Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Deuteronomy 32:9 in the LXX and the Masoretic Text


Deut 32:9 reads as follows:

For (כִּי) Yahweh's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. (KJV, slightly revised)

The Masoretic Text (MT) reads:

כִּי חֵלֶק יְהֹוָה עַמּוֹ יַעֲקֹב חֶבֶל נַחֲלָתוֹ׃

The text itself only appears in fragmentary form in the Dead Sea Scrolls. According to the Lexham Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible (available on Logos), what exists in 4QDeutQ is simply:

נח]לתו

So, there is questions if the conjunction כִּי was part of the text at Qumran originally. However, there is strong evidence the conjunction is not original. The LXX does not use “for” but “and” (και):

καὶ ἐγενήθη μερὶς κυρίου λαὸς αὐτοῦ Ιακωβ σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας αὐτοῦ Ισραηλ

The NETS renders the verse as follows:

And his people Iakob became the Lord's portion, Israel a measured part of his inheritance.

Why is this important? This would indicate that Deut 32:9 originally began with ויהי and this, when read in context, would indicate (1) YHWH was one of the “sons of God” in Deut 32 and (2) the text distinguishes, not identifies, the persons of YHWH and El. Let us rework Deut 32:7-9 (NRSV, slightly revised for clarification) in light of this:

Remember the days of old, consider the years long past; ask your fathers, and he will inform you; your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High [El Elyon] apportioned the nations, when he divided humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the gods; and Yahweh's portion was his people, Jacob his allotted share.

So, apart from the text supporting the plurality of Gods, this text provides some support for Yahweh and El originally being two distinct deities in ancient Israel. For more on this topic, see Daniel McClellan's articles on Deuteronomy 32