Prufrock
Arbitrary Moderation
Tim, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to count me out of this one. I think it was a mistake for me to get involved, and thus I apologize for taking up your time. But I can see already that this just isn't going to go anywhere productive. The claim I asked for evidence for was that "*the majority* in every age think the NT quotes the LXX in preference to the Hebrew original." Producing a few quotes from Augustine that there was a/were several Greek translations of the OT in the time of Christ, or that there was a Greek translation widely received in Augustine's own day simply has little to do with the claim you made, especially as I've never even so much as hinted that I would disagree with that statement.Originally Posted by TimV
So far Paul has not commented. I am hoping that he will provide quotes from Church fathers who have said that there were no Greek translations of the OT, or that there were but they did not differ in places from the Hebrew version or versions. Either that or
1: Concede that I have the right to say that the overwhelming number of Christian authors writing on the subject have believed that there was at least one Greek version of the OT widely available during the time of Christ and it differed from the Hebrew version.
2: Concede that during the Patristic era the Church fathers believed that there was a Greek translation available and it differed from the Hebrew but still demand proof from other eras besides the patristic era of the church.
Perhaps if you want to narrow the focus a bit, I will stick with the conversation (if not, that's perfectly reasonable, as well): I don't even need you to show me "in every age" anymore -- can you simply demonstrate to me that "a majority" (or even "a sizable minority") of Reformed theologians from a century on either side of the writing of our confessions claim that the NT quotes the LXX in preference to the Hebrew original? The "in preference to" portion is of the utmost importance. See post #12: those theologians could state that the NT followed the LXX in places because the Greek translation agreed with the Hebrew. Again, I do not see how one can circumvent the fact that, in our confession, the Hebrew text is that by which all controversies of religion are to be settled.