Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Isaiah 56:10 targets the watchmen, portraying them as blind and inactive, and limiting the critique to the leadership. The Greek Septuagint translation broadens the subject to “all,” extending the accusation beyond the leaders to the entire community.
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Isaiah 56:10
Hebrew Bible
8 The Sovereign Lord says this, the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will still gather them up.” 9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour, all you wild animals in the forest! 10 All their watchmen are blind, they are unaware. All of them are like mute dogs, unable to bark. They pant, lie down, and love to snooze. 11 The dogs have big appetites; they are never full. They are shepherds who have no understanding; they all go their own way, each one looking for monetary gain. 12 Each one says, “Come on, I’ll get some wine! Let’s guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We’ll have everything we want!”
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Isaiah 56:10
Septuagint
8 said the Lord, who gathers the dispersed of Israel— for I will gather to him a gathering. 9 All you wild animals that live in the fields, all you wild animals of the forest, come here; eat! 10 Observe that all have become totally blind; they have not learned how to think; they are all silent dogs; they will not be able to bark, dreaming in bed, loving to slumber. 11 The dogs are shameless in their soul, not knowing satisfaction. They are evil, not knowing understanding. They have all followed their own ways, each in the same manner.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The translator has read the text as though it were vocalized ... The resulting rhetorical summons to 'see that' or 'see how' requires a semantic shift as well, for it normally has connotations of stealthy observation, whether carried out behind enemy lines or from a watchtower. [This] lacks this meaning and is never generated by it elsewhere in the LXX. Thus, it is only upon weak semantic grounds that the LXX produces it to announce Israel's blindness. The translator's affection for this word is clear, for he uses it with the slenderest of justification. The employment of it in this verse is unexpected and may speak eloquently of the translator's homiletical bias ..."
Baer, David A.
When We All Go Home: Translation and Theology in LXX Isaiah 56-66
(pp. 38-39) Sheffield Academic Press, 2001
* 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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