Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Joel has God promise to pour out his Spirit on all people. The Greek Septuagint changes this to pouring out some of the Spirit, echoing Numbers, where God takes some of the spirit resting on Moses for the seventy elders.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Joel 2:28
Hebrew Bible
27 You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God; there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame. 28 (3:1) “After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have prophetic dreams; your young men will see visions. 29 Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
LXX Joel 3:1
Septuagint
1 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 2 And on my servants and on my handmaids in those days will I pour out of my Spirit.
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Notes and References
“... YHWH declares, “I am your God” (2:27) and then continues by twice promising to pour out his Spirit (3:1, 2). The possessive “my” makes it clear that it is God’s Spirit that will be imparted. The Septuagint translates ʾet-rûḥî using a partitive genitive as if it were min-ʾet-rûḥî. However, the partitive min- is not found here in Joel. Nor is apo to be found in either Aquila or Symmachus. It is likely that the Septuagint translation could have been suggested by Numbers 11:17, 25 where YHWH takes min-hārûaḥ “of the Spirit” (Septuagint, apo tou pneumatos) that was on Moses and anoints the seventy elders. It is not likely that the translators of the Septuagint were making a considered theological statement that humanity only has some of the Spirit while the totality remains within the Godhead. ...”
Hodson, Alan Keith
The Outpouring of the Spirit, the Day of the Lord and the Accompanying Signs: An Exegetical Study of the Words of YHWH Recorded in Joel 3:1-4 (English 2:28-31)
(p. 13) Regents Theological College, 2007
* 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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