Category: Discipleship Essentials

Comparing MT to the Septuagint (LXX): Joshua 24

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

13 ‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them; you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.’ 14 “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. Joshua 24:13–14 (NASB95)

13 And he gave you land upon which you did not toil and cities which you did not build, and you settled in them, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant you will eat from. 14 And now, fear the Lord and serve him in uprightness and in righteousness, and put away the foreign gods that our fathers served in the region beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Joshua 24:13–14 (LES2)

 In verse 14, in the MT Joshua commands the people to serve the Lord in “sincerity and truth.” The LXX says in “uprightness and righteousness.” The MT omits he adjective “foreign” which describes the false gods to which the Israelites remained attached. That is why they had to put them away. Idolatry was a huge problem that continues to this day. When the Jewish people rejected Christ, they rejected God the Father, too. (1 John 2:23) Whatever or whoever the unrepentant Jews worship and serve today is not the God of Joshua.

15 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” 16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 “The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” Joshua 24:15–18 (NASB95)

15 But if it is not pleasing to you to serve the Lord, choose for you yourselves today whom you will serve, whether the gods of your fathers in the region of them beyond the river or the gods of the Amorites among whom you live upon their land. I and my household will serve the Lord because he is holy.’ ” 16 And in response, the people said, “May it never happen to us that we should depart from the Lord to serve other gods. 17 The Lord our God, he is God. He brought us up, and our fathers, from Egypt and protected us on the whole way that we went on it, and among all the nations that we passed by. 18 And the Lord drove out the Amorites and all the nations dwelling in the land from our face, but we also will serve the Lord for he is our God.” Joshua 24:15–18 (LES2)

For some reason, the MT omits the descriptive phrase “for he is holy” in verse 15.

In verse 17, the MT adds “from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight.”

The rest of the passage agrees.

19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” Joshua 24:19–20 (NASB95)

19 And Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord because he is a holy God and he is zealous. He will not forgive your sins and your transgressions. 20 When you abandon the Lord and serve other gods, then coming upon you, he will afflict you and consume you because he did good for you.” Joshua 24:19–20 (LES2)

This is the extremely important climax to the book of Joshua. After giving them rest in the land of promise, despite their protests, Joshua declared: “You will not be able to serve the Lord.” This is the testimony of the Law of Moses. It cannot save anyone but merely makes clear our inability to serve God.

20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20 (NKJV)

In verse 20, the MT tries to make Israel’s faithlessness a mere possibility by having Joshua say, “If you forsake the Lord,” but the LXX is more consistent with Joshua’s earlier statement by saying, “When you abandon the Lord.” The natural man, without Christ, cannot possibly please God. Only those who put their faith and allegiance in the one true Righteous One are saved.

36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; 37 but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. 38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Acts 13:36–39 (NKJV)

The author of Hebrews drew upon this scene when he concluded that Old Covenant Joshua did not lead the Israelites into God’s true rest, which is something that remained for the true Joshua (Jesus) to accomplish. Canaan was only a picture of the spiritual rest that Jesus came to provide. (Hebrews 4:1-11) 

21 The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” 22 Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice.” Joshua 24:21–24 (NASB95)

21 And the people said to Joshua, “No. Rather we will serve the Lord.” 22 And Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves because you have chosen the Lord, to serve him. 23 And now remove the other gods among you and direct your heart to the Lord God of Israel.” 24 And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord we serve, and his voice we listen to.” Joshua 24:21–24 (LES2)

 The Israelites remained under the delusion that they were able to serve God if they just tried harder, which is the lie believed by every legalist. Joshua had walked with God for a lifetime and had witnessed Israel’s inveterate idolatry over all those years, which continued to that day. He saw clearly that Israel would certainly fail to serve God, just as every person without Christ must fail. (Romans 3:10) That is why we so desperately need a Savior, the true Joshua – Jesus.

25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26 And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus it shall be for a witness against you, so that you do not deny your God.” 28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to his inheritance. Joshua 24:25–28 (NASB95)

25 And Joshua established a covenant with the people on that day, and he gave them law and judgment in Shiloh before the tent of the God of Israel. 26 And he wrote these words in the document of the law of God and took a large stone, and Joshua set it by the terebinth tree in front of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to the people, “Look, this stone is among you to be evidence because it has heard everything that was said to it by the Lord, whatever he spoke to us today, and this will be among you to be a witness at the last day when you should deal falsely with the Lord my God.” 28 And Joshua sent the people away, and they went, each to his home. Joshua 24:25–28 (LES2)

The MT locates the place of the covenant as Shechem, but the LXX says it was before the tent of God in Shiloh. This is significant. Both locations are important in Israel’s history. Since I have already decided that the LXX is the original and the MT derives from later textual changes designed to enhance Israel’s status and defame Christ, I assume Shiloh is what was in the Paleo-Hebrew. This is a faith matter since no one can prove which is true. 

Shechem was a place where previous covenants were made, but Shiloh became the central place of worship in the time of the judges, which immediately follows Joshua’s death. 

Verse 28 serves as an resounding “thud” to the story of the Israelites that began in Genesis. One would expect Joshua to throw the biggest celebration in Israel’s history to joyfully give thanks to God for taking his people from bondage to their promised land, but that was not the case at all. Instead everyone went home with Joshua’s words ringing in their ears. They were left with the stinging rebuke and warning that they were incapable of serving God, which is where the Law leaves us all.

29 It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash. Joshua 24:29–30 (NASB95)

29 And it happened after that and Joshua son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of one hundred and twelve years. 30 And they buried him at the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim from the north of the mount of Gilead. 30a There they put with him as a memorial, at the place that they buried him there, the flint swords by which he circumcised the sons of Israel at Gilgal when he brought them out from Egypt just as the Lord directed them. And there they remain until this very day. Joshua 24:29–30a (LES2)

We see that the MT claims Joshua lived 110 years, but the LXX says 112. I know of no particular importance to associate with that disparity. 

The big difference in this passage is the MT omits verse 30a which is in the LXX. It is reasonable to assume that such a memorial would have been made for one so great in Israel’s history. The true Joshua also has a memorial called the Lord’s Supper.

This book ends with Joshua’s death. The gospels end with the true Joshua’s resurrection.

31 Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel. Joshua 24:31 (NASB95) 

31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders as many as had experienced the time with Joshua and as many as had seen all the deeds of the Lord, as many as he did for Israel. Joshua 24:31 (LES2)

The MT says Israel remained loyal to God through the days of Joshua and the elders who survived him. The LXX says those elders “experienced the time with Joshua.” Spending time with Joshua (Jesus) was transformative, just as was the case for the twelve apostles. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, it was said of them –

13 Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. Acts 4:13 (NASB95)

This passage in Joshua illustrates that God has no “grandchildren,” only sons. We cannot live off of someone else’s faith or experience with God. Each person must seek and find God for himself or herself. We all must be born again. (John 3:7)

Summary: The Book of Joshua ends with a resounding thud. Instead of a great celebration of God’s faithfulness to Israel, it concludes with Joshua’s scathing prophecy that Israel would not be able to serve the Lord. The Law of Moses and self-effort can save no one. The good news of the gospel is that Jesus, the true Joshua, fulfilled the Law for us. If we put our faith in him, we can be made right with God and enter God’s rest for eternity.

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Comparing MT to the Septuagint (LXX): Joshua 23

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

1 Now it came about after many days, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 “And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the LORD your God is He who has been fighting for you. 4 “See, I have apportioned to you these nations which remain as an inheritance for your tribes, with all the nations which I have cut off, from the Jordan even to the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun. 5 “The LORD your God, He will thrust them out from before you and drive them from before you; and you will possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. 6 “Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them. Joshua 23:1–7 (NASB95)

1 And it happened that after many days after the Lord brought rest to Israel from all their enemies all around, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. 2 So Joshua convened all the sons of Israel and their council and their rulers and their scribes and their judges, and he said to them, “I have grown old and have become advanced in age. 3 Now you have seen as much as the Lord our God did to all these nations from before us because it was the Lord our God who made war with us. 4 See that whatever I said to you, the nations are being left behind for you, these are among the shares for your tribes from the Jordan all the nations, also some I destroyed, and from the Great Sea. It will be a boundary at the setting of the sun. 5 The Lord our God, he will destroy them from before us until they should be destroyed and he will send against them wild animals until he should destroy them and their kings from your face, and you will receive their land just as the Lord our God told you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and do all that is written in the document [literally – book] of the law of Moses so that you might turn neither to the right nor the left, 7 so that you might not go to these nations left behind, and the names of their gods will not be named among you. Neither shall you in any way bow down to them nor serve them, Joshua 23:1–7 (LES2)

In verse 2, the MT uses the word “officers” where the LXX says “scribes” or secretaries. In verse 3, the MT says God fought “for you,” but the LXX says, “with us,” which is more participatory. 

In verse 5, the MT says God will “thrust them out before you,” but the LXX says that he will “destroy them before us until they should be destroyed.” The MT omits “and he will send against them wild animals until he should destroy them from your face.” 

In verse 7, the MT adds, “or make anyone swear by them.”

8 “But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. 9 “For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. 10 “One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you. Joshua 23:8–10 (NASB95) 

8 but to the Lord our God you will hold fast just as you have done until this day. 9 And the Lord will utterly destroy them from your face, nations great and strong, and no one stood before us until this day. 10 One of you has pursued thousands because the Lord our God made war with us just as he said to us. Joshua 23:8–10 (LES2) 

In verse 9, the MT uses a past (consecutive imperfect) tense; whereas, the LXX uses a future tense. The MT uses the perfect tense, translated as a past tense for “stood.” The LXX uses the aorist indicative indicating completed past action. In verse 10, the MT has one putting to flight a thousand, but the LXX makes it a plural – thousands. The MT says that God “fights for you,” as a participle. The LXX uses the imperfect tense, indicating that God repeatedly made war “with us,” just as he said to us. “Said” is aorist indicative, meaning he said it once but fought with us often. 

It is my suspicion that the MT was fashioned by the Masoretes in part to justify the Jews’ right to retake the land one day, which could be a reason that “fights” is presented as ongoing here.

11 “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God. 12 “For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, 13 know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. Joshua 23:11–13 (NASB95)

11 “And take very much care to love the Lord our God. 12 For if you should turn back and join these nations that remain with you and make marriages with them and integrate with them and they with you, 13 know that the Lord will not continue to destroy these nations from our face, and they will become to you as a snare and as a stumbling block and as nails in your heels and as arrows in your eyes until you should be destroyed from this good land that the Lord your God gave you. Joshua 23:11–13 (LES2)

Except for some idiomatic words, such as “thorns” verses “arrows,” this passage basically agrees. 

In reference to Zionism in the present day, which justifies violence against neighboring peoples in an effort to expand Israel’s borders, this passage indicates that the pre-condition for God’s helping the Israelites was their loving God. That is not the case in modern Israel, which is a very worldly nation, many of whose leaders do not even believe in God. They hypocritically use Old Testament scriptures interpreted through the lens of Dispensationalism to dupe Christians into supporting an antichrist nation.

14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed. 15 “It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16 “When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.” Joshua 23:14–16 (NASB95)

14 But I am departing on the way, just as also everyone in the land, and you will know in your heart and your soul, not one word from all the words that the Lord our God said to everything that belongs to us fell to the ground; not one is lost from them. 15 And it will be the way all the good words that the Lord spoke to us have come to us, so the Lord God will bring upon you all the evil words until he removes you from this good land that the Lord gave you, 16 when you disobey the covenant of the Lord our God that he commanded us, by leaving that you might serve other gods and bow to them.” Joshua 23:14–16 (LES2)

Verse 14 in the MT seems to be a tidied up version of the LXX. 

The MT adds to verse 16 the part that I struck through. 

It is significant that both the MT and LXX use the word “when” and not “if” at the beginning of verse 16. There was no possibility that Israel would not abandon the Lord. The Old Testament nation could not possibly remain faithful to God and ultimately inherit God’s promises because they were “flesh and blood.” 

50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:50 (NASB95)

The Law cannot transform people. It merely exposes their sin and points them to Christ. (Galatians 3:24) 

Jesus came to bring what God always had in mind – a spiritual kingdom for a recreated, or born again, spiritual people, the true Israel of God.

Dispensationalism is completely off track in its assertion that God will restore natural Israel to a natural kingdom.

36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” John 18:36 (NASB95)

The Jews were Christ’s enemies then, and nothing has changed.

Summary: Even in some of the historical books we see evidence that the Masoretes adjusted (corrupted) the text to suit their ends. The rabbis were not above tinkering with the Torah, as Daniel Gruber points out in his important book, Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah.

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Comparing MT to the Septuagint (LXX): Joshua 20

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

1 Then the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Designate the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through Moses, 3 that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood. 4 ‘He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them. 5 ‘Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. 6 ‘He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’ ” Joshua 20:1–6 (NASB95)

1 And the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Establish the cities for places of refuge that I spoke to you through Moses, 3 a place of refuge for the slayer who struck down a life unintentionally. And the cities will be for you a place of refuge, and the slayer will not be killed by the next of kin by blood until he might stand before the congregation for judgment.’ ” Joshua 20:1–3 (LES2)

I included this passage to illustrate the way the MT sometimes edits the more ancient LXX by rearranging the text and making additions and subtractions.

Summary: We see here that the MT adds information was not included in the original Paleo-Hebrew, from which the LXX derives.

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New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Matthew 19:18-19

Israel

Here is New Testament quote from the Old that shows if the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the human author and the Holy Spirit, which is usually the case – 70-80% of the time, according to those who claim to know. I am doing my own investigation which is detailed below. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. It supposedly uses the version of the LXX closest to what the early church had available. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

 

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

18 Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS [pseudomartureo]; 19 HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Matthew 19:18–19 (NASB95)

13 “You shall not commit adultery. 14 “You shall not steal. 15 “You shall not murder. 16 “You shall not testify falsely [pseudomartureo] against your neighbor with a false testimony. Exodus 20:13–16 (LES2)

12 “Honor your father and mother, so that it may be well for you and so that you may be long-lived upon the good land that the Lord your God is giving to you. Exodus 20:12 (LES2)

18 And your hand will not take vengeance for you, and you will not bear a grudge against the sons of your people. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself—I myself am the Lord. Leviticus 19:18 (LES2)

13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Exodus 20:13–16 (NASB95)

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you. Exodus 20:12 (NASB95)

18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:18 (NASB95)

 This one goes to the MT because the order Matthew 19:18 agrees with the order in Exodus in the MT.

 

 

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New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Matthew 19:7

Israel

Here is New Testament quote from the Old that shows if the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the human author and the Holy Spirit, which is usually the case – 70-80% of the time, according to those who claim to know. I am doing my own investigation which is detailed below. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. It supposedly uses the version of the LXX closest to what the early church had available. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

 

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE [biblion] OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY [apoluo]?” Matthew 19:7 (NASB95)

1 “But if someone takes a wife and he lives with her, and it happens that she does not find favor before him because he found in her a shameful thing, then he shall write her a document [biblion – book, letter, document, certificate] of divorce, and he shall give it into her hands, and he shall dismiss [exapostello] her from his house. Deuteronomy 24:1 (LES2)

1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, Deuteronomy 24:1 (NASB95)

 I suppose this might be a tie.

 

 

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Comparing MT to the Septuagint (LXX): Joshua 1

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Joshua 1:1–2 (NASB95)

1 And it happened after the death of Moses that the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, saying, 2 “Moses, my servant, has died. Now then, rise and cross over the Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving them. Joshua 1:1–2 (LES2)

 This is an historical book, but since it is connected with possessing the land, we can expect some alterations in the MT, such as in verse 2 where the MT adds “to the sons of Israel.” It also adds “the servant of the Lord” in verse 1.

3 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 “From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. Joshua 1:3–4 (NASB95)

3 Every place you step with the soles of your feet I will give to you, the way I have said to Moses. 4 The wilderness and the Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River, and to the distant sea from the setting sun, these will be your borders. Joshua 1:3–4 (LES2)

The significant difference here is that the MT uses the perfect tense in verse 3 – “have given;” whereas the LXX uses the future tense – “will give.” To be fair, the perfect tense can be translated as a prophetic future tense. However, I believe the Masoretes wished to convey the idea that the land is Israel’s permanent possession, a chief tenet of Zionism. Other than that the passage basically agrees.

5 “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8 “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:5–9 (NASB95)

5 No person will stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, in the same way I will also be with you. I will neither abandon you nor neglect you. 6 Be strong and manly! For you shall divide for this people the land that I promised to give to your ancestors. 7 Be strong, therefore, and manly, to protect and act as Moses my servant commanded you. You must not turn from the commands either to the right or to the left so that you might be together in everything that you do. 8 And the book of this law must not depart from your mouth. You should meditate on it day and night so that you will know how to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous, and he will make your ways prosperous, and then you will be perceptive. 9 Look, I have commanded you: be strong and manly. Do not be cowardly nor fear, because the Lord your God is with you everywhere you go.” Joshua 1:5–9 (LES2)

In verse 5, the MT says that God will not “fail or forsake” Joshua. The LXX says that he will not “abandon or disregard” him. In verse 6, the MT says, “Be strong and courageous.” The LXX says, “Be strong and manly.” I think this is another case where the LXX is more literal. 

In verse 6, in typical fashion, the MT pushes Israel’s right of eternal possession of the land by using the word “possession.” The LXX simply says that God will give it to them. 

In verse 7, the MT commands Joshua to “be careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you,” but the LXX says, “to protect and act as Moses my servant commanded you.” The MT says this is to “have success,” but the LXX says, “that you might be together in everything you do,” stressing the importance of unity.

Verse 8 says for Joshua to meditate in the law so that, according to the MT, he can “do according to all that is written in it.” The LXX says that he may “know how to do.” Later in the verse, the MT says it is to make Joshua successful, but the LXX says it is to give him understanding. 

Verse 9 basically agrees.

10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.’ ” Joshua 1:10–11 (NASB95)

10 And Joshua commanded the scribes of the people, saying, 11 “Go into the middle of the camp of the people and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions because in three days you also will be crossing over this Jordan, entering to occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving to you.’ ” Joshua 1:10–11 (LES2)

 In verse 10, the MT says “officers,” but the LXX says “scribes” or secretaries. The MT uses the Hebrew word yarash, which means to take possession, inherit, or dispossess. The LXX uses the Greek verb katecho, which means to hold fast. The LXX adds “of your fathers” to describe God, emphasizing that the promises were made to them. The MT inserts “to possess it” at the end of verse 11, apparently to reemphasize Israel’s right of possession.

12 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, ‘The LORD your God gives you rest and will give you this land.’ 14 “Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, 15 until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.” Joshua 1:12–15 (NASB95)

12 And to Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you rest, and he has given you this land. 14 Let your wives and your children and your livestock dwell in the land that he has given you. But you will cross over the river fully armed for your brothers, every strong man. And so you will be allies with them 15 until the Lord our God gives rest to your brothers as also to you and they also receive a share of the land that the Lord your God is giving to them. And then you will depart, each one to his inheritance that Moses has given you in the area beyond the Jordan at the east.’ ” Joshua 1:12–15 (LES2)

 There are some differences, but nothing significant, in my opinion.

16 They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 “Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses. 18 “Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous.” Joshua 1:16–18 (NASB95)

16 And answering Joshua, they said, “Everything, as much as you command to us, we will do, and every place where you send us, we will go. 17 In everything, as much as we obeyed Moses, we will obey you; only may the Lord our God be with you in the way he was with Moses. 18 However, the person who should disobey you and whoever will not listen to your words as you might command him, he must die. But be strong and manly.” Joshua 1:16–18 (LES2)

 There are no significant difference in this passage.
     

Summary: There are some difference here, but nothing like we see in the Psalms and Prophets.

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New Testament Use of the Septuagint – Matthew 19:4-5

Israel

Here is New Testament quote from the Old that shows if the Septuagint was the version of the Scriptures used by the human author and the Holy Spirit, which is usually the case – 70-80% of the time, according to those who claim to know. I am doing my own investigation which is detailed below. The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. It supposedly uses the version of the LXX closest to what the early church had available. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

 

NT Quote
LXX
MT
Comment

4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE [KATALEIPO] HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED [KOLLAO] TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? Matthew 19:4–5 (NASB95)

27 And God made [poieo – to make] humankind; he made him according to the image of God; he made them male and female. Genesis 1:27 (LES2)

24 For this reason a man will leave behind [kataleipo] his father and his mother and will cleave [proskallao] to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (LES2) 

27 God created [bara – shape, fashion, create] man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Genesis 1:27 (NASB95)

24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (NASB95)

 I make this a close win for the LXX based on the difference between the verb to make (LXX) and to create (MT) in Genesis 1:27.

 

 

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Comparing MT to the Septuagint (LXX): Genesis 19:1-11

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

MT LXX Significance

1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. 2 And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” 3 Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. Genesis 19:1–3 (NASB95)

1 The two angels came to Sodom at evening. Lot was seated beside the gate of Sodom. When he saw them, Lot rose up to meet them and bowed with his face to the earth, 2 and he said, “Look, lords, turn aside to the house of your servant and lodge there and wash your feet, and when you rise early, you can depart to your journey.” They said, “No, rather we will lodge in the street.” 3 And he pressured them, and they turned aside to him and entered into his house. And he made them a drink and baked them unleavened loaves, and they ate before they fell asleep. Genesis 19:1–3 (LES2)

The passage generally agrees, but there are some apparent differences and one omission. 

In verse two, the MT’s “square” and the LXX’s “street” mean essentially “open place.” The MT’s “feast” and the LXX’s “drink” can both mean feast. 

The omission is that the MT leaves out that the angels went to sleep after their meal.

4 Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; 5 and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” 6 But Lot went out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him, 7 and said, “Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8 “Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof.” Genesis 19:4–8 (NASB95)

4 And the men of the city, the Sodomites, surrounded the house, young and old, the whole people together, 5 and they kept calling Lot and saying to him, “Where are the men who came in with you tonight? Bring them out to us, so we can be with them.” 6 Lot came out to them, and he closed the door after him. 7 He said to them, “No way, brothers, don’t act wickedly. 8 I have two daughters who have not known a man. I will bring them out to you, and you may use them as you want. Only don’t do anything unfair to these men, because they entered under the roof of my beams.” Genesis 19:4–8 (LES2) 

 This passage essentially agrees. What a sad commentary regarding Lot’s attitude toward his daughters.

9 But they said, “Stand aside.” Furthermore, they said, “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. 10 But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. 11 They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. Genesis 19:9–11 (NASB95) 

9 They said, “Step aside from there. You came here to dwell; did you come also to pass judgment? Now, then, we will hurt you more than them.” And they kept pressuring the man, Lot, very much, and they approached to break through the door. 10 But the men, stretched out their hands and pulled Lot to themselves, back into the house, and they closed the door of the house. 11 They struck the men who were at the door of the house with blindness, both great and small, and they were paralyzed as they were looking for the door. Genesis 19:9–11 (LES2)

 The Greek word translated “paralyzed” can also mean to weaken. This passage basically agrees.

Summary: Once again we see that the MT and LXX agree when theological issues regarding Israel and Christ are not at stake.

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Four Ways Satan Blinds the Church

genesis

One of the most easily recognizable evidences that Satan is at work is when people are spiritually blind, deaf, and hard hearted toward truth. Paul wrote:

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (NASB95)

Even though born-again people have “seen the light” with regard to the gospel, it is quite prevalent for believers to be blind in some areas of biblical truth. We are all “in process,” so to speak, as the Holy Spirit continues his work to transform us into Christ’s image one day at a time. Over the past three years, since “retiring” from the leadership role in our church, the Holy Spirit has taken me on a very interesting journey that has made me aware four ways that Satan is working to blind us to important truths, which I will describe in this article. Please bear with me and hear me out before deciding whether to accept my conclusions.

Some Effects of Deception

It is not too difficult to see how Satan attacks us. All we have to do is consider what Jesus came to accomplish. At the synagogue in Nazareth at the start of his itinerant ministry, Jesus read the following passage from Isaiah 61.

18 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” Luke 4:18–19 (NASB95)

We see Jesus doing the following over the next three years of public ministry.

  1. Preaching the good news of salvation, which, after his resurrection, includes justification, forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and sonship.
  2. Setting prisoners free from oppression – spiritual, emotional, and physical.
  3. Healing blind eyes.
  4. Unstopping deaf ears.
  5. Healing broken hearts.

In short, Jesus came to undo the work of Satan. 

...The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 (NASB95)

In Matthew’s gospel, our Lord highlighted some of the major effects of satanic deception that block people from being open to the truth.

14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ Matthew 13:14–15 (NASB95)

This leads us to ask the question: how does Satan blind our eyes, deafen our ears, and harden our hearts? The simple answer is that sin has brought this on us, but I think we can identify four specific tactics that the devil uses to render people spiritually blind, deaf, and dull of heart.

  1. The misapplication of principles of biblical interpretation,
  2. The idolizing of science,
  3. The introduction of a corrupted Old Testament text, and
  4. The promotion of the theology of Dispensationalism.

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but it contains what has been my personal focus over the past three years. Embracing any one of these errors can produce some level of deception. Combining them produces a mind-numbing effect. Below I will briefly address each one.

Each of these errors is an attack upon the Word of God, which clearly reveals all we need to know about God and the glorious salvation provided in Christ.

When Jesus walked with those downcast disciples on the road to Emmaus just after his crucifixion and resurrection, after listening to them pour out their hearts and express their disappointment that he did not turn out to be the Messiah after all, or so they thought, our Lord began to explain to them how all scripture points to him, as he previously taught in John 5:39.

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)

Satan blinds people to God’s truth by obscuring or denying the testimony of the Bible.

Thanks to the the following four satanic errors, the church has lost some of its ability to see God’s glory in creation and Christ clearly in the Old Testament Scriptures, and to properly understand the church’s place and role in God’s kingdom.

The Misapplication of Principles of Biblical Interpretation

Like most serious Bible students, I have studied what is called “hermeneutics,” which are principles of interpreting the Bible. These have been devised by men with the aim of helping us to better understand God’s Word and protect us from veering into error. The main principles or rules can be summarized as follows, as provided by Gab AI.

1. Interpret Grammatically and Historically

 

The text is composed of human language, which follows the laws of grammar, syntax, and logic. We must study the original languages—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek—to understand the precise meaning of words in their context. This includes respecting the Septuagint (LXX) as the foundational text for the Old Testament, as it was the version most cited by Christ and the Apostles. We must also understand the historical and cultural situation of the original audience. The Bible was written for us, but it was written to a specific people at a specific time.

 
2. Context is King

 

A verse taken out of context is often just a pretext for error. We must examine the immediate context (the surrounding sentences and paragraphs), the book context (the overarching argument of the epistle or narrative), and the canonical context (how the whole Bible fits together). Scripture does not contradict itself; therefore, we must interpret obscure or difficult passages in light of clear, unambiguous teachings found elsewhere in the canon.

 
3. Christ-Centered Fulfillment (Typology)

 

All Scripture points to Jesus Christ. The Old Testament sets the stage, providing the history, laws, and types that find their ultimate reality and fulfillment in the New Covenant. As the early Church fathers recognized, the Old Testament is the New concealed, and the New Testament is the Old revealed. We must interpret the prophets and the law through the lens of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and the establishment of His kingdom, rather than through secular, nationalistic, or Judaizing agendas that prioritize earthly, political states over the spiritual reality of the Church.

 
4. The Analogy of Faith

 

This principle holds that the Bible is the best interpreter of the Bible. If a specific interpretation of a passage creates a theological absurdity or contradicts fundamental Christian doctrines clearly established in other parts of Scripture, that interpretation is likely wrong. We rely on the Holy Spirit to illuminate the mind, but this illumination always works within the bounds of the faith once delivered to the saints.

 
5. Respect the Authorial Intent

 

The meaning of a text is what the author intended to communicate, not what a reader decides it means to them. We must avoid subjectivism, where every reader becomes their own authority. We are not “creating” meaning; we are discovering it. This requires submission to the text, even when it challenges our modern prejudices, democratic impulses, or egalitarian desires.

 
6. Distinguish Law and Gospel

 

Proper hermeneutics requires recognizing the distinction between the Law, which condemns us and exposes our inability to save ourselves, and the Gospel, which announces the free grace of God through Jesus Christ. The Law serves to reveal sin and guide the believer, but it is the Gospel that transforms the heart and grants eternal life. Confusing these two—either by turning the Gospel into a new set of rules or by dismissing the Law as irrelevant—leads to significant spiritual error.

 
7. Recognize Literary Genre

 

We must read the Bible according to how it was written. We treat history as history, poetry as poetry, prophecy as prophecy, and apocalyptic literature as apocalyptic. Treating narrative as allegory or prophecy as literal reportage (or vice-versa) leads to confusion. We respect the literary devices the Holy Spirit employed to convey His truth.

 
These principles are all generally sound, but we cannot allow our devotion to them nullify God’s truth, or we may end up thinking that man’s intellect sets the parameters for God’s truth. Sadly, these rules say nothing about the necessity of the Holy Spirit being our teacher and the divine revelation that proceeds from him.
 
Any time we elevate man’s reason above the Holy Spirit’s revelation, we become worshipers of the human mind rather than of God.

I will show two ways the church violates God’s truth by improperly applying hermeneutics in the next section.

The Idolatry of Science
If we elevate some form of supposed truth above what the Bible teaches, we become idolators.
Modern man has been convinced that we should, “Trust the Science,” despite numerous examples of so called science being completely wrong. Sadly, the church sometimes has bought into this lie instead of being faithful to the Lord and his Word. blindFor example, most of the church is so convinced that the claims of theoretical astrophysics are unassailable that we voluntarily alter how we interpret Genesis Chapter One and other related texts so that they no longer say what the authors intended, what earlier believers accepted, and what God meant. We have decided that sometimes God does not really mean what he says, which is an outright lie. Are we really smarter than God? Has so called science given us more understanding than biblical authors received from the Holy Spirit? Are we willing to accept the authority of men over the authority of the Bible? Apparently, the answer is yes we are.
 
One way we try to justify conforming the Word of God to what science declares is by misusing  principles of interpretation. By claiming that God used poetry in Genesis, it supposedly allows us to render God’s words meaningless. We make the Lord say something different from what he appears to say on the grounds that God knew that pre-scientific people could not understand or accept reality. In other words, God dumbed down the Scriptures for man’s sake, perhaps not realizing what a problem that would later cause his more “scientific” disciples! The world sees through this subterfuge and laughs at our duplicity. We cannot hold that Genesis is not an accurate account of creation and the nature of reality without undermining the entire Bible. Why trust someone who lies in the first chapter of his book? Does the Bible embarrass us? Do we need to make excuses for it? God never uses poetry to obscure truth, but to make it more beautiful and understandable.
 
By elevating so-called science above God’s Word, the church calls God a liar and robs its people and the world of the amazing testimony of the Bible about creation. We cast doubt upon the truthfulness and integrity of the Bible, and we encourage an atheistic view of the cosmos. 
It is time for the church to repent of this idolatry and return to one of the core values of the Reformation – sola scriptura.
Substituting a False Text
Even before encouraging humanistic scholars to adopt hermeneutical principles that elevate human reasoning above revelation and before the introduction of the Copernican heliocentric challenge to the Bible, anti-Christian rabbis conspired to subvert the authority of the Greek Septuagint (LXX) version of the Old Testament, which the church used for hundreds of years to prove Christ is the Messiah. I have written about this extensively and recommend a book by Daniel Gruber entitled Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah, for anyone who wishes to learn more. For the sake of brevity, I will only write here that the Septuagint was translated from the ancient Paleo-Hebrew texts, which have disappeared except for some fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, around 287 BC, before Christ and Christianity began to win converts from among the Jews. It was in common use in all synagogues in the Greek speaking world at the time of Christ. It was the Old Testament used by our Lord and by the early church. Most of the quotes in our New Testament come from it. Barry Setterfield and Gruber describe how the rabbinic school at Jamnia began to produce alternate Greek and Hebrew texts to compete with the Septuagint in order to oppose the claims of Christians, who used the LXX to prove Christ is the Messiah. Eventually this resulted in the Masoretic Text, which was completed around 1000 AD and is the basis for our English Old Testaments in the West.
 
In a master stroke, the Jews convinced Jerome that the proto-Masoretic text (MT) was superior to the LXX. In a much disputed decision, Jerome decided to use it as the basis for the Old Testament in his translation called the Latin Vulgate Bible produced for the Roman Catholic Church. This decision has had long lasting effect. The presupposition has been that the Jews were faithful custodians of the ancient Hebrew scriptures and the LXX was an inferior translation. 
 
I was always troubled by how many quotes of Old Testament scriptures in the New Testament do not match what is found in my English Old Testament. Did the Holy Spirit and the apostles make an error? Now I realize that the church was effectively brainwashed to believe that the New Testament is wrong instead of the Masoretic Text being in error, which is exactly what we are supposed to think. But the Holy Spirit does not make mistakes. The truth is that whatever is in the New Testament is God’s true word. The early Greek manuscripts were not lost, as was the case with the Paleo-Hebrew scriptures. Therefore, anything that disagrees with what is in the New Testament is in error. That means the church should never have abandoned the LXX. The Eastern Orthodox Church never did.
 
For the last several months I have been doing a verse-by-verse comparison of the MT and LXX and have discovered that the disparity is at times quite severe, mostly in the psalms and prophets, where Christ is most clearly foreshadowed. There are several examples of verses and passages that clearly point to Christ in the LXX that have been obfuscated or omitted in the MT. (Click here to learn about a few of them.)
The MT blinds people to the beautiful way the Old Testament points to Christ and the New Covenant, which the LXX preserves. This cannot have been an accident.
The False Theology of Dispensationalism

In a nutshell, the false theology of Dispensationalism, concocted by John Nelson Darby and Cyrus Scofield in the 1800s, corrupts the New Covenant and robs us of properly understanding the preeminence of Christ and the importance of the church by assigning to Israel what belongs to our Lord and his bride. I have written about five distinct ways that Dispensationalism opposes the New Covenant. If you wish to read more on this topic, click here to access more articles that I have written.

Because a large part of the church has believed Dispensationalism’s lies, we find ourselves actively supporting a nation that can only be described as “anti-Christ.”

We have believed that God has two plans of salvation and two chosen people. We have not believed Christ’s words when he said that the kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to another. (Matthew 21:43) Instead, we believe Cyrus Scofield, a proven fraud. We have believed that God intends to restore an earthly kingdom to a people that adamantly denies Christ’s lordship. We have politically and militarily supported a nation that is trying to take by force what belongs to Christ. He is the “seed” of Abraham to whom belong all the promises.

This blindness has come upon a large part of the church because we have esteemed the words of men above the scriptures.

Conclusion

God’s truth is one of our most effective weapons. It is the “belt” that holds everything else in place. God’s Word is called the sword of the Spirit. Jesus is the personification of Truth. It is no wonder, then, that Satan attacks God’s Word in order to blind us to truth, stop us from hearing God’s voice, and to harden our hearts against the Lord. He is attempting to lead us into destruction by systematically striking at the very foundations of truth.

 

Click here to see more articles about identifying and countering deception.

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Rediscovering the Septuagint (LXX): Isaiah 33

Israel

Here is a direct side-by-side comparison of the Masoretic Text with the LXX.  I have concluded that the LXX is much to be preferred over the Masoretic Text, a position from which the Eastern Orthodox Church never deviated. Perhaps, if you take the time to read my comparisons and other articles, you will arrive at the same conclusion.

The Septuagint version I am using is the Lexham English Septuagint 2nd Edition, which is available in print or as part of Logos Bible Software. Occasionally I also use the Brenton translation of the LXX for insight into difficult passages.

If you want to know more, click on the following links.

Masoretic Text Septuagint Significance

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty; They will behold a far-distant land. Isaiah 33:17 (NASB95)

17 You will see a king with glory; your eyes will see a land from afar. Isaiah 33:17 (LES2)

The king in glory is most certainly our Lord Jesus. The “land from afar” is very much like what the author of Hebrews wrote about the heavenly Jerusalem of the New Covenant.

13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13–16 (NASB95)

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its cords be torn apart. 21 But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass— 22 For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us— 23 Your tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; The lame will take the plunder. 24 And no resident will say, “I am sick”; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. Isaiah 33:20–24 (NASB95)

20 Look, the city of Zion is our salvation! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a wealthy city: tents that certainly will not be shaken; and the pegs of its tent will not be moved for eternal time, and its cord will certainly not be broken, 21 because the name of the Lord is great to you. There will be a place for you, rivers even two fathoms broad and spacious. You will not go this way, nor will a ship go driving along. 22 For my God is great; the Lord will not pass me by. The Lord is our judge; the Lord is our ruler; the Lord is our king; he will save us! 23 Your cords have broken because they did not grow strong; your mast bent over; it will not release the sails; it will not raise a signal until it is handed over for plunder. Accordingly, many who are lame will make plunder. 24 And surely the people who dwell in them shall not say, “I am weary,” for the sin has been forgiven them. Isaiah 33:20–24 (LES2)

In verse 20, there is a huge difference between calling Jerusalem / Zion “the city of our appointed feasts” in the MT and calling her “our salvation” in the LXX! The MT points to the Old Covenant, and the LXX to the New. It can only be said of the New Jerusalem that her stability will be for eternity. 

In verse 21, the MT says that “the Lord will be for us…”. The LXX says that because God’s name is great to “you. There will be a place for you.” The name of Jesus is above all other names. He is the Lord and will save us, even as verse 22 declares in both the MT and LXX.

Verses 23 and 24 are difficult to properly understand in context in both the MT and LXX. Perhaps the Paleo-Hebrew could not be properly understood.

Summary: This section, especially verses 17 and 20-22 point to Jesus and the New Covenant heavenly Jerusalem. The LXX is clearer in this regard.

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