Friday, November 14, 2025

Daniel J. Treier and Joshua McQuaid on the Use of Deuteronomy 32:43 in Hebrews 1:6

  

It is possible that Hebrews had LX Psalms 96:7 (MT Ps 97:7) in mind, but the weight of Hebrews scholarship leans towards Deuteronomy 32:43. Its variant readings include the traditions reflected in the MT, the LXX, 4Q44, and Odes of Solomon 2 (part of an OG appendix to the Psalter reflected in various ancient codices). The text of Hebrews 1:6 is closest to Odes of Solomon 2:43, but 4Q44 32:43 and LXX Deuteronomy 32:43 bear sufficient resemblance to suggest the possibility of a manuscript tradition preceding the MT. In any event, the resemblance to Qumran eliminates the possibility that Hebrews introduced a new reading. (Daniel J. Treier and Joshua McQuaid, “A Systematic-Theological Approach,” in The Authority of the Septuagint: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Approaches, ed. Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross [Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2025], 164)

 

Here is the relevant text of 4Q44 taken from 4Q44 Deuteronomy Q (Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2010):

 

6              הרנינו שמים עמו

7             והשתחוו לו כל אלהים

8             כי דם בניו יקום

9             ונקם ישיב לצריו

 


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