Yaron Yadan
From: The Septuagint Genesis by Prof. Moshe Tzippor,
Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 5766.
[The Greek text which serves as the basis for the author’s work is based on the Goettingen text of the Septuagint. This is a compilation, and the editor of the Pentateuch was Wevers.]
The differences between the Septuagint and the Scriptural version we possess is brought so that the public will learn and know that the version we now possessis only a result of variations, changes, errors, and distortions through the course of time until the text attained Halachic authorization (Halachic, because it does not match the original text, but draws its authority simply from Halachic fiat.) Given this understanding, those who fantasize and invent “codes” in the Torah and find them post facto, as though the text we have is the text “which came down from the heavens at Mount Sinai” will cease.
The Septuagint [1] is a translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew to Greek, apparently for the use of the Jewish people who did not know Hebrew, only Greek (like the Jewish community in Alexandria, Egypt). This translation is the most ancient we haveof the Scriptures. At its foundation, it is a Jewish translation and was primarily, if not entirely, prepared in third century BCE Alexandria.
Since the Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek, scholars try to recreate the Hebrew version or text which the Greek translators had before them. Results of this research reveal the many differences between the Scriptural text which existed in the first centuries BCE and the Masoretic text we now have.
The changes listed in the book are from Genesis only, yet it is enough to give a clear and comprehensive picture of the changes. It is common to speak of three principal types of Torah text:
- The Masoretic version: Starting from the first century BCE a crystallization and acceptance by Jews of a text of the Hebrew Scripture began. It reached crystallization in the first century CE.
- The Septuagint: The first translation of the Scriptures into Greek, from the third century BCE.
- The Samaritan Pentateuch: This is the version which was crystallized in the second century BCE. (From The Book of the Samaritans, Ephraim Stern and Chanan Eshel, eds., “Date of the crystallization of the Samaritan Pentateuch in light of Scriptural scrolls from Qumran” by Esther Eshel and Chanan Eshel [pg. 151].)
But in fact, there is a wider variety of textual alternatives.
To make it easier for the reader, we at Daat Emet will bring only the extra whole words [bold-faced] which are to be found in the Septuagint and not the Masoretic text, to show the most prominent changes. We have not detailed the changes in plene and defective spelling nor whole words which appear in our Masoretic text but not in the Septuagint, so one who wishes to learn more and see these differences is invited to read the book.
The number of additional words which are not found in the Masoretic text [of Genesis] is some 930, and there are some 450 words which are found in the Masoretic text but not in the Septuagint. So the Septuagint has some 280 words more than our version, and this is just in the book of Genesis. It is possible that this explains the tradition of Chazal about the middle letter of theTorah, which is quite a distance from the middle letter in our version (see Pamphlet 9).
The work of reconstructing the Hebrew text which lay before those who translated the Torah into Greek is not a simple task, but there are cases in which it can be conclusively determined that the text differed from the one before us. First we will bring what we see as an absolute change in the text, and we will contrast it with the midrashim, laws, and legends of Chazal which are based on the Masoretic text. We will show the reader that it is all random, that laws are learned from a distorted text or, as the Sages put it, all depends on luck, even the Torah scroll in the ark.
Afterwards we will bring the text which lay before the translators of the Septuagint in Hebrew, as Prof. Tzippor reconstructed it.
Changes in the number of years from the creation of the world — (Changes are marked within the text<spanstyle=’color:#99ccff’>in blue).
According to the text of the Septuagint, the number of years that passed from the creation of the world until the birth of Isaac was 3314, while according to the Mesorah (our version) it was only 2048 years, a difference of 1266 years. Of course this difference has many repercussions — the dating of the exodus from Egypt, determining the Jewish calendar, etc.
Vowelization of words changes their meaning.
1. In our version it is written 
(Genesis 14:11 –“and they took all the property of Sodom and Gomorrah”) while the person who translated it into Greek read it as 
(horse), as it appears in Michah 1:13, “Hitch the chariot to the horse.”
2. In our text it is written
(Genesis 26:12 — “And Isaac planted in that land and reaped a hundredfold in that same year”) while the person who translated it into Greek read it as 
.The verse, as read by those who translated it into Greek, is better understood due to its connection to sowing. Chazal interpreted the word as a measurement and from this interpretation learned that the forefathers (Abraham, Isaac, andJacob) tithed even before the giving of the Torah, and that is why they measured their harvests (Bereshit Rabbah,parasha 64). According to the sages of the kabbalah the word has a different meaning: gateway or door. They state: “Know that the sages of the kabbalah said that the upper earth has one hundred gates, and each gate has a store-hold springing from the wells of blessing and pouring to the earth. From there did our forefather Isaac OBM draw one hundred types of blessings, from the one hundred gates mentioned; from there did the blessing, abundance, and nobility descend upon all who were created” (Recanati Genesis 26:12) On the basis of a distorted text theycreate legends about the actions of the forefathers and “reveal” secrets about what happens in heaven.
3. In our version it is written
(Genesis 42:20 — “But you must bring me your youngest brother, that your words may be verified and that you may not die, and they did so”). In the Septuagint the word is given different vowels and the opposite meaning: “if you do not die.” “If your words are verified and if you do not die, and they did so.”
4. In our text it is written
(Genesis 47:31 –“And he said ‘swear to me,’ and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed”). In the Septuagint it is written “Then Israel bowed over the head of his staff.” About this did Benedict Spinoza write:
Firstly, there are in Hebrew no vowels…Though the want…has generally been supplied by points and accents, such substitutes cannot be accepted by us, inasmuch as they were invented and designed by men of an after age whose authority should carry no weight… Those who pointed our version read, “Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed.” Theauthor of the Epistle reads, “And Israel bent himself over the head of his staff,” substituting mateh [staff],formitah [bed], from which it only differs in respect of vowels”
(A Theologico-Political Treatise, chapter 7).
Small distortions in spelling or letter substitutions (R/D, Final M/S, B/K) which change the meaning.
Substitution of similar letters is a natural part of the process of writing scrolls, so these distortions are quite expected, particularly when one relies upon handwritten copies of texts which have not yet been printed. These natural distortions become part of the innocent human faith of the religious, as though the version we possess is the “divine” version whose every jot and tittle can be elucidated and whose every “i” must be dotted, as ridiculous as that sounds.
1. In our version it is written
(Genesis 30:15 — “Rachel replied,’Therefore he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son’s mandrakes'”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“It is not so”); she denies Leah’s suspicion of her.
2. In our text it is written
(Genesis 23:14-15 — And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him ‘My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver — what is it between you and me? Go and bury your dead'”) In the Septuagint it is written
.
The word for “to him” is replaced by the word “no,” sometimes written as 
. See what we have written on the portion of Vayera.
3. In our version it is written
(Genesis 24:19 — “She said ‘I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking'”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“She said “I will also draw for your camels, until they have all drunk'”).
4. In our version it is written
(Genesis 34:2 — “Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her and took her and lay with her by force”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“Shechem the son of Hamor the Horite, chief of the country, saw her and took her and lay with her by force”).
5. In our version it is written
(Genesis 43:14 — “May El Shaddai dispose the man to mercy toward you, that he may release to you your other brother, as well as Benjamin. As for me, if I am to be bereaved, I shall be bereaved”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“May El Shaddai dispose the man to mercy toward you, that he may release to you your one brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am to be bereaved, I shall be bereaved”). Rashi explains that the word “other” hints at Jacob’s prophecy that Joseph yet lived and would return with Simeon and Benjamin. Nachmanides writes that the word “other” refers to the future.
6. In our version it is written
(Genesis 46:11 — “And the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kehat, and Merrari”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“And the sons of Levi were Gidshon, Kehat, and Merrari”).
7. In our version it is written
(Genesis 49:14 — “Issachar is a strong-boned ass, crouching among the sheepfolds”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“Issachar desires the beautiful crouching among the sheepfolds”).
General distortions.
1. In our version it is written
(Genesis 2:2 — “And on the seventh day G-d finished the work which He had done”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“And on the sixth day G-d finished the work which He had done”).
2. In our version it is written
(Genesis 36:35 –“When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king; the name of his city was Avith”). In the Septuagint it is written
(“When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king; the name of his city was P’or”).
3. In our version it is written
(Genesis 29:8 — “But they said, ‘We cannot, until all the flocks are rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep'”). In the Septuagint it is written 
(“shepherds”). Our version speaks unintelligibly; it is not the flocks which roll the stone off the mouth of the well, it is the shepherds. That is why Rabbi Saadiah Gaon added, in his commentary, “the shepherds of the flocks.”
4. In our version it is written
(Genesis 30:38 — “The rods that he had peeled he set up in front of the flocks inthe troughs, the water receptacles, that the flocks came to drink from, in the presence of the flocks, that they should conceive when they came to drink”). In the Septuagint it is written 
,”in the presence of the rods.” In the Septuagint the verse is simpler and clearer; in our version the sentence is confusing; see Rashi there.
5. In our version it is written
(Genesis 31:34-35 — “Rachel, meanwhile, had taken the idols and placed them in the camel cushion and sat on them; and Laban rummaged through the tent without finding them. For she said to her father, ‘Let not my lord take it amiss that I cannot rise before you, for the period of women is upon me.’ Thus he searched,but could not find the household idols”). The reason for the repetition of not finding the idols in our mother Rachel’s tent is not clear. In the Septuagint it is written
(“Rachel, meanwhile, had taken the idols and placed them in the camel cushion and sat on them. She said to her father, ‘Let not my lord take it amiss that I cannot rise before you, for the period of women is upon me.’ Laban searched the entire tent, but could not find the household idols”).
6. In our version it is written
(Genesis 39:1 — “When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, a certain Egyptian, Potiphar, a courtier of Pharoah and his chief steward, bought him”). In the Septuagint it is written
(he was bought by Potiphera). This is Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, whose daughter Asnat was given to Joseph as a wife (Genesis 41:45).
It is interesting that the two names were identified by the Sages as belonging to the same man (perhaps influenced by the Septuagint). The Talmud explains, “And Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh’s, bought him, Rab said: He bought him for himself [to satisfy his homosexual impulses], but Gabriel came and castrated him, [the Hebrew words for ‘courtier’ and ‘eunuch’ are the same] and then Gabriel came and mutilated [pera’] him, for originally his name is written Potiphar but afterwards Potiphera” (Sotah 13b).
7. In our version it is written 
(Genesis 49:21 — “Naftali is a hind let loose”). In the Septuagint it is written 
(“Naftali is a loosened branch”). It is interesting that the word “hind” in the singular is not found anywhere in the Scriptures but here. In the sense of “hind” it always appears as 
. The word appears in Psalms together with forests, showing that in the past it meant rods or branches:
(Psalms 29:9 –“The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl and strips the forest bare”).
Change in the number of Jacob’s descendants.
In our version it is written
(Genesis 46:27 — “And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt were two in number. Thus the total of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt was 70 persons”). In the Septuagint it is written
(And Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt were nine in number. Thus the total of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt was 75 persons.”)
Changes in Holy names
There are more than a few places where the versions differ, one using the Holy name Elohim and the other the Tetragrammaton.
In 25 places the Septuagint uses the name Elohim while no name at all is found in our version (emphasized in black).
In 4 places the Tetragrammaton is found in the Septuagint while no name at all is found in our version (emphasized in black).
In 17 places the Septuagint uses the name <spanstyle=’color:red’>Elohim and our version uses the Tetragrammaton (emphasized in red).
In 2 places the Septuagint uses the Tetragrammaton and our version uses the name Elohim (emphasized in red).
Now we will bring the text of the Septuagint version of Genesis, skipping over those sections which are identical to ours. We will emphasize the differences in black, blue, and red.
Emphasis in black shows additions found in the Septuagint and not in our version.
Emphasis in <spanstyle=’color:#3366ff’>blue shows changes in meaning between the Septuagint and our version.
Emphasis in <spanstyle=’color:red’>red shows changes in holy names and number of years.
Portion of Genesis
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Portion of Noah
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Portion of Lech Lecha
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Portion of Vayera
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Portion of Chaye Sara
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Portion of Toldot
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Portion of VaYetze
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Portion of Vayishlach
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Portion of Vayeshev
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Portion of Miketz
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Portion of Vayigash
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Portion of Vaechi
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
[1] The name “Septuagint” comes from the legend which speaks of 70 sages who translated the Torah into Greek. In the Talmud it is related that there were 72 sages: “It is taught — King Ptolemy gathered 72 sages and put them in 72 houses, without telling them why. He individually asked each to write the teachings of their teacher Moses [in Greek]. G-d made a miracle, and each wrote the exact same text” (Megillah 9a).