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- Binyanim Under Pressure: Exodus 8:26
- When Service Ends: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:25
- Consecration Through Syntax: The Priestly Ritual in Leviticus 8:24
- “A Three-Day Journey”: The Syntax of Volition and Deixis in Exodus According to Targum Onkelos
- Disaster That Flies Down: A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:22
- Purified and Presented: A Hebrew Lesson on Numbers 8:21
- Like the Nations Before You: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Deuteronomy 8:20
- Voices of the Dead or the Living God? A Hebrew Lesson on Isaiah 8:19
- When the Ground Denies Him: A Hebrew Walkthrough of Job 8:18
- From Dust to Gnats: A Hebrew Lesson in Action
- The Power of Repetition: Exploring the Waw-Consecutive
- Through the Great and Fearsome Wilderness: From Fiery Serpent to Flowing Spring
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Category Archives: Septuagint Studies
Through the Great and Fearsome Wilderness: From Fiery Serpent to Flowing Spring
Τοῦ ἀγαγόντος σε διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου τῆς μεγάλης καὶ τῆς φοβερᾶς ἐκείνης οὗ ὄφις δάκνων καὶ σκορπίος καὶ δίψα οὗ οὐκ ἦν ὕδωρ τοῦ ἐξαγαγόντος σοι ἐκ πέτρας ἀκροτόμου πηγὴν ὕδατος (Deuteronomy 8:15)
הַמֹּולִ֨יכֲךָ֜ בַּמִּדְבָּ֣ר הַגָּדֹ֣ל וְהַנֹּורָ֗א נָחָ֤שׁ שָׂרָף֙ וְעַקְרָ֔ב וְצִמָּאֹ֖ון אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֵֽין־מָ֑יִם הַמֹּוצִ֤יא לְךָ֙ מַ֔יִם מִצּ֖וּר הַֽחַלָּמִֽישׁ׃
Two Participles Framing Deliverance
In the Hebrew, the verse is framed by two participles: הַמֹּולִיךֲךָ (“the one who led you”) and הַמֹּוצִיא (“the one who brought out”). This creates a grammatical inclusio that ties God’s guidance through danger to His provision of life-giving water.… Learn Hebrew
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Guard Yourself: The Grammar of Memory and Obedience
Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου τοῦ μὴ φυλάξαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ κρίματα καὶ τὰ δικαιώματα αὐτοῦ ὅσα ἐγὼ ἐντέλλομαί σοι σήμερον
(Deuteronomy 8:11 LXX)
הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּן־תִּשְׁכַּ֖ח אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לְבִלְתִּ֨י שְׁמֹ֤ר מִצְוֹתָיו֙ וּמִשְׁפָּטָ֣יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיֹּֽום׃
Hebrew Warning and Greek Exhortation
In Deuteronomy 8:11, the call is for vigilance against spiritual forgetfulness. Both the Hebrew and Greek express this as a direct address to the hearer, but their constructions reveal subtle differences in how warning and obedience are framed.… Learn Hebrew
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Little by Little: Divine Delay and Wild Beasts
Καὶ καταναλώσει Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου τὰ ἔθνη ταῦτα ἀπὸ προσώπου σου κατὰ μικρὸν μικρόν οὐ δυνήσῃ ἐξαναλῶσαι αὐτοὺς τὸ τάχος ἵνα μὴ γένηται ἡ γῆ ἔρημος καὶ πληθυνθῇ ἐπὶ σὲ τὰ θηρία τὰ ἄγρια (Deuteronomy 7:22 LXX)
וְנָשַׁל֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ אֶת־הַגֹּויִ֥ם הָאֵ֛ל מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ מְעַ֣ט מְעָ֑ט לֹ֤א תוּכַל֙ כַּלֹּתָ֣ם מַהֵ֔ר פֶּן־תִּרְבֶּ֥ה עָלֶ֖יךָ חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃
Measured Conquest and the Grammar of Mercy
Deuteronomy 7:22 offers a striking glimpse into the divine logic of conquest. The Hebrew and Greek versions both reflect God’s intentional gradualism, but they differ in the way they express process, capacity, and consequence.… Learn Hebrew
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Exceeding Might: When the Waters Conquered Syntax and Summit
Τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ ἐπεκράτει σφόδρα σφοδρῶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπεκάλυψεν πάντα τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλά ἃ ἦν ὑποκάτω τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (Genesis 7:19 LXX)
וְהַמַּ֗יִם גָּ֥בְר֛וּ מְאֹ֥ד מְאֹ֖ד עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיְכֻסּ֗וּ כָּל־הֶֽהָרִים֙ הַגְּבֹהִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־תַּ֖חַת כָּל־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
The Flood’s Crescendo in Two Tongues
Genesis 7:19 is one of the most intense verses in the Flood narrative, narrating the climax of chaos overtaking creation. The Hebrew text uses repetition, superlatives, and relative clauses to dramatize the overwhelming nature of the waters. The Greek Septuagint renders this passage with powerful participles and expanded syntax, capturing the weight of the event but subtly shifting the emphasis in grammar and scope.… Learn Hebrew
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“Two by Two, Breath of Life”: Pairing and Presence in the LXX Translation of Genesis 7:15
Εἰσῆλθον πρὸς Νωε εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν δύο δύο ἀπὸ πάσης σαρκός ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν πνεῦμα ζωῆς (Genesis 7:15 LXX)
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ אֶל־נֹ֖חַ אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֨יִם֙ מִכָּל־הַבָּשָׂ֔ר אֲשֶׁר־בֹּ֖ו ר֥וּחַ חַיִּֽים׃
Movement Toward Salvation
This verse describes how living creatures came to Noah and entered the ark—each with the ר֥וּחַ חַיִּֽים (rûaḥ ḥayyîm), the breath of life. The Hebrew expresses this through repetition and poetic structure, especially in the phrase שְׁנַ֤יִם שְׁנַ֨יִם. The Greek Septuagint faithfully renders this pairing while smoothing the flow with classical Greek coordination and verbal consistency.… Learn Hebrew
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“Forty Days and Nights”: Flood Duration and Stylistic Symmetry in the Septuagint
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ὑετὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας καὶ τεσσαράκοντα νύκτας (Genesis 7:12 LXX)
וַֽיְהִ֥י הַגֶּ֖שֶׁם עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים יֹ֔ום וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים לָֽיְלָה׃
Repetition, Judgment, and Liturgical Rhythm
Genesis 7:12 repeats a central refrain in the Flood narrative: the precise duration of divine judgment. This verse employs biblical numerical parallelism to convey duration and completeness—forty days and forty nights. Both the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint preserve this structure, but the Greek introduces smoother coordination and lexical variation that gently shifts the style while keeping theological weight intact.… Learn Hebrew
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“Into the Ark Together”: Order, Gender, and Cause in the LXX Rendering of Noah’s Entry
Εἰσῆλθεν δὲ Νωε καὶ οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν κιβωτὸν διὰ τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ (Genesis 7:7 LXX)
וַיָּ֣בֹא נֹ֗חַ וּ֠בָנָיו וְאִשְׁתֹּ֧ו וּנְשֵֽׁי־בָנָ֛יו אִתֹּ֖ו אֶל־הַתֵּבָ֑ה מִפְּנֵ֖י מֵ֥י הַמַּבּֽוּל׃
A Family in the Face of Judgment
Genesis 7:7 records the solemn moment when Noah and his household enter the ark ahead of the floodwaters. The Hebrew and Greek versions are remarkably parallel, yet subtle shifts in syntactic ordering, prepositional framing, and lexical selection reflect both fidelity and interpretive nuance in the LXX.… Learn Hebrew
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“You Shall Speak, He Shall Send”: Distributive Prophetic Roles in Translation
Σὺ δὲ λαλήσεις αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα σοι ἐντέλλομαι ὁ δὲ Ααρων ὁ ἀδελφός σου λαλήσει πρὸς Φαραω ὥστε ἐξαποστεῖλαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισραηλ ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ (Exodus 7:2 LXX)
אַתָּ֣ה תְדַבֵּ֔ר אֵ֖ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲצַוֶּ֑ךָּ וְאַהֲרֹ֤ן אָחִ֨יךָ֙ יְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וְשִׁלַּ֥ח אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאַרְצֹֽו׃
Mediated Speech and Divine Command
Exodus 7:2 articulates the division of labor between Moshe and Aharon in their prophetic mission to Parʿo. The Hebrew frames Moshe as the recipient of divine command and Aharon as his spokesman. The Septuagint mirrors this structure closely, yet shifts verbal moods and phrase constructions to render the chain of communication in smoother Greek.… Learn Hebrew
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“Speak What I Speak”: Mirroring Divine Speech in the Septuagint
Καὶ ἐλάλησεν Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων· ἐγὼ Κύριος λάλησον πρὸς Φαραω βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου ὅσα ἐγὼ λέγω πρὸς σέ (Exodus 6:29 LXX)
וַיְדַבֵּ֧ר יְהוָ֛ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹ֖ר אֲנִ֣י יְהוָ֑ה דַּבֵּ֗ר אֶל־פַּרְעֹה֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ מִצְרַ֔יִם אֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י דֹּבֵ֥ר אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
Divine Authority and Prophetic Transmission
Exodus 6:29 presents a key transitional moment in Moshe’s prophetic commissioning. YHWH affirms His identity and issues an unambiguous command: Moshe must convey everything YHWH says to Parʿo. The Hebrew is direct and formulaic, while the Septuagint reflects this structure with modest syntactic smoothing, especially through pronoun clarity and clause restructuring.… Learn Hebrew
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Two Voices, One Mission: The Syntactic Unity of Aaron and Moshe in Hebrew and Greek
οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ διαλεγόμενοι πρὸς Φαραω βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἐξήγαγον τοὺς υἱοὺς Ισραηλ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου αὐτὸς Ααρων καὶ Μωυσῆς (Exodus 6:27 LXX)
הֵ֗ם הַֽמְדַבְּרִים֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֔יִם לְהֹוצִ֥יא אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם ה֥וּא מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹֽן׃
Introductory Reflection
In this seemingly straightforward identification of Moshe and Aharon as divine agents before Parʿo, we discover a fascinating translation decision in the Septuagint. The Hebrew employs a compound nominal clause with participial and infinitive constructions, whereas the Greek reorganizes the structure using indicative verbs and coordination. This verse offers a window into how participial identity statements in Hebrew are rendered through more fluid narrative devices in Greek, with subtle shifts in agency and aspect.… Learn Hebrew
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