How is the word corrupt translated in the Septuagint in Isaiah?
In the Septuagint, the word corrupt is translated in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 22, as “water mixed with wine.” Adding water to good wine adulterates it, and that is the same sense the term carries in 2 Corinthians 2:17, where Paul says he was not one of the many who corrupt.
Les explains that in 2 Corinthians 2:17 Paul writes, “We are not as many, who corrupt.” The word corrupt is translated in the Septuagint, back in Isaiah chapter 2, I think verse 22, as water mixed with wine. If you throw water into good wine, you adulterate it; you corrupt it. That is exactly what the word means in verse 17, and Paul says he was not doing that. In the surrounding context, Paul had renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, was not walking in craftiness, was not handling the word of God deceitfully, and was not in the ministry for personal gain, wealth, or fame. His one purpose was to see lost humanity given the gospel.
For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of ?
What does the Greek word behind 'corrupt' in 2 Corinthians 2:17 mean in the Septuagint?
In the Septuagint, the Greek term behind 'corrupt'—K-A-P-A-L-Y-O-U—meant a huckster, one who hawked his wares. From Isaiah 1:22, it described someone selling or hawking an adulterated product. The English word 'corrupt' suggests something spoiling, but the Greek picture is a merchant with diluted or adulterated goods.
Where does the word translated 'corrupt' in 2 Corinthians 2:17 appear in Isaiah?
The Greek term behind 'corrupt' in 2 Corinthians 2:17 is found in Isaiah chapter 1, verse 22. There it describes someone selling or hawking an adulterated product, like a huckster. The context in Isaiah 1 concerns Jerusalem's decline from righteousness into wickedness.
More Questions
What does 'corrupt' mean in 2 Corinthians 2:17?
The word 'corrupt' in 2 Corinthians 2:17 is translated in the Septuagint (Isaiah 2:22) as water mixed with wine, meaning to adulterate or corrupt something good.
What does the Greek word for 'corrupt' in 2 Corinthians 2:17 also refer to?
The other part of the Greek word for 'corrupt' in verse 17 describes a street salesman or hawker peddling his goods, and such hawkers are usually a little suspect because their products are not the best quality since they too are adulterated.