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Deuteronomy 1 — Hebrew and Greek compared

Reading text of Deuteronomy 1 · Deuteronomy: all chapters · Deuteronomy 2 compared →

Same 13 Similar 10 Different 19 Divergent 3 Disparate 1

Disparate in this chapter: 1:39

Each verse is rendered independently from the Hebrew (Rabbinic reading tradition) and from the Greek (Saints reading tradition). The badge classifies the relationship between the two readings; the note beneath records the source document’s comparison and attributed interpretation. Each column retains its own verse references where numbering differs.

Command to Leave Horeb

1:1 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

Greek · Saints priority

1:1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan, in the wilderness toward the west, near the Red Sea, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Aulon, and Katachrysea.

Hebrew locates the speech in the Arabah opposite Suph; Greek says westward near the Red Sea. RH prints the place names Αυλων (Aulon) and Καταχρύσεα (Katachrysea), corresponding to Hebrew Hazeroth and Dizahab. The substantive Greek names are retained; the former rendering Courts was not supported by the selected proper-name form.

1:2 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:2 It is eleven days from Horeb by the Mount Seir road to Kadesh-barnea.

Greek · Saints priority

1:2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb by the Mount Seir road to Kadesh-barnea.

The journey and its duration agree.

1:3 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites according to everything YHWH had commanded him concerning them.

Greek · Saints priority

1:3 In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to all the Israelites according to everything the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

Greek explicitly says all the Israelites; the date and commission agree.

1:4 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:4 After he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei,

Greek · Saints priority

1:4 after defeating Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,

Greek explicitly coordinates Ashtaroth and Edrei as residences. Hebrew lacks and before Edrei, allowing it to locate Og's defeat.

1:5 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:5 beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this instruction, saying:

Greek · Saints priority

1:5 beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

Hebrew beʾer and Greek diasaphēsai both express clarification; English explain does not establish a textual difference.

Rabbinic: Rashi preserves an aggadic tradition that Moses explained the Torah in seventy languages. This is reception of the verse, not an explicit count in either source text.

Source: Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:5

1:6 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:6 YHWH our God spoke to us at Horeb: You have stayed long enough at this mountain.

Greek · Saints priority

1:6 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb: Let your stay at this mountain be sufficient.

The Greek imperative recasts the Hebrew statement that their stay has been long enough.

1:7 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:7 Turn and set out. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and all its neighboring regions: the Arabah, the hill country, the lowland, the Negeb, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.

Greek · Saints priority

1:7 Turn and set out. Enter the hill country of the Amorites and go to all the neighboring inhabitants of Arabah, to the hill country, the plain, the southwest, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and Anti-Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.

Greek names Anti-Lebanon where Hebrew names Lebanon, and renders the Negeb directionally toward the southwest. These geographical details remain visible.

1:8 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:8 See, I have set the land before you. Enter and possess the land that YHWH swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and their offspring after them.

Greek · Saints priority

1:8 See, I have handed the land over before you. Enter and inherit the land that I swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and their offspring after them.

Hebrew refers to YHWH in the third person; Greek continues God's first-person speech, I swore. Greek inherit expresses the possession as an inheritance.

Appointment of Leaders

1:9 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:9 At that time I said to you: I cannot carry you alone.

Greek · Saints priority

1:9 At that time I said to you: I will not be able to carry you alone.

Greek places Moses' inability in the future; the burden metaphor agrees.

1:10 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:10 YHWH your God has multiplied you, and today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Greek · Saints priority

1:10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven.

The increase and star comparison agree.

1:11 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:11 May YHWH, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He promised you.

Greek · Saints priority

1:11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousandfold and bless you as He promised you.

The blessing and thousandfold increase agree.

1:12 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:12 How can I alone carry your trouble, your burden, and your disputes?

Greek · Saints priority

1:12 How will I alone be able to carry your trouble, your resistance, and your disputes?

Greek hypostasis is read here as the people's resistant stance, where Hebrew massaʾ names their burden; the Greek noun's contextual sense is debated.

1:13 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:13 Choose for yourselves wise, discerning men, known among your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.

Greek · Saints priority

1:13 Choose for yourselves wise, knowledgeable, and discerning men for your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.

Hebrew requires men known to their tribes; Greek describes their knowledge and understanding.

1:14 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:14 You answered me: What you have proposed is good to do.

Greek · Saints priority

1:14 You answered me: What you have proposed is good to do.

The people's assent agrees.

1:15 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:15 I took the heads of your tribes, wise and well-known men, and appointed them as heads over you: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.

Greek · Saints priority

1:15 I took from among you wise, knowledgeable, and discerning men and appointed them to lead you: commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and recording officials for your judges.

Hebrew selects tribal heads and assigns officers to the tribes; Greek selects wise, knowledgeable and discerning men from the people and assigns recording officials to the judges. The administrative details differ, but the paragraph does not establish a fundamentally different judicial system or imply that Hebrew's tribal heads were unqualified.

1:16 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:16 At that time I commanded your judges: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge justly between a man and his brother or the resident foreigner with him.

Greek · Saints priority

1:16 At that time I commanded your judges: Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge justly between a man and his brother or the newcomer with him.

Greek prosēlytos identifies a newcomer attached to the community. It need not mean a formal convert in this Pentateuchal setting; both texts require justice for the outsider.

Rabbinic: Rashi also understands gero in terms of a litigant, or disputes about residential property. This records a Jewish alternative to the contextual resident-alien rendering.

Source: Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:16

1:17 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:17 Do not show partiality in judgment. Hear the small and the great alike. Do not fear anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.

Greek · Saints priority

1:17 Do not show partiality in judgment. Judge the small and the great alike. Do not shrink back before anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.

Hebrew says hear the small and great; Greek says judge them. Both prohibit partiality and intimidation and attribute judgment to God.

Rabbinic: Rashi extends the warning to appointing judges: legal competence must govern the choice, not appearance, strength, or kinship.

Source: Rashi on Deuteronomy 1:17

1:18 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:18 At that time I commanded you everything you were to do.

Greek · Saints priority

1:18 At that time I commanded you everything you were to do.

The comprehensive instruction agrees.

Spies Sent from Kadesh-barnea

1:19 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:19 We set out from Horeb and crossed all that great and fearsome wilderness you saw, by the road to the Amorite hill country, as YHWH our God commanded us. We came to Kadesh-barnea.

Greek · Saints priority

1:19 We set out from Horeb and crossed all that great and fearsome wilderness you saw, by the road to the Amorite hill country, as the Lord our God commanded us. We came to Kadesh-barnea.

The route, wilderness description, and obedience to the command agree.

1:20 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:20 I said to you: You have reached the Amorite hill country, which YHWH our God is giving us.

Greek · Saints priority

1:20 I said to you: You have reached the Amorite hill country, which the Lord our God is giving you.

Hebrew includes Moses in us; Greek directly names the people as you.

1:21 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:21 See, YHWH your God has set the land before you. Go up and possess it, as YHWH, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Greek · Saints priority

1:21 See, the Lord your God has handed the land over to you. Go up and inherit it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not fear or lose heart.

Hebrew addresses Israel collectively in the singular; Greek uses plural address. Both command entry with courage; inherit emphasizes the grant's character.

1:22 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:22 All of you came to me and said: Let us send men ahead to explore the land for us and report back about the road we should take and the cities we should enter.

Greek · Saints priority

1:22 All of you came to me and said: Let us send men ahead to inspect the land for us and report back about the road we should take and the cities we should enter.

Both describe the people's proposal for reconnaissance and a report.

1:23 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:23 The proposal pleased me, and I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

Greek · Saints priority

1:23 The proposal pleased me, and I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.

The selection of twelve tribal representatives agrees.

1:24 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:24 They turned and went up into the hill country, reached the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it.

Greek · Saints priority

1:24 They turned and went up into the hill country, reached the Valley of the Cluster, and explored it.

Greek translates Eshcol as Cluster and renders the wadi as a ravine or valley; the place-name meaning is explicit.

1:25 Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:25 They took some of the land's fruit in their hands, brought it down to us, and reported: The land YHWH our God is giving us is good.

Greek · Saints priority

1:25 They took some of the land's fruit in their hands, brought it down to us, and said: The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.

Greek lacks the separate Hebrew report-back clause before they said. Both preserve the favorable report and the fruit.

Rebellion and Refusal

1:26 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:26 But you refused to go up and rebelled against the command of YHWH your God.

Greek · Saints priority

1:26 But you refused to go up and disobeyed the word of the Lord your God.

Rebellion against the command becomes disobedience to the word; the same refusal is condemned.

1:27 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:27 You grumbled in your tents and said: Because YHWH hates us, He brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites and destroy us.

Greek · Saints priority

1:27 You grumbled in your tents and said: Because the Lord hates us, He brought us out of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites and destroy us.

Both report the people's accusation against God; neither endorses it as the narrator's explanation.

1:28 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:28 Where are we going? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: The people are greater and taller than we are; their cities are great and fortified up to heaven. We even saw descendants of the Anakim there.

Greek · Saints priority

1:28 Where are we going? Your brothers have made your hearts fail, saying: The nation is great, numerous, and stronger than we are; its cities are great and fortified up to heaven. We even saw sons of giants there.

Greek shifts our brothers/hearts to your, adds numerical size, replaces height with strength, and calls the Anakim's descendants sons of giants.

1:29 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:29 I said to you: Do not dread them or be afraid of them.

Greek · Saints priority

1:29 I said to you: Do not cower or be afraid of them.

The two prohibitions agree, with Greek using the image of cowering.

1:30 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:30 YHWH your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

Greek · Saints priority

1:30 The Lord your God, who goes before you, will fight against them alongside you, just as He did for you in the land of Egypt

Greek portrays God fighting alongside Israel against the enemy and omits before your eyes here; Hebrew says He fights for Israel.

1:31 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:31 and in the wilderness, where you saw how YHWH your God carried you as a man carries his son, along the whole road you traveled until you reached this place.

Greek · Saints priority

1:31 and in this wilderness which you saw, how the Lord your God nurtured you as a man nurtures his son, along the whole road you traveled until you reached this place.

Hebrew depicts carrying; Greek trophophoreō specifies nurturing care. Greek attaches what you saw to the wilderness, whereas Hebrew introduces what Israel witnessed there.

1:32 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:32 Yet in this matter you do not trust YHWH your God,

Greek · Saints priority

1:32 Yet in this matter you did not trust the Lord your God,

The Hebrew depicts continuing unbelief; Greek uses a past verb. The object of trust is the same.

1:33 Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:33 who goes ahead of you on the road to search out a place for you to camp, in fire by night to show you the road to take, and in a cloud by day.

Greek · Saints priority

1:33 who goes ahead of you on the road to choose a place for you, guiding you in fire by night to show you the road to take, and in a cloud by day.

Hebrew specifies a camping place; Greek omits the camping purpose and explicitly adds guiding you.

1:34 Similar

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:34 YHWH heard your words, became angry, and swore:

Greek · Saints priority

1:34 The Lord heard your words and, provoked to anger, swore:

Greek makes provocation explicit; both introduce the same exclusionary oath.

1:35 Divergent

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:35 Not one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your fathers,

Greek · Saints priority

1:35 Not one of these men will see this good land I swore to their fathers,

Greek omits this evil generation and the explicit to give, and has their fathers instead of your fathers. Both oath formulas exclude the men.

1:36 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his children the land he walked on, because he followed YHWH wholeheartedly.

Greek · Saints priority

1:36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his sons the land he walked on, because he remained devoted to the Lord's concerns.

Hebrew describes wholeheartedly following YHWH; Greek describes devotion to the things concerning the Lord. The promise to Caleb and his descendants agrees.

1:37 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:37 YHWH was also angry with me because of you and said: You too will not enter there.

Greek · Saints priority

1:37 The Lord was also angry with me because of you and said: Neither will you enter there.

Both exclude Moses and connect the anger with the people.

1:38 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:38 Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter there. Strengthen him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

Greek · Saints priority

1:38 Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter there. Strengthen him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

Greek Iēsous names Joshua son of Nun here. Later Christian typology does not create a difference between these two statements.

1:39 Disparate

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:39 Your little ones, whom you said would become plunder, and your children who today do not know good from evil will enter there. I will give it to them, and they will possess it.

Greek · Saints priority

1:39 Every young child who today does not know good or evil will enter there. I will give it to them, and they will inherit it.

Greek lacks the entire clause about the little ones becoming plunder and compresses the description to every young child. This removes a substantial narrative link to the parents' expressed fear while retaining the children's inheritance.

1:40 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:40 But you, turn and set out into the wilderness by the road to the Sea of Reeds.

Greek · Saints priority

1:40 But you, turn and encamp in the wilderness by the road to the Red Sea.

Hebrew commands setting out; Greek commands encamping. Sea of Reeds and Red Sea are the respective conventional source expressions.

1:41 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:41 You answered me: We have sinned against YHWH. We will go up and fight as YHWH our God commanded us. Each of you strapped on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

Greek · Saints priority

1:41 You answered me: We have sinned before the Lord our God. We will go up and fight as the Lord our God commanded us. Each of you took up his weapons, and you gathered together and went up into the hill country.

Hebrew's difficult tahinu describes readiness or presuming the ascent easy; Greek depicts gathering and going up. Greek also has the Lord our God where Hebrew has YHWH. Both accounts explicitly recount the disobedient ascent in verse 43, so the earlier Greek ascent may anticipate that event rather than establish a different military outcome.

1:42 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:42 YHWH said to me: Tell them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not among you, lest you be defeated by your enemies.

Greek · Saints priority

1:42 The Lord said to me: Tell them, You shall not go up or fight, for I am not with you; then you shall certainly not be crushed before your enemies.

Hebrew gives the defeat warning as the reason for abstaining; Greek joins an emphatic negative outcome to the prohibition. In context it concerns refraining from the unauthorized battle, not guaranteed victory in it.

1:43 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen. You rebelled against YHWH's command and presumptuously went up into the hill country.

Greek · Saints priority

1:43 I spoke to you, but you did not listen to me. You transgressed the Lord's word and forced your way up into the hill country.

Hebrew names presumption; Greek describes forcing the ascent. Both present the action as disobedience.

1:44 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:44 The Amorites living in that hill country came out against you and chased you like bees. They battered you in Seir as far as Hormah.

Greek · Saints priority

1:44 The Amorites living in that hill country came out to meet you and chased you like bees. They wounded you from Seir as far as Hormah.

Greek specifies wounding and a route from Seir; Hebrew describes battering them in Seir. Coming out to meet them is present in both.

1:45 Different

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:45 You returned and wept before YHWH, but YHWH did not listen to your voice or give you a hearing.

Greek · Saints priority

1:45 You sat down and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or pay attention to you.

Hebrew says returned; Greek says sat down. Neither Greek bitterly nor our God appears here in the selected printed text.

1:46 Same

Hebrew · Rabbinic priority

1:46 You remained in Kadesh many days, as long as you remained there.

Greek · Saints priority

1:46 You remained in Kadesh many days, as many days as you remained there.

Both retain the repetitive duration formula.

Reading text of Deuteronomy 1 · Deuteronomy: all chapters · Deuteronomy 2 compared →

Saints Translation · Companion comparison edition · working draft awaiting specialist review.