Amos 4.13 in the OG.

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Ben C. Smith
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Amos 4.13 in the OG.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

The Old Greek of Amos 4.13 bears an interesting use of the term Christ (Χριστός) where the Hebrew text does not:

Amos 4.13 (NASB): For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the Lord God of hosts is His name.

Masoretic: מַה־שֵּׂח֔וֹ ("what are his thoughts").
Aquila: τὴν ὁμιλίαν αὐτοῦ ("his company/association").
Symmachus: τὸ φώνημα αὐτοῦ ("his utterance").
Old Greek (OG/LXX): τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτοῦ ("his Christ").
Theodotion: τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ("his word").
Quinta: τὴν ἀδολεσχίαν αὐτοῦ ("his conversation").

The above versions, except for the Masoretic and the OG, we owe to the commentary by Jerome.

It seems pretty clear to me that this verse has been Christianized in the Old Greek; what is interesting to me here is the set of concepts to which "his Christ" finds itself in parallel in the other versions. The Masoretic has "his thoughts," which reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1.24, in which Christ is called both "the power and the wisdom of God." Symmachus has "his utterance," Theodotion has "his word," and Quinta has "his conversation," and of course the Johannine prologue calls Jesus "the word." I have no special comment on this verse except to invite any insights that others might have; I have been on the lookout for unusual instances of the term Christ, and this replacing of God's thoughts and/or word with Christ strikes my eye.
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Ethan
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Re: Amos 4.13 in the OG.

Post by Ethan »

Isaiah 45:1, משיח translates into χριστός, however the initial מ in the Hebrew is a prefixing particle, thus can be broken down into שיח and שח.

משיח - ἐπίχριστος, χρῖσμα
שיח - χριστός, πῖος (ΧΙΣ/שיח)
מה - τί χρῆμα?
https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
andrewcriddle
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Re: Amos 4.13 in the OG.

Post by andrewcriddle »

and creates wind is κτίζων πνεῦμα this meant that the LXX of Amos 4:13, with its apparent references to Spirit and Christ became a central verse in the 4th century debate about whether the Holy Spirit was created or eternal.

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Ethan
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Re: Amos 4.13 in the OG.

Post by Ethan »

The first sentence differs.
- διότι (For) ἰδοὺ(Behold) ἐγὼ (I) στερεῶν (Strengthen) βροντὴν (thunder)

This passage also reads 'treadeth upon the high place' (ודרך על־במתי) that is found throughout the Hebrew Text.

Micah 1:3 -For behold, the lord comes forth out of his place, will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
Lamentations 1:15 - The Lord hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress.
Amos 9:13 - the treader of grapes
Micah 6:15 - thou shalt tread the olives
Hab 3:19 - The LORD God is my strength and he will make me to walk upon mine high places]

It is very obvious that the God in these verses is Baal Hadad (Zachariah 12:11) cf. Βάκχος, בכות
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https://vivliothikiagiasmatos.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/joseph-yahuda-hebrew-is-greek.pdf
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DCHindley
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Re: Amos 4.13 in the OG.

Post by DCHindley »

Ben C. Smith wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 6:21 pm The Old Greek of Amos 4.13 bears an interesting use of the term Christ (Χριστός) where the Hebrew text does not:

Amos 4.13 (NASB): For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the Lord God of hosts is His name.

Masoretic: מַה־שֵּׂח֔וֹ ("what are his thoughts").
Aquila: τὴν ὁμιλίαν αὐτοῦ ("his company/association").
Symmachus: τὸ φώνημα αὐτοῦ ("his utterance").
Old Greek (OG/LXX): τὸν Χριστὸν αὐτοῦ ("his Christ").
Theodotion: τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ("his word").
Quinta: τὴν ἀδολεσχίαν αὐτοῦ ("his conversation").

The above versions, except for the Masoretic and the OG, we owe to the commentary by Jerome.

It seems pretty clear to me that this verse has been Christianized in the Old Greek; what is interesting to me here is the set of concepts to which "his Christ" finds itself in parallel in the other versions. The Masoretic has "his thoughts," which reminds me of 1 Corinthians 1.24, in which Christ is called both "the power and the wisdom of God." Symmachus has "his utterance," Theodotion has "his word," and Quinta has "his conversation," and of course the Johannine prologue calls Jesus "the word." I have no special comment on this verse except to invite any insights that others might have; I have been on the lookout for unusual instances of the term Christ, and this replacing of God's thoughts and/or word with Christ strikes my eye.
Yes, I missed that one a while back when I tried to find use of Christos that was not related to priests and kings. Beats spachtling on the roof of Solomon's temple!

Just as the OG of Daniel seems to have been formulated to refer to Vespasian's (king of the nations) conquest of Judaea, I wonder if the Christian figure "Christ" was in mind of the translator, or something else, maybe some sort of Philonian twist. It could just as easily be a way to indicate that God chooses anointed individuals to communicate his divine plans/reasoning. If so, it could again refer to priests and kings.

DCH
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