외치는 자의 소리인가(콜 코레[קוֹל קוֹרֵא]), 광야에서 외치는 자의 소리인가(콜 코레 바미드바르[קוֹל קוֹרֵא בַּמִּדְבָּרַ])?

Abstract

There is a difference between the Hebrew Masoretic text of Isaiah 40:3 and the texts of the four Gospels that quote it in the context of introducing John the Baptist. While the Old Testament text presents “a voice of one calling,” the New Testament texts following the Septuagint record “a voice of one calling in the wilderness.” The survey of ancient and modern translations shows that there existed a difference between the currently known reading tradition of the Masoretic text and the contemporary reading tradition of the Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts from which the Septuagint was sourced. Biblical Hebrew accents revealing the reading tradition of the Masoretic text support the “a voice of one calling,” but leave the question as to whether the accent displayed in the Masoretic text of Isaiah 40:3 reflects the original reading tradition of this text. That is because some of the significant Jewish texts reflect the reading of “a voice of one calling in the wilderness.” The internal structure of the Hebrew Isaiah 40:3 deviates from the common form of Hebrew imperatives that precede verbs. A census of all imperative usages in Isaiah shows that the way of reading presented in the New Testament text is more appropriate between the two possibilities. The usage in Isaiah 62:10 also supports this. The Septuagint text presents a significant twist as well. The translation of the Greek Isaiah 40:3 back into Hebrew reveals the appropriate reading of the Hebrew text as “a voice of one calling in the wilderness.” However, the issue related to the reading traditions of Isaiah 40:3 still remains, and the tension arising here between the Old and the New Testament texts remains unresolved. Additional research and illumination may be needed, but it seems likely that this issue may remain a challenge.