From: cocoa@netcom.com
Subject: Re: Jewish history question
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Lines: 60

In article <1993Apr10.195513.17991@csi.uottawa.ca> misrael@csi.uottawa.ca (Mark Israel) writes:
>In article <cocoaC5797E.43y@netcom.com>, cocoa@netcom.com (little 'e') writes:
>
[deleted]
>> Here tis.  Someone just told me that the Old Testament books were translated
>> into Greek a long time ago
>
>   Yes, that's a famous version called The Septuagint.  It was a translation
>made by Greek Jews.
>
>> and that the originals were destroyed in a fire soon afterward.
>
>   I don't know what you're referring to here.  When the Jersusalem Temple was
>destroyed, some manuscripts may have been lost, but I think our extant Hebrew
>manuscripts are as good as our Greek ones.  I don't know about any "originals".

The person who was telling me about the Septuagint version said that the Greeks
had a wonderful library in Alexandria that was full of manuscripts/scrolls
and that it was burned soon after the Septuagint version was translated 
(perhaps to conceal some changes in the different versions, or perhaps just
as part of the typical burning of valuable things that occurs during changes
in power groups, he/I dunno).

>> So, I was just wondering, since I imagine some Jewish people somewhere must 
>> have had copies of the earlier Hebrew versions, is the Hebrew version of the 
>> Old Testament very different from the Greek derived version?

>   No.  There are a few famous discrepancies (Isaiah's prophecy about a "young
>woman" was changed into a "virgin", which was how the New Testament writers
>read it), but not many.

Well, perhaps this is the answer then.

[deleted]
>   If you go to a Jewish bookstore, you'll get a Bible translated by Jews, so
>there will be some differences in interpretation, but the text they're 
>translating *from* is basically the same.
>
>   If you want to read "the original", you can buy an Interlinear Bible.  That
>contains the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament, with an English
>translation written underneath each word.
>
>   If you want a Bible with a possibly-more-original basic text, you can try
>to find a Samaritan bible.  (Good luck!  I've never seen one.)  The Samaritans 
>(no, not the Good Samaritans) have their own version of the 5 Books of Moses.
>They claim the Jewish bible was altered by Ezra.

Thanks for the tips.  Now I just have to find someone to teach me Samaritan :)

Just me,

little 'e'

(so, is a "good Samaritan hard to find?" or "is a hard... " Oh, finish this
yourself.)

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