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LXX Exodus

Septuagint

About this book
Chapter 22

1 And if the thief is found in the breach made by himself and is struck and dies, there shall not be blood shed for him. 2 But if the sun has risen upon him, he is guilty, he shall die instead; and if a thief has nothing, let him be sold in compensation for what he has stolen. 3 And if he is caught and the thing stolen is found in his hand alive, whether donkey or sheep, he shall restore them twofold. 4 And if any one should feed down a field or a vineyard, and should send in his beast to feed down another field,⁠ he shall make compensation of his own field according to his produce; and if he shall have fed down the whole field, he shall pay for compensation the best of his own field and the best of his vineyard. 5 And if fire has gone forth and caught thorns, and should also set on fire threshing-floors or ears of grain or a field, he that kindled the fire shall make compensation. 6 And if any one gives to his neighbor money or goods to keep, and they are stolen out of the man's house, if the thief is found he shall repay double. 7 But if the thief is not found, the master of the house shall come forward before God, and shall swear that surely he has not acted wickedly in regard to any part of his neighbor's deposit, 8 according to every injury alleged, both concerning a calf, and an donkey, and a sheep, and a garment, and every alleged loss, whatever in fact it may be, the judgment of both shall proceed before God, and he that is convicted by God shall repay to his neighbor double. 9 And if any one gives to his neighbor to keep an donkey or calf or sheep or any beast, and it is wounded or dies or is taken, and no one knows, 10 an oath of God shall be between both, each swearing that he has surely not at all been guilty in the matter of his neighbor's deposit; and so his master shall hold him guiltless, and he shall not make compensation. 11 And if it is stolen from him, he shall make compensation to the owner. 12 And if it is seized by beasts, he shall bring him to witness the prey, and he shall not make compensation. 13 And if any one borrows anything of his neighbor, and it is wounded or dies or is carried away, and the owner of it is not with it, he shall make compensation. 14 But if the owner is with it, he shall not make compensation: but if it is a hired thing, there shall be a compensation to him instead of his hire. 15 And if any one deceives a virgin that is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely endow her for a wife to himself. 16 And if her father positively refuses, and will not consent to give her to him for a wife, he shall pay compensation to her father according to the amount of the dowry of virgins. 17 You shall not save the lives of sorcerers. 18 Every one that lies with a beast you shall surely put to death. 19 He that sacrifices to any gods but to the Lord alone, shall be destroyed by death. 20 And you shall not hurt a stranger, nor afflict him; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 21 You shall hurt no widow or orphan. 22 And if you should afflict them by ill-treatment, and they should cry aloud to me, I will surely hear their voice. 23 And I will be very angry, and will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows and your children orphans. 24 And if you should lend money to your poor brother who is by you, you shall not be hard upon him; you shall not exact interest of him. 25 And if you take your neighbor's garment for a pledge, you shall restore it to him before sunset. 26 For this is his clothing, this is the only covering of his nakedness; in what shall he sleep? If then he shall cry to me, I will listen to him, for I am merciful. 27 You shall not revile the gods, nor speak ill of the rulers of your people.⁠ 28 You shall not keep back the first fruits of your threshing floor and press. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 29 So you will do with your calf and your sheep and your donkey; seven days shall it be under the mother, and the eighth day you shall give it to me. 30 And you shall be holy men to me; and you shall not eat flesh taken of beasts, you shall cast it to the dog.

Texts in conversation

Compare Exodus 22:28 and LXX Exodus 22:27

Hebrew Bible · Septuagint

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Summary

Exodus 22 uses language that likely refers to human judges, but the Greek Septuagint translates it as “gods,” another possible interpretation, which may reflect cultural and theological influences.

Passages

Exodus 22:28

Hebrew Bible
25 “If you lend money to any of my people who are needy among you, do not be like a moneylender to him; do not charge him interest. 26 If you do take the garment of your neighbor in pledge, you must return it to him by the time the sun goes down, 27 for it is his only covering—it is his garment for his body. What else can he sleep in? And when he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am gracious. 28 “You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people. 29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Exodus

LXX Exodus 22:27

Septuagint
24 And if you should lend money to your poor brother who is by you, you shall not be hard upon him; you shall not exact interest of him. 25 And if you take your neighbor's garment for a pledge, you shall restore it to him before sunset. 26 For this is his clothing, this is the only covering of his nakedness; in what shall he sleep? If then he shall cry to me, I will listen to him, for I am merciful. 27 You shall not revile the gods, nor speak ill of the rulers of your people. 28 You shall not keep back the first fruits of your threshing floor and press. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 29 So you will do with your calf and your sheep and your donkey; seven days shall it be under the mother, and the eighth day you shall give it to me.
300–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Exodus

References

"... Contextual translation shows up when a rendering seems to be affected by the immediate surroundings (sometimes triggered by cultural or theological considerations, or by textual difficulties or obscurities) ... A context from the translator's cultural setting may have influenced Exodus 22.27, where theous, 'gods', renders elohim, whereas the immediate context requires 'judges'. Buchner suggests that the translator is making a gracious gesture to his polytheistic milieu; the rendering, however, could be understood as automatic rather than contextual. This example shows how difficult it can be to define a translator's intention ..."
Jennifer M. Dines, The Septuagint (London: T&T Clark, 2004), 123.

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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Exodus 22:28 and LXX Exodus 22:27

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