Interpreters of the Old Testament are often grateful for the assistance rendered by the LXX in solving exegetical problems. It will be noted that the KJV in 6 The possibility, of course, always exists that a variant Hebrew text, rather than theological predilection, may underlie a LXX rendering that is at variance with the MT. Qumran materials may aid textual critics as a control. See below, chap. 14.
’ See Edwin Hatch, Essays in Biblical Greek (Oxford, 1889); Charles H. Dodd, The Bible and the Greeks (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935); and Everett P. Harrison, “The Importance of the Septuagint for Biblical Studies: Parr II. The Influence of the Septuagint on the New Testa- ment Vocabulary,” Bibliotheca Sacra 113, 449 (January, 1956): 37-45. A nore of caution is in order, for students must be on guard against the easy assumption that the LXX had an enormous impact on the vocabulary of the Greek New Testament; for refutations of Hatch on this score, see G. H. R. Horsley, New Documents Illustrating Early Christianity. Vol. 5, Linguistic Essays (Macquarie University, N.S.W., Australia: Ancient History Documentary Research Centre, 1989), 28.
84 Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study The Use of the Septuagint 85 though, have by no means cited all references and allusions; the prospect of
finding fresh points of contact is a part of the exciting adventure of New Testa- ment study.
CI T A T I O N S
Citations from the LXX form the bulk of Old Testament references in the New Testament, for the LXX was the principal text of Scripture in the hellenized areas of the early Christian church. Occasionally two or more passages from various parts of the Old Testament are compounded as a single reference. The LXX is helpful in identifying such passages. Thus the first part of Matt. ll:lO, iSoi, lyi, &rcoerk11~ z&v tiyyeh6v uoti rcpb ~~poo~7cou oou, comes verbatim from the LXX (Exod. 23:20). The second part, iis xaraoxeu&esr r$v 6%~ QOU
&rcpo&v oou, reproduces in free form a portion of Mal. 3:l. Matthew evidently ties up the fortunes of Israel’s past history as presented in the Exodus along with her future destiny as seen by the prophet Malachi and alleges that Israel’s entire history has meaning primarily in terms of John the Baptist’s activity as related to Jesus’ messianic mission. Significant is the alteration in the second quotation of you to eou to conform to the pronoun in the quotation from Exodus. Jesus is the embodiment of Israel. In connection with him, God now acts in such a way that the followers of Jesus share in the fortunes of Israel.
A similar significant alteration appears in the quotation of Isa. 40:3 in Mark 1:3 and Luke 3:4. The LXX reads si)&ia~ TCOLETTE T&G Tpipouc 705 oEO5 ?@v,
but the evangelists cite it as E6e&iU$ XOLET’CE dq rpiPou< a&coE, replacing 706 6EOc
i-p~v with adzoij. God’s saving activity reaches a climax in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The preparation for God is in reality the preparation for Jesus the Messiah.
redundant, but a check of the LXX via Hatch and Redpath indicates that Ps.
1468 (147:8 MT) may have suggested the evangelist’s wording. The LXX reads +j [eE@] i[ava&Xovrt iv o”peor xrjpzov. The fact that other allusions to the Greek version appear to be present in this section helps confirm the probability of a septuagintal reminiscence in 6:6. John 6:3 specifically states that Jesus went up into a mountain. It is possible that the word drpxo~cnv in 6:7 is prompted by Num. 11:22; and the word bEd~CT8~CTUV in 6:12 may well be a striking echo of Ps. 104:40 LXX. Moreover, in John’s sequel to the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus displays his mastery over the sea by walking on it and accompanies this demonstration with a reassuring word to the disciples. As in Psalms 146 and 147 LXX, omnipotence and love are here brought into telling juxtaposition.
The evangelist’s botanical observation, then, has definite theological and mes- sianic overtones. The hazard of an artificial reconstruction of an ancient author’s mental processes must, of course, be taken into account in any such analysis, but the by-products are no small gain.
If Ps. 34:23 (35:23 MT) finds an echo in John 20:28, 6 xGpr6~ uou xai 6
8E6S pou, the force of Thomas’s reaction to the Lord’s treatment of his doubts heightens. In Psalm 34 the psalmist cries out to the Lord for help in his miseries and persecutions. His cry culminates in the words k~EyipeqTL, XGPLE, xai 7cp6oxx”s
~8 xpim pou, 6 fle6s you xai b xGp& pou, eis ~;1v Gixrlv pou (v. 23). The Lord is the source of the poet’s salvation. And that is exactly what Thomas is made to enunciate here. Whereas previously Thomas had failed to perceive the theological significance of Jesus’ death, now the full splendor of it dawns on him. Through the use of these words from Psalm 34 LXX the evangelist is able to give subtle dramatic expression to the meaning of Jesus’ death. The writer’s emphasis is placed not first of all on the deity of Jesus Christ but on the fact that in Jesus and his crucifixion believers encounter the Lord’s salvation.
TYPOLOGY
AL L U S I O N S
More often the point of contact is a passing allusion. The phrase $j (PoPsTefls appears so frequently in the New Testament that its true force is apt to be lost. The LXX, with a context like that surrounding Isa. 35:4, where the phrase appears, sharpens one’s appreciation. The prophet’s presentation is made a springboard for a high Christology by the New Testament writers. The eyes of the blind, the limbs of the lame, the tongue of the mute- all will experience the saving hand of God, says the prophet. God makes an appearance, the evangelists would seem to say in such passages as Matt. 28:lO; Mark 5:36;
6:50; Luke 1:13; 2:lO.
A study of John 6:1-13 suggests that the writer of the fourth Gospel was steeped in the LXX. The phrase ;iv 6k xbpzo< rco1rj< (6:lO) appears at first view
Searching for typological strains is an attractive enterprise for biblical inter- preters. Subjectivity is a grave danger, but the LXX can offer some controls.
Words from Judg. 13:5 certainly appear to underlie the phrase a&& y&p och~t dv Xabv a&o6 in Matt. 1:21. According to the writer of the first Gospel, Jesus is a second Samson, who comes to play the role of a “judge” or deliverer. The Samson motif seems to emerge also in Matt. 27:29. The soldiers mocked (ivv67cattav) Jesus, even as Samson’s captors made Israel’s national hero the butt of ridicule (&&rat[ov, Judg. 16:25). Samson is placed between two pillars, Jesus between two criminals; and the blows dealt their prospective enemies in the hour of their death are more devastating than in their lifetimes. Thousands of Philistines lie dead beneath the stones of the pleasure house; conversely Jesus’
death spells release from the captivity of death for many of the saints who
86 Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study
had fallen asleep (Matt. 27:51, 52). That the evangelists treat the Lord’s pas- sion not as a defeat but as a victorious achievement receives support from such and other probable allusions to the LXX. In all this it is important to note that the writers of the Gospels brought to their task a canonical sense of Israel’s experiences. The Old Testament was to them as Homer was to the Hellenes, and association of ideas and events played an important role. In the same way, it was difficult for pious Israelites to think of future salvation without evoking deliverance from pharaoh. What came natural to them we must evoke through laborious enterprise. Probable association is, of course, the best that we can achieve.
In Luke 9:51 we encounter the ambivalent &v&Aq&s. The verb cognate is found in the account of Elijah’s ascension (4 Kgdms. 2:9-11). Take account of Luke’s numerous associations of Jesus with the Elijah-Elisha cycle, and it is easy to understand that here Jesus is very probably associated with Elijah.
His ascent into heaven is a return to his heavenly parent, but the road to the celestial palace leads past Caiaphas’s dwelling. All this does not mean that Luke views Jesus as a second Elijah. Remember, parallel lines never meet.
EXEGESIS
The LXX offers exegetical help of a different nature in putting into proper focus the Pharisee’s problem in Luke 18:9-14. Psalm 34:13 (35:13 MT) notes that the purpose of fasting is to assist in humbling the soul and stimulating appropriate prayer. In the prayer that “turns back into the bosom’- the phrase is obscure-we may see a parallel to the utterance of the publican whose words, coming as they did from a head bowed in humility, fell, as it were, into his bosom.
Hatch and Redpath alert to seven occurrences of the word rcircrelv within the space of five verses in Ezekiel 13. The passage in its context is the best commentary on Matt. 7:24-27. Some in the upper spiritual echelons in Israel misused good intentions in Pharisaism for purposes of moral whitewashing.
They sought refuge in their interpretation and hedging of the Torah. But the fortress was to collapse. Jesus’ reiterated “You have heard, but I say unto you”
gains significance.
HO M I L E T I C S
Snake-handling cults have no monopoly on Mark 16:18. Homileticians who know their Septuagint will see the contemporary edifying value of the prom- ise in this passage, when they reexamine Isa. 65:25 via Hatch and Redpath under +l<. The transitory character of the “signs” is not the main thing.
The Use of the Septuagint 87
Couched in material terms we see fulfilled Isaiah’s vision of the messianic age, in which God acts triumphantly to destroy wickedness. The serpent motif of Genesis 3 is well known. Not so familiar is the context of Isa. 11:8, where the universal proclamation of God’s marvelous works is associated with reptile allusions.
APOCRYPHA
Although more detailed discussion must be reserved for chap. 9, some reference to the Apocrypha is required at this point. The subject is discussed for the general reader by Bruce M. Metzger, An Introduction to the Apocrypha (New York: Oxford University Press, 1957). His warning against the widespread assumption that the New Testament does not make use of the Apocrypha invites reinforcement. In all ancient manuscripts that contain portions of the LXX one finds the so-called apocryphal writings interspersed with the canon- ical writings recognized by Palestinian Jews. That the writers of the New Testa- ment made constant use of Greek translations of the Old Testament and Greek translations of other religious writings not included in the Jewish canon as we know it today is clear not only from the patent allusion to the Book of Enoch in the Epistle of Jude but also from a study of the many passages cited in the margin of Nestle’s Novum Testamenturn Graece. On the other hand, it must be pointed out that none of the Apocrypha are cited by name in the New Testament.
An arresting example of possible dependence on the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Siracides, Rahlfs) occurs in Luke 12:16-21, the parable of the rich fool whose bountiful harvest caught him by surprise. The LXX parallel reads:
There is a man who is rich through his diligence and self-denial And this is the reward allotted to him:
When he says, “I have found rest, And now I shall enjoy my goods!”
He does not know when his time will come;
He will leave them to others and die (11:18, 19).8
In at least one instance the Epistle of James is illumined by Jesus ben Sirach.
James 1:5 reads in the KJV: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
In place of “upbraideth not,” the RSV reads “without reproaching.” Neither version is very helpful. “But,” as Metzger observes, “a comparison with the exhortation in Ecclus. 18:15, ‘My son, do not mix reproach with your good deeds, or cause grief by your words when you present a gift,’ suggests at once
a Metzger, Introduction to the Apocrypha, 168.
Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study
that according to James God’s gifts are made in such a manner as never to embarrass the recipient for his asking.“9 Metzger’s awareness of this passage in the LXX appears to have influenced the substitution of the phrase “and ungrudgingly” in the NRSV.
Aspects of distorted mentality that helped motivate the crucifixion of Jesus are clearly depicted in the Wisdom of Solomon 2:12-20. As a commentary on Luke 23:35, for example, it is difficult to surpass:
Let us lie in wait for the righteous, for he is an annoyance to us. He objects to our actions; he charges us with circumventions of the Law and chides us for violating the precepts of our training. He claims to have a knowledge of God and calls himself the Lord’s child. He takes it on himself to reprove our very thoughts. It is distressing even to look at him; for his life is so unlike that of others, and his ways are of another world. We are counterfeit in his sight, and he avoids our paths like the plague. He pronounces a favorable judgment on the end of the righteous, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see whether his words are true, and let us test him in the extremity. For if the righteous man is God’s son, God will help him and will rescue him out of the hands of his enemies. Let us subject him to insult and torture to determine the quality of his goodness, and let us make proof of his forbearance. Let us consign him to a shameful death, for according to his own words, God will surely take note of him.
It is tempting to add further examples of the interpretive possibilities of the LXX. Specialists recognize its values, but enough suggestions have been offered to challenge a renewed search of its treasures by students and pastors also.
As an aid to Bible study the LXX has few rivals. Like the woman described in Proverbs 31, its value is beyond rubies. Blessed are those preachers who have espoused it, for the congregations shall come to hear them regularly.
9 Ibid., 165.
C H A P T E R S I X
Hebrew Old Testament Grammars and Lexicons
G
EORGE CARVER once was asked how he managed to discover so many things. He replied, “Anything will give up its secrets-if you love it enough.” Grammarians and lexicographers have conspired to assist the humblest interpreter in extracting the sacred treasure. The tools they have placed at the disposal of Bible students are the envy of all who must work in less favorably endowed areas of philological study.It is the task of the lexicographer to classify verbal phenomena and guide the reader of a given language in determining what meaning a particular word is intended to convey in specific literary contexts. The resources of archaeology and comparative philology are all brought into play in an attempt to recover the concepts plus nuances conveyed to those for whom these languages were once a mother tongue. The task of the grammarian is to deduce the general laws and principles according to which people in a given cultural milieu communicate with one another and express their ideas.
Exegetes come to these experts to receive assistance in the interpretation of particular phenomena in the texts they are scrutinizing. Quite often they find that the authorities themselves assume the role of exegete. Lexicons and grammars to the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament are often unusually comprehensive because of the peculiar demands and intrinsic importance of the data. Not infrequently every occurrence of a particular word or idiom is discussed. This means that general principles must give way to specific exposition. Indeed, exegetes may on the basis of additional and corroborative evidence uncovered by their own researches draw different con- clusions from those reached by the lexicographer or grammarian on a specific philological point. They may record their judgments in a professional journal, in a monograph, or in a commentary. Succeeding lexicographers and gram- marians may take note of such conclusions and may even set up new classifica- tions and fresh categories, as their works become even more copious treasuries of the exegetical coin circulating in the interpreter’s realm.
In the last analysis the exegete is both lexicographer and grammarian, and 89
90 Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study
any grammarian or lexicographer worth a stipend must accept the role of an exegete. The conversation must always go on, and because the silence never comes, new lexicons and grammars will always be in demand, as well as interpreters, including pastors and students, who will evaluate critically their conclusions!
It is our pleasant task in this and the following chapter to document a part of that conversation as we trace the history of linguistic science in the disciplines of Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek. In chap. 8 we shall endeavor to entice interest in the philological vistas that await the diligent user of grammatical and lexical tools.2
Hebrew Old Testament Grammars and Lexicons 91
THE JEWISH PERIOD, A.D. 900-1500
The history of Hebrew grammar and lexicography embraces two main eras, the Jewish and the Christian. The period of the Jewish grammarians extends roughly from the ninth to the sixteenth century. The connecting link between
1 The loan-word “lexicon” is an inheritance of the centuries when Latin was the standard means of scholarly communication. For some reason or other the word lexicon was preferred to dictionarium. Because of the historic associations “lexicon” is generally reserved today for word- books that treat specific literary areas, with special reference to ancient languages. The word
“dictionary” is applied mainly to wordbooks covering an entire language, such as The Oxford Dictionary or Webster’s New International Dictionary. The term “vocabulary” is applied tech- nically to selected word lists.
z The source of sources for the history of Hebrew philology is Moritz Steinschneider’s Biblio- graphisches Handbuch fiber die theoretische und praktische Literaturfiir hebriiische Sprachkunde (Leipzig, 1859). Bernard Pick, “The Study of the Hebrew Language Among Jews and Christians,’
Bibliotheca Sacra 41, 163 (July, 1884): 450-77, covering the period 900-1500; ibid., 42, 166 (July, 1885): 470-49.5, covering the period 1500-1700, includes much valuable information.
Detailed bibliographies may also be found in the excellent articles by Morris Lehrer, “Hebraists, Christian; in The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 5 (New York: The Universal Jewish Encylopedia, Inc., 1941), and Solomon L. Skoss, “Lexicography, Hebrew,” ibid., vol. 7. Wilhelm Bather, “Dictionaries, Hebrew,” in The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 4 (New York and London: Funk
& Wagnalls, 1907), and “Grammar, Hebrew,” ibid., vol. 6, draws heavily from Steinschneider.
See also W. S. LaSor, A Basic Semitic Bibliography (Annotated) (Wheaton, Ill.: Van Kampen Press, 1950). For detailed inventory, see J. H. Hospers, A Basic Bibliographyfor the Study of the Semitic Languages, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 1973); Nahurn M. Waldman, The Recent Study of Hebrew:
A Survey of the Literature with Selected Bibliography (Cincinnati.‘. Hebrew Union College Press, 1989), which updates the literature since World War II; Joseph A. Fitzmyer and Stephen A.
Kaufman, et al., An Aramaic Bibliography. Pt. I. Old, Official, and Biblical Aramaic, Publica- tions of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992). To remain somewhat in touch with the tide of publications, a student can make a point of checking regularly at least a few serials mentioned in the list of abbreviations by Waldman, The Recent Study, xv--xx. For starters, try BAR, JNES, OLZ, Or, VT, ZAW and add to the inventory the Book List of The Society for Old Testament Study, Elenchus Bibliographicus Biblicus, and the annual bulletin published in Syria.
the masoretes and the grammarians is Aaron ben Asher, who flourished in Tiberias in the tenth century.
The masoretes had indeed observed peculiarities in the Hebrew text, but had made no systematic attempt to analyze these phenomena. A fresh depar- ture was evident in the work of Saadia ben Joseph (882-942), the gaon, or head, of the academy at Sura, who laid the foundations which transformed Hebrew letters into a science independent of the masoretes. Praised by Abraham ibn Ezra as “the first of authorities in every field,” Saadia distinguished himself not only as a philosopher but as a philologist of the first rank. His Agron (from the word y@, to collect), the earliest known Hebrew dictionary, was designed to help poets with their versification. His Hebrew grammar, written in twelve books and titled Kutub al-Lughah (i.e., Book of Language), is extant only in fragments .3 His elder contemporary Judah ibn Kuraish is noted for a letter (Risalah) sent to the Jews in Fez who had dispensed with the reading of the Aramaic Targum. This work marks the first emphasis on comparative Semitic philology for the study of Hebrew. In his letter Judah ibn Kuraish pleads for a return to the ancient customs and submits three alphabetical lists in which he relates the biblical vocabulary to Aramaic, Talmudic, and Arabic usage.
The work was of such significance that it was edited as late as 1857 by Jean L.
Barges and Baer ben Alexander Goldberg under the title Epistola de studii Targum . . . utilitate (Paris).
The first complete Hebrew lexicon of the Hebrew Bible was compiled by the Spaniard Menahem ben Saruk (910-ca. 970) and is known as Mahberetb, ed. H. Filipowski (London, 1854). Menahem wrote his explanations in Hebrew and introduced them with a grammatical treatise in which he reduced all roots to one or two letters. Judah ben David Hayyuj (ca. 940-ca. 1010 ) corrected the error and established the triliteral law of Hebrew verb roots, namely, that all are to consist of three consonants. He is also largely responsible for the conjugations used in modern grammars.
Jonah ibn Janah, born ca. 990 at Cordova, made use of Hayyuj’s triliteral theory, and his Book of Roots, written in Arabic, is a milestone in Hebrew lexicography. His enterprising use of the Talmud and Arabic in mapping lexical terrain is prophetic of an Albert Schultens.
3 For further details on Saadia’s work, see Solomon L. Skoss, Saadia Gaon, The Earliest Hebrew Grammarian (Philadelphia: Dropsie College Press, 1955). The usual date cited for the birth of Saadia is 892. I am grateful to Dr. Robert Gordis of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America for confirmatory data on the earlier date that he adopts in The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.
He makes reference to Henry Malter’s standard biography, Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1921), 421-28, where the author summarizes evidence for the earlier date, gleaned from a twelfth-century manuscript fragment containing a list of the works of Saadia and a biographical sketch composed by Saadia’s sons Sheerit Alluf and Dosa. Jacob Mann, “II. A Fihrist of Sa’adya’s Works,” JQR n.s. 11 (1921): 423-24, sets forth the evidence in greater detail.