- In Romans 1:25, Paul says, referring to the Hellenists: ''they changed the truth into a lie''.
- The Letter of Aristeas, a 2nd century BC account of the making of the Greek Septuagint Bible, suggests that the Hebrew Scriptures were ''not in their original form'' and were in "need of correction" by the Greek court at Alexandria. This implies the Greek version did not accurately represent the Hebrew in some way, possibly in its cosmology.
- Pseudo-Longinus in the 1st century AD work "On the Sublime" quotes the Genesis creation account, as a fine example of sublime writing: "God said, 'let there be light', and light was. 'Let there be earth', and earth was." But there is an obvious discrepancy between the text of the first few verses of Genesis 1 in our Bibles and the quotation by Pseudo Longinus. Part of the text quoted by Pseudo Longinus cannot be found in our versions. The statement "God said, 'let there be light, and light was,' is there, but there is no mention of God having said, "'Let the earth be,' and it was so."
- The discrepancy between the quotation from Genesis by Pseudo Longinus, and the text of scripture as we have received it, has given rise to a considerable amount of scholarly discussion over several centuries, which continues today.
- The ancient writer who has been called Pseudo Longinus must have been referring to a different version of Genesis than the one we have inherited.
- Aristobulus was a Hellenistic, Jewish, Peripatetic philosopher of Alexandria in the mid 2nd century BC, a contemporary of Ptolemy Philometor. He was thoroughly acquainted with Greek philosophy. He wrote a commentary on the law of Moses, and attempted to reconcile and identify Greek philosophical conceptions with Jewish beliefs. According to some accounts (e.g. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, vii. 32, 16) he was involved in the production of the LXX. Aristobulus claimed that Plato and Pythagorus 'imitated' some of the concepts in the law of Moses, which would explain the presence of cosmological concepts of the Greeks in the Genesis creation account (Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica 13.12.1-2). And not only philosophers, but many of the poets borrowed from Moses, he said (Ibid., 8.10.4).
- 1 Maccabees says that during the hellenization campaign of Antiochus IV, the hellenists introduced likenesses of pagan deities into the scriptures.
- After the reign of Antiochus IV, Jewish scholars were influenced by, and imitated Hellenistic scholars of Alexandria, only instead of studying Homer, they studied the Biblical text.
- The Foreword to the Wisdom book of Sirach, writing in 132 BC, refers to the existing Greek translations of the law, the prophets and other writings. He indicates there were notable differences between the Greek versions and their Hebrew originals, very possibly referring to cosmological differences. He wrote: "For words spoken originally in Hebrew are not as effective when they are translated into another language. That is true not only of this book but of the law itself, the prophets and the rest of the books, which differ no little when they are read in the original."
Conclusion
The flawed cosmological notions occur in the Bible because of corruptions that were introduced in the 2nd century BC, which changed the Bible's cosmology to fit that of the ancient Greeks in the hellenistic era. The changes were initiated by Antiochus IV, a Seleucid king who controlled Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Jerusalem. It was foretold in the prophecies of Daniel. See here: Bible Cosmology Revisited
- The Letter of Aristeas, a 2nd century BC account of the making of the Greek Septuagint Bible, suggests that the Hebrew Scriptures were ''not in their original form'' and were in "need of correction" by the Greek court at Alexandria. This implies the Greek version did not accurately represent the Hebrew in some way, possibly in its cosmology.
- Pseudo-Longinus in the 1st century AD work "On the Sublime" quotes the Genesis creation account, as a fine example of sublime writing: "God said, 'let there be light', and light was. 'Let there be earth', and earth was." But there is an obvious discrepancy between the text of the first few verses of Genesis 1 in our Bibles and the quotation by Pseudo Longinus. Part of the text quoted by Pseudo Longinus cannot be found in our versions. The statement "God said, 'let there be light, and light was,' is there, but there is no mention of God having said, "'Let the earth be,' and it was so."
- The discrepancy between the quotation from Genesis by Pseudo Longinus, and the text of scripture as we have received it, has given rise to a considerable amount of scholarly discussion over several centuries, which continues today.
- The ancient writer who has been called Pseudo Longinus must have been referring to a different version of Genesis than the one we have inherited.
- Aristobulus was a Hellenistic, Jewish, Peripatetic philosopher of Alexandria in the mid 2nd century BC, a contemporary of Ptolemy Philometor. He was thoroughly acquainted with Greek philosophy. He wrote a commentary on the law of Moses, and attempted to reconcile and identify Greek philosophical conceptions with Jewish beliefs. According to some accounts (e.g. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, vii. 32, 16) he was involved in the production of the LXX. Aristobulus claimed that Plato and Pythagorus 'imitated' some of the concepts in the law of Moses, which would explain the presence of cosmological concepts of the Greeks in the Genesis creation account (Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica 13.12.1-2). And not only philosophers, but many of the poets borrowed from Moses, he said (Ibid., 8.10.4).
- 1 Maccabees says that during the hellenization campaign of Antiochus IV, the hellenists introduced likenesses of pagan deities into the scriptures.
- After the reign of Antiochus IV, Jewish scholars were influenced by, and imitated Hellenistic scholars of Alexandria, only instead of studying Homer, they studied the Biblical text.
- The Foreword to the Wisdom book of Sirach, writing in 132 BC, refers to the existing Greek translations of the law, the prophets and other writings. He indicates there were notable differences between the Greek versions and their Hebrew originals, very possibly referring to cosmological differences. He wrote: "For words spoken originally in Hebrew are not as effective when they are translated into another language. That is true not only of this book but of the law itself, the prophets and the rest of the books, which differ no little when they are read in the original."
Conclusion
The flawed cosmological notions occur in the Bible because of corruptions that were introduced in the 2nd century BC, which changed the Bible's cosmology to fit that of the ancient Greeks in the hellenistic era. The changes were initiated by Antiochus IV, a Seleucid king who controlled Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Jerusalem. It was foretold in the prophecies of Daniel. See here: Bible Cosmology Revisited
