THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

Most modern translations print "gods" at Deuteronomy 32:8, where the traditional Hebrew text reads "the Israelites." Why?

The answer

Because a scribe would have had a reason to change "gods" to "the Israelites": to avoid the hint of many gods. "Gods" is what the ancient Greek translation reads, and most modern commentators think it rests on an older Hebrew text. It is hard to see why anyone would make the reverse change.

Why it’s interesting

The same reasoning covers a line the traditional Hebrew text lacks at Deuteronomy 32:43, "worship him, all you gods!" It was probably removed for its hint of many gods.

Scholarly consensus

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