Many centuries ago a prophecy about Israel was hidden away by the Masoretes. They translated the 
ancient Paleo-Hebrew Phoenician-based scriptures into a more modern form of Hebrew, which is based on Aramaic. Their work is called the Masoretic Text (MT), which was finally completed around 1000 AD and is the basis of our English Old Testaments in the western church. What most of us in the West do not know, however, is that the Septuagint or LXX is a more ancient translation of the same Paleo-Hebrew scriptures into Greek, which was done around 286 BC. Since most of the world at that time spoke Greek, the LXX was what was used in synagogues at the time of Christ. It was also what was primarily quoted by the New Testament authors and used by the early church to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.
texts and were part of the development of a pre-MT version of the modern Hebrew scriptures called the proto-Masoretic text.If you wish to learn more about this disregarded part of history, I encourage you to read Daniel Gruber’s seminal work, Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah: The Origin of Rabbinic Authority. I imagine you will be as shocked as I was to discover how much important history was never taught to us. I personally think that every Bible teacher needs to read this. I have also written a lengthy article explaining why Christians should prefer the LXX for our Old Testament, which you can find by clicking here.
In these alternate versions to the genuine LXX, both in Greek and Hebrew, some clear references to Christ that are present in the ancient Septuagint were obscured or even removed. I put together a brief list of some examples of this, which you can reach by clicking here. Only by doing a verse-by-verse comparison of the LXX to the MT does this become obvious. I did such a comparison of Proverbs Chapter One and was amazed at what I discovered.
The first chapter of Proverbs in the LXX is a prophetic warning to Israel regarding Jesus the Messiah.
Jesus Is the Focus of Scripture
Before sharing this hidden treasure in the Septuagint, it is important for us to remember that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible. I have this on the authority of none other than Jesus himself, who warned the Jewish leaders who hated him:
39 “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. John 5:39–40 (NASB95)
If we do not see Jesus in the scriptures, we are missing the whole point.
Modern principles of interpretation sometimes blind us from seeing some of the ways the Bible points to Christ. These principles are generally good, but, if we are not very careful, will lead us to intellectualize our approach to God’s Word. Such an approach makes man the measure of God’s truth, which will never do. God’s Word can only be properly understood through the revelation that comes from the Holy Spirit and by diligently searching the scriptures.
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. 1 John 2:27 (NASB95)
As long as we are careful to let scripture interpret scripture under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we will do very well.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. John 16:13–14 (NASB95)
After his resurrection, our Lord “opened” the Old Testament scriptures to two of his disciples as they walked toward Emmaus.
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:25–32 (NASB95)
When the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, ears, and hearts to properly understand the scriptures, it causes our hearts to “burn within us!”
The Old Testament prophets did not always completely understand the things they wrote.
10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. 1 Peter 1:10–12 (NASB95)
They often wrote about things that would only become clear later, as in the case of Christ’s suffering and resultant glory prophesied by Isaiah and David. It is also unlikely that Solomon grasped the import of the first chapter of the book of Proverbs, if it had even been organized by chapters in his day, but now we are able to see clearly that it was a prophetic warning to the Jews regarding the Messiah.
Solomon’s Prophetic Warning
This warning begins in verse 10. I will be quoting from the LXX.
10 Son, may ungodly men not lead you astray, nor should you be willing 11 if they summon you, saying, “Come with us, become a partner of blood, and let us hide a righteous man in the earth unjustly, 12 and let us swallow him alive just as Hades and remove his memory from the earth; 13 let us seize his costly property, and we would fill our houses with booty; 14 throw in your lot also with us, and we may all gain a shared purse— and let there be one small sack for us.” Proverbs 1:10–14 (LES2)
Solomon warned the readers, but particularly the Jews, that ungodly men would lead them into the fatal error of conspiring to kill the Messiah and bury his body in an effort to erase his memory from the earth and steal his inheritance. All of these atrocities are documented in the New Testament.
- The Jewish leaders conspired or partnered to kill Jesus. (Matthew 26:4)
- They put him to death bringing the guilt of shedding innocent blood upon themselves and their descendants. (All the gospels, Acts 2:23, and Matthew 27:25)
- They buried his body in an attempt to hide their wicked deed in the earth. (John 19:42)
- They hoped that by killing him they would effectively erase his memory. (Acts 5:38)
- They sought to steal what belonged to him. (Matthew 21:38)
Every aspect of this satanic plot was reversed by God the Father. Our Lord rose again from the dead as the victorious Lord of Lords (Romans 1:4), who is currently enthroned in heaven (Colossians 3:1) and will one day return to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:31).
By shedding the innocent blood of God’s only begotten Son, the Jewish leaders brought down God’s judgment upon themselves and the nation.
24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” 25 And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” Matthew 27:24–25 (NASB95) 18 For those who participate in slaughter store up bad things for themselves, and the destruction of lawless men is bad. 19 These are the ways of all those who carry out lawless deeds, for by ungodliness they take away their own soul. Proverbs 1:18–19 (LES2) 34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, 35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. Matthew 23:34–36 (NASB95)
Jesus warned the Jewish leaders that the final act in our Lord’s triumph after his ascension into heaven would be the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, signifying the end of the Old Covenant, which had been replaced by the New.
38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 “They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Matthew 21:38–41 (NASB95) 5 And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.” Luke 21:5–6 (NASB95) 14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15 who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 (NASB95)
This judgment and destruction was clearly laid out in Proverbs Chapter One. The Holy Spirit through Solomon begged the Jewish people (and all people everywhere) to repent from their rebellion against God and his Messiah.
20 Wisdom sings in the exits and leads confidently into open areas, 21 and upon the top of the walls she proclaims, and at the gates she sits beside rulers, and at the gates of the city she speaks boldly: 22 “As long as the naive hold to righteousness, they will not be dishonored; but the foolish, since they are ones who long for insolence, after becoming ungodly, they hated insight, 23 and they became subject to reproofs. Look, I will utter a saying to you with my breath, and I will teach you my word. Proverbs 1:20–23 (LES2)
Christian apostles and evangelists preached the good news throughout Jerusalem and beyond, but only a remnant of the Jews believed, just as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 1:9). The rest persisted in their defiance of God’s Son, who had risen from the dead as Lord of Lords. They refused the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30) and the Word of the Lord, who is Jesus, who is the Word became a man (John 1:14), and the refused the gospel, the words of salvation.
28 For it will be when you call out for me, then I will not hear you; wicked people will seek me, but they will not find me. 29 For they hated wisdom, and they did not choose the word of the Lord, 30 and they did not want to pay attention to my counsels, but they mocked my reproof. 31 Therefore they will eat the fruit of their own way, and they will be filled with their own ungodliness; 32 for because they were doing wrong to infants, they will be murdered, and scrutiny [examining, judgment] will destroy the ungodly. Proverbs 1:28–32 (LES2)
Solomon next prophetically described the consequent destruction of Jerusalem and the temple at the hands of the Roman army in 70 AD.
24 Since I kept calling yet you did not listen, and I held out words yet you did not pay attention, 25 but you made my counsel void, and you resisted my reproofs; 26 therefore I also will laugh at your destruction, and I will rejoice when your destruction comes, 27 and as your turmoil arrives suddenly, and ruin is present like a hurricane [storm], and when your affliction and siege come, or when your destruction comes. Proverbs 1:24–27 (LES2)
The MT leaves out the word “siege” because it makes it far too clear that it refers to Jerusalem, which was besieged by Rome in 70 AD. Similarly, it changes “word” to “fear” in verse 29 to make it less obvious that they spurned Jesus and the gospel. The early church would have seen this clear reference to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD. Rabbi Akiva lived through that event and gained prominence afterward, dying at the conclusion of the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 AD. It is easy to understand why the Masoretes would change a some key words to hide this Solomonic warning.
The Last Word
The first chapter of Proverbs ends with a word of hope. It extends the proverbial “olive branch” to Israel and all people who read this admonition.
33 But the one who listens to me will dwell in hope and will rest without fear of any evil.” Proverbs 1:33 (LES2)
On Pentecost, the apostle Peter begged his hearers to repent and believe the gospel.
40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. Acts 2:40–41 (NASB95)
God continues to extend mercy to all who will avail themselves of his generosity and mercy by believing the gospel and putting their faith and allegiance in Christ. The door is still open, but may close at any time. In Christ, God no longer makes any distinction between Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave or free, or any other human division (Galatians 3:26-29). All are welcome at the foot of the cross.
My prayer is that the church in the West will awaken to the great travesty perpetrated upon us by the introduction of a corrupted Old Testament text that obscures Christ, elevates Israel unduly, and softens God’s pronounced judgements upon her. May we search out and discover the treasure God has hidden in the Septuagint.
