(cliff notes)
QUESTION: Where can I find out if Shaddai was ever translated as anything other than IKANOS in the Septuagint?(end cliff notes)
What is God really like? A torturer? Does God want us to view Him as someone who needs appeased? Who is God Almighty? Is He distant? Unreachable? Is He a warrior? He is strong isn't He? Capable?
After realizing the myth of Hell, I have become growingly skeptical about the integrity of those who may have had opportunity to either mistakenly mistranslate the inspired scriptures, or maliciously change them to suit their need for power and control.
I'm doing a little study on the name of God: El Shaddai
The normal translation is God Almighty. Shadday or Shaddai transliteration is this:
1) almighty, most powerful
a) Shaddai, the Almighty (of God)
Not much there. So the root word etymology is from the Shadad (H7703) and is much more interesting:
1) to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin, destroy, spoil
a) (Qal)
1) to violently destroy, devastate, despoil, assail
2) devastator, despoiler (participle) (subst)
b) (Niphal) to be utterly ruined
c) (Piel)
1) to assault
2) to devastate
d) (Pual) to be devastated
e) (Poel) to violently destroy
f) (Hophal) to be devastated
Let me put into context:
Gen 35:10 NASB - God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, But Israel shall be your name." Thus He called him Israel.
Gen 35:11 NASB - God also said to him, "I am
The Destroyer; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you.
Gen 35:12 NASB - "The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, And I will give the land to your descendants after you."
A very respected friend sent me some sermon notes from an unknown "pastor bob" who was doing a series on the names of God. Allow me to post a few snippets:
1. The thought expressed in 'Shaddai' also describes power but not of violence but of all-bountifulness, fruitfulness.
'Shaddai' : the root means 'breasted' from the Hebrew word 'Shad' which means 'the breast' or more exactly 'a
woman's breast'. Parkhurst said that El Shaddai in ' one of the divine titles, meaning ' the power or shedder forth'
that is of blessings, temporal and spiritual.
2. In the Septuagint, the ancient version of the Bible translated from Hebrew into Greek more than 250 years B.C.
The name Shaddai is translated
a number of times by the Greek word
'IKANOS' which means "all-sufficient"
The ancient rabbi's also said that the word Shaddai was made up of 2 parts which together meant sufficient or
self-sufficient. In this name of God we see the power or shedder-forth of blessings, the all bountiful one and the
all sufficient one.
QUESTION: Where can I find out if Shaddai was ever translated as anything other than IKANOS in the Septuagint?After some very light googling, I found this (
http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Names_of_G-d/El/el.html)...
Shad means "breast" in Hebrew (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; 43:14; 48:3; 49:25; Exod. 6:3; Num. 24:6; Ruth 1:20; Job (various references); Psa. 22:10; 68:15; 91:1; Ezek. 1:24; 10:5; 23:21 etc.).
Most English translations render El Shaddai as "God Almighty," probably because the translators of the Septuagint (i.e., the Greek translation of the Old Testament) thought Shaddai came from a root verb (shadad) that means "to overpower" or "to destroy." The Latin Vulgate likewise translated Shaddai as "Omnipotens" (from which we get our English word omnipotent). God is so overpowering that He is considered "Almighty."
Jacob's blessing given in Genesis 49:25, however, indicates that Shaddai might be related to the word for breasts (shadaim), indicating sufficiency and nourishment (i.e., "blessings of the breasts and of the womb" (בִּרְכת שָׁדַיִם וָרָחַם)). In this case, the Name might derive from the contraction of sha ("who") and dai ("enough") to indicate God's complete sufficiency to nurture the fledgling nation into fruitfulness. Indeed, God first uses this Name when He refers to multiplying Abraham's offspring (Gen. 17:2).
Again, the translators... perhaps the Latin translators are giving us a false God. A destroyer instead of a supplier of Life.
Here is a little story that illustrates the way I believe God, who is my Father, is desiring to and will reveal Himself to the human race...
a babe was laid down near some cliff by its mother, while she was busy with her herd of goats the babe, unknowingly by its mother, crawled to the edge of the cliff. The mother, afraid to take a step, lest the child should move further and fall off the cliff, only uncovered her breast, and so drew back the infant to her.
God is the all-sufficient one.... merciful, gracious, longsuffering, patient and abounding in goodness and truth.
