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Exodus 13 says the Israelites left Egypt "prepared for battle," but the Greek Septuagint changes this to "in the fifth generation," connecting a rare Hebrew word to the number five instead of its military meaning, and harmonizing it with Exodus 6.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 13:18
Hebrew Bible
17 When Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them by the way to the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, “Lest the people change their minds and return to Egypt when they experience war.” 18 So God brought the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 19 Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear, “God will surely attend to you, and you will carry my bones up from this place with you.”
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
LXX Exodus 13:18
Septuagint
17 And when Pharaoh sent forth the people, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, because it was near; for God said, For fear that at any time the people repent when they see war, and return to Egypt. 18 And God led the people round by the way to the wilderness, to the Red Sea: and in the fifth generation the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt. 19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had solemnly adjured the children of Israel, saying, The Lord will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you.
Date: 300–201 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The exegetical options are to take a presumed etymology from חמש, "five," or to look at other contexts in which חֲמֻשִׁים turns up. Note that Aquila does not etymologize here (unlike Theodotion and LXX, who connect חמש with the numeral). Aquila and Symmachus have similar interpretations based on other military contexts for this word: Symmachus's equivalent is used once by LXX at Num 32:21 for חָלוּץ. ..."
Alison Salvesen, “Midrash in Greek?” in On Stone and Scroll: Essays in Honour of Graham Ivor Davies (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, 2011), 528–529.
* 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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