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The Hebrew version of Zephaniah describes ruined Ninevah with desolation and rubble across its thresholds. The Greek Septuagint misinterpreted that word as “ravens,” placing birds in its doorways.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Zephaniah 2:14
Hebrew Bible
13 The Lord will attack the north and destroy Assyria. He will make Nineveh a heap of ruins; it will be as barren as the desert. 14 Flocks and herds will lie down in the middle of it, as well as every kind of wild animal. Owls will sleep in the tops of its support pillars; they will hoot through the windows. Rubble will cover the thresholds; even the cedar work will be exposed to the elements. 15 This is how the once-proud city will end up—the city that was so secure. She thought to herself, “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live! Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.
LXX Zephaniah 2:14
Septuagint
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and he will utterly destroy the Assyrian and will ordain Nineveh for extermination, waterless like a desert. 14 And flocks will graze in the middle of it, and all the wild beasts of the land. And chameleons and hedgehogs will rest in its rafters, and wild beasts will cry out in its canals, ravens in its gates, because its height is cedar.
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Notes and References
... The next object, 'dryness/destruction at the threshold,' has been repointed in three ways: first, based on the Septuagint, some read 'raven,' that adds another bird to the verse. Second, based on the Peshitta, Aquila and Symmachus, some read 'sword.' Third, some read 'attack, smite down.' ... LXX's 'raven,' does not fit the overall intent behind the verse, which implies a hymnic celebration, rather than a crowing corvine bird. ...
* 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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