Q. In your 3-part posting about the ‘sons of God,’ you reference Deut. 32:8 and quote it as concluding with ‘according to the number of the sons of God,’ as the ESV translates it. While I like that translation, and am intrigued with Dr. Heiser’s thoughts on the divine council, could you help me understand how the ESV translators arrived at that translation? Every resource I have traces those Hebrew words to the word ‘Israel.’ I want to agree with Heiser and the ESV’s translation and view, as it supports the divine council concept, but not being a Hebrew scholar, I don’t know how anyone arrived at ‘the sons of God.’ Thank you for any input you may have, and God bless you!
The difference is because of a textual variation. While the Masoretic Text, the traditional Hebrew text, reads “the sons of Israel,” the reading “the sons of God” is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament that predates the Masoretic Text) reads “the angels of God,” which seems to be an interpretive translation of an original reading “the sons of God.”
The ESV is not the only English version that uses the reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint rather than the reading from the Masoretic Text. Here are some other examples.
NET according to the number of the heavenly assembly
NIRV based on the number of the angels in his heavenly court
CEV He assigned a guardian angel to each of them
GNT He assigned to each nation a heavenly being
NABRE after the number of the divine beings
NLT according to the number in his heavenly court
NRSV according to the number of the gods
Dr. Heiser, who sadly passed away last year, addressed the textual issue in detail in an article that Liberty University, the institution where he taught, has kindly made available online. You can read it here:
Heiser, Michael, “Deuteronomy 32:8 and the Sons of God” (2001). LBTS Faculty Publications and Presentations 279.
I hope this information is helpful.
Good Question 