Texts in Conversation
Genesis 9 shifts unexpectedly from God speaking in the first person to referring to himself in the third person when describing the covenant. The Greek Septuagint translation fixes this by keeping the first-person voice throughout.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 9:15
Hebrew Bible
14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the bow35 appears in the clouds, 15 then I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures of all kinds. Never again will the waters become a flood and destroy all living things. 16 When the rainbow is in the clouds, I will notice it and remember the perpetual covenant between God and all living creatures of all kinds that are on the earth.”
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 9:15
Septuagint
14 And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth, that my bow shall be seen in the cloud. 15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh. 16 And my bow shall be in the cloud, and I will look to remember the everlasting covenant between me and between every living soul in all flesh, which is upon the earth.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... That covenant is now described as one between God and his animate creation. Note that Noah is not mentioned anymore and it would appear that the eternal covenant is between God and 'all sentient life in all flesh,' which now includes both mankind and animals. The Masoretic text, however, has God referring to himself in third person ... Since this is still part of God's speech, LXX Genesis regularizes this by keeping a first-person reference ... In the tradition a few witnesses do "correct" this because of Hebrew influence ..."
John William Wevers, Notes on the Greek Text of Genesis, SCS 35 (Atlanta: Scholars, 1993), 121.
* 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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