Texts in Conversation
In Joshua, the Greek Septuagint says the Israelites brought stones “to God,” while the Hebrew says they brought them “to the ark.” The Septuagint has the original reading that describes an encounter with God, later removed from the Masoretic text.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Joshua 4:5
Hebrew Bible
4 Joshua summoned the 12 men he had appointed from the Israelites, one per tribe. 5 Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. 6 The stones will be a reminder to you. When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Joshua 4:5
Septuagint
4 And Joshua having called twelve men of distinction among the children of Israel, one of each tribe, 5 said to them, Advance before me in the presence of the Lord into the midst of Jordan, and each having taken up a stone from there, let him carry it on his shoulders, according to the number of the twelve tribes of Israel: 6 that these may be to you continually for an appointed sign, that when your son asks you in future, saying, What are these stones to us?
Date: 200–101 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Sometimes the Septuagint retains an older conception, which is altered in the Masoretic Text. In LXX Joshua 4:5 we read: “Bring it before me in the presence of the Lord”; The Masoretic text offers “Carry it before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.” The introduction of the ark of covenant avoids the notion of the immediate presence of the LORD ..."
Martin Meiser, The Septuagint and Its Reception: Collected Essays (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022), 17.
* 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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