The earliest Masoretic manuscripts are from the 9th or 10th centuries AD. The Masoretic Bible was compiled in the early Middle Ages. b. Of the 270 verses in the Septuagint, 107 find no parallel in the Masoretic Text. Test case for accuracy of LXX vs. Masoretic: Shem as Melchizedek. That the Septuagint is the most authoritative text in the Orthodox Church is something that is confirmed in just about any Orthodox catechetical text you could consult. The Septuagint and the Masoretic Text in the Orthodox Church(es) ... thought. The Masoretic text is a text that has not been preserved by the Church, and so while it is worthy of study and comparison, it is not equally trustworthy. It is impossible for Shem to be Melchizedek using the Septuagint chronology because Shem dies 600 years before Abraham is born. Where alternate readings existed, the Masoretic text incorporated the one which supported the Talmudic tradition, which was developing in parallel with the establishment of the Masoretic canon. There are many variations between that Bible and the segments of the Bible that are part of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The earliest Septuagint manuscripts are from the 2nd century BC. by Fr. Septuagint: Masoretic: 6:1 And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, 6:2 that the sons of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose. For most Orthodox readers, the answer to the titular question of this piece will be an obvious and immediate ‘Yes’. Greek Text: a. Jews today believe that Shem is Melchizedek because the Masoretic chronology has Shem living down past the birth of Jacob. 10 First, the importance of the Septuagint as a parallel version of the . Yet, modern Christian translations of the Old Testament rely on the Masoretic Text, not the Septuagint. The Septuagint predates the first appearance of the Masoretic text by almost ten centuries. As for why the Septuagint is good, one reason that this translation is helpful is that it is a translation from Hebrew made in about 250 BC. Although many spelling variations were found in the text, the content of the Qumran scroll was found to be remarkably parallel to the Masoretic text of 895 A. D. Translators of the Revised Standard Version in 1952 found only 13 textual differences in the manuscript that they considered important enough to affect their translation of Isaiah. Hebrew Transliteration Via ALittleHebrew.com Strong's Tagging via Open Scriptures, David Troidl and Christopher Kimball Morphology in partnership with Helps Bible. The Septuagint text is the text that the Church has preserved. The Septuagint predates the earliest Masoretic text by centuries. The oldest more or less complete Septuagint manuscripts are Codex Vaticanus (4th century AD) and Codex Alexandrinus (5th century AD). Interlinear Text Sources: Hebrew Text: Westminster Leningrad Codex text courtesy of www.tanach.us. John Whiteford. The Septuagint is based upon Hebrew texts at least twelve centuries older than the texts upon which the Masoretic version is based. The NIV translators often preferred the Septuagint, but more often prefer the Masoretic Text, but both are used, depending on the context and the history of the text. Septuagint (LXX) text vs. Masoretic (MT) text Old Testament – know your Bible!