Crowned with Glory by Dr. Thomas Holland

Author:Dr. Thomas Holland [Holland, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-02-04T06:00:00+00:00

The LXX And The New Testament

There are a number of Old Testament quotations found in the New Testament that are said to be from the LXX. Several of these passages agree because of the limitations of translating Hebrew into Greek. Such would be the case in Genesis 5:24 as compared with Hebrews 11:5. The writer of the book of Hebrews and the LXX both use the phrase "God translated him" in reference to Enoch. The Greek, metetheken auton o theos, is the same in both the New Testament and the LXX.

Genesis 5:24 (KJV)

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Genesis 5:24 (LXX)

And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, because God translated him.

Hebrews 11:5 (KJV)

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he please God.

At first glance it would seem that the passage in Hebrews is closer to the LXX. However, the Hebrew word for "took" in this passage is lawkakh, which means to take or move from one place to another. The Greek way of saying the Hebrew lawkakh is metetheken, which means "translated." This is not a citation of the LXX, but a Greek translation of the Hebrew word for took.

There are times when the Greek of the LXX and the Greek of the New Testament match perfectly. There are also places where the two do not match. To explain this most scholars assume the New Testament writers were paraphrasing from the LXX. But once we explore the possibility that the citations are not quotations but paraphrases of the LXX, we can no longer be certain it was the LXX that was originally used.

Romans 9:17 illustrates this. While part of the passage seems to match the LXX, part does not at all match. This causes us to wonder why Paul did not fully quote the LXX if it was his source.

Exodus 9:16 (KJV)

And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

Exodus 9:16 (LXX)

And for this purpose hast thou been preserved, that I might display in thee my strength, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

Romans 9:17 (KJV)

For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

The last phrase, "and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth" is a perfect match between the New Testament and the LXX, as is the phrase "that I might shew my power in thee." However, this also matches the Hebrew text as seen in the King James rendering of Exodus 9:16. It is important to note that there are differences between the LXX and the Greek New Testament at the very beginning and in the middle of the verse.

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