Texts in Conversation
In the Hebrew version of Judges, Samson tells Delilah he has been dedicated to God since birth. The Greek Septuagint translation calls him the ‘holy one of God,’ the only person given that title in the Greek scriptures.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Judges 16:17
Hebrew Bible
16 She nagged him every day and pressured him until he was sick to death of it. 17 Finally he told her his secret. He said to her, “My hair has never been cut, for I have been dedicated to God from the time I was conceived. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me; I would become weak and be just like all other men.” 18 When Delilah saw that he had told her his secret, she sent for the rulers of the Philistines, saying, “Come up here again, for he has told me his secret.” So the rulers of the Philistines went up to visit her, bringing the silver in their hands.
LXX Judges 16:17
Septuagint
16 It came to pass when she pressed him with her words every day that she pressed him closely, and he was discouraged up to dying. 17 And he reported to her the whole of his heart and said to her, “Iron has not gone upon my head, because I am holy of God from the belly of my mother. If therefore I would be shaved, my strength will depart from me, and I will be weak and I will be like all humankind.” 18 And Delilah saw that he told to her all his heart, and she sent and summoned the rulers of the foreigners, saying, “Go up yet again this once, because he reported to me the whole of his heart.” And the rulers of the foreigners went up to her and brought the silver in their hands.
Search:
Notes and References
… Two facts are necessary to understand Matthew’s association and rendition of these texts: first, that Hebrew Nāzîr is rendered in Greek both by hagios (‘holy’) and Naziraios; second, that Jesus was known in the ministry as ‘the Holy One of God’ (Hagios Theou). The latter title was unusual, having been employed for an individual only once in the whole Greek Bible, namely, of Samson in Judges 16:17 (Vaticanus). Knowledge of this would tell Matthew that a special title of Jesus appeared in one of the prophetic books. However, the Hebrew of this unique passage called Samson a Nazirite, so that a more literal Greek rendition (like Alexandrinus) would reproduce the title as Naziraios. We would thus have an association of the Hagios Theou title of Jesus with Naziraios, which, in turn, is a close echo of Nazoraios, the designation borne by Jesus because of his home town Nazareth. …
Brown, Raymond E.
The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives
(p. 224) Doubleday, 1993
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.