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2 Chronicles describes the Passover meal simultaneously roasted and boiled, trying to harmonize a conflict with Exodus, which forbids boiling, and Deuteronomy, which requires it. This matches the Greek version of Deuteronomy which also tries to fix this.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
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: 400–301 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Deuteronomy 16:7
Septuagint
5 you shall not have power to sacrifice the passover in any of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you. 6 But in the place which the Lord your God shall choose, to have his name called there, you shall sacrifice the passover in the evening at the setting of the sun, at the time when you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall boil and roast and eat it in the place, which the Lord your God shall choose; and you shall return in the morning, and go to your house. 8 Six days you will eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day is a holiday, a feast to the Lord your God: you shall not do in it any work, save what must be done by any one.
Date: 300–201 BCE (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’ (ὀπτήσεις) 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?” ..."
Timothy H. Lim, “Deuteronomy in the Judaism of the Second Temple Period,” in Deuteronomy in the New Testament, ed. Maarten J. J. Menken and Steve Moyise (London: T&T Clark International, 2007), 6–26.
* 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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