History in the Bible Afterlife 14: Jeremiah and the Two Traditions
Nov 16, 2025
Gil Kadrone, an expert on biblical textual traditions and co-host of Biblical Proportions, dives into the intriguing differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint. He discusses the historical significance of these two ancient traditions and their contrasting narratives, especially in the book of Jeremiah. Kadrone sheds light on how the Masoretic text reflects priestly perspectives, while the Septuagint preserves Egyptian Jewish views. The discussion also touches on the origins, influence, and edits that shaped these texts over time.
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Two Ancient Biblical Traditions
- Two ancient textual traditions underpin the Hebrew Bible: the Hebrew Masoretic and the Greek Septuagint.
- They broadly agree but sometimes diverge substantially, notably in Jeremiah.
Dead Sea Scrolls Reveal Multiple Traditions
- Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls showed multiple Jewish textual traditions coexisted before the Common Era.
- About 15% of scrolls align with Septuagint-type texts, challenging earlier assumptions of its inferiority.
Masorets Fixed The Hebrew Text
- The Masorets standardized Hebrew scripture with meticulous notation to preserve pronunciation and chanting.
- Their Ben Asher family system of vowel and accent marks fixed the Hebrew text by the early Middle Ages.
