Texts in Conversation
Isaiah 65 shows people following forbidden rituals, and the Greek translation adds that these are done for demons that “do not exist.” This addition likely shows the translator’s attempt to reinterpret the passage from a later perspective, and may have been meant to remove a reference to a deity name in the Hebrew text.
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Isaiah 65:3
Hebrew Bible
1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; I appeared to those who did not look for me. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ to a nation that did not invoke my name. 2 I spread out my hands all day long to my rebellious people, who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable and who did what they desired. 3 These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars. 4 They sit among the tombs and keep watch all night long. They eat pork and broth from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans. 5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself! Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’ These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
Date: 7th-5th Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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LXX Isaiah 65:3
Septuagint
1 I became visible to those who were not seeking me; I was found by those who were not inquiring about me. I said, “Here I am,” to the nation that did not call my name. 2 I stretched out my hands all day long to a disobedient and contrary people, who did not walk in a true way but after their own sins. 3 These are the people who provoke me to my face continually; they sacrifice in the gardens and burn incense on bricks to the demons, which do not exist, 4 and they fall asleep in the tombs and in the caves for the sake of dreams— those who eat swine’s flesh and broth of sacrifices 5 who say, “Stay far away from me; do not come near me, for I am clean.” This is the smoke of my wrath; a fire burns in it all the days.
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. 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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