Seven Times

So what would you like to hear about?

Perhaps I'll start with my back going "out". Saturday morning I was at my parents and my lower back just started hurting - instantly - bad. So bad that I couldn't walk. I could only crawl about the floor - or have Rebekah drag me here and there on her back. I slept on it and Sunday it was a little better - enough for me to stumble into the Kingdom Hall - and amble about. Monday it was an even better and now Tuesday it is the same. I can walk - with a wee bit of discomfort. Strange. As I was crawling about the floor like an animal I imagined that I was stricken in order to teach me some humility - Nebuchadnezzar style.

It was a good week for music. 50FOOTWAVE released an Internet 5-song release called "Free Music" for er, free. I liked it better than their past two releases. Mainly because they seem to have tapered back on the heaviness - just a bit to let melody and vocals come through. It's not Throwing Muses but not bad.

Also I finally got a hold of Akai: Point-Five EP. Loved it and love it. Thanks Hiromi and friends! You make me want to start recording again ... if only.

Not too recently I picked up Hayley Westenra's album Odyssey. It reminds me of the kind of music they play on "Movie Tunes" when you are at the theatre waiting for the film to start. I guess it fills the niche classical vocal section of my CD shelf. A little opera never hurt anybody I s'pose.

As far as study I'm really into the Septuagint at the moment. It seems there is a real interest lately in translating it into English. There are now three fresh English translations that I know of that are in the works. The last English translation before this was done sometime in the 1800's! Up until recently it seemed like the Septuagint was really only used by academics and the Greek Orthodox Church. I'm not going argue the merits of the Septuagint over the Masoretic text; however, we shouldn't discount the value if Septuagint. After all, it was the version of the Bible used by the Apostles and early Christian Congregations.

I discovered the New English Translation of the Septuagint (NETS) the other day. I was happy to find that they had side-by-side translations of both the original Old Greek version and the Theodotionic revision of the book of Daniel. For some reason, typically presumed to be because of the poor quality of translation, the Old Greek version was phased out of use in the Christian Churches during the 4th century and replaced by the Theodotion Greek version, a newer translation. As such this was my first time getting to look at the Old Greek rendition.

Just briefly looking over it there appears to be some interesting differences. The Old Greek version has Nebuchadnezzar's Statue dream in his 12th year instead of his 2nd. If there were true it would remedy some difficulties within the chronology of the book of Daniel. The 1st chapter of the book of Daniel has him captured by Nebuchadnezzar and undergoing a 3 year training program and then afterward being brought before the king. (Daniel 1:5,18). But chapter 2 appears to have Daniel providing an interpretation to the King's dream in his 2nd year.

As it stands this apparent discrepancy can be easily explained away using things like ascension/regnal years and father/son co-rulerships. However it would not be surprisingly if the Septuagint contained a more accurate representation of the actual chronlogy because in other accounts it tends to correct discrepencies that appear in the Masoretic text.

One example is in 1 Kings 16 wherein there is a discrepency between the years that Omri and Ahab ruled over Israel in relation to Asa's reign over Judah. In the Masoretic text Omri is said to have ruled 12 years starting during Asa's 31st year. (1 Kings 16:23). Omri's son Ahab is said to succeed him in rulership during Asa's 38 year. (1 Kings 16:28,29) So in one verse Omri's reign is said to be 12 years however the corresponding rule of Asa provided leaves only 7 years. In the Septuagint version there are additional verses that the Masoretic text omit that clear up the matter showing how in the eleventh year of Omri rule of Israel that Josaphat succeeded Asa as ruler of Judah. Then in the 2nd year of Josaphat of Ahab succeeded Omri. Hence the Greek Septuagint records the correct chronology whereas the Hebrew Masoretic is in shown to be in error.

Another interesting variance between the Septuagint and the Masoretic is in Daniel's "70 Weeks" Prophecy. In the Masoretic at Daniel 9:25 it says that Jerusalem will be rebuilt "with a public square and a moat". The Septuagint speaks of the rebuilding with a "square and the wall". It would certainly seem more reasonable for the prophecy to concern the walls of Jerusalem since they were a prominent feature that get mentioned time and time again in the scriptures. (Apart from the book of Daniel I can't see any other mention of a moat in Jerusalem.) Additionally this would lend weight to the suggestion that the 70 prophetic weeks started with Artaxerxes' royal decree that walls of Jerusalem be rebuilt. (Nehemiah chap 1-7)

I've got an English translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls on order. It will be interesting to see how the DSS Daniel matches up to the Septuagint and the Masoretic in these areas. Historically, and quite surprising to scholars, the dead sea scrolls more closely matched the Greek Septuagint than the Hebrew Masoretic texts.