NT misquotes of the OT

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lsayre
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NT misquotes of the OT

Post by lsayre »

How many passages in the New Testament are blatant misquotes of what has been stated in the Old Testament?

Subject to correction, here is one I believe I've found: Acts 3: 22-23
The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.


The passage in Deuteronomy 18: 15-20, which seems to be the source, speaks only of false profits who shall die.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by Ben C. Smith »

lsayre wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:35 am How many passages in the New Testament are blatant misquotes of what has been stated in the Old Testament?

Subject to correction, here is one I believe I've found: Acts 3: 22-23
The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.


The passage in Deuteronomy 18: 15-20, which seems to be the source, speaks only of false profits who shall die.
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
It is true that Acts 3.23 is not a verbatim quotation in the way that 3.22 is; however, it is probably interpreting the phrase "require it of him" in Deuteronomy 18.19 as the judgment or reckoning of God, and it is probably not wrong:

Deuteronomy 18.19: "And whoever will not give heed to my words which he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it [אֶדְרֹשׁ] of him."

Targum pseudo-Jonathan, Deuteronomy 18.19: And the man who will not hearken to the words of My prophecy which shall be spoken in My Name, My Word shall take vengeance [יפרע] upon him.

Psalm 10.13 (RSV): Why does the wicked renounce God, and say in his heart, "Thou wilt not call to account [תִּדְרֹשׁ, same word as in Deuteronomy 18.19]?"

The implied "it" would be something like "his blood," which is openly expressed in passages such as Genesis 42.22.

But again, yes: Acts 3.23 is interpreting, not just quoting.
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lsayre
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by lsayre »

Thank you Ben. So it depends upon what the meaning of "it" is (which in a moment of chuckling reminded me for some odd reason of "it depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is"). And if "it" means blood vengeance, then the two are not (as I had initially presumed) saying different things.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by Ben C. Smith »

lsayre wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 11:16 am Thank you Ben. So it depends upon what the meaning of "it" is (which in a moment of chuckling reminded me for some odd reason of "it depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is").
I was thinking the same thing. :D
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Ben C. Smith wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 12:24 pm
lsayre wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 11:16 am Thank you Ben. So it depends upon what the meaning of "it" is (which in a moment of chuckling reminded me for some odd reason of "it depends upon what the meaning of 'is' is").
I was thinking the same thing. :D
As for the actual question posed in your OP, I am not sure how many NT quotations of OT scriptures are "close but not quite." I know I have come across some before, but I do not have a handy list. What I do have a list of is quotations which seem not to be sourced from the OT at all in any overtly direct manner: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5393.
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lsayre
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by lsayre »

Thanks for the link. Quite informative.
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GakuseiDon
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by GakuseiDon »

lsayre wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:35 am How many passages in the New Testament are blatant misquotes of what has been stated in the Old Testament?
There are also times where Paul takes two or more separate passages from the Old Testament, and joins them as though they were a single quote. An example is Rom 11:26-27:

26. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

According to the study notes, Paul seems to be quoting from two separate passages in Isaiah: 59:20,21 and 27:9, and Psalm 14:7.

59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
21. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
---
27:9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
---
Psalm 14:7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The "redeemer shall come to Zion" in Isaiah becomes "come out of Zion" in Paul's quote.
It is really important, in life, to concentrate our minds on our enthusiasms, not on our dislikes. -- Roger Pearse
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

Post by Ben C. Smith »

GakuseiDon wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 6:45 pm
lsayre wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:35 am How many passages in the New Testament are blatant misquotes of what has been stated in the Old Testament?
There are also times where Paul takes two or more separate passages from the Old Testament, and joins them as though they were a single quote. An example is Rom 11:26-27:

26. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
27. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

According to the study notes, Paul seems to be quoting from two separate passages in Isaiah: 59:20,21 and 27:9, and Psalm 14:7.

59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.
21. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
---
27:9 By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.
---
Psalm 14:7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The "redeemer shall come to Zion" in Isaiah becomes "come out of Zion" in Paul's quote.
Sanday and Headlam agree with your study notes about the wording of the Isaiah quotation having been influenced by the Psalm:

Sanday & Headlam on Romans 11.26.png
Sanday & Headlam on Romans 11.26.png (106.51 KiB) Viewed 8458 times
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GakuseiDon
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

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Ben C. Smith wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 7:14 pmSanday and Headlam agree with your study notes about the wording of the Isaiah quotation having been influenced by the Psalm:
Thanks for the link, Ben. I had a look at it. What is interesting to me is that in the commentaries I've seen, no-one seems to try to explain what Paul is doing in those passages where he is 'misquoting' scriptures. E.g. "Paul was working from a variant of Scriptures that we don't have" or "Paul must have been working from memory so got it wrong by accident".

I've seen such explanations when Church Fathers provide odd quoting from earlier texts, but not really for Paul in the study notes. They explain what he meant, but not why he did it in the first place. Do you know if there is an 'official' scholarly explanation for what Paul is doing here? Or is it left as "that's just what they did in those days, so not unexpected and doesn't need explanation"?
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: NT misquotes of the OT

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GakuseiDon wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 10:30 pm
Ben C. Smith wrote: Mon Apr 27, 2020 7:14 pmSanday and Headlam agree with your study notes about the wording of the Isaiah quotation having been influenced by the Psalm:
Thanks for the link, Ben. I had a look at it. What is interesting to me is that in the commentaries I've seen, no-one seems to try to explain what Paul is doing in those passages where he is 'misquoting' scriptures. E.g. "Paul was working from a variant of Scriptures that we don't have" or "Paul must have been working from memory so got it wrong by accident".

I've seen such explanations when Church Fathers provide odd quoting from earlier texts, but not really for Paul in the study notes. They explain what he meant, but not why he did it in the first place. Do you know if there is an 'official' scholarly explanation for what Paul is doing here? Or is it left as "that's just what they did in those days, so not unexpected and doesn't need explanation"?
I think there is a general sense that "this sort of thing happened a lot," though I am not sure to what extent this general sense is "the reason" for the tendency. At least Sanday and Headlam point to the Psalm and suggest the source of the variant, but yes, it may be more common in the commentaries to make suggestions about the church fathers than about apostles and evangelists.

The monographs and articles are where to look, I guess. Seth Ehorn does not shy away from the question. Oh, and also commentaries coming at things from a very particular angle, such as those which try to track down rabbinical parallels to NT works. I think one of those is ultimately where I got the idea to look to the Targumim in some cases.
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