. What I didn’t know was that the “ancient” Hebrew text from which my Old Testament was translated was the Masoretic text. In his article “What Is the Masoretic Text? The Beginner’s Guide” Ryan Nelson pointed out:

Most Jews and Protestants consider the Masoretic Text the authoritative Hebrew Bible…While it was written sometime between the seventh and tenth centuries AD, it was based on the meticulously preserved oral tradition and the best available manuscripts of the original Hebrew text.

In other words, the Greek translations known as the Septuagint were mostly completed before Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah, the edited version of the Hebrew text known as the Masoretic text was completed long after.

Mr. Nelson concluded with the following words:²

A triumph of tradition

Without the Masoretes, it’s hard to say what our Bibles would look like today. Perhaps they’d all be based on the Septuagint, or they’d all be based on different versions of the Hebrew Bible. At a pivotal moment in history, when culture, popular teachings, and language itself threatened to erase centuries of tradition, the Masoretes found a way to keep that tradition in the spotlight.

Building on the work of countless rabbis before them, the Masoretes solidified the wording of the Hebrew Bible once-and-for-all.

Part of the “popular teachings” to which Mr. Nelson referred were proposed by the Karaites. In his article, “The Karaites: A Medieval Jewish Sect” on My Jewish Learning online, Eli Barnavi wrote:

The Karaites are first mentioned in written sources in the late eighth century. They themselves claim to be descendants of dissident sects of the First Temple period, and the rabbinical tradition traces them back to opposition trends of the Second Temple period…

The best part of the Karaite intellectual effort was directed at proving the errors of the Rabbanites. Their critical acuteness and thorough knowledge of rabbinical doctrines ensured the high level of their polemics…

The main hallmark of the Karaites is their rejection [sic] authority of the Oral Law and the belief in the necessity of direct, independent, and critical study of the Bible. A “Karaite” reads the Mikra (the Pentateuch) and recognizes the Scriptures as the exclusive source of religious law…

The Karaite attack was not powerful enough to demolish the rabbinical citadel but it did succeed in breaching its walls, for the sect recruited many converts. Towards the end of the eleventh century, the sect had adherents in most communities within the Muslim world and the Byzantine Empire: in the eastern parts of the caliphate, in Palestine and Egypt, in North Africa, in Spain, and in Asia Minor…

Reprinted with permission from Eli Barnavi’s A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People, published by Schocken Books.

But the “Masoretes found a way to keep that tradition [i.e., the authority of rabbinic Judaism³] in the spotlight.”⁴ I can’t hear this without recalling Jesus’ words to the Pharisees and experts in the law.

Matthew 15:1-9 (NET)	Mark 7:5-13 (NET)
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from⁵ Jerusalem to Jesus and said, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their⁶ hands when they eat.”	The⁷ Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed⁸ hands?”
	He said⁹ to them, “Isaiah prophesied¹⁰ correctly¹¹ about you hypocrites, as it is written:¹² “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’
	Having¹³ no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”¹⁴
He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?	He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up¹⁵ your tradition.
For God said,¹⁶ ‘Honor your¹⁷ father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” he¹⁸ does not need to honor¹⁹ his father.’²⁰ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.	For Moses²¹ said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God), then²² you no longer permit him to do anything for his²³ father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.
Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied²⁴ correctly about you when he said, “‘This people²⁵ honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
	And you do many things like this.”

This is not to say that the Masoretic text should be discarded. It just seems prudent to remember that it was edited and compiled by potentially hostile witnesses.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:23-25 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:23-25 (NET)	Genesis 2:23-25 (NETS)	Genesis 2:23-25 (English Elpenor)
And the man said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man’ [Table].	Then the man said, “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”	And Adam said, “This now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of her husband she was taken” [Table].	And Adam said, This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of her husband.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh [Table].	That is why a man leaves his father and mother and unites with his wife, and they become one family.	Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh [Table].	Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed [Table].	The man and his wife were both naked, but they were not ashamed.	And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed [Table].	And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

People experimenting with other forms of marriage and other forms of gender beyond male and female are making quite a lot of news as I write this. “In other words, God’s judgment, a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false²⁶ came on those who are presently lost because they did not accept the love of the truth,” I wrote in another essay. Such confirmations of the truth of his word, coupled with my own experience of being drawn to Jesus and the faith He supplies through the fruit of his Spirit give me hope and encouragement to believe Jesus’ word that I don’t necessarily see: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.²⁷

According to a note (9) in the NET Jesus quoted from Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16 in Matthew 15:4a. Tables comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the NET parallel Greek text and the Septuagint follow:

Matthew 15:4a (NET Parallel Greek)	Exodus 20:12a (Septuagint BLB) Table	Exodus 20:12a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου
Matthew 15:4a (NET)	Exodus 20:12a (NETS)	Exodus 20:12a (English Elpenor)
Honor your father and mother	Honor your father and your mother	Honour thy father and thy mother

Matthew 15:4a (NET Parallel Greek)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου
Matthew 15:4a (NET)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (NETS)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (English Elpenor)
Honor your father and mother	Honor your father and your mother	Honour thy father and thy mother

Tables comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Septuagint follow:

Matthew 15:4a (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Exodus 20:12a (Septuagint BLB) Table	Exodus 20:12a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου
Matthew 15:4a (KJV)	Exodus 20:12a (NETS)	Exodus 20:12a (English Elpenor)
Honour thy father and mother	Honor your father and your mother	Honour thy father and thy mother

Matthew 15:4a (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου
Matthew 15:4a (KJV)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (NETS)	Deuteronomy 5:16a (English Elpenor)
Honour thy father and mother	Honor your father and your mother	Honour thy father and thy mother

According to a note (10) in the NET Jesus quoted from Exodus 21:17 and Leviticus 20:9 in Matthew 15:4b. Tables comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the NET parallel Greek text and the Septuagint follow:

Matthew 15:4b (NET Parallel Greek)	Exodus 21:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 21:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω	ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ τελευτήσει θανάτῳ	ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ τελευτήσει θανάτῳ
Matthew 15:4b (NET)	Exodus 21:16 (NETS)	Exodus 21:16 (English Elpenor)
Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.	Let the one who insults his father or his mother end with death.	He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die.

Matthew 15:4b (NET Parallel Greek)	Leviticus 20:9a (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 20:9a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω	ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἂν κακῶς εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ θανατούσθω	ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν κακῶς εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ θανατούσθω
Matthew 15:4b (NET)	Leviticus 20:9a (NETS)	Leviticus 20:9a (English Elpenor)
Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.	A person, a person who speaks severely with his father or his mother—with death let him be put to death	Every man who shall speak evil of his father or of his mother, let him die the death

According to a note (14) in the NET Jesus quoted from Isaiah 29:13 in Matthew 15:8, 9. A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the NET parallel Greek text and the Septuagint follows:

Matthew 15:8, 9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ο λαος ουτος τω στοματι αυτων και τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου ματην δε σεβονται με διδασκοντες διδασκαλιας ενταλματα ανθρωπων	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῗς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσίν με ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσί με, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας
Matthew 15:8, 9 (NET)	Isaiah 29:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 29:13 (English Elpenor)
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.	These people draw near me; they honor me with their lips, while their heart is far from me, and in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts and teachings.	And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.

A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Septuagint follows:

Matthew 15:8, 9 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσιν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ μάτην δὲ σέβονται με διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῗς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσίν με ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσί με, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας
Matthew 15:8, 9 (KJV)	Isaiah 29:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 29:13 (English Elpenor)
“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”	These people draw near me; they honor me with their lips, while their heart is far from me, and in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts and teachings.	And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.

According to a note (12) in the NET Jesus quoted from Isaiah 29:13 in Mark 7:6, 7. A table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation from the NET parallel Greek text and the Septuagint follows:

Mark 7:6b, 7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Isaiah 29:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσιν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ μάτην δὲ σέβονται με διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῗς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσίν με ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας	ὁ λαὸς οὗτος ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτῶν τιμῶσί με, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με διδάσκοντες ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων καὶ διδασκαλίας
Mark 7:6b, 7 (NET)	Isaiah 29:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 29:13 (English Elpenor)
This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.	These people draw near me; they honor me with their lips, while their heart is far from me, and in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts and teachings.	And the Lord has said, This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and they honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me: but in vain do they worship me, teaching the commandments and doctrines of men.

Tables comparing Exodus 18:4; Deuteronomy 5:16; Exodus 21:17 and Leviticus 20:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Exodus 18:4; Deuteronomy 5:16; Exodus 21:17 (21:16) and Leviticus 20:9 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of Matthew 15:1, 2; 15:4-8; Mark 7:5, 6; 7:8-10 and 7:12 the NET and KJV follow.

Exodus 18:4 (Tanakh)	Exodus 18:4 (KJV)	Exodus 18:4 (NET)
and the name of the other was Eliezer: ‘for the G-d of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.’	And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:	and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said, “The God of my father has been my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”).

Exodus 18:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 18:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ δευτέρου Ελιεζερ λέγων ὁ γὰρ θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου βοηθός μου καὶ ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς Φαραω	καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ δευτέρου ῾Ελιέζερ λέγων· ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου βοηθός μου καὶ ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς Φαραώ
Exodus 18:4 (NETS)	Exodus 18:4 (English Elpenor)
and the name of the second, Eliezer (“for the God of my father was my help, and he delivered me from the hand of Pharao”).	and the name of the second, Eliezer, saying, For the God of my father [is] my helper, and he has rescued me out of the hand of Pharao.

Deuteronomy 5:16 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 5:16 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 5:16 (NET)
Honour thy father and thy mother, as HaShem thy G-d commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, upon the land which HaShem thy G-d giveth thee.	Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.	“Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you.

Deuteronomy 5:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 5:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου ὃν τρόπον ἐνετείλατό σοι κύριος ὁ θεός σου ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιος γένῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἧς κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι	τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ὃν τρόπον ἐνετείλατό σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιος γένῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἧς Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι
Deuteronomy 5:16 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 5:16 (English Elpenor)
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that it may be well with you and that you may be long-lived in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.	Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God commanded thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long upon the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee.

Exodus 21:17 (Tanakh)	Exodus 21:17 (KJV)	Exodus 21:17 (NET)
And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death.	And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.	“Whoever treats his father or his mother disgracefully must surely be put to death.

Exodus 21:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Exodus 21:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ τελευτήσει θανάτῳ	ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ τελευτήσει θανάτῳ
Exodus 21:16 (NETS)	Exodus 21:16 (English Elpenor)
Let the one who insults his father or his mother end with death.	He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die.

Leviticus 20:9 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 20:9 (KJV)	Leviticus 20:9 (NET)
For whatsoever man there be that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.	For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.	“‘If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood guilt is on himself.

Leviticus 20:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 20:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος ὃς ἂν κακῶς εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ θανάτῳ θανατούσθω πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ κακῶς εἶπεν ἔνοχος ἔσται	ἄνθρωπος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἂν κακῶς εἴπῃ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, θανάτῳ θανατούσθω· πατέρα αὐτοῦ ἢ μητέρα αὐτοῦ κακῶς εἶπεν; ἔνοχος ἔσται
Leviticus 20:9 (NETS)	Leviticus 20:9 (English Elpenor)
A person, a person who speaks severely with his father or his mother—with death let him be put to death; he has spoken severely with his father or his mother—he shall be liable.	Every man who shall speak evil of his father or of his mother, let him die the death; has he spoken evil of his father or his mother? he shall be guilty.

Matthew 15:1, 2 (NET)	Matthew 15:1, 2 (KJV)
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,	Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

Matthew 15:1 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες	τοτε προσερχονται τω ιησου οι απο ιεροσολυμων γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι λεγοντες	τοτε προσερχονται τω ιησου οι απο ιεροσολυμων γραμματεις και φαρισαιοι λεγοντες

“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”

Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Matthew 15:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
διὰ τί οἱ μαθηταί σου παραβαίνουσιν τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων; οὐ γὰρ νίπτονται τὰς χεῖρας ὅταν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν	δια τι οι μαθηται σου παραβαινουσιν την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων ου γαρ νιπτονται τας χειρας αυτων οταν αρτον εσθιωσιν	δια τι οι μαθηται σου παραβαινουσιν την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων ου γαρ νιπτονται τας χειρας αυτων οταν αρτον εσθιωσιν

Matthew 15:4-8 (NET)	Matthew 15:4-8 (KJV)
For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’	For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

Matthew 15:4 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν· τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καί· ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.	ο γαρ θεος ενετειλατο λεγων τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα και ο κακολογων πατερα η μητερα θανατω τελευτατω	ο γαρ θεος ενετειλατο λεγων τιμα τον πατερα και την μητερα και ο κακολογων πατερα η μητερα θανατω τελευτατω

But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”

But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

Matthew 15:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε· ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί· δῶρον ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς [see verse 6]	υμεις δε λεγετε ος αν ειπη τω πατρι η τη μητρι δωρον ο εαν εξ εμου ωφεληθης [see verse 6]	υμεις δε λεγετε ος αν ειπη τω πατρι η τη μητρι δωρον ο εαν εξ εμου ωφεληθης και ου μη τιμηση τον πατερα αυτου η την μητερα αυτου

he does not need to honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Matthew 15:6 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐ μὴ τιμήσει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν	και ου μη τιμηση τον πατερα αυτου η την μητερα αυτου και ηκυρωσατε την εντολην του θεου δια την παραδοσιν υμων	[see verse 5] και ηκυρωσατε την εντολην του θεου δια την παραδοσιν υμων

Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

Matthew 15:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὑποκριταί, καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν περὶ ὑμῶν Ἠσαΐας λέγων	υποκριται καλως προεφητευσεν περι υμων ησαιας λεγων	υποκριται καλως προεφητευσεν περι υμων ησαιας λεγων

“‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me,

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Matthew 15:8 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 15:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 15:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσιν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ	εγγιζει μοι ο λαος ουτος τω στοματι αυτων και τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου	εγγιζει μοι ο λαος ουτος τω στοματι αυτων και τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου

Mark 7:5, 6 (NET)	Mark 7:5, 6 (KJV)
The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?”	Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Mark 7:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἐπερωτῶσιν αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς· διὰ τί οὐ περιπατοῦσιν οἱ μαθηταί σου κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, ἀλλὰ κοιναῖς χερσὶν ἐσθίουσιν τὸν ἄρτον	επειτα επερωτωσιν αυτον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις δια τι οι μαθηται σου ου περιπατουσιν κατα την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων αλλα ανιπτοις χερσιν εσθιουσιν τον αρτον	επειτα επερωτωσιν αυτον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις δια τι οι μαθηται σου ου περιπατουσιν κατα την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων αλλα ανιπτοις χερσιν εσθιουσιν τον αρτον

He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Mark 7:6 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς γέγραπται [ὅτι] οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσιν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι καλως προεφητευσεν ησαιας περι υμων των υποκριτων ως γεγραπται ουτος ο λαος τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι καλως προεφητευσεν ησαιας περι υμων των υποκριτων ως γεγραπται ουτος ο λαος τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου

Mark 7:8-10 (NET)	Mark 7:8-10 (KJV)
Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”	For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Mark 7:8 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀφέντες τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κρατεῖτε τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων	αφεντες γαρ την εντολην του θεου κρατειτε την παραδοσιν των ανθρωπων βαπτισμους ξεστων και ποτηριων και αλλα παρομοια τοιαυτα πολλα ποιειτε	αφεντες γαρ την εντολην του θεου κρατειτε την παραδοσιν των ανθρωπων βαπτισμους ξεστων και ποτηριων και αλλα παρομοια τοιαυτα πολλα ποιειτε

He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition.

And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Mark 7:9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:9 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:9 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· καλῶς ἀθετεῖτε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἵνα τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν \|στήσητε\|	και ελεγεν αυτοις καλως αθετειτε την εντολην του θεου ινα την παραδοσιν υμων τηρησητε	και ελεγεν αυτοις καλως αθετειτε την εντολην του θεου ινα την παραδοσιν υμων τηρησητε

For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’

For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

Mark 7:10 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Μωϋσῆς γὰρ εἶπεν· τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, καί· ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω	μωσης γαρ ειπεν τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα σου και ο κακολογων πατερα η μητερα θανατω τελευτατω	μωσης γαρ ειπεν τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα σου και ο κακολογων πατερα η μητερα θανατω τελευτατω

Mark 7:12 (NET)	Mark 7:12 (KJV)
then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.	And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

Mark 7:12 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 7:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 7:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐκέτι ἀφίετε αὐτὸν οὐδὲν ποιῆσαι τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί	και ουκετι αφιετε αυτον ουδεν ποιησαι τω πατρι αυτου η τη μητρι αυτου	και ουκετι αφιετε αυτον ουδεν ποιησαι τω πατρι αυτου η τη μητρι αυτου

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 9

¹ “Septuagint: Why The Greek Old Testament Still Matters,” by Greg Lanier, Desiring God online

² “What Is the Masoretic Text? The Beginner’s Guide,” by Ryan Nelson, OverviewBible online

³ From the tag line of “The Karaites: A Medieval Jewish Sect,” by Eli Barnavi on My Jewish Learning online: “The Karaites, biblical fundamentalists, challenged the authority of rabbinic Judaism.”

⁴ From “A triumph of tradition,” “What Is the Masoretic Text? The Beginner’s Guide,” by Ryan Nelson on OverviewBible online

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had οι απο (KJV: which were of), where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had simply απο.

⁶ The NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αὐτῶν here. The NET parallel Greek text did not. See note 5 in the NET.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ at the beginning of this clause, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επειτα (KJV: Then).

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had κοιναῖς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ανιπτοις (KJV: unwashen).

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αποκριθεις (KJV: He answered) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπροφήτευσεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had προεφητευσεν.

¹¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ὅτι καλως (KJV: well) here, where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had only καλῶς.

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οτι (not translated in the NET) following written. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γαρ (KJV: For) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βαπτισμους ξεστων και ποτηριων και αλλα παρομοια τοιαυτα πολλα ποιειτε (KJV: as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had στήσητε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τηρησητε (KJV: ye may keep).

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ενετειλατο λεγων (KJV: commanded, saying).

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had σου here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τιμήσει here in the future tense and indicative mood, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τιμηση in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood.

²⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had η την μητερα αυτου (KJV: or his mother) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²¹ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσῆς, and μωσης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

²² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου here and following mother. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had neither.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπροφήτευσεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had προεφητευσεν (KJV: did…prophesy).

²⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγγιζει μοι τω στοματι αυτων και (KJV: draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²⁶ 2 Thessalonians 2:11b (NET) Table

²⁷ John 12:32 (NET)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 7

Posted on April 26, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:16, 17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NETS)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat [Table];	Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard,	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) commanded Adam, saying, “You shall eat for food of every tree that is in the orchard [Table],	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die’ [Table].	but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”	but of the tree for knowing good and evil, of it you shall not eat; on the day that you eat of it, you shall die by death” [Table].	but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil– of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die.

I’ll pause just long enough to highlight that the command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge (daʿaṯ, הדעת) of good and evil (NETS: the tree for knowing [γινώσκειν, a form of γινώσκω] good and evil) was given to Adam when he was alone.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:18 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 2:18 (NET)	Genesis 2:18 (NETS) Table	Genesis 2:18 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.’	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”	Then the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεός) said, “It is not good that the man is alone; let us make him a helper corresponding to him.”	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεός) said, [It is] not good that the man should be alone, let us make for him a help suitable to him.

If I relied solely on the Masoretic text I would conclude that the singular אעשׁה (I will make) as opposed to the plural נעשׁה (Let us make) indicated that יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) אלהים (‘ĕlōhîm) was a singular person of the אלהים (‘ĕlōhîm). The rabbis who translated the Septuagint don’t corroborate that conclusion, however. They translated both אעשׁה and נעשׁה ποιήσωμεν, a plural form of ποιέω. Or, perhaps אעשׁה, the singular form, wasn’t in the Hebrew text the rabbis translated into Greek.

Genesis 1:26 (NET) Table	Genesis 2:18 (NET) Table
Then God said, “Let us make (ʿāśâ, נעשׁה) humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”	The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make (ʿāśâ, אעשׁה) a companion for him who corresponds to him.”
Genesis 1:26 (NETS) Table	Genesis 2:18 (NETS) Table
Then God said, “Let us make (ποιήσωμεν) humankind according to our image and according to likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and the cattle and all the earth and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth.”	Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man is alone; let us make (ποιήσωμεν) him a helper corresponding to him.”

As a comparison, in Genesis 18:1-3 the Masoretic text had: The Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre.¹ But the Septuagint read: AND God (θεὸς) appeared to him by the oak of Mambre.² That appearance was described: Abraham looked up and saw three men (Masoretic text: אנשים; Septuagint: ἄνδρες) standing across from him.³ Abraham addressed this trio as My Lord⁴ (Masoretic text: אדני) or Lord⁵ (Septuagint: κύριε).

In Genesis 18:9 the Masoretic text had a plural verb וַיֹּֽאמְר֣וּ (Tanakh: And they said), where the Septuagint had a singular verb εἶπε(ν) (NETS, English Elpenor: he said).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:9, 10a (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:9, 10a (NET)	Genesis 18:9, 10a (NETS)	Genesis 18:9, 10a (English Elpenor)
And they said (וַיֹּֽאמְר֣וּ) unto him: ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?’ And he said (וַיֹּ֖אמֶר): ‘Behold, in the tent.’	Then they asked (‘āmar, ויאמרו) him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied (‘āmar, ויאמר), “There, in the tent.”	And he said (εἶπεν) to him, “Where is your wife Sarra?” And he said (εἶπεν) in reply, “There, in the tent.”	And he said (Εἶπε) to him, Where is Sarrha thy wife? And he answered and said (εἶπεν), Behold! in the tent.
And He said (וַיֹּ֗אמֶר): ‘I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.’	One of them said (‘āmar, ויאמר), “I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!”	And he said (εἶπεν), “I will come to you, when I return, during this season next year, and Sarra your wife shall have a son.”	And he said (εἶπε), I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son;

The verb וַיֹּ֗אמֶר switched to the singular (Tanakh: And He said) in Genesis 18:10 in the Masoretic text as it was in both verses in the Septuagint: εἶπε(ν) (NETS, English Elpenor: he said). The NET translators chose One of them said (note 29) to account for this change. So in the Masoretic text only one of the trio of men that appeared to Abraham as יהוה (Masoretic text) or θεὸς (Septuagint) prophesied the birth of Sarah’s son.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:13, 14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:13, 14 (NET)	Genesis 18:13, 14 (NETS)	Genesis 18:13, 14 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֖ה) said unto Abraham: ‘Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’	And the Lord (κύριος) said to Abraam, “Why is it that Sarra laughed within herself, saying, ‘Shall I then indeed give birth? But I have grown old.’	And the Lord (Κύριος) said to Abraam, Why is it that Sarrha has laughed in herself, saying, Shall I then indeed bear? but I am grown old.
Is any thing too hard for HaShem (מֵֽיהֹוָ֖ה). At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.’	Is anything impossible for the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, מיהוה)? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”	Can it be that a matter is impossible with God (τῷ θεῷ)? In this season I will come back to you next year, and Sarra shall have a son.”	Shall anything be impossible with the Lord (τῷ Θεῷ)? At this time I will return to thee seasonably, and Sarrha shall have a son.

But in the Septuagint the trio of men that appeared to Abraham as θεὸς was called the Lord (κύριος) and spoke with one voice. I notice also in the Masoretic text that the Lord called Himself מֵֽיהֹוָ֖ה (Yᵊhōvâ) to Abraham, but the translators of the Septuagint did not corroborate that with κύριος. They chose τῷ Θεῷ instead.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:16, 17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:16, 17 (NET)	Genesis 18:16, 17 (NETS)	18:16, 17 (English Elpenor)
And the men rose up (וַיָּקֻ֤מוּ) from thence, and looked out (וַיַּשְׁקִ֖פוּ) toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.	When the men got up (qûm, ויקמו) to leave, they looked out (šāqap̄, וישקפו) over Sodom. (Now Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.)	And when the men had set out (ἐξαναστάντες) from there, they looked (κατέβλεψαν) down upon the face of Sodoma and Gomorra, and Abraam was going along with them.	And the men having risen up (᾿Εξαναστάντες) from thence looked (κατέβλεψαν) towards Sodom and Gomorrha. And Abraam went with them, attending them on their journey.
And HaShem (וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה) said: ‘Shall I (אֲנִי֙) hide from Abraham that which I (אֲנִ֥י) am doing;	Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, ויהוה) said, “Should I (‘ănî, אני) hide from Abraham what I (‘ănî, אני) am about to do?	And the Lord (ὁ δὲ κύριος) said, “Surely I (ἐγὼ) shall not hide from my servant Abraam what I (ἐγὼ) am about to do?	And the Lord (ὁ δὲ Κύριος) said, Shall I (ἐγὼ) hide from Abraam my servant what things I (ἐγὼ) intend to do?

Here the actions of the three men (possibly four including Abraham) were described with plural verbs. When וַֽיהֹוָ֖ה (Yᵊhōvâ) spoke He emphasized his singular nature with אֲנִ֥י in the Masoretic text and ἐγὼ in the Septuagint. Still, the emphasis seems to highlight the oneness of the three men called κύριος that appeared to Abraham as θεὸς in the Septuagint, while the Masoretic text seems to indicate that only one of the three men was יהוה.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:20, 21 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:20, 21 (NET)	Genesis 18:20, 21 (NETS)	Genesis 18:20, 21 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֔ה) said: ‘Verily, the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, verily, their sin is exceeding grievous.	So the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant	Then the Lord (κύριος) said, “The outcry concerning Sodoma and Gomorra has been increased, and their sins are very great!	And the Lord (Κύριος) said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very great.
I will go down (אֵֽרֲדָה) now, and see (וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה) whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.’	that I must go down (yāraḏ, ארדה) and see (rā’â, ואראה) if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know.”	So when I go down (καταβὰς) I shall see (ὄψομαι) whether they are perpetrating according to the outcry concerning them that is coming to me, but if not—that I may know.”	I will therefore go down (καταβὰς) and see (ὄψομαι), if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to me, and if not, that I may know.

Here יְהֹוָ֔ה (Masoretic text), Κύριος (Septuagint), told Abraham that He (singular) will go down now, and see. Readers of the Septuagint can understand that θεὸς, who appeared to Abraham as three men, speaks truthfully with a singular voice. Readers of the Masoretic text must be a little more flexible and forgiving regarding truth.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:22 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:22 (NET)	Genesis 18:22 (NETS)	Genesis 18:22 (English Elpenor)
And the men (הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים) turned from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before HaShem (יְהֹוָֽה).	The two men (‘îš, האנשים) turned and headed toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה).	And after the men (ἄνδρες) had turned away from there, they went to Sodoma, but Abraam was still standing before the Lord (κυρίου).	And the men (ἄνδρες) having departed thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was still standing before the Lord (Κυρίου).

So once the men (plural) left for Sodom, Abraham stood yet before יְהֹוָֽה (Masoretic text), Κυρίου (Septuagint). If plural men are subtracted from three men, then two left and one remained. The translators of the NET did the arithmetic for us: The two men turned and headed toward Sodom.

Reading the Masoretic text one would assume that two men left leaving the one יְהֹוָֽה. Reading the Septuagint one can assume that two of the three men who appeared to Abraham as θεὸς, called Κύριος, went to Sodom to fulfill the Lord’s word: “So when I go down I shall see whether they are perpetrating according to the outcry concerning them that is coming to me, but if not—that I may know.”⁶ The one who remained could also be called יְהֹוָֽה (Masoretic text), Κυρίου (Septuagint).

In the Masoretic text the promise, “So when I go down I shall see whether they are perpetrating according to the outcry concerning them that is coming to me, but if not–that I may know,” was a euphemistic expression fulfilled by minions, and יְהֹוָֽה relied still on hearsay for his judgment. The Septuagint, about a thousand years older than the Masoretic text, persuades me that I was probably mistaken when I assumed that יְהֹוָֽה was one⁷ of the אֱלֹהִ֔ים.

I am more inclined now to assume that the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit⁸ is יְהֹוָֽה. I am more willing to answer the question, is יְהֹוָֽה the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit, yes. But this aside into Genesis 18, fruitful as it proved to be, was intended to provide context for two examples of אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֔ה (ʿāśâ) translated with singular verbs in Greek.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 18:29, 30 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:29, 30 (NET)	Genesis 18:29, 30 (NETS)	Genesis 18:29, 30 (English Elpenor)
And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said: ‘Peradventure there shall be forty found there.’ And He said: ‘I will not do (אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֔ה) it for the forty’s sake.’	Abraham spoke to him again, “What if 40 are found there?” He replied, “I will not do (ʿāśâ, אעשׁה) it for the sake of the 40.”	And he continued still to speak to him and said, “But if forty should be found there?” And he said, “On account of the forty I will not destroy (ἀπολέσω) it.”	And he continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy (ἀπολέσω) it for the forty’s sake.
And he said: ‘Oh, let not the L-rd be angry, and I will speak. Peradventure there shall thirty be found there.’ And He said: ‘I will not do (אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֔ה) it, if I find thirty there’ [Table].	Then Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak! What if thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will not do (ʿāśâ, אעשׁה) it if I find thirty there.”	And he said, “Pardon, Lord, if I should speak. But if thirty should be found there?” And he said, “I will not destroy (ἀπολέσω) it, if I find thirty there” [Table].	And he said, Will there be anything [against me], Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy (ἀπολέσω) it for the thirty’s sake.

The Greek word ἀπολέσω (I will…destroy) is clearly singular. The rabbis who translated the Septuagint demonstrated that they would translate אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֔ה with a singular verb if אֶֽעֱשֶׂ֔ה was the word they found in the Hebrew text rather than the plural נעשׁה.

Tables comparing Genesis 18:9; 18:10; 18:13; 18:14; 18:16; 18:17; 18:20; 18:21; 18:22 and 18:29 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 18:9; 18:10; 18:13; 18:14; 18:16; 18:17; 18:20; 18:21; 18:22 and 18:29 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of Matthew 28:19 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 18:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:9 (KJV)	Genesis 18:9 (NET)
And they said unto him: ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?’ And he said: ‘Behold, in the tent.’	And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.	Then they asked him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” He replied, “There, in the tent.”

Genesis 18:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν ποῦ Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ	Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν· ποῦ Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου; ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ
Genesis 18:9 (NETS)	Genesis 18:9 (English Elpenor)
And he said to him, “Where is your wife Sarra?” And he said in reply, “There, in the tent.”	And he said to him, Where is Sarrha thy wife? And he answered and said, Behold! in the tent.

Genesis 18:10 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:10 (KJV)	Genesis 18:10 (NET)
And He said: ‘I will certainly return unto thee when the season cometh round; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.’ And Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him.–	And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.	One of them said, “I will surely return to you when the season comes round again, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” (Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, not far behind him.

Genesis 18:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δέ ἐπαναστρέφων ἥξω πρὸς σὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου Σαρρα δὲ ἤκουσεν πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς σκηνῆς οὖσα ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ	εἶπε δέ· ἐπαναστρέφων ἥξω πρὸς σὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου. Σάρρα δὲ ἤκουσε πρὸς τῇ θύρᾳ τῆς σκηνῆς, οὖσα ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ
Genesis 18:10 (NETS)	Genesis 18:10 (English Elpenor)
And he said, “I will come to you, when I return, during this season next year, and Sarra your wife shall have a son.” And Sarra, who was behind him, listened at the tent door.	And he said, I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son; and Sarrha heard at the door of the tent, being behind him.

Genesis 18:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:13 (KJV)	Genesis 18:13 (NET)
And HaShem said unto Abraham: ‘Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying: Shall I of a surety bear a child, who am old?	And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?	The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child when I am old?’

Genesis 18:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Αβρααμ τί ὅτι ἐγέλασεν Σαρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγουσα ἆρά γε ἀληθῶς τέξομαι ἐγὼ δὲ γεγήρακα	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς ῾Αβραάμ· τί ὅτι ἐγέλασε Σάρρα ἐν ἑαυτῇ, λέγουσα· ἆρά γε ἀληθῶς τέξομαι; ἐγὼ δὲ γεγήρακα
Genesis 18:13 (NETS)	Genesis 18:13 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to Abraam, “Why is it that Sarra laughed within herself, saying, ‘Shall I then indeed give birth? But I have grown old.’	And the Lord said to Abraam, Why is it that Sarrha has laughed in herself, saying, Shall I then indeed bear? but I am grown old.

Genesis 18:14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:14 (KJV)	Genesis 18:14 (NET)
Is any thing too hard for HaShem. At the set time I will return unto thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son.’	Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.	Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”

Genesis 18:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἀδυνατεῖ παρὰ τῷ θεῷ ῥῆμα εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σαρρα υἱός	μὴ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ ρῆμα; εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας· καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός
Genesis 18:14 (NETS)	Genesis 18:14 (English Elpenor)
Can it be that a matter is impossible with God? In this season I will come back to you next year, and Sarra shall have a son.”	Shall anything be impossible with the Lord? At this time I will return to thee seasonably, and Sarrha shall have a son.

Genesis 18:16 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:16 (KJV)	Genesis 18:16 (NET)
And the men rose up from thence, and looked out toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.	And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.	When the men got up to leave, they looked out over Sodom. (Now Abraham was walking with them to see them on their way.)

Genesis 18:16 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξαναστάντες δὲ ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες κατέβλεψαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον Σοδομων καὶ Γομορρας Αβρααμ δὲ συνεπορεύετο μετ᾽ αὐτῶν συμπροπέμπων αὐτούς	᾿Εξαναστάντες δὲ ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες κατέβλεψαν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρας. ῾Αβραὰμ δὲ συνεπορεύετο μετ᾿ αὐτῶν συμπροπέμπων αὐτούς
Genesis 18:16 (NETS)	Genesis 18:16 (English Elpenor)
And when the men had set out from there, they looked down upon the face of Sodoma and Gomorra, and Abraam was going along with them.	And the men having risen up from thence looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha. And Abraam went with them, attending them on their journey.

Genesis 18:17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:17 (KJV)	Genesis 18:17 (NET)
And HaShem said: ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that which I am doing;	And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;	Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?

Genesis 18:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ δὲ κύριος εἶπεν μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ Αβρααμ τοῦ παιδός μου ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ	ὁ δὲ Κύριος εἶπεν· οὐ μὴ κρύψω ἐγὼ ἀπὸ ῾Αβραὰμ τοῦ παιδός μου, ἃ ἐγὼ ποιῶ
Genesis 18:17 (NETS)	Genesis 18:17 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said, “Surely I shall not hide from my servant Abraam what I am about to do?	And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraam my servant what things I intend to do?

Genesis 18:20 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:20 (KJV)	Genesis 18:20 (NET)
And HaShem said: ‘Verily, the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and, verily, their sin is exceeding grievous.	And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;	So the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so blatant

Genesis 18:20 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ κύριος κραυγὴ Σοδομων καὶ Γομορρας πεπλήθυνται καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῶν μεγάλαι σφόδρα	εἶπε δὲ Κύριος· κραυγὴ Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρας πεπλήθυνται πρός με, καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῶν μεγάλαι σφόδρα
Genesis 18:20 (NETS)	Genesis 18:20 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord said, “The outcry concerning Sodoma and Gomorra has been increased, and their sins are very great!	And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very great.

Genesis 18:21 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:21 (KJV)	Genesis 18:21 (NET)
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.’	I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.	that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests. If not, I want to know.”

Genesis 18:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καταβὰς οὖν ὄψομαι εἰ κατὰ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐρχομένην πρός με συντελοῦνται εἰ δὲ μή ἵνα γνῶ	καταβὰς οὖν ὄψομαι, εἰ κατὰ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐρχομένην πρός με συντελοῦνται, εἰ δὲ μή, ἵνα γνῶ
Genesis 18:21 (NETS)	Genesis 18:21 (English Elpenor)
So when I go down I shall see whether they are perpetrating according to the outcry concerning them that is coming to me, but if not—that I may know.”	I will therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to me, and if not, that I may know.

Genesis 18:22 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:22 (KJV)	Genesis 18:22 (NET)
And the men turned from thence, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham stood yet before HaShem.	And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.	The two men turned and headed toward Sodom, but Abraham was still standing before the Lord.

Genesis 18:22 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἀποστρέψαντες ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες ἦλθον εἰς Σοδομα Αβρααμ δὲ ἦν ἑστηκὼς ἐναντίον κυρίου	καὶ ἀποστρέψαντες ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἄνδρες ἦλθον εἰς Σόδομα. ῾Αβραὰμ δὲ ἔτι ἦν ἑστηκὼς ἐναντίον Κυρίου
Genesis 18:22 (NETS)	Genesis 18:22 (English Elpenor)
And after the men had turned away from there, they went to Sodoma, but Abraam was still standing before the Lord.	And the men having departed thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was still standing before the Lord.

Genesis 18:29 (Tanakh)	Genesis 18:29 (KJV)	Genesis 18:29 (NET)
And he spoke unto Him yet again, and said: ‘Peradventure there shall be forty found there.’ And He said: ‘I will not do it for the forty’s sake.’	And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty’s sake.	Abraham spoke to him again, “What if 40 are found there?” He replied, “I will not do it for the sake of the 40.”

Genesis 18:29 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 18:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ εἶπεν οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν τεσσαράκοντα	καὶ προσέθηκεν ἔτι λαλῆσαι πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ εἶπεν· ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα; καὶ εἶπεν· οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσω ἕνεκεν τῶν τεσσαράκοντα
Genesis 18:29 (NETS)	Genesis 18:29 (English Elpenor)
And he continued still to speak to him and said, “But if forty should be found there?” And he said, “On account of the forty I will not destroy it.”	And he continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the forty’s sake.

Matthew 28:19 (NET)	Matthew 28:19 (KJV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,	Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πορευθέντες οὖν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος	πορευθεντες ουν μαθητευσατε παντα τα εθνη βαπτιζοντες αυτους εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγιου πνευματος	πορευθεντες μαθητευσατε παντα τα εθνη βαπτιζοντες αυτους εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγιου πνευματος

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 8

Back to Romans, Part 55

Back to Romans, Part 85

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

¹ Genesis 18:1a (NET) Table

² Genesis 18:1a (NETS) Table

³ Genesis 18:2a (NET) Table

⁴ Genesis 18:3a (NET) Table

⁵ Genesis 18:3a (NETS) Table

⁶ Genesis 18:21 (NETS)

⁷ Romans, Part 55; Romans, Part 85

⁸ Matthew 28:19b (NET)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 6

Posted on August 30, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint. Genesis 2:4 marked the first occurrence of יְהֹוָ֥ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text. Only the Elpenor version of the Septuagint seemed to corroborate that first occurrence with the Greek word Κύριος. None of the other occurrences thus far received any validation from the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:8 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:8 (NET)	Genesis 2:8 (NETS)	Genesis 2:8 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) planted an orchard in Edem toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.

Here, it is the BLB Septuagint rather then the Elpenor which corroborated the Masoretic text’s יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) with κύριος.

Primed by the graciousness of God’s word¹–He gives the gifts He deems appropriate to whomever He chooses to give them–I can hear this as the graciousness of God. He did not leave the man (‘āḏām, האדם) he had formed² naked and afraid in the wild. He prepared a garden or orchard (Hebrew: gan, גן; Greek: παράδεισον, a form of παράδεισος) for him in Eden (ʿēḏen, בעדן), which means pleasure.

Moses continued to describe the garden in pleasure:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:9 (NET)	Genesis 2:9 (NETS)	Genesis 2:9 (English Elpenor)
And out of the ground made HaShem (יְהֹוָ֤ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִים֙) to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm’, אלהים) made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)	And out of the earth God (ὁ θεὸς) furthermore made to grow every tree that is beautiful to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the orchard’s midst and the tree for knowing what is knowable of good and evil.	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.

This occurrence of יְהֹוָ֤ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text wasn’t corroborated by either version of the Septuagint.

In another essay I called Genesis 1:11, 12 an example of the authority of God’s word: “He spoke and the earth obeyed Him” (Genesis 1:11, 12 NET) [See Table below].

God said, “Let the land (‘ereṣ, הארץ) produce (dāšā’, תדשא) vegetation: plants yielding seeds and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.” It was so. The land (‘ereṣ, הארץ) produced (yāṣā’, ותוצא) vegetation—plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Now I have two additional pieces of information:

Genesis 2:5 (NET) [See Table below]	Genesis 2:9 (NET) [See Table below]
Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted (ṣāmaḥ, יצמח), for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.	The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow (ṣāmaḥ, ויצמח) from the soil (‘ăḏāmâ, האדמה), every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

Was it seeds that the land (‘ereṣ, הארץ) produced (yāṣā’, ותוצא)? Or was it the land’s plans, ideas or designs that God saw…was good? The same Hebrew word תוצא (yāṣā’) occurred in Genesis 1:24 (NET) [Table]:

God said, “Let the land produce (yāṣā’, תוצא) living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” It was so.

Regarding the trees of Eden the land’s “obedience” was effected (not surprisingly any longer) by God who made all kinds of trees grow (ṣāmaḥ, ויצמח) from the soil (‘ăḏāmâ, האדמה). And this exercise keeps me aware that God’s word is not sometimes true and other times powerful, sometimes authoritative and others gracious. His word is all of the above all of the time. The patterns simply helped me recognize these various aspects of his word.

The description of pleasure continued:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:10-14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:10-14 (NET)	Genesis 2:10-14 (NETS)	Genesis 2:10-14 (English Elpenor)
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads [Table].	Now a river flows from Eden to water the orchard, and from there it divides into four headstreams.	Now a river goes out of Edem to water the orchard; from there it divides into four sources [Table].	And a river proceeds out of Edem to water the garden, thence it divides itself into four heads.
The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;	The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.	The name of the first one is Phison; it is the one that encircles the whole land of Heuilat, there where the gold is;	The name of the one, Phison, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.
and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone.	(The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there.)	now the gold of that land is good, and carbuncle and light green stone are there.	And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald.
And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush.	The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through the entire land of Cush.	And the second river’s name is Geon; it is the one that encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.	And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur And the fourth river is the Euphrates.	The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.	And the third river is the Tigris; it is one that goes over against the Assyrians. As for the fourth river, it is the Euphrates.	And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

I won’t comment much here on antediluvian geography, nor attempt to use tantalizing Hebrew words like כוש (kûš), חדקל (ḥideqel), אשור (‘aššûr) or פרת (pᵊrāṯ) to locate Eden on a modern map. I grew up in Missouri near the center of the North American continent. I’ve walked up a hill, stood on a road cut, looked down on the highway and out over the landscape, trying to imagine the bottom of a warm shallow sea.

It was all in my imagination, a story to tell beginning Geology students on a field trip. A fresh look at the fossils at our feet revealed that these organisms probably didn’t live here, probably didn’t even die here. They were not bent and folded organisms crushed by the weight of sediments like so many fallen caryatids. They were broken pieces, fairly well sorted according to size and density.

If I imagine that the water carrying these pieces also had larger more dense pieces as well as smaller less dense pieces, I can imagine a relative measure of the flow of this water when these pieces fell out of suspension in this particular location. Though this particular imagination feels more sciency than my former imagination, it’s still just my imagination. I can’t pinpoint a place on a map upstream where larger more dense pieces of the same organisms fell out of suspension, or downstream where smaller pieces fell out. All I see are miles and miles of fossils of about this size embedded in a silt-sized limestone matrix.

My point is that the four distributaries described in Genesis 2:10-14 were planned and engineered by God. I’m more familiar post flood with river deltas, water following the path of least resistance as it flows downhill.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:15 (NET)	Genesis 2:15 (NETS)	Genesis 2:15 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) took the man whom he had formed and put him in the orchard to till and keep it.	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it.

Here יְהֹוָ֥ה (Yᵊhōvâ) was translated Κύριος in both versions of the Septuagint. An article I read while preparing this essay highlighted the Lord God’s graciousness to Adam, providing him with something meaningful to do in the garden, as it gave me an interesting contrast to what passes for human intelligence.

Yuval Noah Harari, historian, futurist, and World Economic Forum (WEF) adviser, said, “We just don’t need the vast majority of the population” in the early 21st century given modern technologies’ rendering human labor economically and militarily “redundant.”³

Mr. Harari explained:⁴

In the 20th century, what was common to all the stories — the liberal, the fascist, the communist — is that the big heroes of the story were the common people, not necessarily all people, but if you lived, say, in the Soviet Union in the 1930s, life was very grim, but when you looked at the propaganda posters on the walls that depicted the glorious future, you were there…

Now, when people look at the posters on the walls, or listen to TED talks, they hear a lot of these…big ideas and big words about machine learning and genetic engineering and blockchain and globalization, and they are not there…‘The future doesn’t need me. You have all these smart people in California and in New York and in Beijing, and they are planning this amazing future with artificial intelligence and bio-engineering and in global connectivity and whatnot, and they don’t need me…’

The Lord God continued:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:16, 17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NET)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (NETS)	Genesis 2:16, 17 (English Elpenor)
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) commanded the man, saying: ‘Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat [Table];	Then the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard,	And the Lord (κύριος) God (ὁ θεὸς) commanded Adam, saying, “You shall eat for food of every tree that is in the orchard [Table],	And the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat,
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die’ [Table].	but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”	but of the tree for knowing good and evil, of it you shall not eat; on the day that you eat of it, you shall die by death” [Table].	but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil– of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die.

Here, too, יְהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text was corroborated by Κύριος in both versions of the Septuagint. While there is every reason to believe that the Lord God’s command to Adam was every bit as true, powerful, authoritative and gracious as every other word He had spoken, I can hear it as arbitrary, capricious, deceitful even evil. That says far more about me and my evil desire than it does about the Lord God or his word. It seems important to highlight that the tree of life was not included in this prohibition.

I’ll pick this up in another essay. A table mentioned above comparing English translations of Genesis 1:11, 12 follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:11, 12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 1:11, 12 (NET)	Genesis 1:11, 12 (NETS)	Genesis 1:11, 12 (English Elpenor)
And G-d said: ‘Let the earth (הָאָ֨רֶץ֙) put forth (תַּדְשֵׁ֤א) grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth’ And it was so [Table].	God said, “Let the land (‘ereṣ, הארץ) produce (dāšā’, תדשא) vegetation: plants yielding seeds and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.” It was so.	And God said, “Let the earth (γῆ) put forth (βλαστησάτω) herbaceous vegetation, seeding seed according to kind and according to likeness, and a fruit-bearing tree producing fruit of which its seed is in it according to kind, on the earth.” And it became so [Table].	And God said, Let the earth (γῆ) bring forth (βλαστησάτω) the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit-tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and it was so.
And the earth (הָאָ֜רֶץ) brought forth (וַתּוֹצֵ֨א) grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and G-d saw that it was good [Table].	The land (‘ereṣ, הארץ) produced (yāṣā’, ותוצא) vegetation—plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.	And the earth (γῆ) brought forth (ἐξήνεγκεν) herbaceous vegetation, seeding seed according to kind and according to likeness, and a fruit-bearing tree producing fruit of which its seed is in it according to kind, on the earth. And God saw that it was good [Table].	And the earth (γῆ) brought forth (ἐξήνεγκεν) the herb of grass bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth, and God saw that it was good.

A table mentioned above comparing English translations of Genesis 2:5 follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:5 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:5 (NET)	Genesis 2:5 (NETS)	Genesis 2:5 (English Elpenor)
No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up (יִצְמָ֑ח); for HaShem G-d had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground [Table];	Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted (ṣāmaḥ, יצמח), for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.	and all verdue of the field before it came to be (γενέσθαι) upon the earth and all herbage of the field before it sprang up, for God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was not a human to till the earth [Table],	and every herb of the field before it was (γενέσθαι) on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it.

A table mentioned above comparing English translations of Genesis 2:9 follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:9 (NET)	Genesis 2:9 (NETS)	Genesis 2:9 (English Elpenor)
And out of the ground (הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה) made HaShem G-d to grow (וַיַּצְמַ֞ח) every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.	The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow (ṣāmaḥ, ויצמח) from the soil ‘(ăḏāmâ, האדמה), every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)	And out of the earth (γῆς) God furthermore made to grow (ἐξανέτειλεν) every tree that is beautiful to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the orchard’s midst and the tree for knowing what is knowable of good and evil.	And God made to spring up (ἐξανέτειλεν) also out of the earth (γῆς) every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.

Tables comparing Genesis 2:8; 2:9; 2:11; 2:12; 2:13; 2:14 and 2:15 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 2:8; 2:9; 2:11; 2:12; 2:13; 2:14 and 2:15 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek follow.

Genesis 2:8 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:8 (KJV)	Genesis 2:8 (NET)
And HaShem G-d planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.	And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.	The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐφύτευσεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς παράδεισον ἐν Εδεμ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς καὶ ἔθετο ἐκεῗ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃν ἔπλασεν	Καὶ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ Θεὸς παράδεισον ἐν ᾿Εδὲμ κατὰ ἀνατολὰς καὶ ἔθετο ἐκεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὃν ἔπλασε
Genesis 2:8 (NETS)	Genesis 2:8 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God planted an orchard in Edem toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.	And God planted a garden eastward in Edem, and placed there the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:9 (KJV)	Genesis 2:9 (NET)
And out of the ground made HaShem G-d to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.	And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.	The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. (Now the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in the middle of the orchard.)

Genesis 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐξανέτειλεν ὁ θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πᾶν ξύλον ὡραῗον εἰς ὅρασιν καὶ καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς ἐν μέσῳ τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ εἰδέναι γνωστὸν καλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ	καὶ ἐξανέτειλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πᾶν ξύλον ὡραῖον εἰς ὅρασιν καὶ καλὸν εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ παραδείσου καὶ τὸ ξύλον τοῦ εἰδέναι γνωστὸν καλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ
Genesis 2:9 (NETS)	Genesis 2:9 (English Elpenor)
And out of the earth God furthermore made to grow every tree that is beautiful to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the orchard’s midst and the tree for knowing what is knowable of good and evil.	And God made to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of learning the knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 2:11 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:11 (KJV)	Genesis 2:11 (NET)
The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;	The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;	The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὄνομα τῷ ἑνὶ Φισων οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Ευιλατ ἐκεῗ οὗ ἐστιν τὸ χρυσίον	ὄνομα τῷ ἑνὶ Φισῶν· οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Εὐιλάτ, ἐκεῖ οὗ ἐστι τὸ χρυσίον
Genesis 2:11 (NETS)	Genesis 2:11 (English Elpenor)
The name of the first one is Phison; it is the one that encircles the whole land of Heuilat, there where the gold is;	The name of the one, Phison, this it is which encircles the whole land of Evilat, where there is gold.

Genesis 2:12 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:12 (KJV)	Genesis 2:12 (NET)
and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone.	And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.	(The gold of that land is pure; pearls and lapis lazuli are also there.)

Genesis 2:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸ δὲ χρυσίον τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης καλόν καὶ ἐκεῗ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθραξ καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πράσινος	τὸ δὲ χρυσίον τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης καλόν· καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθραξ καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πράσινος
Genesis 2:12 (NETS)	Genesis 2:12 (English Elpenor)
now the gold of that land is good, and carbuncle and light green stone are there.	And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald.

Genesis 2:13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:13 (KJV)	Genesis 2:13 (NET)
And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush.	And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.	The name of the second river is Gihon; it runs through the entire land of Cush.

Genesis 2:13 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὄνομα τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ δευτέρῳ Γηων οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Αἰθιοπίας	καὶ ὄνομα τῷ ποταμῷ τῷ δευτέρῳ Γεῶν· οὗτος ὁ κυκλῶν πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν Αἰθιοπίας
Genesis 2:13 (NETS)	Genesis 2:13 (English Elpenor)
And the second river’s name is Geon; it is the one that encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.	And the name of the second river is Geon, this it is which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.

Genesis 2:14 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:14 (KJV)	Genesis 2:14 (NET)
And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur And the fourth river is the Euphrates.	And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.	The name of the third river is Tigris; it runs along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Genesis 2:14 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς ὁ τρίτος Τίγρις οὗτος ὁ πορευόμενος κατέναντι Ἀσσυρίων ὁ δὲ ποταμὸς ὁ τέταρτος οὗτος Εὐφράτης	καὶ ὁ ποταμὸς ὁ τρίτος Τίγρις· οὗτος ὁ προπορευόμενος κατέναντι ᾿Ασσυρίων. ὁ δὲ ποταμὸς ὁ τέταρτος Εὐφράτης
Genesis 2:14 (NETS)	Genesis 2:14 (English Elpenor)
And the third river is the Tigris; it is one that goes over against the Assyrians. As for the fourth river, it is the Euphrates.	And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Genesis 2:15 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:15 (KJV)	Genesis 2:15 (NET)
And HaShem G-d took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.	And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.	The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.

Genesis 2:15 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔλαβεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὃν ἔπλασεν καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ φυλάσσειν	Καὶ ἔλαβε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὃν ἔπλασε, καὶ ἔθετο αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τῆς τρυφῆς, ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ φυλάσσειν
Genesis 2:15 (NETS)	Genesis 2:15 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed and put him in the orchard to till and keep it.	And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed, and placed him in the garden of Delight, to cultivate and keep it.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 7

¹ Genesis 1:22-23; Genesis 1:28; Genesis 1:29-30; Genesis 2:1-3

² Genesis 2:8b (NET)

³ Robert Kraychik, “WEF Adviser Yuval Harari: ‘We Just Don’t Need the Vast Majority of the Population’ in Today’s World,” Breitbart

⁴ Ibid.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 5

Posted on June 23, 2022 by admin

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint. There were no occurrences of either in Genesis 1:1-27.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:28 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 1:28 (NET)	Genesis 1:28 (NETS) Table	Genesis 1:28 (English Elpenor)
And G-d (אֱלֹהִים֒) blessed them [man: male and female]; and G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth’.	God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) blessed them [humankind] and [Note 57: God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said] to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”	And God (ὁ θεὸς) blessed them [humankind], saying, “Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky and all the cattle and all the earth and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth.”	And God (ὁ Θεός) blessed them [man: male and female], saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas and flying creatures of heaven, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that creep on the earth.

Here is another example of the graciousness of God’s word: He gives the gifts He deems appropriate to whomever He chooses to give them. The Hebrew word translated blessed was וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ (bāraḵ) and was translated ηὐλόγησεν and εὐλόγησεν (both forms of εὐλογέω) in the Septuagint. But the graciousness of God’s word didn’t end here.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:29, 30 (Tanakh)	Genesis 1:29, 30 (NET)	Genesis 1:29, 30 (NETS)	Genesis 1:29, 30 (English Elpenor)
And G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed–to you it shall be for food [Table];	Then God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.	And God (ὁ θεός) said, “See, I have given to you any herbage, sowable, seeding seed, which is over all the earth, and any tree that has in itself fruit of sowable seed—to you it shall be for food— [Table]	And God (ὁ Θεός) said, Behold I have given to you every seed-bearing herb sowing seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree which has in itself the fruit of seed that is sown, to you it shall be for food.
and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food’ And it was so [Table].	And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has living breath in it—I give every green plant for food.” It was so.	and to all the wild animals of the earth and to all the birds of the sky and to every creeping thing that creeps on the earth that has in itself the animating force of life,—and all green herbage for food.” And it became so [Table].	And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the flying creatures of heaven, and to every reptile creeping on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food; and it was so.

The Hebrew word translated I have given (Tanakh) and give (NET) was נָתַ֨תִּי (nāṯan). It was translated δέδωκα (a form of δίδωμι) in the Septuagint. I tend to understand this giving as a continuation of the blessing, and another example of the graciousness of God’s word. But the addition of the phrase, And it was so, is the form I’ve recognized¹ as describing the power of God’s word: He spoke and it happened as He said.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 1:31 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 1:31 (NET)	Genesis 1:31 (NETS) Table	Genesis 1:31 (English Elpenor)
And G-d (אֱלֹהִים֙) saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.	God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.	And God (ὁ θεὸς) saw all the things that he had made, and see, they were exceedingly good. And it came to be evening, and it came to be morning, a sixth day.	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) saw all the things that he had made, and, behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Here on the sixth day the qualifier ט֖וֹב (ṭôḇ), translated καλά (a form of καλός) in the Septuagint and good in English, was modified by מְאֹ֑ד (mᵊ’ōḏ) in Hebrew, λίαν in the Septuagint and very in English.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:1-3 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:1-3 (NET)	Genesis 2:1-3 (NETS)	Genesis 2:1-3 (English Elpenor)
And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them [Table].	The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them.	And the sky and the earth were finished, and all their arrangement [Table].	AND the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole world of them.
And on the seventh day G-d (אֱלֹהִים֙) finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made [Table].	By the seventh day God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing.	And on the sixth day God (ὁ θεὸς) finished his works that he had made, and he left off on the seventh day from all his works that he had made [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) finished on the sixth day his works which he made, and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he made.
And G-d (אֱלֹהִים֙) blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) in creating had made [Table].	God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) had been doing in creation.	And God (ὁ θεὸς) blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it he left off from all his works that God (ὁ θεὸς) had begun to make [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he ceased from all his works which God (ὁ Θεὸς) began to do.

Here is another example of the graciousness of God’s word: He gives the gifts He deems appropriate to whomever He chooses to give them. The Hebrew word translated blessed was וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ (bāraḵ) and was translated ηὐλόγησεν and εὐλόγησεν (both forms of εὐλογέω) in the Septuagint. Here it seems the gift of blessing was given to the seventh day of the week.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Exodus 20:8-11 (Tanakh)	Exodus 20:8-11 (NET)	Exodus 20:8-11 (NETS)	Exodus 20:8-11 (English Elpenor)
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy [Table].	“Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.	Remember the day of the sabbaths to consecrate it [Table].	Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work [Table];	For six days you may labor and do all your work,	For six days you shall labor and do all your labor [Table],	Six days thou shalt labour, and shalt perform all thy work.
but the seventh day is a sabbath unto HaShem (לַֽיהֹוָ֣ה) thy G-d (אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ), in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates [Table];	but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, ליהוה) your God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהיך); on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.	but on the seventh day there is Sabbata to the Lord (κυρίῳ) your God (τῷ θεῷ σου). You shall not do in it any labor, you and your son and your daughter, your male slave and your female slave, your ox and your draft animal and any animal of yours and the guest who resides among you [Table].	But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord (Κυρίῳ) thy God (τῷ Θεῷ σου); on it thou shalt do no work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy servant nor thy maidservant, thine ox nor thine ass, nor any cattle of thine, nor the stranger that sojourns with thee.
in six days HaShem (יְהֹוָ֜ה) made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore HaShem (יְהֹוָ֛ה) blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it [Table].	For in six days the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.	For in six days the Lord (κύριος) made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them, and he rested on the seventh day and consecrated it. For this reason the Lord (κύριος) blessed the seventh day and consecrated it [Table].	For in six days the Lord (Κύριος) made the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all things in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord (Κύριος) blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it.

Will I perceive this as an unwarranted intrusion into my plans and schemes, or as a welcome respite from subsistence?

Jesus faced religious authorities who tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them.² I, too, recall after a long week at my subsistence job hearing that god was just more work I should have been doing all along. The Sabbath was made for people, Jesus instructed the Pharisees, not people for the Sabbath.³

And so we sinful people needed some extra instruction to understand to whom this gracious gift was given. Here in the law the sabbath was unto לַֽיהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ (‘ĕlōhîm) because יְהֹוָ֜ה (Yᵊhōvâ) made heaven and earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore יְהֹוָ֛ה (Yᵊhōvâ) blessed the sabbath day. The introduction of יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֖ים (‘ĕlōhîm) in Genesis follows.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:4 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:4 (NET)	Genesis 2:4 (NETS)	Genesis 2:4 (English Elpenor)
These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) made earth and heaven.	This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created—when the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) made the earth and heavens.	This is the book of the origin of heaven and earth, when it originated, on the day that God (ὁ θεὸς) made the sky and the earth	This [is] the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord (Κύριος) God (ὁ Θεὸς) made the heaven and the earth,

The Elpenor Septuagint had the Greek word Κύριος here for the Hebrew יהוה (Yᵊhōvâ). The BLB Septuagint did not.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 2:5-7 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:5-7 (NET)	Genesis 2:5-7 (NETS)	Genesis 2:5-7 (English Elpenor)
No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for HaShem (יְהֹוָ֤ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִים֙) had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground;	Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.	and all verdue of the field before it came to be upon the earth and all herbage of the field before it sprang up, for God (ὁ θεὸς) had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was not a human to till the earth,	and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God (ὁ Θεὸς) had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it.
but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.	Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.	yet a spring would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the earth.	But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth.
Then HaShem (יְהֹוָ֨ה) G-d (אלהים) formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul [Table].	The Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (‘ĕlōhîm, אלהים) formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.	And God (ὁ θεὸς) formed man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his face a breath of life, and the man became a living being [Table].	And God (ὁ Θεὸς) formed the man [of] dust of the earth, and breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.

None of these occurrences of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) in the Masoretic text was corroborated by the Septuagint.

Paul contrasted Adam and Christ (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 NET):

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven [Table]. Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, let us also bear the image of the man of heaven [Table].

A table comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation in 1 Corinthians 15:45 to that of Genesis 2:7 in the Septuagint follows:

1 Corinthians 15:45b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:7b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγένετο ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος Ἀδὰμ εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν,	ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν	ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν
1 Corinthians 15:45b (NET)	Genesis 2:7b (NETS)	Genesis 2:7b (English Elpenor)
“The first man, Adam, became a living person”;	the man became a living being.	the man became a living soul.

The Hebrew word translated man in Genesis 2:7 was הָֽאָדָ֗ם (‘āḏām).

Tables comparing Genesis 2:4; 2:5 and 2:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 2:4; 2:5 and 2:6 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek follow.

Genesis 2:4 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:4 (KJV)	Genesis 2:4 (NET)
These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that HaShem G-d made earth and heaven.	These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,	This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created—when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.

Genesis 2:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὅτε ἐγένετο ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν	Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὅτε ἐγένετο· ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν
Genesis 2:4 (NETS)	Genesis 2:4 (English Elpenor)
This is the book of the origin of heaven and earth, when it originated, on the day that God made the sky and the earth	This [is] the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth,

Genesis 2:5 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:5 (KJV)	Genesis 2:5 (NET)
No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for HaShem G-d had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground;	And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.	Now no shrub of the field had yet grown on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

Genesis 2:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ πᾶν χλωρὸν ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πάντα χόρτον ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ ἀνατεῗλαι οὐ γὰρ ἔβρεξεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἦν ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν γῆν	καὶ πᾶν χλωρὸν ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ πάντα χόρτον ἀγροῦ πρὸ τοῦ ἀνατεῖλαι· οὐ γὰρ ἔβρεξεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἄνθρωπος οὐκ ἦν ἐργάζεσθαι αὐτήν
Genesis 2:5 (NETS)	Genesis 2:5 (English Elpenor)
and all verdue of the field before it came to be upon the earth and all herbage of the field before it sprang up, for God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was not a human to till the earth,	and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not rained on the earth, and there was not a man to cultivate it.

Genesis 2:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 2:6 (KJV)	Genesis 2:6 (NET)
but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.	But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.	Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

Genesis 2:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 2:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πηγὴ δὲ ἀνέβαινεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπότιζεν πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς	πηγὴ δὲ ἀνέβαινεν ἐκ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπότιζε πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς
Genesis 2:6 (NETS)	Genesis 2:6 (English Elpenor)
yet a spring would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the earth.	But there rose a fountain out of the earth, and watered the whole face of the earth.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 6

¹ Genesis 1:3 and Genesis 1:9 (in the Masoretic text)

² Matthew 23:4 (NET) Table

³ Mark 2:27 (NET) Table

The Gospel and the Religious Mind

An attempt to distinguish the mind of Christ from the ordinary religious mind.

Category Archives: Section Four

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 3

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 11

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 1

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 9

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 8

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 7

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 6

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 5