Textual: כְּבוֹדָם (Ps 106:20) and כְּבוֹדוֹ (Jer 2:11), the "scribal corrections" tradition
Textual: Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11 (variant unit: כְּבוֹדָם, כְּבוֹדוֹ / reputed "my glory") - In text: כְּבוֹדָם (kevodam, "their glory") and כְּבוֹדוֹ (kevodo, "their Glory," BSB; lit. "its"): MT (WLC). = MT, LXX - Alternative: a reputed original "my glory" (God's own). No Hebrew manuscript is known to us for it. - Evidence: Rabbinic lists later called tiqqune soferim ("scribal corrections") include both verses: Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Shirata 6 (Jer 2:11 and Ps 106:20) and Sifre Num 84 (Ps 106:20). Both present them as places where Scripture itself softened an expression about God. The lists postdate the text. Swete's LXX agrees with the MT: ἠλλάξαντο τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν (Ps 105:20 [ENG 106:20]; αὐτοῦ in ℵc.a A R T, Swete's notation for the correctors of ℵ) and αὐτοῦ (Jer 2:11). Uncertain Whether a real scribal change lies behind the MT here is uncertain; no Hebrew manuscript reads "my glory," and the listed items read best as exegesis, not textual history. - Decision: MT, confidence high. - Says/Implies: Implies In Ps 106:20 and Jer 2:11 the context identifies that Glory as God (Ps 106:21; Jer 2:13). Says Rom 1:23 says outright that the glory exchanged was τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ. The tradition is background only.
Claims
- UncertainWhether a real scribal change lies behind MT כְּבוֹדָם and כְּבוֹדוֹ: uncertain; no Hebrew manuscript reads 'my glory'; decision MT, high.
- ImpliesIn Ps 106:20 and Jer 2:11 the context identifies the Glory as God (Ps 106:21; Jer 2:13).
- SaysRom 1:23: the glory exchanged was τοῦ ἀφθάρτου θεοῦ.
Citations
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11
- BSB public domain Jer 2:11
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Ps 105:20, text and apparatus. LXX checked against Swete scan, vol. 2 (1891), p. 358.
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Jer 2:11, text and apparatus. LXX checked against Swete scan, vol. 3 (1912), p. 225.
- SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Rom 1:23
- Mek. R. Ish. CC BY-NC Tractate Shirah 6 (on Exod 15:7): Jer 2:11 and Ps 106:20 in the list of verses where Scripture used a euphemism; Sefaria, Beeri ed. (he), read 2026-10-28; not quoted
- Sifre Num. CC BY-SA 84 (on Num 10:35): Ps 106:20 in the same list (Jer 2:11 not listed); Sefaria, Wikisource version (he), read 2026-10-28; not quoted
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Quotations from Mek. R. Ish. are used under CC BY-NC (non-commercial use) · Quotations from Sifre Num. are used under CC BY-SA · Credits
2026-10-28
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