Why does LXX use both "salvation" and "peace" for Hebrew "peace"?

Question

Why does LXX use both "salvation" (Strongs 4991) and "peace" (Strongs 1515) for Hebrew "peace" (Strongs 8002)?

For example, in Exodus 20:24, the LXX uses 4991:

θυσιαστήριον ἐκ γῆς ποιήσετέ μοι καὶ θύσετε ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ τὰ σωτήρια ὑμῶν τὰ πρόβατα καὶ τοὺς μόσχους ὑμῶν ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ οὗ ἐὰν ἐπονομάσω τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐκεῖ καὶ ἥξω πρὸς σὲ καὶ εὐλογήσω σε

in the BHS:

מִזְבַּ֣ח אֲדָמָה֮ תַּעֲשֶׂה־לִּי֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֣ עָלָ֗יו אֶת־עֹלֹתֶ֨יךָ֙ וְאֶת־שְׁלָמֶ֔יךָ אֶת־צֹֽאנְךָ֖ וְאֶת־בְּקָרֶ֑ךָ בְּכָל־הַמָּקֹום֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אַזְכִּ֣יר אֶת־שְׁמִ֔י אָבֹ֥וא אֵלֶ֖יךָ וּבֵרַכְתִּֽיךָ׃

in Malachi 2:5, the LXX uses 1515:

ἡ διαθήκη μου ἦν μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῷ ἐν φόβῳ φοβεῖσθαί με καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου ὀνόματός μου στέλλεσθαι αὐτόν

in Hebrew: 2:5

בְּרִיתִי הָיְתָה אִתֹּו הַֽחַיִּים וְהַשָּׁלֹום וָאֶתְּנֵֽם־לֹו מֹורָא וַיִּֽירָאֵנִי וּמִפְּנֵי שְׁמִי נִחַת הֽוּא׃

Did the LXX use 4991 σωτήρια in Torah, but 1515 εἰρήνης in the remaining Hebrew texts?

Is it the same as the answer to "Why does Numbers 29:39 (LXX) refer to “your salvation” instead of “peace offerings”?

See Malachi 2:5. In the context of Covenant (My covenant (Strongs h1285) בְּרִיתִי, LXX uses 1515 εἰρήνης instead of 4991 σωτήρια. This makes me think that the answer to the question regarding Numbers 29:39 is not related to Covenant, but to Torah. (?)

Answer 1

The original Hebrew would have been unvocalized, so that what would have appeared in the original text would have been something like שׁלם (šlm). This has a number of different vocalizations:

• שָׁלַם (šā·lǎm)

• שָׁלֵם (šā·lēm)

• שַׁלֻּם (šǎl·lǔm)

• שְׁלָם (šelām)

• שֶׁלֶם (šě·lěm)

• שָׁלֹם (šā·lōm)

• שָׁלֻם (šā·lǔm)

• שִׁלֵּם (šil·lēm)

Many discrepancies between the Septuagint - compiled in the 2nd century BC - and the Masoretic Hebrew Text - compiled several centuries later - can be explained, I think, by differences in how the translators/transcribers thought the underlying proto-Hebrew text should be vocalized.

The medieval Masoretic Text for Exodus 20:24 imputes the vocalization שֶׁלֶם (šě·lěm). It would seem, however, that the Alexandrian Jews understood the older proto-Hebrew text to be (using Masoretic notation) שָׁלוֹם (šā·lôm), rather than שֶׁלֶם (šě·lěm). This word's meaning does, in fact, include "safeness" and "health" - either of which would be indicated by σωτήρια.

The underlying Masoretic Text in Malachi, on the other hand, is שָׁלוֹם (šā·lôm). Here the issue seems to be not a disagreement on how the underlying Hebrew should be vocalized, but rather the scope of the Hebrew word itself. According to Swanson's Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains, the underlying word's meanings also includes not "peace" (e.g. 1 Samuel 1:17), "completeness" (Jeremiah 13:19), "satisfaction" (Exodus 18:23), "friend" (Jeremiah 20:10), and "blessing" (Jeremiah 16:5).