Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρός με λελάληκα πρὸς σὲ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς λέγων ἑώρακα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἰδοὺ λαὸς σκληροτράχηλός ἐστιν (Deuteronomy 9:13 LXX)
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֣י לֵאמֹ֑ר רָאִ֨יתִי֙ אֶת־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹ֖רֶף הֽוּא׃
Framing the Divine Speech
In the Masoretic Text, the verse begins with the direct introduction: וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי (“And YHWH said to me”), followed by לֵאמֹר (“saying”), the standard Hebrew formula for divine communication. The phrase is formulaic, marking prophetic reception of God’s word, and it emphasizes immediacy: YHWH is speaking directly to Moses in the present narrative.
The Septuagint, however, expands this opening considerably: Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρός με λελάληκα πρὸς σὲ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς λέγων (“And the LORD said to me: I have spoken to you once and twice, saying…”). This addition, absent in the Hebrew, creates a rhetorical amplification. The Greek portrays God as emphasizing the repeated nature of His warnings, conveying divine patience or insistence. The translators may have drawn from interpretive traditions or sought to highlight the stubbornness of Israel by stressing that God had already addressed Moses multiple times. The expansion illustrates the LXX’s tendency not only to translate but occasionally to interpret, framing God’s speech with theological emphasis.
The Visionary Verb: רָאִיתִי vs. ἑώρακα
In Hebrew, God declares: רָאִיתִי אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה (“I have seen this people”). The verb רָאָה in the perfect tense conveys completed perception — God has observed and now testifies to the character of His people. The LXX employs ἑώρακα, the perfect of ὁράω (“to see”). The perfect tense in both languages suggests an abiding result: God’s perception remains valid in the present. However, the LXX places this declaration after the prefatory clause of repeated speech, thereby embedding divine sight within a larger frame of divine communication.
The emphasis shifts slightly: in Hebrew, the focus is on God’s observation of the people in this moment of rebellion; in Greek, the observation is contextualized as part of a long pattern of divine warnings. The difference subtly reshapes the theology: Hebrew stresses divine immediacy, while Greek underscores divine persistence and continuity.
“Stiff-Necked People”: עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹרֶף vs. λαὸς σκληροτράχηλος
The climactic description is the same in both traditions, but with culturally distinct resonance. Hebrew uses the vivid idiom עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹרֶף, literally “a people hard of neck,” an agricultural metaphor drawn from the imagery of oxen resistant to the yoke. This phrase recurs throughout the Torah as a designation for Israel’s rebellious nature.
The LXX translates this with λαὸς σκληροτράχηλος, a compound adjective derived from σκληρός (“hard, stiff”) and τράχηλος (“neck”). The term is precise and idiomatic, maintaining the agricultural metaphor but in a Greek form. For Greek readers, it evoked the image of an obstinate animal, just as in Hebrew. The translation shows fidelity but also stylistic elegance, crafting a single compound word where Hebrew uses a construct chain.
This choice reflects one of the LXX’s great strengths: it often translates Hebrew idioms with naturalized Greek compounds, preserving the force of the metaphor while rendering it smoothly in Hellenistic idiom. The theological thrust — Israel’s deep-seated resistance to divine instruction — remains intact.
Theological Implications of Repetition
The Septuagint’s expansion — “I have spoken to you once and twice” — raises significant theological implications. It suggests that divine judgment is not rash but the result of patient, repeated engagement. God is portrayed as deliberate, offering Moses multiple reminders before pronouncing judgment. This emphasis aligns with broader Greek narrative style, which often stresses repetition for rhetorical force.
By contrast, the Hebrew focuses more starkly on the present recognition of Israel’s sinfulness: “I have seen this people.” There is no preface about previous warnings, only a direct observation of the people’s character. The difference is subtle but important: Hebrew foregrounds God’s immediate response to Israel’s actions, while Greek places Israel’s rebellion within a larger cycle of disobedience and divine persistence.
For readers of the LXX, this could have reinforced the idea that God’s dealings with His people are characterized by patience, repeated opportunities, and warnings before the execution of judgment. It is a theological interpretation embedded in linguistic expansion.
Hebrew-Greek Morphological Comparison
| Hebrew Word | Greek Translation | Grammatical Notes | Translation Technique |
|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי | Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος πρός με | Wayyiqtol Qal 3ms → aorist indicative 3sg | Direct equivalence, tense adjustment |
| לֵאמֹר | λελάληκα πρὸς σὲ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς λέγων | Infinitive construct “saying” → perfect + adverbial expansion | Interpretive amplification |
| רָאִיתִי | ἑώρακα | Perfect Qal 1cs → perfect indicative 1sg | Direct equivalence |
| אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה | τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον | Definite noun phrase → definite noun phrase with demonstrative | Literal equivalence |
| עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹרֶף | λαὸς σκληροτράχηλος | Noun + construct + noun → noun + compound adjective | Idiomatic adaptation |
Echoes of the Text
This verse, in both Hebrew and Greek, emphasizes the obstinacy of Israel, yet the two traditions frame God’s words differently. Hebrew focuses on God’s immediate perception of rebellion, while the Greek embeds that perception in a broader history of repeated warnings. Both highlight the stubborn character of the people — “stiff-necked” in Hebrew idiom, σκληροτράχηλος in Greek elegance.
The interplay of the two languages teaches us how divine truth is mediated through different linguistic lenses. Hebrew offers directness and stark imagery; Greek introduces rhetorical layers and cultural idioms. Together they reveal a God who both sees the present reality of human sin and patiently speaks again and again, warning His people with steadfast persistence.
