Ancient Faith
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Why the Orthodox Church Reads the Septuagint
28:17
The podcast responds to Ben Merkle's argument that Protestant Bibles depend on the Masoretic Hebrew text preserved by post-70 AD rabbinic Judaism, and his suggestion that those who reject this should become Eastern Orthodox. Jamie Bennett agrees with Merkle's historical facts: the Westminster Confession binds Reformed churches to the Hebrew text, the Masoretic text is medieval (7th-10th century), and Christian Hebrew scholarship came through Jewish teachers like David Kimhi.
However, Bennett argues the apostles themselves quoted the Greek Septuagint, a Jewish translation made centuries before Christ, when citing the Old Testament in the New Testament. He gives several examples where New Testament doctrine rests on Septuagint readings that differ from the Masoretic text: Hebrews 10:5 ("a body" vs. "ears"), Matthew 1:23 ("virgin" vs. "young woman"), Acts 15 (Gentiles included via "mankind" vs. "Edom"), and Hebrews 1:6 (angels worship Christ, absent in Masoretic Deuteronomy).
Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that pre-70 Hebrew texts often match the Septuagint against the later Masoretic text. The Orthodox Church received the Septuagint as Scripture from the apostles onward and continues to read it in worship, not claiming it is a flawless autograph but trusting the church's reception of it. Augustine recounts a 403 AD congregation rioting over Jerome's Latin translation reading "ivy" instead of the traditional "gourd" in Jonah 4, showing deep attachment to the Greek-based Latin text.
Key moments
- Augustine recounts a congregation rioting over Jerome's new Latin translation reading "ivy" instead of the traditional "gourd" in Jonah 4, showing deep attachment to the Greek-based Latin text.
- Ben Merkle argues the Protestant Old Testament relies on the Masoretic text preserved by post-70 AD rabbis (7th-10th century), and without them Protestants lose their ability to read and translate the Hebrew Bible.
- Merkle challenges his Reformed readers: if they have an "allergic reaction to the rabbis," they should go Eastern Orthodox, since the Westminster Confession (1.8) binds them to the Hebrew text as authentical.
- Bennett agrees with Merkle's historical claims: Westminster 1.8 ties the Reformed to the Hebrew; the Masoretic text is medieval; Christian Hebrew learning came through Jewish teachers (Kimhi, Reuchlin) and Reformed scholars generally opposed burning Jewish books.
- The Septuagint was a Jewish translation made in Alexandria around 250 BC for Greek-speaking Jews, centuries before Christ; it was the Bible of Philo and the synagogues Paul visited.
- New Testament authors quote the Septuagint when citing the Old Testament: Hebrews 10:5/Psalm 40:6 ("body" vs. "ears"), Matthew 1:23/Isaiah 7:14 ("virgin" vs. "young woman"), Acts 15/Amos 9 ("mankind" vs. "Edom"), Hebrews 1:6/Deuteronomy 32:43 (angels worship line missing in Masoretic).
- Dead Sea Scrolls (pre-70 AD) reveal multiple Hebrew text forms; many scrolls agree with the Septuagint against the Masoretic text (Jeremiah, Samuel, Deuteronomy 32:43), showing textual plurality before standardization.
- Sirach's prologue (132 BC) honestly notes translation losses from Hebrew to Greek; the Orthodox Study Bible (Septuagint-based) is recommended by Merkle himself as an on-ramp to the Greek Old Testament.