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EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 100 books. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).
Major Critical Texts and Manuscript Abbreviations of the Old Testament
AC: Aleppo Codex AT: Aramaic Targum(s)
B.C.E.: Before Common Era
BHS: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Stuttgart, 1984. B 19A: Codex Leningrad c.: Circa, about, approximately LXX: The Greek Septuagint (Greek Jewish OT Scriptures in general and specifically used during of Jesus and the apostles) OG: Original Greek (Oldest recoverable form of the Greek OT (280-150 B.C.E.) SOPHERIM: Copyists of the Hebrew OT text from the time of Era to the time of Jesus. CT: Consonantal Text is the OT Hebrew manuscripts that became fixed in form between the first and second centuries C.E., even though manuscripts with variant readings continued to circulate for some time. Alterations of the previous period by the Sopherim were no longer made. Very similar to the MT. MT: The Masoretic Text encompasses the Hebrew OT manuscripts from the second half of the first millennium C.E. QT: Qumran Texts (Dead Sea Scrolls) SP: Samaritan Pentateuch SYR: Syriac Peshitta VG: Latin Vulgate
Genesis 5:22, 24 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
22 Then Enoch walked with Godthree hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not,[33] for God took him.[34]
Genesis 5:22, 24 The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation
Genesis 5:22, 24 Brenton Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation
22 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God after his begetting Mathusala, two hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters. … 24 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God
The BHS/MT has the reading “walked with God” in both verses 22 and 24 of chapter 5. On the other hand, we have a variant in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) that reads “Enoch was pleasing to God” in both verses 22 and 24 of chapter 5. The metaphor “walked with God” would have been deemed offensive to the devoted worshippers, irreverence or disrespect for God, audacious in that a human could walk with God or worse still that God was being lowered to a human level, an imperfect one at that. Clearly, the Septuagint rendered the metaphor “walked with God” as a paraphrase “Enoch was pleasing to God.” However, we have another concern in that the apostle Paul in 11:5 of the book of Hebrews quotes the Septuagint variant.
Hebrews 11:5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
5 By faith Enoch was changed[64] so as not to see death, and he was not to be found because God had changed him; for before he was changed he obtained the witness that he was pleasing to God.
So, Paul was moved by the Holy Spirit to quote a variant (“was pleasing to God”) that was not original and leave out the original reading (“walked with God”). Did the Holy Spirit make a mistake? No. What we have is known as an Inspired Sensus Plenior Application (ISPA). This is a new or a progressive revelation of God, where he has inspired the New Testament writer to go beyond the intended meaning of the Old Testament writer, use a secular source that is accurate, or reference a translation instead of the Hebrew text. The New Testament authors have a license to do these things that are subjective instead of objective whereas we as interpreters cannot because they are moved along by the Holy Spirit and we are not. Jude quotes an accurate statement from the book of Enoch or a source (1:14), Paul uses allegory in reference to Hagar and Sarah (Gal. 4:21-26) Matthew at 2:15 gave Hosea’s meaning of a historical reference (11:1), giving it a sensus plenior meaning, by way of inspiration of Holy Spirit. Hosea’s meaning was a historical reference to the Israelite nation when they were in Egypt. Matthew’s meaning is to take Hosea’s words, and add new additional meaning to them, not suggesting at all that Hosea meant his new meaning. Here in Hebrews 11:5 Paul is using Inspired Sensus Plenior Application by referencing the Septuagint reading (“was pleasing to God”), to convey the meaning that God wanted to be conveyed.
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