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Some useful conventions that have been developed for editing this article include the following:
: {{lang-hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|[insert Hebrew text here]}}|[insert transcription of Hebrew text here]|[insert approximate translation of Hebrew text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Hebrew textual variant with references here]
: {{lang-grc|[insert Greek text here]||[insert approximate translation of Greek text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Greek textual variant with references here]
: {{lang-la|[insert Latin text here]||[insert approximate translation of Latin text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Latin textual variant with references here]
: omitted –[insert (prominent) textual witnesses, which do not mention the textual variant(s) mentioned above, with references here]
black/brown'.
couch / little bed'.
[the] land of Cush. or [the] black land.|label=none}}.
God created (the) heaven'. It's possible in English to say 'God created heaven' (can mean a location/place, but also a situation, or state of being) or 'God created the heaven' (a specific location or place). In English, the article 'the' can be, and often is, omitted in standard phrases, and if Latin omits it, sometimes English can do the same. As humourously demonstrated by the Romanes eunt domus sketch in Monty Python's Life of Brian, if the word domus "house" takes the locative, it can mean
"home"instead of "to the house" (ad domum). Similarly, one goes 'to school/college', 'to work' or 'to court' rather than 'to the school/college', 'to the work' or 'to the court'. Whether 'the' can or should be added depends on context, and when both are plausible, "
(the)" is the best solution.
in [the] valley of (the) Salts'. The first 'the' is bracketed as a presumed English grammatical necessity, the second 'the' is parenthesised because it is not necessary but possible in English. Especially because Salts is capitalised, it could be a well-known phenomenon to the reader and therefore determined. If the Latin text instead read in valle salinarum, then '
in [a/the] valley of salts' would be a better approximate translation, because it is presented as an undetermined or unfamiliar location.
(o)daughters of Sion,' (Songs 3:11) is an example of a Latin word that could be genitive/dative singular or nominative/vocative plural. As the two verbs in front of it are plural imperatives, by far the most likely translation is a vocative plural: the subject is addressing a group of people directly and giving them instructions. Therefore, 'o daughters of Sion,' is best. It's theoretically possible that it's a nominative plural, although it wouldn't make grammatical sense, as there is no (presumably third person plural) verb to describe what these daughters of Sion would be doing, but it could be a mistranslation (unlikely). Another reason to still parenthesise "o" is the simple fact that this particle word is obsolete in modern written English (the "O" in expressions like "Oh God!" or "Oh man!" is always written with an "h" behind it, and "oh" is used as an interjection rather than a vocative-like particle; compare "Oh no!", where the word "no" is not a noun, not a person being addressed); but for clarity's sake, editors may still display it as optional.
The language order is Hebrew – Greek – Latin. There is no universal standard order for ordering textual witnesses, but they generally rank from the oldest (or otherwise most prominent) to the youngest witnesses.
[insert edition](Swete 1930, Rahlfs 1935), Brenton 1879, ABP 1996
[insert edition](Clement 1592, Colunga&Turrado 1946, Nova Vulgata 1979)
Apart from the ABP example mentioned above (where τῶν ἀλλοφύλων is incorrectly claimed to be compatible with לַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽים lap-pə-liš-tîm and Philisthinorum), The Interlinear Hebrew Bible, Brenton's 1879 Septuagint with English translation and other editions show a similar tendency of ignoring what the Hebrew/Greek source text says, and instead providing an English translation based on the KJV or some other traditional English version that deviates significantly from the source texts they purport to translate. In other words: do not blindly trust the (English) translation given by Bible concordances or Bible translations, because they may seem compatible with equivalent words in Hebrew/Greek/Latin, but may reflect poor or lazy translations, or unjustified harmonisation attempts.
This is what you can do:
More will be added later when relevant. Suggestions are welcome. Nederlandse Leeuw ( talk) 12:15, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
This article is perhaps the most concerning I have ever seen on Wikipedia. The editor seems to think that Greek translations of Hebrew words are a variant. They even think that removing the vowel points makes it a variant! My changes are extensive, so I will include, here, an explanation to why I made the changes. I'm sorry if it is long, but that's the editor's fault, not mine.
Genesis 1:1, see also Elohim and Names of God in Judaism § Elohim
אֱלֹהִ֑ים, 'ĕ-lō-hîm ('[the] gods' or 'God') – MT (4QGenb) 4QGeng SP. Grammatically speaking, the word elohim is a masculine plural noun meaning "gods", but it is often translated as singular and capitalised as Elohim, meaning "God".
ο θεός, 'the god' – ABP
This is not a variant. There is some discussion about whether or not the Hebrew text has been edited, but Elohim largely appears to be an irregular noun. This is common in Semitic languages. A good piece of evidence for this is 1Kgs 11:33. Again, the Septuagint simply translated a Hebrew word. That is not a variant.
Genesis 1:1, see also Heaven in Judaism
הַשָּׁמַיִם, haš-šā-ma-yim, 'the heavens' – MT 4QGeng SP
τὸν οὐρανὸν, 'the heaven' – LXX ABP
The Septuagint is Greek, not Hebrew. In Hebrew, "shamayim" is a plural noun in nature, and likely was an irregular noun, like it is for Elohim. In Greek, the word for "heaven", ouranos, was not plural. The LXX is not a textual variant simply because it is a translation.
Genesis 1:7
ויבדל, way·yaḇ·dêl, '[and he] divided' – MT (4QGenb) 4QGeng SP Damascus Pent. Codex
καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ θεὸς, 'and the god parted' – LXX ABP
This is the same thing. Dividing and parting is the same thing. Why in the world is this a variant?
Genesis 2:9
וָרָֽע, wā·rā'., 'and evil/bad.' – MT
καὶ πονηροῦ, 'and evil/painful' – LXX LXXSwete ABP
malum – Vg
Same thing. Just because the Greek word for evil can also mean "painful" does not make it a variant.
Genesis 2:13
אֶ֥רֶץ כּֽוּשׁ׃, 'e·reṣ kūš. ('[the] land of Cush.' or '[the] black land.') – MT
τὴν γῆν Αἰθιοπίας., 'the land of Ethiopia.' – LXXSwete ABP
This is not a real variant. The LXX nearly always translates "Cush" as "Ethiopia". It simply shows how the Hebrews interpreted "Cush" at the time of the LXX was made.
Exodus 3[edit]
Exodus 3:14
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’el-mō-šeh, ’eh-yeh ’ă-šer ’eh-yeh; ([And] the god/God said to Moses: "I am that/who I am",) – WLC
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν· (and the god said to Moses, saying: "I am the being / the [one] who is/exists.") – LXXSwete
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν, λέγων, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Ὤν· (And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING) – Brenton
και είπεν ο θεός προς Μωυσήν εγώ ειμι ο ων (And God said to Moses, I am the one being.) – ABP
See also I Am that I Am, Burning bush, and Yahweh § Name.
This is a translation, not a variant. The editor literally thinks that capitalizing Greek letters will change the meaning. It does not. Greek was written in unical (all capitals) during the time of the LXX and the New Testament, the lower case letters became a late feature in the Greek alphabet. So was punctuation. If you were to capitalize all the "variants" and remove the punctuation, you would see that they are completely identical. It was the translators' decision to add or remove capitals or punctuation.
Compare Exodus 20:18.
Exodus 20:2, see also I am the Lord thy God
אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ ’ā-nō-ḵî Yah-weh ’ĕ-lō-he-ḵā, (I [am] Yahweh your god) – WLC
Ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ θεός σου (I am Lord the god of yours) – LXXSwete
ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου (I am Lord the God of yours) – Brenton
εγώ ειμι κύριος ο θεός σου (I am lord the god of yours) – ABP
Translation, not a variant. The editor, again, thinks that turning the unicals into lower case will change the meaning.
Exodus 20:3, see also Thou shalt have no other gods before me
לֹֽ֣א יִהְיֶֽה־לְךָ֛֩ אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים עַל־פָּנָֽ֗יַ lō yih-yeh-lə-ḵā ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’ă-ḥê-rîm ‘al-pā-nā-ya, (You shall not have other gods over/above/beside me) – WLC
Οὐκ ἔσονταί σοι θεοὶ ἕτεροι πλὴν ἐμοῦ. (There shall not be to you other gods besides/except me) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
Translation, not a variant.
Exodus 20:18
הַקֹּולֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם haq-qō-w-lōṯ ’eṯ-hal-lap-pî-ḏim, (the voices/sounds/noises/thunders and the torches) – WLC
την φωνήν και τας λαμπάδας (the voice/sound and the torches/lamps/lanterns) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
Compare Exodus 19:16
Translation, not a variant.
Leviticus 18:22, see also Leviticus 18 § Homosexuality
וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תֹּועֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃ wə-’eṯ-zā-ḵār, lō ṯiš-kaḇ miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh; tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh hî (And with a male, you shall not lie (down) on the beds of a woman/wife; he/it is an abomination.) – WLC
ואת־זכר לא תשכב משכבי אשה תועבה היא wə-’eṯ-zā-ḵār, lō ṯiš-kaḇ miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh; tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh hi (And with a male, you shall not lie (down) on the beds of a woman/wife; she/it is an abomination.) – SP
καὶ μετὰ ἄρσενος οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ κοίτην γυναικός· βδέλυγμα γάρ ἐστιν. (And with a man you shall not sleep in a (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife; because it is a detestable thing.) LXXSwete
και μετά άρσενος ου κοιμηθήση κοίτην γυναικείαν βδέλυγμα γαρ εστι (And with a man you shall not sleep in a female (marriage-)bed, because it is a detestable thing.) ABP
Cum masculo non commiscearis coitu femineo, quia abominatio est. (With a male you shall not intermingle according to the feminine intercourse, because it is an abomination.) – VgClement VgColunga&Turrado
Compare Leviticus 20:13; Genesis 49:4.
Translations, not variants. The SP is the same as WLC, except the Hebrew vowel points are removed.
Leviticus 20:13
וְאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁכַּ֤ב אֶת־זָכָר֙ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֔ה תֹּועֵבָ֥ה עָשׂ֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם מֹ֥ות יוּמָ֖תוּ דְּמֵיהֶ֥ם בָּֽם׃ wə-’îš, ’ă-šer yiš-kaḇ ’eṯ-zā-ḵār miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh, tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh ‘ā-śū šə-nê-hem; mō-wṯ yū-mā-ṯū də-mê-hem bām. (And a man, who sleeps with a male on the beds of a woman/wife, [they] have both done a detestable thing; [they] will be killed to die, [their] blood(guilt)s [are] on them.) – WLC
ואיש אשר ישכב את־זכר משכבי אשה תועבה עשו מות יומתו שניהם דמיהם בם׃ wə-’îš, ’ă-šer yiš-kaḇ ’eṯ-zā-ḵār miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh, tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh ‘ā-śū; mō-wṯ yū-mā-ṯū šə-nê-hem də-mê-hem bām. (And a man, who sleeps with a male on the beds of a woman/wife, [they] have done a detestable thing; both will be killed to die, [their] blood(guilt)s [are] on them.) – SP
καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι· θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν. (And who ever slept with [a] male in the (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife, both have done a detestable thing; let [them] be put to death, they are liable/guilty.) – LXXSwete
καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν. (And whoever shall lie with a male as with a woman/wife, they have both wrought abomination; let them die the death, they are guilty.) – Brenton
και ος αν κοιμηθή μετά άρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα εποίησαν αμφότεροι θανάτω θανατούσθωσαν ένοχοί εισιν. (And who ever slept with [a] male in the (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife, both have done a detestable thing; let [them] be killed to death, or [they] have done a detestable thing; let both be killed to death, they are liable/guilty.) – ABP
Qui dormierit cum masculo coitu femineo, uterque operatus est nefas: morte moriantur: sit sanguis eorum super eos. (Whoever sleeps with a male according to the feminine intercourse, both have done a wrong: let them die the death: may their blood be upon them.) – VgClement VgColunga&Turrado
Compare Leviticus 18:22; Genesis 49:4.
Translations, not variants.
בְּעַֽרְבֹ֣ות מֹואָ֔ב bə-‘ar-ḇō-wṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (in the plains of Moab) – WLC
בערבת מואב bə-‘ar-wṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (in the evening/west of Moab) – SP
ἐπὶ δυσμῶν Μωὰβ (on the west of Moab / upon the descent/sunset of Moab) – Brenton LXXSwete ABP
The words עֲרָבָה arabah/'aravá ("steppe", "desert", "plain"), עֶרֶב érev ("evening", "sunset") and מַעֲרָב ma'aráv ("west") are all etymologically related to each other, and maybe also cognates of words such as "Europe" (see Europe § Name) and "Arab" (see Etymology of Arab). See also Numbers 31:12.
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves.
Numbers 31:3
מִדְיָ֔ן miḏ-yān, (Midian) – WLC
Μαδιάν (Madian) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
This is the Greek spelling for Midian. If you were to search the term in the LXX, you'd see that this is consistent throughout the whole translation.
Numbers 31:12
עַֽרְבֹ֣ת מוֹאָ֔ב ‘ar-ḇōṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (the plains/desert/wilderness of Moab) – WLC
Ἀραβὼθ Μωάβ, (Araboth Moab,) – LXXSwete Brenton
αραβώθ Μωάβ ([the] wilderness of Moab) – ABP
It is unclear whether the Hebrew original meant a general geographical feature ('plains/desert/wilderness') or a specific toponym (probably the region now known as "Arabah"), or whether Greek translators failed to translate מוֹאָ֔ב ‘ar-ḇōṯ as a general geographical feature and turned it into a specific toponym, and hence the Arabah region got its name from this toponymisation. See also Numbers 22:1.
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves.
Numbers 31:15
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶׁ֑ה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה׃ way-yō-mer ’ă-lê-hem mō-šeh; ha-ḥî-yî-ṯem kāl-nə-qê-ḇāh. (And Moses said to them: 'Have you kept alive all the women?') – MT
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶׁ֑ה למה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה׃ way-yō-mer ’ă-lê-hem mō-šeh; lá-ma ha-ḥî-yî-ṯem kāl-nə-qê-ḇāh. (And Moses said to them: 'Why have you kept alive all the women?') – SP
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς Ἵνα τί ἐζωγρήσατε πᾶν θῆλυ; (And Moses said to them: 'Why did you take/catch/save alive every female?') – LXXSwete
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς ινατί ἐζωγρήσατε πᾶν θῆλυ (And Moses said to them: 'Why did you take/catch/save alive every female?') – ABP Brenton
Translation, change of unicals and punctuation. No variants here, either.
Numbers 31:16
עַל־דְּבַר־פְּעֹ֑ור ‘al-də-ḇar-pə-‘ō-wr; (in the incident of Peor) – MT
ἕνεκεν Φογώρ (because of Phogor) – LXXSwete ABP Brenton
Judges 15:5
וַיַּבְעֶר־אֵשׁ֙ בַּלַּפִּידִ֔ים way-yaḇ-‘er-’êš bal-lap-pî-ḏîm, ([And when he] had burnt fire on the torches / set the torches on fire) – WLC
καὶ ἐξέκαυσεν πῦρ ἐν ταῖς λαμπάσιν (and he inflamed/kindled fire in the torches/lamps) – LXXSwete APB
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves. 65.23.173.253 ( talk) 19:54, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
Cush is a Hebrew name that is possibly derived from Kash, the Egyptian name of Lower Nubia and later of the Nubian kingdom at Napata, known as the Kingdom of Kush.That is in a very different place then where the Ethiopian Empire and its preceding Kingdom of Aksum have been historically located. Whether toponyms or ethnonyms like these are to be considered synonymous or not (or that it depends on the context) is not up to textual critics, but interpreters; the textual critic just notes the difference, writes it down as a variant, and moves on.
THE BEINGis irrelevant (and frankly, in my opinion, unscholarly of him, as the original text provides no motive for doing so). Nor does punctuation matter here (on that, we agree). My concern here is purely grammatical: in Hebrew, the second verb is in the first person ('am'), but in Greek, there is no second verb: ὁ ὤν is a noun ('the being' or 'the one who is/exists') derived from the verb 'to be'. Unlike in Hebrew, which appears to feature circular reasoning ('I am who/that I am', repeating the proposition rather than explaining it), the Greek text appears to give new information about the subject's identity, as it is an indirect object. Whether this is saying the same thing in a different manner or not is up to interpreters; what matters to textual critics is that this text has a different grammar that may lead to a different meaning in Greek than Hebrew, and the question is which grammar was likely used in the now-lost original.
![]() | This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Some useful conventions that have been developed for editing this article include the following:
: {{lang-hbo|{{Script/Hebrew|[insert Hebrew text here]}}|[insert transcription of Hebrew text here]|[insert approximate translation of Hebrew text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Hebrew textual variant with references here]
: {{lang-grc|[insert Greek text here]||[insert approximate translation of Greek text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Greek textual variant with references here]
: {{lang-la|[insert Latin text here]||[insert approximate translation of Latin text here]|label=none}} –[insert textual witnesses to this Latin textual variant with references here]
: omitted –[insert (prominent) textual witnesses, which do not mention the textual variant(s) mentioned above, with references here]
black/brown'.
couch / little bed'.
[the] land of Cush. or [the] black land.|label=none}}.
God created (the) heaven'. It's possible in English to say 'God created heaven' (can mean a location/place, but also a situation, or state of being) or 'God created the heaven' (a specific location or place). In English, the article 'the' can be, and often is, omitted in standard phrases, and if Latin omits it, sometimes English can do the same. As humourously demonstrated by the Romanes eunt domus sketch in Monty Python's Life of Brian, if the word domus "house" takes the locative, it can mean
"home"instead of "to the house" (ad domum). Similarly, one goes 'to school/college', 'to work' or 'to court' rather than 'to the school/college', 'to the work' or 'to the court'. Whether 'the' can or should be added depends on context, and when both are plausible, "
(the)" is the best solution.
in [the] valley of (the) Salts'. The first 'the' is bracketed as a presumed English grammatical necessity, the second 'the' is parenthesised because it is not necessary but possible in English. Especially because Salts is capitalised, it could be a well-known phenomenon to the reader and therefore determined. If the Latin text instead read in valle salinarum, then '
in [a/the] valley of salts' would be a better approximate translation, because it is presented as an undetermined or unfamiliar location.
(o)daughters of Sion,' (Songs 3:11) is an example of a Latin word that could be genitive/dative singular or nominative/vocative plural. As the two verbs in front of it are plural imperatives, by far the most likely translation is a vocative plural: the subject is addressing a group of people directly and giving them instructions. Therefore, 'o daughters of Sion,' is best. It's theoretically possible that it's a nominative plural, although it wouldn't make grammatical sense, as there is no (presumably third person plural) verb to describe what these daughters of Sion would be doing, but it could be a mistranslation (unlikely). Another reason to still parenthesise "o" is the simple fact that this particle word is obsolete in modern written English (the "O" in expressions like "Oh God!" or "Oh man!" is always written with an "h" behind it, and "oh" is used as an interjection rather than a vocative-like particle; compare "Oh no!", where the word "no" is not a noun, not a person being addressed); but for clarity's sake, editors may still display it as optional.
The language order is Hebrew – Greek – Latin. There is no universal standard order for ordering textual witnesses, but they generally rank from the oldest (or otherwise most prominent) to the youngest witnesses.
[insert edition](Swete 1930, Rahlfs 1935), Brenton 1879, ABP 1996
[insert edition](Clement 1592, Colunga&Turrado 1946, Nova Vulgata 1979)
Apart from the ABP example mentioned above (where τῶν ἀλλοφύλων is incorrectly claimed to be compatible with לַפְּלִשְׁתִּֽים lap-pə-liš-tîm and Philisthinorum), The Interlinear Hebrew Bible, Brenton's 1879 Septuagint with English translation and other editions show a similar tendency of ignoring what the Hebrew/Greek source text says, and instead providing an English translation based on the KJV or some other traditional English version that deviates significantly from the source texts they purport to translate. In other words: do not blindly trust the (English) translation given by Bible concordances or Bible translations, because they may seem compatible with equivalent words in Hebrew/Greek/Latin, but may reflect poor or lazy translations, or unjustified harmonisation attempts.
This is what you can do:
More will be added later when relevant. Suggestions are welcome. Nederlandse Leeuw ( talk) 12:15, 2 November 2022 (UTC)
This article is perhaps the most concerning I have ever seen on Wikipedia. The editor seems to think that Greek translations of Hebrew words are a variant. They even think that removing the vowel points makes it a variant! My changes are extensive, so I will include, here, an explanation to why I made the changes. I'm sorry if it is long, but that's the editor's fault, not mine.
Genesis 1:1, see also Elohim and Names of God in Judaism § Elohim
אֱלֹהִ֑ים, 'ĕ-lō-hîm ('[the] gods' or 'God') – MT (4QGenb) 4QGeng SP. Grammatically speaking, the word elohim is a masculine plural noun meaning "gods", but it is often translated as singular and capitalised as Elohim, meaning "God".
ο θεός, 'the god' – ABP
This is not a variant. There is some discussion about whether or not the Hebrew text has been edited, but Elohim largely appears to be an irregular noun. This is common in Semitic languages. A good piece of evidence for this is 1Kgs 11:33. Again, the Septuagint simply translated a Hebrew word. That is not a variant.
Genesis 1:1, see also Heaven in Judaism
הַשָּׁמַיִם, haš-šā-ma-yim, 'the heavens' – MT 4QGeng SP
τὸν οὐρανὸν, 'the heaven' – LXX ABP
The Septuagint is Greek, not Hebrew. In Hebrew, "shamayim" is a plural noun in nature, and likely was an irregular noun, like it is for Elohim. In Greek, the word for "heaven", ouranos, was not plural. The LXX is not a textual variant simply because it is a translation.
Genesis 1:7
ויבדל, way·yaḇ·dêl, '[and he] divided' – MT (4QGenb) 4QGeng SP Damascus Pent. Codex
καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ θεὸς, 'and the god parted' – LXX ABP
This is the same thing. Dividing and parting is the same thing. Why in the world is this a variant?
Genesis 2:9
וָרָֽע, wā·rā'., 'and evil/bad.' – MT
καὶ πονηροῦ, 'and evil/painful' – LXX LXXSwete ABP
malum – Vg
Same thing. Just because the Greek word for evil can also mean "painful" does not make it a variant.
Genesis 2:13
אֶ֥רֶץ כּֽוּשׁ׃, 'e·reṣ kūš. ('[the] land of Cush.' or '[the] black land.') – MT
τὴν γῆν Αἰθιοπίας., 'the land of Ethiopia.' – LXXSwete ABP
This is not a real variant. The LXX nearly always translates "Cush" as "Ethiopia". It simply shows how the Hebrews interpreted "Cush" at the time of the LXX was made.
Exodus 3[edit]
Exodus 3:14
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה way-yō-mer ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’el-mō-šeh, ’eh-yeh ’ă-šer ’eh-yeh; ([And] the god/God said to Moses: "I am that/who I am",) – WLC
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν· (and the god said to Moses, saying: "I am the being / the [one] who is/exists.") – LXXSwete
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν, λέγων, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Ὤν· (And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING) – Brenton
και είπεν ο θεός προς Μωυσήν εγώ ειμι ο ων (And God said to Moses, I am the one being.) – ABP
See also I Am that I Am, Burning bush, and Yahweh § Name.
This is a translation, not a variant. The editor literally thinks that capitalizing Greek letters will change the meaning. It does not. Greek was written in unical (all capitals) during the time of the LXX and the New Testament, the lower case letters became a late feature in the Greek alphabet. So was punctuation. If you were to capitalize all the "variants" and remove the punctuation, you would see that they are completely identical. It was the translators' decision to add or remove capitals or punctuation.
Compare Exodus 20:18.
Exodus 20:2, see also I am the Lord thy God
אָֽנֹכִ֖י֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑֔יךָ ’ā-nō-ḵî Yah-weh ’ĕ-lō-he-ḵā, (I [am] Yahweh your god) – WLC
Ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ θεός σου (I am Lord the god of yours) – LXXSwete
ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου (I am Lord the God of yours) – Brenton
εγώ ειμι κύριος ο θεός σου (I am lord the god of yours) – ABP
Translation, not a variant. The editor, again, thinks that turning the unicals into lower case will change the meaning.
Exodus 20:3, see also Thou shalt have no other gods before me
לֹֽ֣א יִהְיֶֽה־לְךָ֛֩ אֱלֹהִ֥֨ים אֲחֵרִ֖֜ים עַל־פָּנָֽ֗יַ lō yih-yeh-lə-ḵā ’ĕ-lō-hîm ’ă-ḥê-rîm ‘al-pā-nā-ya, (You shall not have other gods over/above/beside me) – WLC
Οὐκ ἔσονταί σοι θεοὶ ἕτεροι πλὴν ἐμοῦ. (There shall not be to you other gods besides/except me) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
Translation, not a variant.
Exodus 20:18
הַקֹּולֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַלַּפִּידִ֗ם haq-qō-w-lōṯ ’eṯ-hal-lap-pî-ḏim, (the voices/sounds/noises/thunders and the torches) – WLC
την φωνήν και τας λαμπάδας (the voice/sound and the torches/lamps/lanterns) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
Compare Exodus 19:16
Translation, not a variant.
Leviticus 18:22, see also Leviticus 18 § Homosexuality
וְאֶ֨ת־זָכָ֔ר לֹ֥א תִשְׁכַּ֖ב מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֑ה תֹּועֵבָ֖ה הִֽוא׃ wə-’eṯ-zā-ḵār, lō ṯiš-kaḇ miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh; tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh hî (And with a male, you shall not lie (down) on the beds of a woman/wife; he/it is an abomination.) – WLC
ואת־זכר לא תשכב משכבי אשה תועבה היא wə-’eṯ-zā-ḵār, lō ṯiš-kaḇ miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh; tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh hi (And with a male, you shall not lie (down) on the beds of a woman/wife; she/it is an abomination.) – SP
καὶ μετὰ ἄρσενος οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ κοίτην γυναικός· βδέλυγμα γάρ ἐστιν. (And with a man you shall not sleep in a (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife; because it is a detestable thing.) LXXSwete
και μετά άρσενος ου κοιμηθήση κοίτην γυναικείαν βδέλυγμα γαρ εστι (And with a man you shall not sleep in a female (marriage-)bed, because it is a detestable thing.) ABP
Cum masculo non commiscearis coitu femineo, quia abominatio est. (With a male you shall not intermingle according to the feminine intercourse, because it is an abomination.) – VgClement VgColunga&Turrado
Compare Leviticus 20:13; Genesis 49:4.
Translations, not variants. The SP is the same as WLC, except the Hebrew vowel points are removed.
Leviticus 20:13
וְאִ֗ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁכַּ֤ב אֶת־זָכָר֙ מִשְׁכְּבֵ֣י אִשָּׁ֔ה תֹּועֵבָ֥ה עָשׂ֖וּ שְׁנֵיהֶ֑ם מֹ֥ות יוּמָ֖תוּ דְּמֵיהֶ֥ם בָּֽם׃ wə-’îš, ’ă-šer yiš-kaḇ ’eṯ-zā-ḵār miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh, tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh ‘ā-śū šə-nê-hem; mō-wṯ yū-mā-ṯū də-mê-hem bām. (And a man, who sleeps with a male on the beds of a woman/wife, [they] have both done a detestable thing; [they] will be killed to die, [their] blood(guilt)s [are] on them.) – WLC
ואיש אשר ישכב את־זכר משכבי אשה תועבה עשו מות יומתו שניהם דמיהם בם׃ wə-’îš, ’ă-šer yiš-kaḇ ’eṯ-zā-ḵār miš-kə-ḇê ’iš-šāh, tō-w-‘ê-ḇāh ‘ā-śū; mō-wṯ yū-mā-ṯū šə-nê-hem də-mê-hem bām. (And a man, who sleeps with a male on the beds of a woman/wife, [they] have done a detestable thing; both will be killed to die, [their] blood(guilt)s [are] on them.) – SP
καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι· θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν. (And who ever slept with [a] male in the (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife, both have done a detestable thing; let [them] be put to death, they are liable/guilty.) – LXXSwete
καὶ ὃς ἂν κοιμηθῇ μετὰ ἄρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα ἐποίησαν ἀμφότεροι· θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν. (And whoever shall lie with a male as with a woman/wife, they have both wrought abomination; let them die the death, they are guilty.) – Brenton
και ος αν κοιμηθή μετά άρσενος κοίτην γυναικός, βδέλυγμα εποίησαν αμφότεροι θανάτω θανατούσθωσαν ένοχοί εισιν. (And who ever slept with [a] male in the (marriage-)bed of a woman/wife, both have done a detestable thing; let [them] be killed to death, or [they] have done a detestable thing; let both be killed to death, they are liable/guilty.) – ABP
Qui dormierit cum masculo coitu femineo, uterque operatus est nefas: morte moriantur: sit sanguis eorum super eos. (Whoever sleeps with a male according to the feminine intercourse, both have done a wrong: let them die the death: may their blood be upon them.) – VgClement VgColunga&Turrado
Compare Leviticus 18:22; Genesis 49:4.
Translations, not variants.
בְּעַֽרְבֹ֣ות מֹואָ֔ב bə-‘ar-ḇō-wṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (in the plains of Moab) – WLC
בערבת מואב bə-‘ar-wṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (in the evening/west of Moab) – SP
ἐπὶ δυσμῶν Μωὰβ (on the west of Moab / upon the descent/sunset of Moab) – Brenton LXXSwete ABP
The words עֲרָבָה arabah/'aravá ("steppe", "desert", "plain"), עֶרֶב érev ("evening", "sunset") and מַעֲרָב ma'aráv ("west") are all etymologically related to each other, and maybe also cognates of words such as "Europe" (see Europe § Name) and "Arab" (see Etymology of Arab). See also Numbers 31:12.
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves.
Numbers 31:3
מִדְיָ֔ן miḏ-yān, (Midian) – WLC
Μαδιάν (Madian) – LXXSwete Brenton ABP
This is the Greek spelling for Midian. If you were to search the term in the LXX, you'd see that this is consistent throughout the whole translation.
Numbers 31:12
עַֽרְבֹ֣ת מוֹאָ֔ב ‘ar-ḇōṯ mō-w-’āḇ, (the plains/desert/wilderness of Moab) – WLC
Ἀραβὼθ Μωάβ, (Araboth Moab,) – LXXSwete Brenton
αραβώθ Μωάβ ([the] wilderness of Moab) – ABP
It is unclear whether the Hebrew original meant a general geographical feature ('plains/desert/wilderness') or a specific toponym (probably the region now known as "Arabah"), or whether Greek translators failed to translate מוֹאָ֔ב ‘ar-ḇōṯ as a general geographical feature and turned it into a specific toponym, and hence the Arabah region got its name from this toponymisation. See also Numbers 22:1.
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves.
Numbers 31:15
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶׁ֑ה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה׃ way-yō-mer ’ă-lê-hem mō-šeh; ha-ḥî-yî-ṯem kāl-nə-qê-ḇāh. (And Moses said to them: 'Have you kept alive all the women?') – MT
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶׁ֑ה למה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה׃ way-yō-mer ’ă-lê-hem mō-šeh; lá-ma ha-ḥî-yî-ṯem kāl-nə-qê-ḇāh. (And Moses said to them: 'Why have you kept alive all the women?') – SP
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς Ἵνα τί ἐζωγρήσατε πᾶν θῆλυ; (And Moses said to them: 'Why did you take/catch/save alive every female?') – LXXSwete
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Μωυσῆς ινατί ἐζωγρήσατε πᾶν θῆλυ (And Moses said to them: 'Why did you take/catch/save alive every female?') – ABP Brenton
Translation, change of unicals and punctuation. No variants here, either.
Numbers 31:16
עַל־דְּבַר־פְּעֹ֑ור ‘al-də-ḇar-pə-‘ō-wr; (in the incident of Peor) – MT
ἕνεκεν Φογώρ (because of Phogor) – LXXSwete ABP Brenton
Judges 15:5
וַיַּבְעֶר־אֵשׁ֙ בַּלַּפִּידִ֔ים way-yaḇ-‘er-’êš bal-lap-pî-ḏîm, ([And when he] had burnt fire on the torches / set the torches on fire) – WLC
καὶ ἐξέκαυσεν πῦρ ἐν ταῖς λαμπάσιν (and he inflamed/kindled fire in the torches/lamps) – LXXSwete APB
This is a translator's decision, not a variant. The editor demonstrated this themselves. 65.23.173.253 ( talk) 19:54, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
Cush is a Hebrew name that is possibly derived from Kash, the Egyptian name of Lower Nubia and later of the Nubian kingdom at Napata, known as the Kingdom of Kush.That is in a very different place then where the Ethiopian Empire and its preceding Kingdom of Aksum have been historically located. Whether toponyms or ethnonyms like these are to be considered synonymous or not (or that it depends on the context) is not up to textual critics, but interpreters; the textual critic just notes the difference, writes it down as a variant, and moves on.
THE BEINGis irrelevant (and frankly, in my opinion, unscholarly of him, as the original text provides no motive for doing so). Nor does punctuation matter here (on that, we agree). My concern here is purely grammatical: in Hebrew, the second verb is in the first person ('am'), but in Greek, there is no second verb: ὁ ὤν is a noun ('the being' or 'the one who is/exists') derived from the verb 'to be'. Unlike in Hebrew, which appears to feature circular reasoning ('I am who/that I am', repeating the proposition rather than explaining it), the Greek text appears to give new information about the subject's identity, as it is an indirect object. Whether this is saying the same thing in a different manner or not is up to interpreters; what matters to textual critics is that this text has a different grammar that may lead to a different meaning in Greek than Hebrew, and the question is which grammar was likely used in the now-lost original.