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LXX Deuteronomy

Septuagint

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Chapter 23

1 A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt. 2 He that is fractured or mutilated in his private parts shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord. 3 One born of a harlot shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord. 4 The Ammonite and Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even until the tenth generation he shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord, even for ever: 5 because they met you not with bread and water by the way, when you went out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Mesopotamia to curse you. 6 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; and the Lord your God changed the curses into blessings, because the Lord your God loved you. 7 You shall not speak peaceably or profitably to them all your days for ever. 8 You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land. 9 If sons be born to them, in the third generation they shall enter into the assembly of the Lord. 10 And if you should go forth to engage with your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing. 11 If there should be in you a man who is not clean by reason of his issue by night, then he shall go forth out of the camp, and he shall not enter into the camp. 12 And it will happen toward evening he shall wash his body with water, and when the sun has gone down, he shall go into the camp. 13 And you shall have a place outside of the camp, and you shall go out there, 14 and you shall have a trowel on your belt; and it will happen when you would relieve yourself abroad, that you shall dig with it, and shall bring back the earth and cover your nuisance. 15 Because the Lord your God walks in your camp to deliver you, and to give up your enemy before your face; and your camp shall be holy, and there shall not appear in you a disgraceful thing, and so he shall turn away from you. 16 You shall not deliver a servant to his master, who coming from his master attaches himself to you. 17 He shall dwell with you, he shall dwell among you where he shall please; you shall not afflict him. 18 There shall not be a harlot of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be a fornicator of the sons of Israel;⁠ there shall not be a performer of mystery rites of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be an initiated person of the sons of Israel. 19 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot, nor the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God, for any vow; because even both are an abomination to the Lord your God. 20 You shall not lend to your brother on interest of silver, or interest of food, or interest of any thing which you may lend out. 21 You may lend on interest to a stranger, but to your brother you shall not lend on interest; that the Lord your God may bless you in all your works upon the land, into which you are entering to inherit it. 22 And if you will vow a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and otherwise it shall be sin in you. 23 But if you should be unwilling to vow, it is not sin in you. 24 You shall observe the words that proceed from between your lips; and as you have vowed a gift to the Lord your God, so you will do that which you have spoken with your mouth. 25 And if you should go into the grain field of your neighbor, then you may gather the ears with your hands; but you shall not put the sickle to your neighbor's grain. 26 And if you should go into the vineyard of your neighbor, you shall eat grapes sufficient to satisfy your desire; but you may not put them into a vessel.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 23:17 and LXX Deuteronomy 23:18

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Deuteronomy 23 forbids ritual prostitution, with the Greek Septuagint translation adding language referring to Greek mystery cults, showing how the translator reshaped the Hebrew text to fit with later cultural and religious settings.

Passages

Deuteronomy 23:17

Hebrew Bible
15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. 16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him. 17 There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel. 18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a dog30, a male prostitute, into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God. 19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

LXX Deuteronomy 23:18

Septuagint
16 You shall not deliver a servant to his master, who coming from his master attaches himself to you. 17 He shall dwell with you, he shall dwell among you where he shall please; you shall not afflict him. 18 There shall not be a harlot of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be a fornicator of the sons of Israel; there shall not be a performer of mystery rites of the daughters of Israel, and there shall not be an initiated person of the sons of Israel. 19 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot, nor the price of a dog into the house of the Lord your God, for any vow; because even both are an abomination to the Lord your God. 20 You shall not lend to your brother on interest of silver, or interest of food, or interest of any thing which you may lend out.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Deuteronomy

References

"... The translator here is more aware of context, bringing different passages into line with each other. He is concerned with halakic matters (that is, with the correct observance of the law). Sometimes he appears to 'update' his translation. In 23:18, for instance, he apparently adds initiation into the Greek mysteries to the list of forbidden practices. He, too, translates rather literally and his Greek is less polished and innovative than that, say, of the Genesis or Exodus translators. Other interesting passages include 6.4, where the Shema is preceded by an echo of 4:45 (perhaps associating 6:4 with the Decalogue), and 32:43 (the end of the Song of Moses). This has expansions similar to 4Q31 ..."
Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 15.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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