Texts in Conversation
2 Chronicles 35 describes the Passover meal simultaneously roasted over fire and boiled in a pot, attempting to harmonize a conflict between Exodus, which forbids boiling, and Deuteronomy, which commands it. This matches the Greek Septuagint translation of Deuteronomy 16 which also attempts to harmonize the Passover commands.
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2 Chronicles 35:13
Hebrew Bible
11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses. 13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people. 14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
Date: 4th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Deuteronomy 16:7
Septuagint
5 You shall not be able to offer the Passover in any of your cities that the Lord your God has given you; 6 rather into the place that the Lord your God may choose to have his name invoked, in that place you shall offer the Passover in the evening to the setting of the sun, at the time that you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall boil and roast and eat it in the place where the Lord your God may choose it, and you shall return in the morning and go into your houses. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, but the seventh day, the final day, there shall be a festival to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work in it; you shall only do that which is necessary for life.
Date: 3rd Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Septuagint, then, is not just a translation but also an interpretation of Deuteronomy. There is a concern to disambiguate, to contemporise and to harmonise readings with other biblical texts and contemporary Jewish practice. For instance, the translator adds the verb ‘roast’ (ovpth,seij) to chapter 16, verse 7 in order to specify that the paschal offering must not only be boiled in water, but also be roasted by fire. LXX Deuteronomy is a harmonisation of two incompatible laws: Exodus 12:8-9 forbade emphatically the cooking of the lamb in any way with water, prescribing instead its roasting over the fire (compare 1 Samuel 2:15); the MT of Deuteronomy 16:7, however, uses the verb bashal ‘to boil’ for cooking. The Septuagint of Deuteronomy combines these two laws, so that the meat must be both boiled and roasted (compare 2 Chronicles 35:13 and its resolution of the laws). As Wevers rightly asked, “Could this then have reflected local practice in Alexandria?” ..."
Lim, Timothy H.
"Deuteronomy in the Judaism of the Second Temple Period" in Maarten J. J. Menken and Steve Moyise (eds.), Deuteronomy in the New Testament
(pp. 6-26) T&T Clark International, 2007
* 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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