What is all the Bible about?

[JLGJLG]

Leningrad Codex


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leningrad_Codex#History


The Leningrad Codex (Latin: Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; Hebrew: כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colophon, it was made in Cairo in 1008 CE (or possibly 1009).[1]





https://www.blueletterbible.org/wlc/gen/1/1/s_1001





This Hebrew text is a digital version of the Leningrad Codex developed by the Westminster Hebrew Institute and made available by The J. Alan Groves Center for ...





https://www.blueletterbible.org/wlc/deu/32/43/t_conc_185043

• You click on the verse!​
• Then you get the interlinear translation with KJV and with Strong's Lexicon!​
• And the LXX Septuagint in Greek!​
• Then if you are hardworking you click on each Greek word!​
• Then on Strong's number!​
• And you get the English translation!​
• But either with KJV or LXX Septuagint there is nothing about your missing sentence!​

 

[JLGJLG]

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Septuagint





Septuagint, abbreviation LXX, the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. The Septuagint was presumably made for the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the common language throughout the region. Analysis of the language has established that the Torah, or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), was translated near the middle of the 3rd century BCE and that the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century BCE.



The name Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta, “70”) was derived later from the legend that there were 72 translators, 6 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, who worked independently to translate the whole and ultimately produced identical versions. Another legend holds that the translators were sent to Alexandria by Eleazar, the chief priest at Jerusalem, at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE), though its source, the Letter of Aristeas, is unreliable. Despite the tradition that it was perfectly translated, there are large differences in style and usage between the Septuagint’s translation of the Torah and its translations of the later books in the Old Testament. In the 3rd century CE Origen attempted to clear up copyists’ errors that had crept into the text of the Septuagint, which by then varied widely from copy to copy, and a number of other scholars consulted the Hebrew texts in order to make the Septuagint more accurate.






Given that the language of much of the early Christian church was Greek, many early Christians relied on the Septuagint to locate the prophecies they claimed were fulfilled by Christ. Jews considered this a misuse of Holy Scripture and stopped using the Septuagint altogether; its subsequent history lies within the Christian church. The Greek text, not the original Hebrew, was the main basis for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and part of the Arabic translations of the Old Testament and has never ceased to be the standard version of the Old Testament in the Greek church. Indeed, St. Jerome used the Septuagint to begin his translation of the Vulgate Old Testament in 382 CE.


In addition to all the books of the Hebrew canon, the Septuagint under Christian auspices separated the minor prophets and some other books and added the extra books known to Protestants and Jews as apocryphal and to Roman Catholics as deuterocanonical. The Hebrew canon has three divisions: the Torah (Law), the Neviʾim (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). The Septuagint has four: law, history, poetry, and prophets, with the books of the Apocrypha inserted where appropriate. This division has continued in the Western church in most modern Bible translations, except that in Protestant versions the Apocrypha are either omitted or grouped separately.


The text of the Septuagint is contained in a few early, but not necessarily reliable, manuscripts. The best known of these are the Codex Vaticanus (B) and the Codex Sinaiticus (S), both dating from the 4th century CE, and the Codex Alexandrinus (A) from the 5th century. There are also numerous earlier papyrus fragments and many later manuscripts. The first printed copy of the Septuagint was in the Complutensian Polyglot (1514–22).

 

[JLGJLG]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septu...2000 classified manuscripts of the Septuagint.

List of Septuagint manuscripts[edit]​

There are currently over 2000 classified manuscripts of the Septuagint.[6]


The first list of Septuagint manuscripts was presented by Holmes and Parsons. Their edition ends with a full list of manuscripts known to them set out in the Annexes. It enumerates 311 codes (marked with Roman numerals I-XIII and Arab 14-311), of which the codes are designated by their siglum I-XIII, 23, 27, 39, 43, 156, 188, 190, 258, 262.[5]: 122 


The codes marked with Roman numerals signify given letters from A to Z.[5]: 122–123 


The list of Septuagint manuscripts according to the classification of Alfred Rahlfs - a list of all known Septuagint manuscripts proposed by Alfred Rahlfs based on census of Holmes and Parsons.

 

[JLGJLG]

1) Codex Sinaiticus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus

The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum א‎ [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), or Sinai Bible is a fourth century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the Apocrypha along with the deuterocanonical books, and the Greek New Testament, with both the Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas included. It is written in uncial letters on parchment. It is one of the four great uncial codices (these being manuscripts which originally contained the whole of both the Old and New Testaments). Along with Codex Alexandrinus and Codex Vaticanus, it is one of the earliest and most complete manuscripts of the Bible, and contains the oldest complete copy of the New Testament.[1] It is a historical treasure,[2] and using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the mid-fourth century.


Biblical scholarship considers Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the most important Greek texts of the New Testament, along with Codex Vaticanus. Until Biblical scholar (and manuscript hunter) Constantin von Tischendorf's discovery of Codex Sinaiticus in 1844, the Greek text of Codex Vaticanus was unrivalled.[3]: 26  Since its discovery, study of Codex Sinaiticus has proven to be useful to scholars for critical studies of the biblical text.


Codex Sinaiticus came to the attention of scholars in the 19th century at Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, with further material discovered in the 20th and 21st centuries. Although parts of the codex are scattered across four libraries around the world, most of the manuscript is held today in the British Library in London, where it is on public display.[4][5]: 107–108 


https://codexsinaiticus.org/en/project/translation.aspx


https://codexsinaiticus.org/en/manuscript.aspx?book=4&lid=en&side=r&zoomSlider=0

• As you can see it on this site, the chapter 22 of Deuteronomy is missing!

 

[JLGJLG]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textual_variants_in_the_Book_of_Deuteronomy

• Here we can see differences in the translation of the book of Deuteronomy!
  
• Especially between the Westminster Leningrad Codex written in Hebrew and Brenton's translation of the Septuagint (from Greek to English)!
  
• The Westminster Leningrad Codex is the oldest manuscript!
  
• In this Codex you don't find the sentence you mention!
  
• In Brenton's translation you find the sentence you mention!
  
• In the WLM you find God's name whereas in Brenton's translation you find Lord which is wrong!

 

[for_his_glory]

Just from the OP the Bible is all about our relationship with God and His gift of loves grace through Christ Jesus.

Drop the

 

[JLGJLG]

Just from the OP the Bible is all about our relationship with God and His gift of loves grace through Christ Jesus.

Drop the

- yes, it's one aspect!

 

[JLGJLG]

Just from the OP the Bible is all about our relationship with God and His gift of loves grace through Christ Jesus.

Drop the

- Nothing connected with chapters and verses of Revelation?

 

[JLGJLG]

https://bnonn.com/whats-the-big-deal-with-translating-yahweh-as-lord/

What’s the big deal with translating Yahweh as LORD?​

In the comments of ‘Yahweh’, Henry asks some sincere questions. They’re worth answering more publicly, so I’ma do that here.


You’ll forgive me if I come across strong; I cannot apologize for getting a bit fired up about recovering the name of God himself.

Doesn’t the always translate Yahweh in quotations as Kurios also?

The simply quotes the LXX, which translated the tetragrammaton as kurios. That’s because the rabbis read the tetragrammaton in Hebrew as if it said adonai (“lord”) instead of yahweh—so they translated it into Greek as kurios (“lord”).


That was providentially fortuitous for making the connection between Jesus and Yahweh. But the fact that the authors used a bad translation of the divine name, under divine inspiration, is no reason for us to continue translating the divine name badly.

I think there are good reasons for the “Lord” translation, as I understand that the Hebrew name had an actual theological meaning that is – admittedly partly – conveyed by the title Lord.

The Hebrew yahweh is the third person masculine singular conjugation of haya, meaning “to be”; it is the same name God uses of himself in Exodus 3:14, where he gives his name to Moses as the first person masculine singular conjugation, ehyeh, meaning “I am”. Yahweh means, more or less, “he is”, or perhaps “he who causes to be”.


How is that reflected in the word “Lord”?


The reason for the translating Yahweh as kurios was not because that’s a good translation, but was in fact precisely to obfuscate the divine name. The rabbis superstitiously feared that even speaking God’s name might amount to blasphemy. Why would we want to propagate such foolishness, concealing the divine name from God’s people?

I think I remember that there was a French Bible that translated the word “Eternal One” or something like that.

That’s closer to the meaning of the Hebrew. But let me ask you: do you think we should translate any other names in the Bible in this way? Should we replace “Jesus Christ” with “God Saves, The Anointed”? By the same token, should I address you as Home-Ruler, rather than as Henry?


If not, why do you think we should replace “Yahweh” with some translation of its Hebrew meaning?


And if we should not do that with ordinary names, how much more should we not do it with God’s!

And of course any good Bible will have “Lord” in small caps and a note at the front as to what the name means.

How many people do you think read that note? And of them, how many do you think remember it? I would wager very few. So this is a lousy approach, even if “Lord” was an accurate translation of Yahweh—which it is not. “Lord” is a title. Yahweh is a name. The name. The covenant name of God. The one he specifically gave for his people to know.

But to me it is less confusing for readers to have the quotes line up.

But quotes notoriously don’t line up in numerous other ways. It seems tragically ironic to mistranslate the in order to make it line up with the on this one issue, but then to translate it accurately so it doesn’t line up with quotations on other issues.

I also didn’t understand your comment about the children’s talk. Don’t you think that saying “Oh my Lord” or “Oh God” or “Goodness Gracious” or something similar violates the commandment?

I’m not sure about goodness gracious, but in general I agree with you. I’m not suggesting we can’t blaspheme in other ways. Not at all. You can check out ‘What is blasphemy?’ where I answer this question in more detail.

Maybe I’m overreading and you just wish the children were being taught not to say “Oh Yahweh,” although I’m skeptical that that is a big problem in any English speaking country.

Ironically, this makes my point for me. When we ask what the Bible means—for example, when we’re teaching our children what the third commandment means—we should start by asking what it meant to the original readers. I’m not denying sensus plenior, of course; but the meaning that Moses himself intended, and his audience understood, is the primary meaning of the text.


That meaning was that taking up the name Yahweh for a worthless purpose was forbidden. It is specifically the covenant name Yahweh that is given in the third commandment itself! Twice!

You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for a worthless cause, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes up his name for a worthless cause. Exodus 20:7

Yet because of a poor translation policy, ordinary Christians are not even aware that this name is in there. The name of Yahweh has been so lost that even in the church we needn’t forbid our children to use it in vain—because our children don’t know it.


That is deplorable.

 

[JLGJLG]

Somebody says:


Deut.32:8 and 32:43 are key verses that build a biblical worldview, which is essential to understand God's design and arrangement. The thing is, God has a divine council, also known as “sons of God” or “hosts of heaven”. Those are spiritual beings created by God in heaven , the lesser elohim, the closest English word for this concept is not gods, but DEITIES. The only true name of the Creator God is YHWH, which manifests His nature – eternity, and it's usually translated as Lord, because most other common titles in his second coming, “Kings of Kings and Lords of Lords”, are in the same category. These “kings” and “lords” are rebellious”sons of God” led by Satan, not earthly presidents and ministers, because we “wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities”. Any teaching that either skips them or interpret them as the trinity, arthly rulers or Israelite elders is terribly wrong, and the only correct view you can get is based on a correct translation of Deut. 32.

 

[JLGJLG]

• Let's have a look at Deuteronomy 32:8 to analyze the translation of “the sons of God”!

When the Most High
עֶלְיוֹן֙ (‘el·yō·wn)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5945: An elevation, lofty, as title, the Supreme

gave the nations
גּוֹיִ֔ם (gō·w·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1471: A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts

their inheritance,
בְּהַנְחֵ֤ל (bə·han·ḥêl)
Preposition-b | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5157: To inherit, to occupy, to bequeath, distribute, instate

when He divided
בְּהַפְרִיד֖וֹ (bə·hap̄·rî·ḏōw)
Preposition-b | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6504: To break through, spread, separate

the sons
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of man,
אָדָ֑ם (’ā·ḏām)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

He set
יַצֵּב֙ (yaṣ·ṣêḇ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect Jussive - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5324: To take one's stand, stand

the boundaries
גְּבֻלֹ֣ת (gə·ḇu·lōṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 1367: A boundary, region

of the peoples
עַמִּ֔ים (‘am·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

according to the number
לְמִסְפַּ֖ר (lə·mis·par)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4557: A number, definite, indefinite, narration

of the sons
בְּנֵ֥י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of God.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

• It is benê yisraêl or “the sons of Israel”!
  
• Ysraêl meaning “God strives” and not God!
  
• And it is Jacob's name!
  
• And in the next verse we are told about Jacob!

 

[JLGJLG]

• Now let's have a look for example at Exodus 1:1

These
וְאֵ֗לֶּה (wə·’êl·leh)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

are the names
שְׁמוֹת֙ (šə·mō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 8034: A name

of the sons
בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

who went
הַבָּאִ֖ים (hab·bā·’îm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

to Egypt
מִצְרָ֑יְמָה (miṣ·rā·yə·māh)
Noun - proper - feminine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

with
אֵ֣ת (’êṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

Jacob,
יַעֲקֹ֔ב (ya·‘ă·qōḇ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3290: Jacob -- a son of Isaac, also his desc

each
אִ֥ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

with his family:
וּבֵית֖וֹ (ū·ḇê·ṯōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

• Once again we find benê yisraêl meaning the sons of Israel!
  
• And in the same verse we are told about Jacob!
  
• And it will be the same everywhere in the Bible when it is spoken about the sons of Israel that is the sons of Jacob!

 

[JLGJLG]

Somebody says:


Dead Sea scrolls read sons of God, not sons of Israel, end of discussion.

 

[JLGJLG]

http://dssenglishbible.com/scroll4Q37.htm


Deuteronomy 32[2]


7 Remember the days of old.


Consider the years of many generations.


Ask your father, and he will show you;


your elders, and they will tell you.


8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,


when he separated the children of men,


he set the bounds of the peoples


according to the number of the children of Israel God[3].

---

[1] In this scroll, the passage beginning in Exodus 12:32 follows immediately after Deuteronomy 11:21.


[2] The scroll fragment ends after Exodus 13:5, and a new fragment begins at Deuteronomy 32:7. Therefore, it cannot be determined how long the original scroll actually stayed in Exodus.


[3] This reading matches the LXX.

• The problem is that the Septuagint is written in Greek so it is a translation from Hebrew to Greek!
  
• End of the discussion!

______________________________________________________________






How to read these pages:


• The translation to the left is based on the World English Bible. Words in regular black font are words in the scrolls matching the traditional text for that passage.


• Words in italics cannot be seen in the scroll, since the scroll is fragmentary. These words are supplied for readability by the World English Bible translation.


• Words present in the scroll but with some letters unreadable or missing are in blue like this: blue. One Hebrew word often is translated into multiple English words, and when this occurs, all the English words are in blue.


• Words present in the scroll but with spelling differences that do not affect the meaning are in green like this: green. This is common in Hebrew.


• If the scroll is different from the traditional text, words in the traditional text that are missing from the text of the scroll are marked through in red like this: strike-through.


• If the scroll is different from the traditional text, words in the scroll that are not in the traditional text are underlined in red like this: new words.

 

[JLGJLG]

Someone says:


So what is the "correct" translation and how do I know it is the only "correct" one?


Which translation are you using?


- I would say it's quite simple!


- When you look at the translation in English of the Dead Sea scroll, they changed sons of Israel by Sons of God because of the Septuagint but the Septuagint is in Greek meaning it's a translation from the original!


- That's why they put sons of God!


- But close to this expression you get the name Jacob!


- It's the same when I looked for another example!


- I took the first one ant it was Exodus 1:1!


- It is said the sons of Israel and then you get Jacob!


- It's the same when you look at the translation of God's name!


- Everywhere in the first part of the Bible you get the Tetragamm!


- But the Jews eradicate it and replaced it by a miserable title meaning nothing!


- And the translators of the Bible did the same!


- Thus everything was done to alter the original Hebrew text in something tasteless!


- Anyway, I will try to check if it's possible to get more information!

• 
  
  
  

 

[JLGJLG]

https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/32-8.htm





-I have copied all the commentaries from Biblehub!






Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8, 9) Comp. Deuteronomy 21:16.


"when the Most High made nations to inherit,


When He parted the sons of Adam,


He set the bounds of the peoples,


According to the number of the sons of Israel.


For the portion of Jehovah is His people,


Jacob the cord [7] of His inheritance"


[7] i.e., limit.


The allusion is to the dispersion from Babel (Genesis 10, 11). The Jews were accustomed to reckon seventy nations and languages in that dispersion. Seventy members of Jacob's household went down into Egypt. And literally they interpret this passage to mean that in dividing the lands to the peoples, Jehovah left room for His own, so that they might inherit the promised land without any undue pressure upon other nations. It is noticeable that the children of Lot and Esau were carefully preserved from disturbance by Israel (Deuteronomy 2). But this is the bare literal interpretation. The true meaning of the passage is given by St. Paul in his speech at Athens: "He determined (for all nations) times before appointed, and the setting of the boundaries of their habitation, that they might seek the Lord." The nations were so disposed in the world, and so developed, that each might have its opportunity of seeking Jehovah, in due season, through contact with His people--"if, as was certainly not impossible, they might feel after Him and find Him, who is not far from any one of us. For we are even His offspring." Hence He appoints our inheritance. With some such thought as this, the LXX. translate the latter half of Deuteronomy 32:8, "He set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the angels of God" The chosen people were to be His messengers to the nations. He chose Israel for His own portion, that through them He might inherit the world. And yet in the face of this glorious calling and mission, the undutiful behaviour of Israel was their one great blot. They had only to accept the position already prepared for them, and they refused! . . .​

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 8, 9. - From the very beginning, when God first allotted to the nations a place and a heritage, he had respect in his arrangements to the sons of Israel, who were his portion, and had as it were kept their interest in view in all that he appointed and ordered. According to the number of the children of Israel. When the Most High portioned out to the nations the heritage of each, he reserved for Israel, as the people of his choice, an inheritance proportioned to its numbers. The LXX. has "according to the number of the angels of God," an arbitrary departure from the original text, in accommodation, probably, to the later Jewish notion of each nation having its guardian angel. The Lord's portion is his people (cf. Exodus 15:16; Exodus 19:5; 1 Samuel 10:1; Psalm 78:71). The lot of his inheritance; literally, the cord, etc., the allusion being to the measuring of land by a cord, equivalent to the portion by measure which Jehovah allotted to himself as his inheritance (cf. Psalm 16:6).


​

 

[JLGJLG]

Benson Commentary


Deuteronomy 32:8. Their inheritance — When God, by his providence, allotted the several parts of the world to several people, which was done, Genesis 10:11. When he separated — Divided them in their languages and habitations, according to their families. He set the bounds — That is, he disposed of the several lands and limits of the people, so as to reserve a sufficient place for the great numbers of the people of Israel. And therefore he so guided the hearts of several people, that the posterity of Canaan, which was accursed of God, and devoted to ruin, should be seated in that country which God intended for the children of Israel, that so when their iniquities were ripe they might be rooted out, and the Israelites come in their stead.​

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

32:7-14 Moses gives particular instances of God's kindness and concern for them. The eagle's care for her young is a beautiful emblem of Christ's love, who came between Divine justice and our guilty souls, and bare our sins in his own body on the tree. And by the preached gospel, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, He stirs up and prevails upon sinners to leave Satan's bondage. In ver. 13,14, are emblems of the conquest believers have over their spiritual enemies, sin, Satan, and the world, in and through Christ. Also of their safety and triumph in him; of their happy frames of soul, when they are above the world, and the things of it. This will be the blessed case of spiritual Israel in every sense in the latter day.








Barnes' Notes on the Bible


That is, while nations were being constituted under God's providence, and the bounds of their habitation determined under His government (compare Acts 17:26), He had even then in view the interests of His elect, and reserved a fitting inheritance "according to the number of the children of Israel;" i. e., proportionate to the wants of their population. Some texts of the Greek version have "according to the number of the Angels of God;" following apparently not a different reading, but the Jewish notion that the nations of the earth are seventy in number (compare Genesis 10:1 note), and that each has its own guardian Angel (compare Ecclus. 17:17). This was possibly suggested by an apprehension that the literal rendering might prove invidious to the many Gentiles who would read the Greek version.​

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8, 9. When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance—In the division of the earth, which Noah is believed to have made by divine direction (Ge 10:5; De 2:5-9; Ac 17:26, 27), Palestine was reserved by the wisdom and goodness of Heaven for the possession of His peculiar people and the display of the most stupendous wonders. The theater was small, but admirably suited for the convenient observation of the human race—at the junction of the two great continents of Asia and Africa, and almost within sight of Europe. From this spot as from a common center the report of God's wonderful works, the glad tidings of salvation through the obedience and sufferings of His own eternal Son, might be rapidly and easily wafted to every part of the globe.


he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel—Another rendering, which has received the sanction of eminent scholars, has been proposed as follows: "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam and set the bounds of every people, the children of Israel were few in numbers, when the Lord chose that people and made Jacob His inheritance" (compare De 30:5; Ge 34:30; Ps 105:9-12).


​

 

[JLGJLG]

Matthew Poole's Commentary


When God by his providence did allot the several parts of the world to several people, which was done Ge 10 Ge 11. See Deu 2:5,9 Am 9:7 Acts 17:26,27.

Separated the sons of Adam, i.e. divided them in their languages and habitations according to their families.

He set the bounds of the people, i.e. he disposed of the several lands and limits of the people, so as he did reserve a convenient and sufficient place for the great numbers of the people of Israel, whom he designed to make as numerous as the stars of heaven. And therefore he so guided the hearts of several people, that the posterity of Canaan, which was accursed of God, Genesis 9:25-27, and devoted to ruin, should be seated in that country which God intended for the children of Israel, that so when their iniquities were ripe, and God’s time came, they might be rooted out, and the Israelites might come in their stead.​

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,.... In the times of Noah and his sons, in the days of Peleg, who had his name (that is "Division") from thence, Genesis 10:25; "the Most High" is a well known and proper, epithet of God; the dividing of the earth to the several nations of it, and giving to everyone their part and portion to possess and inherit, was the work of God; for though it was done by the sons of Noah, yet by the order, appointment, and direction of the Most High, who rules in heaven and in earth, Genesis 10:32; men might not and did not take what they pleased, or seize on as much as they could, but each had their parcel allotted and portioned out to them, by the Lord himself; so the Targum of Jonathan."when by lot the Most High divided the world to the people that sprung from the sons of Noah:"


when he separated the sons of Adam; one from another; distinguished by the persons from whom they descended, by the tribes and nations to which they belonged, and by the countries they inhabited; for though they descended from Noah and his sons, they were the sons of Adam, the first man: or rather "the children of men", as the wicked of that generation were called, in distinction from the sons of God, or his people and worshippers; and may have respect to the separation of them at Babel, where their languages were confounded, and they were scattered about, and some went into one part of the world, and some into another, according to the appointment and direction of divine Providence; so the builders of Babel are called, and this was what befell them, Genesis 11:5; which sense the above Targum confirms,"when he separated the writings, the languages of the children of men in the generation of the division:''


he set the bounds of the people; or nations, the seven nations of the land of Canaan; he pitched upon and fixed the land they should inherit, and settled the bounds of it, how far it should reach, east, west, north and south:


according to the number of the children of Israel: the sense is, that such a country was measured out and bounded, as would be sufficient to hold the twelve tribes of Israel, when numerous, and their time was come to inhabit it; and which, in the mean while was put into the hands of Canaan and his eleven sons to possess; not as their proper inheritance, but as tenants at will, until the proper heirs existed, and were at an age, and of a sufficient number to inherit; in which may be observed the wise disposition of divine Providence, to put it into the hands of a people cursed of God, so that to take it from them at any time could not have the appearance of any injustice in it; and their enjoying it so long as they did was a mercy to them, for so long they had a reprieve: now here was an early instance of the goodness of God to Israel, that he should make such an early provision of the land flowing with milk and honey for them, even before they were in being, yea, before their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, existed; as early as the days of Noah; and yet, ungrateful as they were despised and set at nought his Son, the rock of salvation, when sent unto them: thus the heavenly inheritance, typified by the land of Canaan, was not only promised, but prepared, provided, secured, and reserved for the spiritual Israel of God, before the foundation of the world, from all eternity, and which is appointed according to their number; there is room enough in it for them all, though they are many; in it are many mansions for the many sons to be brought to glory.​

Geneva Study Bible

When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the {e} people according to the number of the children of Israel.


(e) When God by his providence divided the world, he lent for a time that portion to the Canaanites, which would later be an inheritance for all his people Israel.








Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges


8. Most High] Heb. ‘Elyôn, Numbers 24:16, Isaiah 14:14, and many Pss.

gave … inheritance] See Deuteronomy 1:38.

separated] Genesis 10:32 (P).

children of Israel] The purpose of His division was to leave room for Israel’s numbers.

But for the sons of Israel LXX has ἀγγέλων θεοῦ, angels of God, i.e. sons of ’El, after a late Jewish conception of a guardian angel for each nation (Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:20 f., Deuteronomy 12:1, Sir 17:17), an antithesis to Jehovah’s own guardianship of Israel in the following vv., which accordingly LXX introduces by and = but in place of Heb. for. This reading and interpretation is accepted by Steuern., Berth., Marti, Robinson. But the text as read by the LXX seems to be rather an adaptation of the Heb. to the conception aforesaid (Dillm.); and it is difficult to see how the Heb. arose out of the LXX text if the latter was original.











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[JLGJLG]

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament


"When the Most High portioned out inheritance to the nations, when He divided the children of men; He fixed the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the sons of Israel: for the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob the cord of His inheritance." Moses commences his enumeration of the manifestations of divine mercy with the thought, that from the very commencement of the forming of nations God had cared for His people Israel. The meaning of Deuteronomy 32:8 is given in general correctly by Calvin: "In the whole arrangement of the world God had kept this before Him as the end: to consult the interests of His chosen people." The words, "when the Most High portioned out inheritance to the nations," etc., are not to be restricted to the one fact of the confusion of tongues and division of the nations as described in Genesis 11, but embrace the whole period of the development of the one human family in separate tribes and nations, together with their settlement in different lands; for it is no doctrine of the Israelitish legend, as Kamphausen supposes, that the division of the nations was completed once for all. The book of Genesis simply teaches, that after the confusion of tongues at the building of the tower of Babel, God scattered men over the entire surface of the earth (Deuteronomy 11:9), and that the nations were divided, i.e., separate nations were formed from the families of the sons of Noah (Genesis 10:32); that is to say, the nations were formed in the divinely-appointed way of generation and multiplication, and so spread over the earth. And the Scriptures say nothing about a division of the countries among the different nations at one particular time; they simply show, that, like the formation of the nations from families and tribes, the possession of the lands by the nations so formed was to be traced to God, - was the work of divine providence and government, - whereby God so determined the boundaries of the nations ("the nations" are neither the tribes of Israel, nor simply the nations round about Canaan, but the nations generally), that Israel might receive as its inheritance a land proportioned to its numbers.


(Note: The Septuagint rendering, "according to the number of the angels of God," is of no critical value, - in fact, is nothing more than an arbitrary interpretation founded upon the later Jewish notion of guardian angels of the different nations (Sir. 17:14), which probably originated in a misunderstanding of Deuteronomy 4:19, as compared with Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:20-21, and Daniel 12:1.)


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[atpollard]

mine is ... about 2,440 pages.