Prima facie there are significant differences between the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint, which lead one to think that the LXX was translated from a radically different text than the MT. However, many of these differences arise from the translation technique of the LXX translator; ergo, the differences are on the level of the translation, not the level of the actual parent text or Vorlage. We have seen already in Job 3:3, and we will continue to see in Job that translation technique often accounts for the differences between the texts.
In Ecclesiastes or Qoheleth 2:12, there is a fine example of two divergent texts prima facie, but after a little digging, one finds that the LXX reading supports the consonantal text of the MT and simply represents a different vocalization of the text. What follows is not my original work, but the work of my teacher, Peter Gentry, but of course any errors in the argument are mine. Read the rest of this entry »
