Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 44 describes a man cutting down trees, including cedars, for daily use and for idols. The Greek Septuagint changes the word for “cedar” to a word that resembles it in Hebrew but means “Lord,” likely due to confusion during translation.
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Isaiah 44:14
Hebrew Bible
13 A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it in a shrine. 14 He cuts down cedars and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; he plants a cedar and the rain makes it grow. 15 A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire—over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says,‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Isaiah 44:14
Septuagint
13 Having chosen a piece of wood, the artisan set it up with a measure and arranged it with glue; he made it like the form of a man, like human beauty, to set it up in a house. 14 He cut this wood from the forest, which the Lord planted and the rain made grow, 15 so that it might be for people to burn. And taking part of it, he warmed himself, and they burned cthe pieces and baked bread on them. But the rest they fashioned into gods, and they do obeisance to them. 16 Half of it he burned up in the fire, and after roasting meat over it, he ate it and was satisfied. And having warmed himself, he said, “I am pleased, for I have been warmed and have seen the fire!”
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In LXX Isaiah, especially formal association occurs abundantly (particularly in rearranged texts, but also beyond). This kind of association means that an expression in the translation, even if it does not form a semantic equivalent of a word in the source text, when retroverted into the Hebrew, does resemble the original word as regards its form, for instance through the replacement of one letter by another, similar, one (... in Isaiah 44:14 — “cedar” has generated “Lord” ...), or through the application of metathesis ..."
Vorm-Croughs, Mirjam van der
The Old Greek of Isaiah: An Analysis of its Pluses and Minuses
(p. 21) Society of Biblical Literature, 2014
* 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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