Charts
Elyon gave Jacob to Yhwh
A footnote most people never read
| Dead Sea Scrolls ~50 BC – 50 AD | Septuagint (Greek) Translated ~250 BC; earliest copies 1st century BC | Masoretic Text (Hebrew) Standardized after 70 AD |
|---|---|---|
| "according to the number of the sons of God" bene elohim (beh-NAY eh-loh-HEEM) | Early copies: "sons of God" huion theou (hwee-OHN theh-OO) Later copies: "angels of God" angelon theou (an-GEL-ohn theh-OO) | "according to the number of the sons of Israel" bene yisrael (beh-NAY yis-rah-EL) |
Three copies of Deuteronomy 32:8, and they do not say the same thing.
You can read this part in the study.
The three manuscript families
| Source | The wording | In English |
|---|---|---|
| Dead Sea Scrolls 4QDeut-j (4Q37) | bene elohim (beh-NAY eh-loh-HEEM) | "sons of God" |
| Greek, early copies P. Fouad 266, MS 106c | huion theou (hwee-OHN theh-OO) | "sons of God" |
| Greek, later copies | angelon theou (an-GEL-ohn theh-OO) | "angels of God" |
| Masoretic Text Still printed by KJV, NIV, NASB | bene yisrael (beh-NAY yis-rah-EL) | "sons of Israel" |
What each copy says at Deuteronomy 32:8.
You can read this part in the study.
When the manuscripts were copied
| Date | Manuscript | What it reads at 32:8 |
|---|---|---|
| ~250 BC | Septuagint translated from Hebrew into Greek in Alexandria | Its Hebrew source had the divine reading. Greek translators either kept "sons of God" or softened to "angels of God." |
| 1st century BC | P. Fouad 266 (Greek papyrus, now in Cairo) | huion theou – "sons of God" |
| ~50 BC – 50 AD | 4QDeut-j (Dead Sea Scrolls, Cave 4) | bene elohim – "sons of God" |
| Before 68 AD | Hebrew copies of the type that later became the Masoretic Text are already in use | bene yisrael – "sons of Israel" (the change was made before the Masoretes; they inherited it) |
| After 70 AD | The Masoretic type becomes the only Hebrew tradition to survive | "Sons of Israel" becomes the standard |
| 4th century AD | Codex Vaticanus (oldest near-complete Greek Bible) | angelon theou – "angels of God" |
| 1008 AD | Leningrad Codex (oldest complete Hebrew Bible) | bene yisrael – "sons of Israel" |
You can read this part in the study.
The second edit – Deuteronomy 32:43
| Dead Sea Scrolls (4QDeut-q) | Septuagint (LXX) | Masoretic Text |
|---|---|---|
| "Rejoice, O heavens, with him, and bow down to him, all elohim, for he will avenge the blood of his sons… and repay those who hate him, and make atonement for the land of his people." | "Rejoice, O heavens, with him, and let all the sons of God bow down to him. Rejoice, O nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God prevail for him. For he avenges the blood of his sons…" | "Cry out, O nations, with his people, [no bowing line] for he will avenge his servants' blood… and make atonement for his land and people." |
What each copy says at Deuteronomy 32:43.
You can read this part in the study.
The pattern across the Old Testament
| Passage | Older / harder reading | Softer reading | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 32:8 | "sons of God" (DSS) | "sons of Israel" (MT) | Hebrew word changed |
| Deuteronomy 32:8 | "sons of God" (DSS) | "angels of God" (majority LXX) | Greek interpretive softening |
| Deuteronomy 32:43 | "bow down, all elohim" (DSS) | Line deleted (MT) | Hebrew line removed |
| Job 1:6, 2:1 | "sons of the elohim" (Hebrew) | "angels of God" (LXX) | Greek softening |
| Job 38:7 | "sons of elohim" (Hebrew) | "my angels" (LXX) | Greek softening |
| Psalm 8:5 | "a little lower than elohim" (Hebrew) | "a little lower than the angels" (LXX / Hebrews 2:7) | Greek softening, quoted in the New Testament |
| Psalm 82:1, 6 | "elohim" / "sons of Elyon" | "human judges" (later rabbinic reading) | Interpretive, not a text change |
Passages where a later copy softens an older line.
You can read this part in the study.
