Texts in Conversation
Judith demonstrates how it uses the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus by describing God as the one who "shatters wars," instead of the original Hebrew version, which calls God a "man of war."
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Exodus 15:3
Septuagint
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song to God, and spoke, saying, Let us sing to the Lord, for he is very greatly glorified: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 He was to me a helper and protector for salvation: this is my God and I will glorify him; my father's God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord crushing wars, the Lord is his name. 4 He has cast the chariots of Pharaoh and his host into the sea, the chosen mounted captains: they were swallowed up in the Red Sea. 5 He covered them with the sea: they sank to the depth like a stone.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Judith 9:7
Deuterocanon
5 For you did the things that were before those things, and those things, and such as come after; and you planned the things which are now, and the things which are to come. The things which you planned came to pass. 6 Yes, the things which you determined stood before you, and said, ‘Behold, we are here; for all your ways are prepared, and your judgment is with foreknowledge.’ 7 For, behold, the Assyrians are multiplied in their power. They are exalted with horse and rider. They were proud of the strength of their footmen. They have trusted in shield, spear, bow, and sling. They don’t know that you are the Lord who breaks the battles. ‘The Lord’ is your name. 8 Break their strength in your power, and bring down their force in your wrath; for they intend to profane your sanctuary, and to defile the tabernacle where your glorious name rests, and to destroy the horn of your altar with the sword. 9 Look at their pride, and send your wrath upon their heads. Give into my hand, which am a widow, the might that I have conceived.
Date: 100 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In 2010, Johann Maier examined the problem by focusing on the verb employed in the phrase, which he understood as “to rub together” (i.e. to light a fire)”, “to shatter”, and, thus, having the figurative meaning of “waging war”. Hence, according to the LXX version of Exodus 15:3, God is by no means a pacifist and does not make an end to war. In her 2012 article, Judith Lang raised this issue again, contesting the traditional exegesis (comparing Judith 9:7, Judith 16:2, and Exodus 15:3). Like Larry Perkins, she focuses on the context and concludes “The Greek text perpetuates the idea of God’s powerful and destructive capability”. Concretely, the LXX does not say that God refrains from fighting but underlines exactly the contrary:Excluding Israel from fighting, God “fights (for the benefit of Israel) in the warfare.” ..."
Eberhard Bons, "The Lord is the One Who Crushes Wars – A Fresh Look at the Septuagint Translation of Exod 15:3" in Meiser, M. et al (eds.), Die Septuaginta – Geschichte, Wirkung, Relevanz (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018), 158–167.
* 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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