When we are programmed as children what to believe, later, as adults, we will have a difficult time accepting anything different. In the case of our Old Testament scriptures, we in the West have been fed the Masoretic Text (MT) since Jerome chose it to use it as the basis for his Latin Vulgate Bible Old Testament. When confronted with the historical facts that the Septuagint (LXX) is a much older translation than the MT (285 BC compared to hundreds of years after Christ), was used and quoted by the New Testament writers, and was translated directly from the paleo-Hebrew before any animosity toward Christ could influence it, it is quite difficult for many to accept it as a more trustworthy version. Sadly for us, the MT has robbed us of several Christological texts and changed the general wording regularly, thus changing the meaning over and over again, either in highly significant ways or small ways. Either is bad. Doing a side by side comparison of the LXX and the MT makes this obvious. I am doing a series of articles to illustrate this as a I work my way through the Old Testament.
Here is an another example. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which I like the best. It is available in print or through Logos Bible Software.
| Septuagint | MT | Significance |
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20 For you showed to me great and evil afflictions, but you returned, you made me alive, and from the depths of the earth again you raised me up. 21 You multiplied your righteousness, and you returned. You comforted me, and from the depths again you raised me up. Psalm 70:20–21 (LES2) |
20 You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, Shall revive me again, And bring me up again from the depths of the earth. 21 You shall increase my greatness, And comfort me on every side. Psalm 71:20–21 (NKJV) |
The comparison of these two passages serves to accentuate the differences and the similarities between the MT and LXX. The LXX uses the aorist past tense to signify a one-time event when God “made me alive.” and “raised me up.” The MT uses “shall revive me again,” but it can also mean “restore to life again.” Why it chose the future tense is unknown. Either the LXX or the MT is incorrect in that regard. However, in another sense, they are both correct. God calls those things in the historical future as already having been accomplished. (Romans 4:17 NKJV). However, one is not faithful to the original paleo-Hebrew. The LXX says, “You multiplied my righeousness,” but the MT says, “You shall increase my greatness.” There is quite a difference between the two in meaning and grammar, but both are true about our Lord Jesus. God multiplied his righteousness by justifying many. (Romans 4:16) God increased his greatness by declaring him Lord of Lords by his resurrection. (Romans 1:4) Once again, however, one is not faithful to the paleo-Hebrew. The LXX repeats the affirmation that God “raised me up.” We know that, when God repeats something, it firmly establishes what is said. (2 Corinthians 13:1) One can say that there are no big theological issues at stake between the MT and LXX when it comes to this passage, but when I read the LXX, the verses seemed to jump off the page as a reference to Christ, which, I believe, is what the Holy Spirit intended. As I mentioned elsewhere, since the LXX is the version used by the early church and quoted in the NT, I am going with it. |
Conclusion
If you want to know more about why Christians should prefer the Septuagint to the MT, click on this link.The Eastern Orthodox Church had the wisdom to retain the LXX for its Old Testament scriptures. As for me, I now rely on the LXX. It was Paul’s standard for Old Covenant truth and is quoted in the New Testament. That makes it good enough for me.
