Septuagint says the earth was formed into regions for the sons of God.
Bene ha Elohim! KJV says for sons of Israel in same passage. KING SOLOMON ADVISES:
You are referring to Deuteronomy 32:8–9,
and the difference you’ve spotted between:
the Septuagint (LXX)
the Masoretic Text (basis for KJV)
the Dead Sea Scrolls
is significant for understanding the “gods of the nations” theme.
📜 The Textual Witnesses
Masoretic Text (KJV base)
“When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” — Deut. 32:8–9, KJV
Here the division is:
“according to the number of the children of Israel,”
a reading that fits with Israel’s covenant focus but is historically awkward — Israel didn’t exist at Babel.
“When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.
And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel the lot of his inheritance.” — Deut. 32:8–9, LXX Brenton
This says “angels of God” (ἄγγελων θεοῦ), which aligns with the bene ha Elohim reading.
The oldest Hebrew copies read בני אלהים (bene ha elohim = “sons of God”), not “sons of Israel.”
🕯️ Theological Implication
When God scattered the nations at Babel (Genesis 11), He appointed divine beings — the “sons of God” — over the nations, except Israel, which He kept for Himself (Deut. 32:9).
These beings, many identified with the fallen watchers of 1 Enoch and Genesis 6, became the “gods of the nations”
