A
close look at the different references to Jacob’s descendants, and their number
in both the MT and the LXX shows how the tradition of Jacob’s descendants
developed over time. Genesis 46:8-27, in Parashat
Vayigash, lists Jacob’s
descendants who came to Egypt; in the Masoretic Text (MT) they total 70,
whereas in the Septuagint (LXX), they total 75. In other words, the MT is
missing five names found in the LXX.
The witnesses, laying their coats at the feet of Saul, were the men that would cast the first stones at Stephen in Acts 7. Why did they all lay their coats at Saul’s feet? The Talmud contains a very interesting account of the act of stoning that may provide the answer. “When the trial was over, they take him [the condemned person] out to be stoned. The place of stoning was at a distance from the court, as it is said, ‘Take out the one who has cursed.’ [i] A man stands at the entrance of the court; in his hand is a signaling flag [Hebrew sudarin = sudar , ‘scarf, sweater’]. A horseman was stationed far away but within sight of him. If one [of the judges] says, ‘I have something [more] to say in his favor,’ he [the signaler] waves the sudarin , and the horseman runs and stops them [from stoning him]. Even if [the condemned person] himself says, ‘I have something to say in my favor,’ they bring him back, even four of five times, only provided that there is some substance to...
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