Texts in Conversation
Romans 10 uses the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 65 and follows its unique phrasing, yet Paul still changes its language to serve his argument. His quote does not match the Greek nor any Hebrew version and shows deliberate reshaping.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 65:2
Septuagint
1 I became manifest to those who did not seek me; I was found by those who did not ask for me: I said, Look, I am here, to a nation, who did not call on my name. 2 I have stretched forth my hands all day to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who did not walk in a true way, but after their sins. 3 This is the people that provokes me continually in my presence; they offer sacrifices in gardens, and burn incense on bricks to demons, which do not exist. 4 They lie down to sleep in the tombs and in the caves for the sake of dreams, even they that eat swine's flesh, and the broth of their sacrifices: all their vessels are defiled:
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Romans 10:21
New Testament
19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.” 20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But about Israel he says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”
Date: 55–58 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Paul makes important use of Isaiah 65:1–2 in his discussions about the future of Israel and of the gentiles, citing the text directly at Romans 10:21–22. Paul seems clearly enough to be citing a form of the LXX, which he appears to have modified in some important ways. Even Wagner speaks of Paul’s shocking transformation of the text: “What is, in Isaiah an oracle about God’s relentless pursuit of apostate Israel (65:1) becomes in Paul’s hands a declaration of God’s gracious acceptance of the gentiles. As if to add insult to injury, Paul then employs the very next verse (65:2) to paint a sharply contrasting picture of contemporary Israel as a people continually resisting God’s grace.” ... There are definite clues that Paul’s version is closer to the LXX than to the Hebrew at this juncture. For instance, the use of the pronoun as the direct object in the second clause of the first quotation verse agrees with the LXX against the Hebrew version, but more importantly the verbal phrase ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην is surely derived from the LXX text; and then there is the phrase καὶ ἀντιλέγοντα at the end of verse 21 which appears only in the LXX and in no extant Hebrew text at all. At the same time, Paul’s text diverges from the LXX in the following ways: (1) Paul seems to have chosen to quote only a portion of each verse from Isaiah 65; (2) it would appear as well that he has highlighted the phrase “all day long” by moving it to the beginning of the citation of Isaiah 65:2 ..."
Ben Witherington III, Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), 332.
* 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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