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Question 7
Bercot lists what he calls Jerome’s four myths (sloppy Septuagint, Jews possessing the original Hebrew, apostles quoting Septuagint only when it matched Hebrew, and apostles knowing Hebrew and translating on the fly); which of these myths have you heard in your own church background, and what would it cost to admit you may have inherited a narrative built on false premises?
Another way to ask: Bercot lists four “myths” he says Jerome spread about the Septuagint, Hebrew texts, and how the apostles quoted Scripture. Which of these ideas have you heard, and what would it cost you to admit the story you inherited might be wrong?

Direct Answer The transcript can’t report what you personally heard, but Bercot argues these myths became normal in the Western Church and even show up in conservative evangelical sources today—so admitting you inherited them may cost you the comfort of “already settled” conclusions.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot says Western Christians forgot the Septuagint and “over time, all that most medieval Western theologians knew… were the myths that Jerome had created.”
  • He lists the four myths explicitly: (1) Septuagint is “sloppy… added… left things out,” (2) Jews still possess “the original Hebrew… as written by Moses,” (3) Jesus/apostles recognized Septuagint as corrupt and only quoted it when it matched or didn’t matter, (4) apostles “knew Hebrew” and translated from it when LXX differed.
  • He says not only medievals but “so did the Reformers,” because Greek early Christian writings “were not available in the West.”
  • He notes modern persistence: he read a “conservative evangelical reference work” claiming apostles quoted LXX only when it agreed, otherwise translated from “original Hebrew.”
  • He explains why admission is hard: people don’t like their “spiritual world turned upside down,” and many start with a conclusion already fixed.
Discussion Follow-ups What would change in your Bible reading if you treated these claims as historically testable rather than as part of your spiritual identity?

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