Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Exodus shows Moses raise a hand toward the throne of God in an oath of war against Amalek. The Greek Septuaint reads the same difficult word as ‘hidden,’ so God instead fights Amalek with a secret hand.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 17:16
Hebrew Bible
13 So Joshua destroyed Amalek and his army with the sword. 14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in Joshua’s hearing; for I will surely blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,” 16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lord—that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
LXX Exodus 17:16
Septuagint
13 And Joshua routed Amalek and all his people by slaughter with the sword. 14 And then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this down for a memorial in a scroll and put it into the ears of Joshua, that I will completely wipe out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens.” 15 And then Moses built an altar to the Lord, and he named its name ‘The Lord is my refuge.’ 16 For by a secret hand the Lord is fighting against Amalek from generation unto generation.
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Notes and References
... For example, the Greek of Exodus 17:16 provided an opportunity for patristic theologians to develop an important aspect of their Logos’ doctrine. The Hebrew text can be translated as following: ‘and he [i.e. Moses] said: “for a hand [is] against the throne of Yah (kes yah), war for YHWH with Amalek from generation to generation”’. The Hebrew kes is a hapax and is often said to be identical to kisse’ (throne). But various emendations have been suggested. The Septuagint does not have the introductory ‘and he said’ and reads: ‘For, with a hidden (κρυφαία) hand, the Lord makes war against Amalek from generation to generation.’ Instead of kes yah, it seems that the translators read kesuyah, from the root k-s-h, ‘to hide’. The ‘hidden hand’ is specific to the Septuagint. Justin identifies it with God’s Son (Dialogue with Trypho 19, 8). ...
Dorival, Gilles
The Septuagint from Alexandria to Constantinople: Canon, New Testament, Church Fathers, Catenae
(p. 130) Oxford University Press, 2021
* 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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