Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Randall Buth <ButhFam AT compuserve.com>]

Many think that Luke was fully dependent on the LXX.
Someone mentioned this in an email:

>but I believe that I first found the anomaly when reading
>from LK 4:17-21. 

I assume the anomaly is simply that incongruence between Is 61(both MT and
LXX) and Luke.

Luke here is quite interesting because the end of the quote jumps from
Isaiah 61 to 58:6. 
The reason for the jump is not obvious to NT scholars because they are
looking at the LXX. 
Underlying this jump is a "gezera shava" in the Hebrew text of Is 58:5-6.
The connection is not in the LXX at all. Now some may hypothesize (on no
evidence) that a kaige/prototheodotion correction to Is 58.5-6  could have
been in circulation before Luke's time, but even such a Greek text would
not provide the cultural Hebrew sophistication for that kind of midrashic
jumping.

bottom line: even when wording looks mainly "Septuagintal" more complicated
histories may underlie it.

Randall Buth
Chair, Hebrew Language
Jerusalem University College
Buth AT jerusalemschool.org