Category Archives: Septuagint Studies

Hebrew-Greek Translation Analysis. From Hebrew to Greek : Translation Insights.

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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Historical Phonetic Shifts: Changes that Affect Textual Variants

Phonological shifts in Biblical Hebrew weren’t just whispers lost to time—they redirected the way Scripture was written, read, and interpreted. As sounds merged, gutturals eroded, and vowel patterns transformed, scribes across traditions made subtle substitutions, some guided by dialectal accent, others by auditory memory. Variants between the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Septuagint often reveal this sonic undercurrent: whether it’s a missing consonant, expanded mater lectionis, or altered verb form, phonetic history shaped the sacred text’s orthographic evolution. Sound, quite literally, left its fingerprint on Scripture’s form and transmission.… Learn Hebrew
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“Perpetual Order on the Sabbath”: Double Time and Eternal Covenant in Translation

τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων προθήσεται ἔναντι Κυρίου διὰ παντὸς ἐνώπιον τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ διαθήκην αἰώνιον (Leviticus 24:8 LXX) בְּיֹ֨ום הַשַּׁבָּ֜ת בְּיֹ֣ום הַשַּׁבָּ֗ת יַֽעַרְכֶ֛נּוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה תָּמִ֑יד מֵאֵ֥ת בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּרִ֥ית עֹולָֽם׃ Repetition and Rhythm in the Hebrew Sanctuary The Hebrew text of Leviticus 24:8 contains a rare and emphatic doubling: בְּיֹום הַשַּׁבָּ֜ת בְּיֹ֣ום הַשַּׁבָּ֗ת, “On the day of the Sabbath, on the day of the Sabbath.” This repetition serves to underscore sacred time and its cyclical holiness. The Septuagint, however, smooths this poetic doubling into a singular but pluralized expression: τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν σαββάτων, “on the day of the Sabbaths.”… Learn Hebrew
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