Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 65 refers to two ancient Near Eastern deities, "Fate" and "Fortune." In the Greek Septuagint translation, the name "Fortune" is preserved, while the other is removed, perhaps to diminish the use of foreign gods.
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Isaiah 65:11
Hebrew Bible
10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep, and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze; they will belong to my people, who seek me. 11 But as for you who abandon the Lord and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain, who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’ and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’— 12 I predestine you to die by the sword, all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, because I called to you, and you did not respond; I spoke and you did not listen. You did evil before me; you chose to do what displeases me.”
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Isaiah 65:11
Septuagint
10 And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the Ravine of Achor shall become a resting place of herds for my people who have sought me. 11 But as for you who forsake me and forget my holy mountain and prepare a table for the demon and fill a mixed drink for Fortune, 12 I will deliver you over to the dagger; all of you shall fall by slaughter; because I called you and you did not answer, I spoke and you misheard, and you did what was evil before me and chose the things I did not desire.
Date: 1st Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The first thing to point out is that the phrase “to demons that do not exist” is not present in the Masoretic Text. The translator either had a different text or, more likely, added the phrase in light of the content of verse 11 to follow. While it might seem obvious that the translator was inserting a theological point, the content of verse 11 creates some confusion for the translator’s thought process. The LXX uses daimoniō in Isaiah 65:11 for Hebrew gad, a well-known deity name in Canaanite, Phoenician, and Punic texts. Gad was a god (or goddess) of good luck, which is why Gad often appears in texts with a goddess (or god) of destiny, Tyche (Tychē), as here in LXX Isaiah 65:11.35 Why the translator recognized one deity name but generalized the other with the lemma daimonion is not clear. He may not have cared, since he inserted the line “do not exist” earlier in Isaiah 65:3 ..."
Heiser, Michael S.
Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness
(pp. 52-53) Lexham Press, 2020
* 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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