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From: smb@ulysses.UUCP (Steven Bellovin)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: Acceptance of Isaiah
Message-ID: <807@ulysses.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 26-Mar-84 19:38:10 EST
Article-I.D.: ulysses.807
Posted: Mon Mar 26 19:38:10 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 27-Mar-84 02:53:05 EST
References: <659@akgua.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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Bob Brown asks what the status of the Septuagint is in Jewish belief.
Briefly, it is not considered to be in any way authoritative or de-
finitive -- that honor is accorded only to the "original" Hebrew text.
But there is one curious story about that translation.  Jewish
tradition has it that the Greek ruler (Ptolemy?) commanded 70 rabbis to
each produce *individual* translations of the Bible -- and that if the
translations didn't agree with each other, he would use that as the
justification for all manner of persecutions.  Lo and behold -- by a
miracle all 70 were identical!

Now, it seems to me far more likely that the work was done by a
committee of 70 rabbis, rather than each doing an individual
translation.  And all the story asserts is consistency, not
correctness.  But it's interesting nevertheless.

As for the call that the Jewish community not respond to certain
queries -- nonsense!  We're all capable of learning something, and
we're all capable of teaching.  I personally will not join in any
attack on or defense of any particular religious belief system -- to my
way of thinking, such beliefs neither need nor are capable of any
defense -- and in any event I much prefer to teach and learn.


		--Steve Bellovin