Observations on Genesis 2:2

As I attempt to translate Genesis, I've noticed some unique literary bits and textual variations that I find fascinating. I will be sharing these findings with you.

The first one is a textual variation found in Genesis 2:2. The Leningrad Codex (the Hebrew text) reads, "and God completed on the seventh day his work that he had done, and he stopped on the seventh day from all his work that he done." The Septuagint (a Greek translation), the Samaritan Pentateuch (the first five books in Samaritan), and the Peshitta (a Syriac translation) read, "and God completed on the sixth day his work that he had done, and he stopped on the seventh day from all his work that he done." I assume that all the other translations such as the Vulgate (a Latin translation) and the Targum (an Aramaic translation) reads the same as the Leningrad Codex.

Why is there a variation? I'm no textual criticism expert, but here's my hunch: perhaps, the translators of the Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Peshitta may have attempted to "fix" the text so that it can read logically. How is it that God finish all his work on the seventh day, and somehow stop working on the same day, especially if this is suppose to be the precedent for Sabbath observance? Also, what was God working on on the seventh day? We only know up to the sixth day.

However, this is presuming that these translations were "fixing" the text; it could be possible that they were copying a Hebrew text that reads, "sixth day," making it an actual, original, yet different reading. There's even the possibility that the Leningrad Codex made the change. But I don't know for sure.

As for the "seventh day" reading, I think that it is still a viable reading: though we don't know exactly what work God was doing on the seventh day (perhaps it refers to the totality of his work), there could be the implication that when God stopped on the seventh day, the cycle of evening then morning followed, which still gives precedent for Sabbath observance.

With that, how do the English translations read? It seems that most, if not almost all, follow the Leningrad Codex, reading, "seventh day." A notable exception is the CEB translation, which follows the Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Syriac, reading, "sixth day."

I'll just leave it at here. Personally, I follow the Leningrad Codex, although I think the three translations are worth considering. I simply follow the Leningrad Codex because I don't think the alternative translation "sixth day" has enough exegetical significance to warrant the change. Basically, I find either reading plausible, but you'll have to fall unto one side when making a translation.