First, they read “Edom,” (edom – אֱדוֹם) as “man or mankind,” (adam – אׇדׇם). Even if you are not familiar with Hebrew, you should be able to see that there is a one-line difference. Thus, Edom in Hebrew became mankind in the Greek. Second, the LXX translators read “possess” (yarash – ירְשׁ) as “seek” (darash – דָּרֶשׁ). Again, we see a one-letter difference. This result in the subject changing from Israel possessing to mankind seeking. This chart lays out the changes for each understanding.
|
edom – אֱדוֹם meaning Edom |
was read by LXX
translators as |
adam – אׇדׇם meaning mankind |
and they translated
it with the Greek ανθρωπων – mankind. |
|
yarash – ירְשׁ meaning possess |
was read by the LXX
translators as |
darash – דָּרֶשׁ meaning seek |
And they translated
it with the Greek εκζητησωσιν – seek. |
|
--The
Hebrew Text-- |
BECAME |
--The
Greek text-- |
|
That they (Israel)
may possess the remnant and all the nations who are called by My name.! |
That the rest of
mankind may seek the Lord and all the gentiles who are called by My name. |
. . .
This change may have also
been influenced by the final phrase in Amos 9:12, “and all the nations that
bear my name.” Israel was not the only nation bearing God’s name. All the
nations, in some way, had the name of God upon them. After all, he was the
creator of the heavens and the earth and the Lord of all nations. And we must
remember that where God entered a covenant with Abraham, the goal of it was to
bless all the families of the earth as God said in Genesis 12:3. (Jonathan Williams,
The Edomite Enigma: Esau, His Children, and Romans 9:10-13 [2024], 27,
28)
James quoted an Edomite prophecy in Acts 15 to
substantiate the Council’s verdict that gentiles could be saved without
becoming Jews. He used the LXX’s play on words – adam instead of edom
– to show that the oracle of judgment upon Edom was now an oracle of salvation
for all the nations. The word of judgment upon Edom became a word of salvation
for mankind, i.e., all the nations including Edom. As we have seen, it would be
inconceivable for Paul to use Edom/Esau as an example of unconditional election
to reprobation when just a few years earlier Edom was cited as the prime
example of salvation! In the same way, it would be inconceivable for Paul to
use Malachi’s ancient covenant language to express unconditional hatred from
the foundation of the world for Esau/Edom/Non-elect when that covenant’s
purpose was to bring salvation to the nations! (Ibid., 49)
1.
The Jerusalem Council turned a prophecy of
judgment against Edom into a prophecy of salvation for all nations.
2.
The context of Malachi, in which God said he
loved Jacob and hated Esau, was about God being faithful to his covenant promises
to Israel. God’s covenant was with Israel, not Edom.
3.
Paul’s use of the Malachi prophecy confirmed
that God fulfilled his word to Rebekah that the older would serve the younger.
There was no hated from God toward the older son in the original oracle to Rebekah.
There was a determination to move the covenant purpose forward through Jacob (“love”)
and not Esau (“hate”). This was covenant talk.
4.
The many prophetic judgments upon Edom were
for its acts of violence against Israel in its time of need and for encroaching
upon the land of Israel.
5.
God gave a land to the Edomites and fought
for them just as he gave Israel a land and fought for them.
6.
The lineage of the Edomites was important
enough to include in the Bible twice.
7.
God provided a way for Edomites to enter the
assembly of the Lord, which many did.
8.
God’s oracle to Rebekah was that she was
carrying two sons, that these sons would generate nations, and that the older
son would serve the younger son. It was an oracle about how history would play
out.
9.
Isaac reversed one part of the original oracle
given to Rebekah when he blessed Esau. Isaac’s reversal showed that the original
oracle was not a set-in-stone eternally predestining word.
10. Jacob
and Esau reconciled.
It is hard to imagine that with such understanding, Paul,
when he wrote Romans 9:10-13, was promoting a doctrine in which Edom represents
all people who are foreordained to eternal damnation. Nevertheless, some
believe this and do not like the prescription that this optometrist has written
for Romans 9:10-13. They refuse to give up their Calvinist eyewear. (Ibid.,
125-26; on “Love” and “Hate,” see William L. Moran, “The Ancient Near Eastern
Background of the Love of God in Deuteronomy,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly
25, no. 1 [January 1963]: 77-87).
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