Texts in Conversation
In the Greek Septuagint of Isaiah, obscure names like Hamath are replaced with familiar ones like Arabia, using Genesis to help readers recognize forgotten locations. This creates anachronistic links to Genesis and reshapes Isaiah's geography.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 11:11
Hebrew Bible
10 At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic. 11 At that time the Lord will again lift his hand to reclaim the remnant of his people from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the seacoasts. 12 He will lift a signal flag for the nations; he will gather Israel’s dispersed people and assemble Judah’s scattered people from the four corners of the earth.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Genesis 10:10
Septuagint
9 He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nimrod the giant hunter before the Lord. 10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erech, and Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 Out of that land came Asshur, and built Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Isaiah 11:11
Septuagint
10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall arise to rule over the Gentiles; the Gentiles will trust in him, and his rest shall be glorious. 11 And it shall be in that day, that the Lord shall again show his hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which shall be left by the Assyrians, and that from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia. 12 And he shall lift up a standard for the nations, and he shall gather the lost ones of Israel, and he shall gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... a hint towards viewing the period of the Isaiah translation seems to be revealed in what might appear as the translator's struggle in seeking to help his audience to recognize some of the place-names in both chapter 10 and 11. As Troxel has rightly observed, it is only in chapter 10 and 11 where the translator (via intertextual associations with texts outside Isaiah, i.e., LXX Genesis 10:10 and 11:2), has translated חמת by Ἀραβία (Isaiah 10:9 and 11:11; compare 15:7, 9), inserted τὴν χώραν τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων (Isaiah 10:9), and intelligibly rendered וּמִשְׁנֵהָ with Βαβυλωνίας (Isaiah 11:11). Troxel’s interesting observation here provides further vital proof of the argument advanced in our study pertinent to the translator's use of intertextuality in the production of his text, a method that seems to have been set for any reader of his text to read hermeneutically ..."
Abi T. Ngunga, Messianism in the Old Greek of Isaiah: An Intertextual Analysis, FRLANT 245 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013), 99.
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,