I hope you will journey with me in rediscovering the beauty of God’s Word in the Septuagint (LXX). In 285 BC, the LXX was translated from paleo-Hebrew by 70 Jewish translators into Greek, the language of most of the civilized world at that time. Due to its pre-Christ and pre-fall of Jerusalem date, the LXX cannot be accused of being influenced by any underlying animosity toward Christ or Christianity or desire to elevate Judaism’s claim to God’s blessings or the promised land. Most Christians believe the Masoretic Text (MT), upon which our English Old Testament is based, is written in the original Hebrew, but it too is a translation from the ancient and by then dead paleo-Hebrew Phoenician pictograph script into the modern Hebrew block script derived from Aramaic. The Masoretes completed it between 600 t0 1000 AD, by which time the Jews had become hostile to the Christian message, which shows up in various omissions, changes, and obfuscations of verses and passages that clearly point to Christ in the LXX.
Jesus taught us that all scripture points to him (John 5:39). As a rule, the Septuagint more clearly points to Jesus than does the MT.
In the West, Christians have not questioned the MT since Jerome chose it as the basis for his Latin Vulgate Old Testament. The Eastern Orthodox Church, to their credit, never deviated from the Septuagint, preserving it for later generations to rediscover. Because of the power of tradition, it is quite difficult for many of us in the West to think of the LXX as being more trustworthy than the MT, but I have found that a side-by-side comparison indicates otherwise.
In this series of articles, I have undertaken to illustrate the similarities and differences between the MT and LXX by examining various passages. Below is another example. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition. It is available in print or digitally through Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I reference Brenton’s translation, which is a good one, but the English is somewhat dated.
| Masoretic Text | Septuagint | Significance |
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17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. Isaiah 65:17–19 (NKJV) |
17 “For there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and they will not remember the former things, and it will not arise in their heart; 18 but they will find cheer and rejoicing in it, for look, I am making Jerusalem a cause for rejoicing and my people a cause for cheer. 19 And I will rejoice over Jerusalem and will be cheerful over my people, and a sound of weeping and a sound of shouting will no longer be heard in her. Isaiah 65:17–19 (LES2) |
The MT says “I will create,” but the LXX simply says, “there will be.” The MT makes heavens plural, but the LXX uses the singular. The MT makes “the former” the subject, but the LXX makes “they” the subject. The MT commands us to be glad and rejoice, but the LXX simply states that “they” will do that. The second half of verse 18 and all of verse 19 agree. The New Testament speaks of the new heaven and earth which will be created after the old sin corrupted version is destroyed. 1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1–4 (NKJV) 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:10–13 (NKJV) The NT passages above place the recreated heaven(s) and earth after the cataclysmic destruction of the old at the day of the Lord, when Jesus returns. The heavenly Jerusalem, which is Christ’s bride, the resurrected and glorified elect, descends from heaven to the new earth. God will dwell with men after the elimination of all pain and death. The former sin corrupted creation will be gone forever. |
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20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. Isaiah 65:20 (NKJV) |
20 Neither will there be any longer in that place an untimely death or an old man who does not fulfill his time, for the child will be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies a hundred years old will be accursed. Isaiah 65:20 (LES2) |
This is where Isaiah seems to depart from what the New Testament says about the new heavens and earth. In verse 20, death is still present as are sinners. Some believe this refers to a “millennial” reign of Christ on the earth, in which saved and unsaved people will live together and enjoy the blessings of Christ’s rule. This is also a post-millennial concept, but will be prior to Christ’s Second Coming and the final judgment, during which time God’s blessings will be enjoyed in a tremendous way as God’s kingdom gains sway over a greater number of people. I personally hold to an amillennial or realized millennium position, which holds that the church age in which we live is the millennium. However, since all of this is in the future, we are trying to predict what will happen. God surprised the world, and especially the religious people, at his first coming. I have no doubt he will do the same at Christ’s Second Coming. I have jokingly told people that I am a pan-millennialist, meaning everything will “pan out” at the end when it actually comes to pass, probably at the expense of most of our theologies of the end times. That being said, as you have no doubt concluded, I do not know exactly what to make of verse 20. |
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21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the LORD. Isaiah 65:21–25 (NKJV) |
21 And they will build houses, and they themselves will inhabit them; and they will plant vineyards, and they themselves will eat their produce. 22 They will surely not build and others inhabit; they will surely not plant and others eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of the tree of life, for the deeds of their labor will grow old. 23 My chosen ones will not toil in vain or bear children for a curse, for they are seed blessed by God and their offspring with them. 24 And this will happen: Before they cry out, I will hear them; while they are still speaking, I will say, ‘What is it?’ 25 At that time wolves and lambs will feed together, and a lion will eat straw like an ox, and a serpent will eat dirt like bread; and they will not cause injury or harm on my holy mountain,” says the Lord. Isaiah 65:21–25 (LES2) |
In verse 21, the MT and LXX essentially agree. In verse 22, there is an interesting difference. The MT says that the days of God’s people will be like that of a tree, but the LXX says it will be like the days of the tree of life, which is never ending. (Genesis 3:22) Jesus said that anyone who eats the bread of life, which means to believe in him, will never die. (John 6:47-51) Since the Old Testament points to Christ (John 5:39), we can only properly understand it by viewing it through the lens of the New Covenant. Using this principle of interpretation, we are right back at the new heavens and earth prophesied in 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21. In verse 23, the MT and LXX both use the singular form of seed that is blessed by the Lord, even though it is translated as plural descendants in the MT. This is a common way that the MT translates the word seed that obscures the reference to the holy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16) The offspring of the holy seed are those who are born again, using the hermeneutic of John 5:39, as above. In verse 24, the MT uses different wording from the LXX here as elsewhere when translating the same sequence of words. The MT says “before they call, I will answer.” The LXX says, “before they cry out, I will hear them.” The New Testament teaches us that if God hears us, he will answer our prayers. (1 John 5:14-15) Next the MT says, “while they are still speaking, I will hear.” The LXX says, “while they are still speaking, I will say, ‘What is it?'” The personal response is far more powerful than simply saying that God hears us. In verse 25, the MT and LXX essentially agree. |
Conclusion
If you want to know more about why Christians should prefer the Septuagint to the MT, click on this link. In another article, I share some of the things I have so far learned by making this comparison. As for me, I now prefer the LXX. It was Paul’s and the other apostles’ standard for Old Covenant truth, was used by synagogues in Jesus’s day, and is most often quoted in the New Testament. That makes it good enough for me.
