Texts in Conversation

Deuteronomy 6:3 leads naturally into the declaration of Shema in 6:4, but the Septuagint translation, perhaps to emphasize its importance, inserts language from Deuteronomy 4:45 just before it, showing a willingness to alter the text.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE

Deuteronomy 6:3

Hebrew Bible
1 Now these are the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that the Lord your God instructed me to teach you so that you may carry them out in the land where you are headed 2 and that you may so revere the Lord your God that you will keep all his statutes and commandments that I am giving you—you, your children, and your grandchildren—all your lives, to prolong your days. 3 Pay attention, Israel, and be careful to do this so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in number—as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you, you will have a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)

LXX Deuteronomy 6:3

Septuagint
1 And these are the commands, and the ordinances, and the judgments, as many as the Lord our God gave commandment to teach you to do so in the land on which you enter to inherit it. 2 That you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all his ordinances, and his commandments, which I command you today, you, and your sons, and your sons' sons, all the days of your life, that you may live many days. 3 Hear, therefore, Israel, and observe to do them, that it may be well with you, and that you may be greatly multiplied, as the Lord God of your fathers said that he would give you a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 And these are the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. Hear, Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and all your strength.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References

#1073
"... The translator here is more aware of context, bringing different passages into line with each other. He is concerned with halakic matters (that is, with the correct observance of the law). Sometimes he appears to 'update' his translation. In 23:18, for instance, he apparently adds initiation into the Greek mysteries to the list of forbidden practices. He, too, translates rather literally and his Greek is less polished and innovative than that, say, of the Genesis or Exodus translators. Other interesting passages include 6.4, where the Shema is preceded by an echo of 4:45 (perhaps associating 6:4 with the Decalogue), and 32:43 (the end of the Song of Moses). This has expansions similar to 4Q31 ..."
Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 15.

* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.

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