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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOB3YZ6bc_8
Septuagint or Masoretic – Matthew 23-28
Post-Apostolic Church
INTRO
Let’s continue comparing the Hebrew Masoretic with the
Greek Septuagint by going through the New Testament and seeing which manuscript
family the writers used when quoting from the Old Testament. In this video, we will be looking at Matthew
chapters 23 to 28. The running count of verses will continue from the last
video.
MATTHEW 23:38
Matthew 23:38 is about
Jesus’ lament at how Jerusalem would not accept Him as Christ. It reads,
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. (Matt 23:38 (ASV))
This is a quotation
from Jeremiah 22:5. The
Masoretic reads,
This house shall become a desolation. (Jer 22:5 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
This house shall be brought to desolation. (Jer 22:5 (Brenton))
This is not a direct
quotation. For example, Jesus is
speaking to Jerusalem, which is why He says “your house” instead of “this
house.” Secondly, the
wording of the Masoretic and Septuagint is the same, saying that this is what their
house will be. Jesus uses a different
verb, saying that their house will be left.
[1.6] In the end, because the Masoretic and Septuagint agree,
Jesus follows both.
[Verses: 43. Both: 22.
LXX: 11. MT: 8.]
MATTHEW 23:39
The next verse,
Matthew 23:39, it is also part of Jesus’ lament. It reads,
You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, “Blessed
is he that comes in the name of the Lord.”
(Matt 23:39 (ASV))
This is a quotation
from Psalm 118:26. The
Masoretic reads,
Blessed be he that comes in the name of Jehovah. (Ps 118:26 (ASV))
In the Septuagint, Psalm
117:26 reads,
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. (Ps 117:26 (Brenton))
All readings
agree. Jesus follows both.
[Verses: 44. Both: 23.
LXX: 11. MT: 8.]
MATTHEW 24:15
Matthew 24:15 is about
Jesus’ prophecies about the destruction of the temple. It reads,
When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, which
was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place… (Matt 24:15 (ASV))
This is a quotation
from Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. The Masoretic reads,
...And they shall set up the abomination that makes
desolate. (Dan 11:31 (ASV))
...and the abomination that makes desolate... (Dan 12:11 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
…And make the abomination desolate. (Dan 11:31 (Brenton))
…the abomination of desolation shall be… (Dan 12:11 (Brenton))
In the Septuagint at
Dan 11:31, there is a different word than “desolation.” It is “destruction.” So with the exception of Dan
11:31, which is different from the other four verses, these are saying the same
thing. Jesus follows both.
[Verses: 45. Both: 24.
LXX: 11. MT: 8.]
MATTHEW 24:30
Matthew 24:30 is Jesus’
and Daniel’s prophecy about Christ’s Second Coming. It reads,
…And they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. (Matt
24:30 (ASV))
This is a quotation
from Daniel 7:13. The
Masoretic reads,
There came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a Son of
Man. (Dan 7:13 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
One coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man. (Dan 7:13 (Brenton))
It may not appear to be
the case with these modern, English translations, but the Masoretic and Septuagint
say the very same thing. Jesus
says the same thing in Matthew, but with a different order to the words. Jesus follows both.
[Verses: 46. Both: 25.
LXX: 11. MT: 8.]
MATTHEW 26:15
Matthew 26:15 is about
Judas taking money from the chief priests in order to hand Jesus over to them. It reads,
[Judas] said, “What are you willing to give me,
and I will deliver Him unto you?” And
they weighed unto him thirty pieces of silver.
(Matt 26:15 (ASV))
This is more of a prophecy
than a quotation. But still, the wording
in Matthew is to direct our attention to Zechariah 11:12. The Masoretic reads,
I said unto them, “If you think good, give me
my hire, and if not, forbear.” So they
weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.
(Zech 11:12 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
I will say to them, “If it be good in your
eyes, give me my price, or refuse it.” And they weighed for my price thirty pieces of
silver. (Zech 11:12 (Brenton))
Again, this is not
truly a quotation. These verses are
supposed to be different because Matthew’s is about Judas and Zechariah’s is
about himself. Between Matthew and the Septuagint,
the only words that are the same as “weighed” and “thirty pieces of silver.” This verse will NOT be counted since it is
not a true quotation.
MATTHEW 26:31
Matthew 26:31 is about
Jesus telling His disciples that they will run away when He is arrested. It reads,
Then said Jesus unto them, “All [of] you shall be offended
in Me this night. For it is written: I
will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” (Matt 26:31 (ASV))
This is a quotation
from Zechariah 13:7. The
Masoretic reads,
Said Jehovah of hosts, “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered. And I will turn my
hand upon the little ones.” (Zech 13:7
(ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
Said the Lord Almighty, “Smite the shepherds, and draw out
the sheep. And I will bring mine hand
upon the little ones.” (Zech 13:7
(Brenton))
The verb used on how
the sheep will disperse is the same in all readings. Then there is the obvious difference between
the Masoretic’s “Jehovah of Hosts” and the Septuagint’s “Lord Almighty.” It is too bad Jesus doesn’t quote that part. The only real difference is that
the Septuagint says “shepherds” (plural).
Because of that, Jesus follows the Masoretic.
[Verses: 47. Both: 25.
LXX: 11. MT: 9.]
MATTHEW 26:64
Matthew 26:64 is about
when Jesus is being questioned by the high priest. When the high priest questions whether He is
the Christ, it reads,
Jesus said unto him, “You have said [it]. Nevertheless I say unto you: Henceforth you
shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the
clouds of heaven.” (Matt 26:64 (ASV))
We have already seen that
this is a quotation from Daniel 7:13. The Masoretic reads,
There came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a Son of
Man. (Dan 7:13 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
One coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man. (Dan 7:13 (Brenton))
In the earlier verse,
Jesus added, “with power and great glory.”
Here, Jesus adds, “sitting at the right hand of Power,” which is a
reference to Psalm 110:1. Other
than those additional statements, Jesus is using the same words. Jesus follows both.
[Verses: 48. Both: 26.
LXX: 11. MT: 9.]
MATTHEW 27:9-10
Matthew 27:9-10 is
about what the chief priests did with the money that Judas threw back. It reads,
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah
the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price
of him that was priced, whom certain of the children of Israel did price. And they gave them for the potter's field, as
the Lord appointed me." (Matt
27:9-10 (ASV))
According to Matthew,
this is a quotation from Jeremiah, but this is not found anywhere in the book of
Jeremiah. There is something
very similar found in Zechariah 11:13. The
Masoretic reads,
And Jehovah said unto me, "Cast it unto the potter,"
the goodly price that I was prized at by them.
And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter,
in the house of Jehovah. (Zech 11:13
(ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
And the Lord said to me, “Drop them into the furnace,” and
I will see if it is good metal, as I was proved for their sakes. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and
cast them into the furnace in the house of the Lord. (Zech 11:13 (Brenton))
First, it is obvious that
Matthew is not giving a direct quotation.
Actually, it appears to be an extremely loose quotation. It is possible that Matthew is not trying to
quote it but to make reference to it.
Matthew 27:9-10 seems to apply directly and only to Jesus, while Zechariah
11:13 seems to apply directly and only to Zechariah. In other words, Matthew may not be trying to
quote from Zechariah but he is trying to parallel Jesus to Zechariah.
In fact, Matthew did
the same thing earlier, in a verse that this video skipped. A chapter before this, Matthew 26:15 reads,
[Judas] said, “What are you willing to give me, and I will
deliver Him unto you?” And they weighed
unto him thirty pieces of silver. (Matt
26:15 (ASV))
This has a connection
to the previous verse in Zechariah. It
reads,
I said unto them, “If you think good, give me my hire, and
if not, forbear.” So they weighed for my
hire thirty pieces of silver. (Zech
11:12 (ASV))
(There is no difference
between the Masoretic and Septuagint regarding Zechariah 11:12.) Matthew does the same thing here. He is not quoting. He is making reference. More specifically, Matthew is paralleling these
stories. Because Matthew is
not quoting, these verses are not good candidates when it comes to comparing
the Masoretic and Septuagint. So these
verses will be ignored.
But before leaving, we
should address one more thing. Matthew
says that this was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet. As already said, this business with
thirty pieces of silver and the potter’s field is not found in Jeremiah. Instead, we find it in
Zechariah. Are we able to investigate
this further?
Biblical scholars have
presented a couple explanations for this. Speaking personally, their explanations are unsatisfactory. (First, modern scholars have suggested
that Matthew was referring to the entire book of the Prophets, which begins
with Jeremiah. Basically, Matthew is
telling us to look through all the books of the prophets for this quotation. Second, modern scholars have suggested that this
is a scribal error since Jeremiah and Zechariah differs by only a couple letters. However, this is NOT true! The names for Jeremiah and Zechariah are more
different than they are the same. Only the
last third of their names is the same.)
And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, “And
they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that was valued, whom
they of the children of Israel did value, and gave them for the house of the
potter.” (ANF, vol 7, page 444.)
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf07.ix.vi.iii.html
As is the purpose of
this channel, let’s look to the Pre-Nicene Christians to see if they said
anything about Matthew 27:9 and it saying, “Jeremiah.” Beyond any doubt, they would have known that
this quotation doesn’t come from Jeremiah but from Zechariah. And they would have said something about it,
as they did with other verses which seem to have a problem. Matthew 27:9 is quoted twice by the
Pre-Nicene Christians. We
will start with the second quotation, which comes from the Apostolic Constitutions. Unfortunately, that quotation starts with the
passage from Zechariah. It does not
quote the part from Matthew about being fulfilled by what was spoken through
the prophet Jeremiah. In short, the
quotation in the Apostolic Constitutions doesn’t refer to Jeremiah at all. The first quotation is from
Tatian’s Diatesseron, which is his compilation of all four gospels into one coherent
gospel. He compiled it around the year AD
170. (For more information on the Diatesseron,
please see the video.) It
reads,
Therein was fulfilled the saying in the prophet which said,
"I took thirty pieces of money, the price of the precious one, which was
fixed by the children of Israel. And I
paid them for the plain of the potter, as the Lord commanded me." (ANF, vol 9, page 122)
https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf09.iv.iii.li.html
Notice how the verse
read in Tatian’s day. It doesn’t mention
the prophet’s name at all. So the first possible
answer, which is suggested by the Diatesseron, is that Matthew’s original
gospel never contained the name of the prophet here.
Could the name “Jeremiah”
have been added later? The earliest complete
copies of the New Testament are Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, which are
dated to the middle 300s. Both of these show
Jeremiah’s name. So if the idea is true
that the name “Jeremiah” was added, it would have been added after the Diatessaron
and before Sinaiticus and Vaticanus. That is, between AD 170 and AD 350.
Speaking personally, this appears to be the best explanation of why our
Bibles mistakenly attribute this quotation to Jeremiah instead of the accurate prophet,
Zechariah.
There is another reason
why this explanation is best. In the second century, around the same time as Tatian, the Old and New
Testaments were translated into Aramaic, which is today called the Aramaic Peshitta. In the Peshitta, the name “Jeremiah” does not
appear—just like in Tatian’s Diatessaron.
So the Peshitta is another witness that “Jeremiah” did not appear in
Matthew’s original gospel.
At this point, we have
spent a whole lot of time away from comparing the Masoretic and Septuagint, so
let’s continue.
MATTHEW 27:35
Matthew 27:35 is about
the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ clothes while He hung on the cross. This quotation might not appear in your Bible
because it is not found in all New Testament manuscripts. It reads,
And they crucified Him, and parted his garments, casting
lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: They parted
my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. (Matt 27:35 (KJV))
This is a quotation
from Psalm 22:18. The
Masoretic reads,
They part my garments among them, and upon my vesture do
they cast lots. (Ps 22:18 (ASV))
The Septuagint reads,
They parted my garments among themselves, and cast lots
upon my raiment. (Ps 22:18 (Brenton))
All readings
agree. Matthew follows both.
[Verses: 49. Both: 27.
LXX: 11. MT: 9.]
MATTHEW 27:46
Matthew 27:46 is about
when Jesus was on the cross and shouted in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. It reads,
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” That
is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”
(Matt 27:46 (ASV))
This is a quotation of
Psalm 22:1. The Masoretic reads,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from
the words of my groaning? (Ps 22:1
(ASV))
In the Septuagint,
Psalm 21:2 reads,
O God, my God, attend to me: why have you forsaken me? (Ps 21:2 (Brenton))
Let’s first take a look
at the Masoretic. Here, Jesus’s first
two words are in Hebrew. But His other words,
“lama sabachthani,” are not Hebrew but Aramaic.
Based on the definitions of these Hebrew and Aramaic words, it is obvious
that Jesus is directly quoting from Psalm 22:1.
Though Jesus is speaking in Aramaic, He is speaking the Masoretic equivalent.
The Septuagint has an
additional phrase, “attend to me,” which doesn’t appear in Matthew nor in the
Masoretic nor in the Aramaic. Therefore,
because Jesus didn’t say those words, He follows the Masoretic.
[Verses: 50. Both: 27.
LXX: 11. MT: 10.]
CREDITS
That is enough for now.
Thus far, we have finished looking at Matthew and have analyzed 50
verses. Here is a pie chart showing the
verse breakdown in Matthew.
When this video series
first began, it was said that, of the verses that did not follow both the
Septuagint and Masoretic, 9 times out of 10, the verse would favor the
Septuagint. As you can see here, that is
not the case with Matthew. There are two
reasons for this. First, we have a whole
lot more New Testament to compare. And
the New Testament author that showed the differences between the Septuagint and
Masoretic the most was Paul. His
quotations are the most telling as to which Old Testament manuscripts he
used. Second, according to the
Pre-Nicene Christians, Matthew originally wrote his gospel is either Aramaic or
Hebrew. Soon after that, it was
translated into Greek. If that is the
case, that is a good reason Matthew would have used the Hebrew Masoretic more
often: it was the same language as his original autograph. Of course, even considering this background about
the Gospel of Matthew, it favored the Septuagint a little bit more often than the
Masoretic.
In August, we will
move on to the gospel of Mark as we continue looking at New Testament
quotations from the Old Testament.
Blessings and so forth.
