Free Bible Difficulties by Bible Difficulties

written.
    (The same is true of Arabic and Syriac as well.) Nevertheless in dealing with literature written two thousand years ago, it remains true that speech patterns are far more varied--
    particularly in poetic genres--than would be true with modern Hebrew; and vowel points are a very necessary safeguard for accurate interpretation.

    To illustrate some of the problems involving correct vowel pointing, let me discuss a few passages relating to the Lord Jesus. Each of these has been pointed differently by the Masoretes from what is indicated by the early versions or (in some cases) by the New Testament.

    1. Isaiah 7:11 contains the invitation to King Ahaz to name any miraculous sign he wishes to confirm that Isaiah's message of deliverance for Judah by God is truly of the Lord. Isaiah then says (according to the MT): "Ask for a sign for yourself from Yahweh your God; make the request [ se'alah ] deep, or exalt it on high." This amounts to inviting him to name any kind of miracle in the heaven above or in the earth beneath.
    Interestingly enough, the Greek versions all point to a different voweling of se'alah , namely, se'lah , meaning "to Sheol [Hades]." The LXX has eis bathos ("to the deep"); likewise Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion render it either eis bathos or eis Haden ("to Hades"). So also does Jerome in the Vulgate: in profundum inferni ("to the depth of Hades"). This adds up to considerable weight on the side of the emendation.

    2. In Isaiah 9:5 (Isaiah 9:6 Eng.) the MT reads, "And one [or `he'] shall call" his name Wonderful. But the LXX (which is very sloppy in its rendering of this passage, to be sure) makes it the present passive kaleitai , which means "his name is called." The Vulgate vocabitur is likewise passive: "will be called"; the Syriac ethqri is present passive, just like the LXX. All this adds up to a pretty strong case for repointing the MT
    yiqra' to the passive yiqqare' ("shall be called"). It makes a little better sense in the context and involves no change in the consonants.

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    3. In Micah 5:1 (Micah 5:2 Eng.), the prophecy concerning Christ's birth in Bethlehem, the MT reads, "You are little to be among the thousands [ 'alpe ] of Juidah," meaning "to be counted among the communities having a thousand families or more." But in Matthew 2:6 it is quoted thus: "You are very small among the leaders of Judah." The Greek word for "leaders" ( hegemosin ) reflects a Hebrew 'allupe instead of 'alpe . This does not reflect the LXX, incidentally, for it supports the MT with chiliasin ("thousands"). Therefore it must come from some earlier, independent tradition.

    4. Psalm 2:9, which is addressed by God the Father to His messianic Son, says (according to the MT), "You shall smash them with an iron rod," referring to hostile kings who will rebel against Him. This pointing of tero'em ("smash") seems to be confirmed by the second half of the verse: "You will dash them to pieces like pottery."
    On the other hand, the LXX reads poimaneis ("You will rule"), implying the vowel pointing tir'em . This is confirmed by the word for "rod," which is sebet , the regular word for the staff of a shepherd or the scepter of a king. It is highly significant that this verse is quoted in Revelation 2:27: "He will rule [or `pasture'] them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery." Again, in Revelation 12:5 we read, "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule [ poimainein ] all the nations with an iron scepter." In both passages the emphasis is not so much on destruction or smashing as it is on shepherding or governing as a ruler over all the earth. The probabilities are, then, that we should repoint the MT's teroèm as tirèm . This latter reading is the one followed by the Vulgate ( reges ) and the Syriac ( terè' ), for both mean "you will rule."

    5. Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Crucifixion, reads in Ps 22:9 (according to the MT):
    "Trust thou [ gol ] in Yahweh; He will rescue him [or, `let