Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Joel promises early rain ‘for your vindication,’ a phrase later interpreters took as a coming ‘teacher of righteousness.’ The Greek Septuagint translation changes this, promising food to eat rather than rain or a teacher.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Joel 2:23
Hebrew Bible
22 Do not fear, wild animals. For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass. Indeed, the trees bear their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest. 23 Citizens of Zion, rejoice! Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! For he has given to you the early rains as vindication. He has sent to you the rains—both the early and the late rains as formerly. 24 The threshing floors are full of grain; the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.
LXX Joel 2:23
Septuagint
22 Be of good courage, ye beasts of the plain, for the plains of the wilderness have budded, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig-tree and the vine have yielded their strength. 23 Rejoice then and be glad, ye children of Sion, in the Lord your God: for he has given you food fully, and he will rain on you the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 And the floors shall be filled with corn, and the presses shall overflow with wine and oil.
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Notes and References
... The evidence from ancient versions probably suggests that another word originally stood where hammôreh now does, for both the Septuagint (ta bromata) and the Peshitta (mykwlty) point to a Hebrew word for food, perhaps maʻakôl (H. W. Wolff 1977:55) or hammāzôn (K. Marti 1904:133-34; compare Genesis 45:23; 2 Chronicles 11:23; Daniel 4:9 [12], 18 [21]). Such a reading accords well with the context and echoes the lack of food mentioned in 1:16 (along with 'joy and gladness,' the word pair occurring in 2:21 and 2:23 in reverse order). 'Food according to righteousness' suggests a covenantal relationship in which appropriate nurture is provided. ...
Crenshaw, James L.
Joel: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible 24C)
(p. 155) Doubleday, 1995
* 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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