Isaiah 9:6 Septuagint

Question

Some Septuagint translations say:

"For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him"

ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν αὐτῷ

Sources: one two three four five

Some of them say:

"For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder, and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel, < Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Potentate, Prince of Peace, Father of the Age to come"

ὅτι παιδίον ἐγενήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελός, θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, Θεὸς ἰσχυρός, ἐξουσιαστής, ἄρχων εἰρήνης, πατὴρ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας, εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν αὐτῷ

Sources: one two

Which one is the correct text of Septuagint?

Answer 1

As our friend mentioned in his development, the possibly original text of the Septuagint was influenced and added to by these translations of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion. Of the five links you have posted, three are translations from Lancelot, and two refer to Alfred Rahlfs text. Of the two links you have posted below, one links to a website that has that version, which was based, for the most part, on the text of church tradition and the text approved by the Fourth Holy Synod of the church, which was edited by the professor and academic Panagiotis Bratsiotis (which is in used by Orthodox Greek Church). The other link that refers you to a double column (text and translation) is this text by Panagiotis Bratsiotis and Lancelot's translation, in which, if you notice, they have put brackets where there is text that Lancelot does not use.

The point is that, there is a produced, of a semi-critical edition by Alfred Rahlfs, i.e. the one you have posted in your links above, and a large critical edition, in individual books, which provides the whole tradition of the manuscripts and the church fathers. The semi-critical edition of Alfred Rahfls is republished and revised edition by Robert Hanhart, and the large critical edition is published by the authority of the academy of sciences of Gottingen (in individual books), which do not contain the words: "θαυμαστός, σύμβουλος, θεός ισχυρός, εξουσιαστής, άρχων ειρήνης, πατήρ τού μέλλοντος αιώνος", which words, have, apparently, been added to some manuscripts, such as these are: Alexandrinus Codex, Venetus Codex, Purpureus Vindobonensis (from the manuscripts in large letters), as well as a revision of Lucian's text, as well as a few manuscripts in small letters (which, usually, fall into the later medieval period and beyond). So, it is better to use the most critical publications, and not pay attention to others, even if they are of the orthodox church. For these words, are in the Hebrew text, and most likely, were added to manuscripts of the Septuagint, such as those I mentioned above. The first text you posted, this is considered, propably, the Septuagint text.

Here is the text:

ὅτι παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλεῖται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ “Μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος”· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἄξω εἰρήνην ἐπὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας, εἰρήνην καὶ ὑγίειαν αὐτῷ.

Transcription of the text:

óti pedhíon eghennéthe emín, iós ke edhóthe emín, u e arché eghenéthe epí tu ómu aftú, ke kaléte to ónoma aftú “Megháles bulés ággelos”; eghó ghar áxo erhénen epí tus árchodas, erhénen ke eghíean aftó.

And the translation is this:

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us, whose Supreme Authority is set upon his shoulder, and his name is called “the messenger of the Great will”; for I will bring peace upon the chiefs, (my) peace and (spiritual) health (will come) through him.

I hope I've got you covered. Good research!

Answer 2

The work "Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion in Armenia" by CLAUDE E. COX Scholars Pr (1 maio 1996) ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 078850262X ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0788502620 discusses the historical and literary context of three important translators who produced versions of the Hebrew Bible, which were influential in various regions of the ancient world, including Armenia. These three figures—Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion—are crucial because they created translations of the Old Testament, particularly from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures), but with different approaches and intentions.

Aquila was a Hellenistic Jew who translated the Old Testament into Greek in an extremely literal manner, often prioritizing a strict fidelity to the Hebrew text. Symmachus was also a Jewish translator, but his translation was more stylistically fluid and less literal than Aquila's. Theodotion was likely also of Jewish origin, and his translation of the Old Testament became influential in early Christianity, especially because it was used in some versions of the New Testament. These three translators played a crucial role in shaping the tradition of biblical translations, influencing the Greek Bible version known as the Septuagint and the early Christian tradition. The focus of the work on their relationship with Armenia likely refers to the impact and use of their translations in Armenian Christian liturgy and communities, which later developed their own translation of the Bible.

For example, the Armenian Church, one of the first to adopt Christianity as the state religion, may have benefited from the legacy of these translations when developing its own Bible translation in the 5th century, known as the Armenian Version.

This work likely explores the historical contexts and influences of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion’s translations, particularly their reception in Armenia and their significance in shaping the Christian tradition in the region.

Answer 3

To compare the two LXX versions, we would need to know the text in the original Hebrew manuscript used to create the LXX. We don't know what was used, but we do have the Great Isaiah Scroll dated to approximately the same time, namely around 200 BC.

The Abegg, Flint, and Ulrich translation of this DSS artifact, 1QIsa, reads as follows:

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will be on his shoulders. He is called [or "will be called" in 4QIsa] Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Comparing the two LXX versions, the second version is closer to the DSS version of the same period. It includes the appellation, "Mighty God," whereas the first one you quoted omitted it.

This omission might be another example of what Emanuel Tov has termed acts of "theological editing." More on his appointments and publications can be reviewed here: https://huji.academia.edu/EmanuelTov