Freethought & Rationalism Archive

noah · 11-13-2005, 03:16 AM

I metioned some well known contradictions in the bible in another forum and I got a whole bunch of meforevidence's ideas about the Septuagint and how it solves these inconsistencies. Since I know very little about the LXX and the Setuagint and other related texts, I thought I would ask what the resident experts here thought of meforevidence's explanation of how LXX and the Setuagint "clarify" these inconsistencies.

Here is one of the contradicitons:
David took seven hundred (2 Sam. 8:4), seven thousand (1 Chron. 18:4) horsemen from Hadadezer;

meforevidence said:

Quote:

LXX: agrees with both. It reads:

2 Sam 8:4 - 4 And David took a thousand of his chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all his chariot horses, and he reserved to himself a hundred chariots.

1 Chr 18:4 4 And David took of them a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand infantry: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but there were reserved of them a hundred chariots.

Another contradiction:
Ahaziah was 22 (2 Kings 8:26), 42 (2 Chron. 22:2) years old when he began to reign;

Meforevidence wrote:

Quote:

Although there is still a variant of 2 years, the age is much closer rounded in the Greek Septuagint.

2 kings (IV Kings LXX) 8: 26 Twenty and two years old was Ochozias when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem:

2 Chronicles 2 Ochozias began to reign when he was twenty years old, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem:

Regarding this contradiction:
Jehoiachin was 18 (2 Kings 24:8 ), 8 (2 Chron. 36:9) years old when he began to reign and he reigned 3 months (2 Kings 24:8 ), 3 months and10 days (2 Chron. 36:9);

meforevidence wrote:

Quote:

The Greek LXX records these as two separate people unlike the Modern Hebrew Masoretic Text.

LXX: 2 Kings 24: 8 Eighteen years old was Joachim when he began to reign, an he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Nestha, daughter of Ellanastham, of Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 36: 9 Jechonias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

I have to say, I really don't see why anyone bothers with the GT and the Peshitta and the Septuagint etc. etc. since they're just copies of copies of texts we've never seen.

andrewcriddle · 11-13-2005, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noah

Regarding this contradiction:
Jehoiachin was 18 (2 Kings 24:8 ), 8 (2 Chron. 36:9) years old when he began to reign and he reigned 3 months (2 Kings 24:8 ), 3 months and10 days (2 Chron. 36:9);

meforevidence wrote:

Quote:

The Greek LXX records these as two separate people unlike the Modern Hebrew Masoretic Text.

LXX: 2 Kings 24: 8 Eighteen years old was Joachim when he began to reign, an he reigned three months in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Nestha, daughter of Ellanastham, of Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 36: 9 Jechonias was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

The quotes from the Septuagint are accurate in all the examples given.

However I don't think the Septuagint regards Joachim in 2 Kings 24:8 and Jechonias in 2 Chronicles 36:9 as different people.

Jehoiachin (Joachim) the son of Jehoiakim. King of Jerusalem for a few months 598-597 BCE Is sometimes referred to in the Hebrew Bible as Jeconiah (Jechonias) See Jeremiah 27:20 and 28:4

Chronicles is using another name of the same person mentioned in Kings.

Andrew Criddle

John Kesler · 11-13-2005, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noah

I metioned some well known contradictions in the bible in another forum and I got a whole bunch of meforevidence's ideas about the Septuagint and how it solves these inconsistencies. Since I know very little about the LXX and the Setuagint and other related texts, I thought I would ask what the resident experts here thought of meforevidence's explanation of how LXX and the Setuagint "clarify" these inconsistencies.

Two things:

1) Septuagint and LXX are the same thing, the latter being an abbreviation based on the tradition that the Septuagint was the work of 70 (or 72) translators.

2) In general, I find "contradictions" based on numerical discrepancies to be weak since scribal error may be the cause. Granted, this defense is sometimes used gratuitously and ad hoc, but there are enough errors in the Bible that I find it best to avoid the type you describe.

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