In Isaiah 65:22-25, the Septuagint rescues a delightful allusion which is otherwise liable to get lost. In the prophet’s entrancing picture of the kingdom, “as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people.” This is impressive indeed when you think of the age of Californian redwoods. But the Septuagint says: “As the days of the Tree of Life”! — and this is transparently correct, for the prophecy continues: “mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands” — contrast the curse of unremitting toil put on Adam. Septuagint: “My chosen shall not toil in vain, nor beget children for the curse (the curse in Eden), for they are the seed of the Blessed of the Lord (belonging to the Seed of the Woman)... and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.” It is the Septuagint which supplies the clue here.
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Author: Harry A. Whittaker
Keywords: Tree of Life, Days of a tree, Life of a tree, Long life, Longevity of life
Bible reference(s): Isaiah 65:22-23
Source: “Bible Studies,” 10.16.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.