Texts in Conversation
Genesis 2:7 says God breathed the breath of life into the manu2019s nostrils. The Greek Septuagint changes this to his face, likely because the translator read the Hebrew word through Aramaic, where the same word means “face” rather than “nose.”
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 2:7
Hebrew Bible
6 Springs would well up from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. 7 The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.
LXX Genesis 2:7
Septuagint
6 yet a spring would rise from the earth and water the whole face of the earth. 7 And God formed man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his face a breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted an orchard in Edem toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
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Notes and References
"... In this verse, the creation of man is described in slightly different terms in Hebrew and in Greek: in the Massoretic Text God breathes into man's nostrils; in the Septuagint he breathes upon his face. The deviation in the Greek text is readily explained as reflecting Aramaic 'apin', 'face'."
* 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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