THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA The Servant Songs of Deutero-Isaiah in the MT and the LXX: A Comparison of Their Portrayals of God A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Sacred Theology © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Paul Maillet Washington, D.C. 2010 The Servant Songs of Deutero-Isaiah in the MT and the LXX: A Comparison of Their Portrayals of God Paul Maillet, S.T.D. Director: Christopher T. Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D. This comparison of the portrayals of God in the Masoretic and Septuagint texts of the Servant Songs of Isaiah includes a discussion of the delimitation of the four songs, of text-critical issues, and of problems in translation. After the implied speakers and audiences are identified, those verses in which God is the speaker or referent are analyzed vis-à-vis their portrayal of God. The portrayals conveyed by the two forms of each song are then compared, and finally patterns in differences between the Hebrew and Greek texts are identified. Although these Masoretic and Septuagint texts yield similar portrayals of God, differences emerge. The LXX texts contain fewer anthropomorphisms/anthropopathisms and depict God as more supportive of his Servant/Son than do the corresponding Masoretic texts. For example, in Isaiah 53, the MT depicts God as “crush[ing]” the Servant, whereas in the LXX the Servant’s/Son’s suffering is merely permitted by God, who quickly comes to his Servant’s/Son’s aid. The MT and the LXX texts address the problems of theodicy differently. The LXX focuses on the suffering as a divine discipline leading to wisdom while the MT gives equal weight to other explanations. For example, the Third Servant Song in the MT, unlike in the LXX, could lead the reader/listener to construe the Servant’s suffering as a test of the Servant’s faithfulness. While both the MT and LXX text of Isaiah 53 assert that the Servant’s suffering benefits others (identified only as “we” and “the many”), the MT, unlike the LXX, does so in terms of cultic imagery. The MT, unlike the LXX text, refers to the Servant’s justification of “the many.” In general, the portrayal of God in the Septuagint text would appear more congenial to those Jews (and potential non-Jewish “God-fearers”) influenced by Greek philosophy. It is impossible, however, to know how the LXX translator’s Vorlage compared to the MT of the Servant Songs or—to the degree that the Vorlage was the same—which of the differences in meaning were intended and not the result of errors/ambiguities in translation. This dissertation by Paul Maillet fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in biblical studies approved by Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D., as Director, and by Francis Gignac, D. Phil. and Joseph Jensen, S.T.D. as Readers. ________________________________________ Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D., Director ________________________________________ Francis Gignac, S.J., D. Phil., Reader ________________________________________ Joseph Jensen, O.S.B., S.T.D., Reader ii To my parents iii Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... viii Chapter One............................................................................................................... 1 I. Background: The State of Questions Related to Isaiah’s Servant Songs but Not Directly Addressed in This Dissertation ................... 3 A. PI, DI, and TI and Their Relationship to One Another ............... 3 B. The Question of Canonicity of LXX Isaiah ................................ 5 C. The Question of Textkanon ......................................................... 6 D. Research on DI ............................................................................ 13 E. Research on the Servant Songs ................................................... 14 F. Research on Isaiah 53 .................................................................. 17 II. The State of Questions Directly Related to This Dissertation ................ 19 A. The Masoretic Texts .................................................................... 19 B. The LXX ..................................................................................... 19 C. Isaiah Texts at Qumran ............................................................... 24 D. Qumran Isaiah and LXX Isaiah vis-à-vis M Isaiah .................... 31 III. Assumptions, Aims, and Method of This Study ..................................... 34 Chapter Two: The First Servant Song ...................................................................... 38 I. Delimitation ............................................................................................. 38 II. The Portrayal of God in MT Isa 42:1-9................................................... 43 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 43 B. Implied Speakers and Addressees ............................................... 47 C. What Yhwh Says and Implies about Himself ............................. 50 D. What the Prophet Says and Implies about Yhwh ........................ 68 E. Summary of the Portrayal of Yhwh in MT 42:1-9 ...................... 69 III. The Portrayal of God in LXX Isa 42:1-9 ................................................ 71 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 71 B. Implied Speakers and Addressees ............................................... 75 C. What ku,rioj Says and Implies about Himself ............................ 76 D. What the Prophet Says about ku,rioj ........................................... 91 E. Summary of the Portrayal of ku,rioj ............................................ 91 IV. Comparison of the Portrayals of God in the MT and LXX Texts of Isa 42:1-9...................................... 92 V. Summary ................................................................................................. 94 iv Chapter Three: The Second Servant Song ................................................................ 96 I. Preliminary Questions ................................................................................ 96 A. Can 49:1-6 (or any pericope including 49:3) be Considered a “Servant Song”? .................................................... 96 B. Delimitation of the Second Servant Song.................................... 98 II. The Portrayal of God in MT Isa 49:1-13 .................................................. 103 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 103 B. Implied Speakers and Addressees ............................................... 110 C. What Yhwh Says and Implies about Himself ............................. 113 D. What Others Say or Imply about Yhwh ...................................... 122 E. A Summary of the Portrayal of Yhwh in the Second Servant Song ....................................................... 126 III. The Portrayal of God in LXX Isa 49:1-13 .............................................. 128 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 128 B. Implied Speakers and Addressees ............................................... 132 C. What ku,rioj Says or Implies about Himself ............................... 134 D. What Others Say or Imply about ku,rioj ..................................... 140 E. Summary of the Portrayal of God in the LXX Second Servant Song ............................................ 144 IV. Comparison of the Portrayal of God in the MT and LXX Texts of Isa 49:1-13........................................................... 146 Chapter Four: The Third Servant Song .................................................................... 154 I. Delimitation ............................................................................................. 154 II. Portrayal of God in MT 50:4-11 ............................................................. 158 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 158 B. Implied Speakers and Addressees ............................................... 164 C. What Yhwh Says and Implies about Himself ............................. 166 D. What the Servant Says or Implies about Yhwh........................... 171 III. The Portrayal of God in LXX Isa 50:4-11 .............................................. 176 A. Text-critical Notes and Translation ............................................. 176 B. What ku,rioj Says or Implies about Himself ............................... 180 C. What the pai/j Says or Implies about ku,rioj ............................... 181 D. Summary of the LXX Third Servant Song’s Portrayal of ku,rioj..................................................................... 185 IV. Comparison of the Portrayal of God in the MT and LXX Text of Isa 50:4-11 ........................................................... 185 V. Summary ................................................................................................. 191 v Chapter Five: The Fourth Servant Song .................................................................... 193 I. Delimitation of the Pericope ................................................................... 194 II. The Portrayal of God in MT Isaiah 53 ...................................................