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Bible Query from the Old Testament

July 2001 version. Copyright (c) Christian Debater(r) 1998-2001. All rights reserved except as given in the copyright notice.

Q: In the OT, who was the first believer to answer hard questions?
A: The first person recorded to do so was Moses in Exodus 18:13-16, who afterwards at Jethro's suggestion had judges to decided the less difficult things in Exodus 18:22-26. Solomon, when the Queen of Sheba asked him hard questions in 2 Chronicles 9:1-2. Presumably, many of these questions were about God and his law.

Q: In the OT, how many verses and words are there?
A: According to Wick Allison in That’s In the Bible? - The Ultimate Learn-As-You-Play Bible Quiz Book, (Dell Trade 1994) p.18, the (KJV) Old Testament has 23,214 verses and 647,000 words in English. This includes Genesis: 1533, Exodus: 1,213, Leviticus: 859, Numbers: 1,288, and Deuteronomy: 959, for a total of 5,852 verses in the Torah.

Q: What evidence is there that the Jews recognized there were no prophets for the 400 year period?
A: There are at least four sources of evidence.
1 Maccabees 4:45; 9:27; 14:41 says the people were waiting "until a prophet should arise".
The Manual of Discipline among the Dead Sea Scrolls also looked for the "coming of a prophet".
The Babylonian Talmud 7-8 says "After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel"
The New Testament never quotes any book written after Malachi.
See A General Introduction to the Bible p.243 for more info.)

Q: Into how many sections did the Jews divide the Old Testament?
A: As A General Introduction to the Bible p.243 shows, different Jews had different classifications.
No classification is in the Septuagint, Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, the lists of Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315-403 A.D.)
Law and prophets are mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 7:12; 22:40
Moses and all the Prophets was mentioned in Luke 24:27.
Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms is what Jesus said in Luke 24:44.
Law (Torah), Prophets, Writings is first mentioned in the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus (c.132 B.C.), but it does not list which books are in which section.
Josephus (c.100 A.D.) also has three sections, but only 4 books in the writings. Apparently Ruth was counted in Judges, Lamentations was counted in Jeremiah, and Esther and Daniel were with the prophets.
Philo the Jew mentioned "the Law, the Prophecies, as well as hymns and the others which foster and perfect knowledge and piety". (The Contemplative Life 3.25)
The Babylonian Talmud gave the modern threefold division.
Law (Torah): (5 books in the order of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Prophets: 8 books in the order of: Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (as one book), 1 and 2 Kings (as one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Twelve minor prophets (Hosea through Malachi). In the Hebrew Bible, the twelve minor prophets directly follow Ezekiel.
Writings (Ketubim): 11 books in the order of: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (as one book) and 1 and 2 Chronicles (as one book).
See A General Introduction to the Bible p.22-23,243-250 for more info.

Q: When were the books of the Old Testament written, and where did the New Testament quote from them?
A: The Old Testament is one of the most amazing books in the entire world. Its thirty-nine books were written over a span of one thousand years by kings, slaves, priests, warriors, shepherds, rich, and poor. Here is a table of the dates of writing and a partial list of New Testament references. For a complete list of references consult Kurt Aland et al. The Greek New Testament 3rd edition 1975 p.897-903.

Book	Author	Dates B.C.	Some references
Genesis	Moses	c.1350	Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6
Exodus	Moses	c.1350	Mt 22:32; Lk 2:23
Leviticus	Moses	c.1350	Mt 22:39; Lk 2:24
Numbers	Moses	c.1350	2 Tim 2:19 (LXX); ~Jn 19:36
Deut.	Moses	c.1350	Mt 22:37; Lk 4:4
Joshua	Joshua	c.1377	~Heb11; Jms 2:25
Judges	Anon. Samuel?	1377-1004	~Heb 11:32
Ruth	Anon. Samuel?	c.1011	~Mt 1:5; ~Lk 3:32
1, 2 Samuel	Anon. Samuel?	1050-1004	Rom15:9;2Cr 6:18
1, 2 Kings	Anonymous	c.950-550	Rom 11:3-4
1, 2 Chronicles	anon. Ezra?	c.950-550	None in other books
	part written	340 B.C.	None in other books
Ezra	Ezra	450-430	Neh 8:1; Neh 12:32
Nehemiah	Nehemiah	445-430	~Ezra 2:2
Esther	Anonymous	c.470-424	None in other books
Job	Anonymous	Perhaps 1400	Rom 11:35; 1 Cor 3:19
Psalms	David & others	c.1050	Mt 8:2; Lk 13:35
	Ps 137	After 587	None in other books
Proverbs	Solomon, Agur, Lemuel, others	c.971-931	Heb 12:5-6; James 4:6; 2 Pet 2:22
	25 copied	729-686	Rom 12:20
Ecclesiastes	Solomon	After 967	None in other books
Song of Solomon	Anonymous	After 967	None in other books
Isaiah	Isaiah	696-622	Mt 13:14; Lk 3:4-6
Jeremiah	Jeremiah	627/6-587	Mt 21:14; Lk 23:30
	Jer 52:31-34	c.561 B.C.	None in other books
Lamentations	likely Jeremiah	586-583	None in other books
Ezekiel	Ezekiel	7/593-571	2 Cor 6:16-17
Daniel	Daniel	606-536	Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14
Hosea	Hosea	c.790-710	Mt 12:7; Lk 23:30
Joel	Joel	900;587;400?	Ac2:21; Rom10:13
Amos	Amos	760 quake	Acts 7:43;15:16-18
Obadiah	Obadiah	844;723;585?	None in other books
Jonah	Jonah	c.763	2 Kings 14:25
Micah	Micah	Before 722	Jer 26:18; Mt 2:6;10:35-36
Nahum	Nahum	Before 612	None in other books
Habbakuk	Habbakuk	c.697-598	Acts 13:41; Rom1:17
Zephaniah	Zephaniah	640-609	None in other books
Haggai	Haggai	520-515	Ezra 5:1; Heb 12:6
Zechariah	Zechariah	520-515	Mt 21:5; Jn 12:15
Malachi	Malachi	538;450-430	Mt 11:10; Lk 7:27

The author is the person to whom God revealed his word. The words were either written down by him or by secretaries. For example, Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch wrote down many of his prophecies. Jeremiah 51:64 says, "...the words of Jeremiah end here."
There are about 250 references to Old Testament passages in the New Testament. Old Testament writers often mentioned each other.
Five books of the Law: Joshua 1:7; 8:31; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 14:6;17:37;18:6; 1 Chronicles 16:40; 2 Chronicles 17:9; 23:18; 30:5,16,18; 31:3; 35:26; Ezra 3:2,4; 6:18; 7:6; Daniel 9:11,13; Hosea 8:12
Ezra: Nehemiah 8:1; Nehemiah 12:32
Nehemiah: Ezra 2:2
Isaiah: 2 Kings 19:2; 2 Chronicles 32:20
Jeremiah: Daniel 9:2; 2 Chronicles 36:22
Jonah: 2 Kings 14:25
Micah: Jeremiah 26:18
Haggai: Ezra 5:1; Ezra 6:14
Zechariah: Nehemiah 12:1,4,16, Ezra 5:1; 6:14
The point of this is that the Old Testament books fit together, as interlocking pieces of a puzzle.

Q: What ancient books are mentioned by the Old Testament but not in the Old Testament?
A: In ancient times, just as now, there are a number of religious and historical writings, many of varying quality. Besides the apocryphal books, there are what are called "pseudo-apocryphal books" that are not accepted by anyone today. These are often spurious works that claim to be written by a great historical figure but in fact are not. Of course if something is false, it is not God’s word. Other books, while not perfect, are not too bad. Of course if a godly person writes something that is true, that is not necessarily God’s word, nor did he claim it to be so. Likewise a good Christian book written today can be good, but not God’s word. Some books, like 1 Enoch, are more complicated. First Enoch is a composite book, with the oldest author likely writing most of the first section. By the way, Jude 14-15 quotes from the oldest part of First Enoch.
The Old Testament itself mentions some books and records we do not have any copies of today.
Acts of Solomon 1 Kings 11-41
Chronicles of Kings 1 Kings 14:19, 29, 2 Kings 19:9-12, 11
Kings of Judah/Israel 2 Chronicles 16:11; 25:26; 28:26,32; 27:2; 35:27; 36:8
Kings of Israel 2 Chronicles 20:34; 33:18; 24:7; 1 Kings 14:19
Jasher (Upright one) Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18
Wars of the Lord Numbers 21:14
These were never claimed to be scripture, but these simply other reliable records, which have been lost to the modern world.

Q: What lists of Old Testament books do we have apart from Bible texts?
A: Ben Sira, in 2nd century B.C. ─ missing Ezekiel
Philo (De Vita Contemplativa 25) ─ 3 sections
Jewish writer Josephus <100 A.D. Contra Apion 1.8.
Jewish Council at Jamnia 90 A.D. ─ no Apocrypha
Council at Carthage 397 A.D. ─ has historic Apocrypha (including 1, 2 Esdras and the prayer of Manasses, not found in the Catholic Apocrypha today)

Q: Where are chiasms found in the Old Testament?
A: Chiasms are a symmetric poetic structure common in Hebrew poetry. Here are some of them.
Genesis 7:4-8:12; 7:21-23a
Numbers 15:35-36
1 Samuel 2; 3:17; 3:1-4:1; 8:5-22, and 18:20-26
2 Samuel 1:19-27; 5:17-8:18; and 23:1-7
Job 4:5-5:27
Psalm 3:7-8; 51, 58. Psalm 109 is close to a chiasm.
Isaiah 15:1-14; 21:1-10; 22:8-11; 22:1-4; 22:8-11; 22:12-14; 23:1-14; 24:1-13; 26:1-21; 27:1-13; 29:9-14; 32:1-5; 37:14-20; 38:1-8; 38:10-20; 41:17-20; 42:1-4; 42:13-17; 43:1-7; 43:8-13; 43:22-24; 43:25-44:5; 44:6-8; 48:17-22; 51:1-3; 51:7-8; 51:13-15; 55:1-13; 56:9-12; 59:14-20; 61:5-9; 63:15-64:12; 65:1-66:24; 65:17-18b; 65:18c-20; 66:5-14; 66:18-24.
Jeremiah 9:1-11; 20:24-18
Zechariah 6:9-15
Ezekiel 26:3-14 has chiastic structure, though it is not a perfect chiasm.
Some commentators see the entire books of Esther and Matthew as chiastic in structure.

Q: In the Old Testament, where is Aramaic found?
A: The Encyclopedia Britannica volume 1 (1956) p.684 says, "the earliest records of Aramaic go back to about 800 B.C…. The alphabet at this time differs little from that of the Moabite Stone." It says there were two tendencies which were completed during the time of the Persians
The Bible passages in Aramaic are the following:
Genesis 31:47 (two words only)
Daniel 2:4b-7:28
Ezra 4:8-6:18
Ezra 7:12-26
Jeremiah 10:11
Ecclesiastes has some Aramaic expressions
Some names are both Hebrew and Aramaic
El, Mordecai, Mara (Ruth 1:20), Tobias, Geshem
Some other words are both Hebrew and Aramaic.
lahen ("therefore" in Aramaic, "to them" in Hebrew) (Ruth 1:13)
Two inscriptions in halls in caves 11 miles (18 km) west of Amman, Jordan mention "Tobiah" in Aramaic. (From 590 B.C. to as late as 200 B.C.)
All post-exilic Old Testament books have some Babylonian or Aramaic expressions according to When Critics Ask p.265-267. For reference, Isaiah has no Aramaic terms.
Various words in the Gospels in the New Testament are in Aramaic too.

Q: Do Church of Christ denominations believe the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament? (a Christian asked this)
A: No, this is a false charge I have heard. Some Church of Christ churches have some serious errors relating to water baptism actually saving people, contrary to Acts 10:44-48, and a Pelagian view of man's nature, contrary to John 6:44,65 and Romans 3:10-18. However, to the best of my knowledge no Church of Christ person has ever said the God of the Old Testament is different from the New Testament. The various schools of the Gnostics, an ancient type of heresy, were the ones who said this.

Q: What are the main manuscripts of the Old Testament we have preserved today?
A: There are five main families, plus a fourth category of odds and ends. The three families are: Massoretic text
The Samaritan Pentateuch compares very closely with the Massoretic text and Dead Sea scrolls, except for some obvious changes (Mt. Gerizim instead of Jerusalem, etc.
The Greek Septuagint, including the Lucianic rescension and Christian writings,
Dead Sea scrolls from about the time of Christ.
The Syriac translation
In addition, here are other manuscripts that were found.
The Nash Papyrus, dated 150 B.C., contains the Ten Commandments. This was the oldest known Biblical text until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. A photograph of it is in the New International Dictionary of the Bible p.228.
At Masada, there was a copy of Joshua dated 169-93 B.C. by mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating. (The Dead Sea Scrolls Today p.18)
Nahal Hever is a cave near Engedi, that has a fragment of the minor prophets in Greek (8 Hev XIIgr). According to Manuscripts of the Greek Bible p.34, it was written between 50 B.C. and 50 A.D.. It was hidden during the Bar Kokhba revolt against Rome. It is a revision of the Septuagint, made in Judea, and almost identical to the Massoretic text.
The wadi Murabb'at scroll of the Minor Prophets (Mur 88) is from the second century A.D. It contains Habakkuk 1:3-2:11 and 2:18-3:19.

Q: What is the Septuagint?
A: The Septuagint is a translation of the Old Testament into Greek. It consists of the entire Jewish Old Testament plus some additional material. The Septuagint was translated between 285 (for the Torah) and the Old Testament was completed prior to 160 B.C. The translation of the Torah was of high quality, but other books, such as some of the minor prophets, were simply paraphrases; Isaiah probably was the worst. Nonetheless, it is interesting to read the Septuagint the two reasons:
a) To see what is different from the Massoretic version, and
b) How Jews before Christ interpreted the meaning of the Old Testament as they translated it into another language.
Remember that the Alexandrian Greek before Christ did not have the theological terms of Hebrew and the Greek after Christ. Indeed, the Septuagint and study of the Old Testament in Greek may have played a role in the theological terms being amenable to Greek by the time of Christ. In addition, a majority of passages in the New Testament quote from the Septuagint.
The name "Septuagint" comes from the word for "seventy". The legend in the so-called Letter of Aristeas says 72 Jews from Jerusalem came to Alexandria and translated it in 72 days. Philo also says they translated it just off of Alexandria. See 1001 Bible Questions Answered p.10-11 for more info.
There are different versions of the Septuagint. Besides the major text line, there are what are termed "Lucianic texts" of the Septuagint. Lucian was a teacher at the church of Antioch.
The New International Dictionary of the Bible p.1002 says the oldest known copy of the Septuagint is a fragment of Deuteronomy 25:1-3 dated 150 A.D. However, the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.436-438 says the oldest known existing copy of the Septuagint is a copy of Leviticus from 100 B.C. among the Dead Sea Scrolls found in cave 4. As for complete Bibles, Vaticanus (325-350 A.D.), Sinaiticus (340-350 A.D.) and Alexandrinus (c.450 A.D.) all have the Septuagint Old Testament.

Q: Did the Septuagint contain the all of the Apocrypha?
A: Conservative Protestant Christians have two views.
a) Yes, the entire apocrypha is in the manuscripts Vaticanus (325-250 A.D.) and Alexandrinus (c.450 A.D.). Sinaiticus (340-350 A.D.) contains Tobit, Judith, 1 and 4 Maccabees, Wisdom, and Sirach. A number of early church fathers quoted from the Apocrypha. Some considered it Scripture and others did not.
b) No, only Sirach and possibly fragments of Tobit exist today that were provably written prior to Christ. Among the Dead Sea scrolls, 2Q18 (= 2 Qsir) contains chapter 6 of Sirach, and Cave 7 478 possibly contains fragments of Tobit. Cave 4 has five fragments of Tobit (4Q196 through 4Q200).
Other books: The Dead Sea Scrolls also had a number of hymns and other books not in the apocrypha, including 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and many known only among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thus Sirach and possibly Tobit among the Dead Sea scrolls does not prove that anyone, even the Qumran community necessarily thought of them as scripture.
Bible Books: The Dead Sea scrolls had Septuagint copies of Exodus 28 (7Q1 = 7QLXXExod), Leviticus (4Q119, 4Q120), Numbers (4Q121), Deuteronomy (4Q35; 4Q122). Apparently the Dead Sea scrolls did not have any copies of any other Septuagint books, and certainly no apocryphal Septuagint books.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated p.467-518 gives many details of Septuagint manuscripts. 4Q51 is the most unusual. It is a copy of 1, 2 Samuel is a Hebrew manuscript whose text appears to be the Hebrew behind the Septuagint of Samuel. 4Q75 contains Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah, and appears to be halfway between the Massoretic text and the Septuagint.
The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land p.114 says that unlike the books of the Bible, the copies of the Apocryphal manuscripts were not written by scribes living in Qumran, but these manuscripts were brought in to Qumran.
While the Apocryphal books were undoubtedly written before the time of Christ, When Cultists Ask p.287 observes that we cannot say for certain whether they were added to the Septuagint before or after the time of Christ.
Conclusion: While we have no direct evidence saying whether the apocryphal books were first considered by some to be a part of the Bible before or after Christ, Clement of Rome quoted Judith in 1 Clement 55, without saying it was added or not scripture. Since the entire apocrypha was copied in the Septuagint by 325 A.D., and there is no mention of any Christians or Jews being aware of it being added only after the time of Christ, then it is safe to say:
Conclusion 1: We cannot prove it was in the Septuagint prior to Christ but,
Conclusion 2: It was put in at some point, and the evidence of an addition after Christ is non-existent.

Q: What is the Lucianic recension of the Septuagint?
A: Lucian was a presbyter (elder) at the church in Antioch. He died a martyr in 312 A.D. He made a copy of the Septuagint where he corrected imperfections in Greek grammar and style.
We do not have any writings preserved of Lucian's theology. However, one of his disciples was Arius, and another was the Arian heretic Eusebius of Nicomedia (not Eusebius the church historian). See The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325-787) p.51-53,77 for more info.

Q: What other Greek translations of the Old Testament were made?
A: In addition to the Septuagint, and the Lucianic recension of the Septuagint, there were three other Greek translations.
Aquila: After Christianity started to grow, Aquila, a proselyte to Judaism from Pontus made a translation in 126 A.D., for the purpose of opposing the Septuagint, since Christians were using the Septuagint to convert Jews.
Symmachus: The Ebionites were a Christian cult that held to many Jewish practices and did not believe Jesus was God. Symmachus the Ebionite made a translation in the second century.
Theodotion was another Ebionite who made a translation in the same century.
See The Septuagint Version: Greek and English p.iv-v for more info.

Q: What is an overview of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Qumran community that preserved them?
A: God promised to preserve His word in Isaiah 59:21; 40:8; Psalm 119:89, and 1 Peter 1:23-25. However, since there were few Old Testament manuscripts earlier than 950 A.D., someone might be curious just how precisely the Old Testament was transmitted before then. However, in 1947 a bedouin boy, Muhammad Adh-Dhib, threw a stone into a cave at Qumran and heard the crash of pottery. That uncovered a stored library of 500-867 manuscripts from Jesus' time, 1/4 to 1/3 of them from the Bible.
Only about 200-300 people lived there at any one time. Qumran was like a monastery, for of the 1,200 graves in the cemetery, only 6 were of women and 4 of children. There were about 200-300 caves, and people lived in 30 of them. Most of the people lived in huts or tents, though. Coins at Qumran show people lived there from about 135 B.C. to the abrupt destruction in 68 A.D. The Romans captured Qumran and killed or enslaved all who did not escape.
Beliefs of the Children of Light Jewish Sect: Modern scholars once confused the inhabitants of Qumran with Essenes because of their similarities. This sect, calling itself, "Children of Light", started about 200 B.C. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (like the Pharisees), practiced baptism by immersion, and had overseers similar to Christian bishops. They though Melchizedek was a heavenly being and the wicked would be annihilated.
Their commentaries on Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1-3 show they recognized these as Messianic prophecies. Like others, the Qumran community believed the Messiah would do miracles and healings. They also believed the Messiah would personally slay the Roman Emperor. It would take years to bury all the dead from the Messiah’s military victories. Thus, as the Christian News (11/23/1998) says, "So now we know that when Caiaphas conducted the trial of Jesus, all he had to do was get Jesus to admit that he was the Messiah. As Jesus, who has performed the predicted miracles, made that admission, he was assumed to be guilty of treason against the emperor."
Let's Visit "The Library": Eleven caves preserved about 95,000 fragments, 40,000 in cave 4 alone. Some of the non-Bible fragments include mezuzot (verses worn on arms) and phylacteries (verses worn on the forehead) from Exodus and Leviticus. Here are some of the preserved Old Testament texts.

Book	Copies / fragments	Earliest scroll	Commentaries
Genesis	15 / 20		1
Exodus	15 / 23	250 B.C.
Leviticus	8 / 13
Numbers	6 / 8
Deuteronomy	25 / 29
Parallel Torah	1
Joshua	2
Judges	3
Ruth	4
1,2 Samuel	4
1,2 Kings	3 / 4
1,2 Chronicles	1
Ezra	1
Nehemiah	0
Esther	0
Job	4
Psalms	27 / 36		chap. 37
Proverbs	2
Ecclesiastes	2	175-150
Song of Solo.	4		possibly
Isaiah	18 / 23	120-100 B.C.	1
Jeremiah	4 / 6
Lamentations	4
Ezekiel	6
Daniel	8	120 B.C.
Hosea	3		2
Obadiah	0
Jonah	2
Micah	(4Q81)	3rd century	1
Nahum	(4Q82)		1
Habakkuk	(4Q238)		1
Zephaniah	2		Possibly
Zechariah	2
Joel, Amos, Zeph, Malachi	(4Q78)
Jonah,Haggai, Zech, Malachi	(4Q76)
Total O.T.	175-200	250 B.C.	8-10
Total Other	325-667		0

No commentaries on other books shows that they did not consider non-Bible books as scripture.
Shedding Light on Jewish culture back then is one important function of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
One belief the Qumran Community held in common with others was that the Messiah will do miracles, and healings. They also believed the Messiah would personally slay the Roman Emperor. It would take years to bury all the dead from the Messiah’s military victories. Thus, as the Christian News (11/23/1998) says, "So now we know that when Caiaphas conducted the trial of Jesus, all he had to do was get Jesus to admit that he was the Messiah. As Jesus, who has performed the predicted miracles, made that admission, he was assumed to be guilty of treason against the emperor."
The Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.441 says that the Dead Sea scrolls show that the Gospel of John, rather than being a second century Hellenistic document, "is shown more clearly than ever to be a product of 1st century Palestine by virtue of its many parallels with the Qumran texts."
One manuscript from cave 4 is Exodus from the Samaritan Pentateuch. One of the oldest scrolls is 4Q17, which contains Exodus 38 to Leviticus 2. It is one of the oldest manuscripts, copied towards 250 B.C. It is practically identical to the Massoretic text. The Isaiah scroll has the complete text of Isaiah. It and the other copy in cave 1 were identical with the standard Hebrew Bible in 95% of the text according to A Survey of Old Testament Introduction p.25. (As a check, from my own sampling I saw complete agreement on 94.6% on a consonsant by consonant basis.)
There are a number of small variations in the Massoretic vs. Qumran texts, and they could be due to dialect differences and changes, such as today we have British English vs. American English. Here are a few of the larger or more important variations. Also, scholars caution that while the Massoretic scribes extreme care in precisely copying every scroll, the sect at Qumran might not have had as high a standard in copying.
Exodus 1:5 in the Massoretic text says 70 people went into Egypt. When Stephen said 75 in Acts 7:14, one could assume scripture was (inerrantly) recording Stephen reciting from a Septuagint error, which said 75. However, the Dead Sea Scrolls also say 75, so perhaps Stephen and the Septuagint were correct here.
Deuteronomy 32:43 has "let all God’s angels worship him" while the Massoretic text does not. Hebrews 1:6 quotes this.
The Massoretic 1 Samuel 17:4 says Goliath was 6 cubits and a span, or roughly 9 feet 9 inches. However, the Septuagint and the Dead Sea Scrolls say 4 cubits and a span, or about 6 feet, 9 inches.
Targums, which are Aramaic paraphrases, have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls of Leviticus, and two targums from parts of Job. Among the Dead Sea Scrolls are commentaries of Genesis, Psalm 37, possibly Song of Songs, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, two of Hosea, and a badly mutilated one of Habakkuk 1:2 through the end of chapter 2. The author tried to relate everything to events of his day.
The Septuagint: Cave 4 has the oldest copy of part of the Septuagint, which is the text of Leviticus, dated 100 B.C.. Cave 7 has a copy of Exodus chapter 28. Other scrolls contain a copy of Numbers and two copies of Deuteronomy. Two scrolls are very curious. One scroll appears to be the Hebrew behind the Septuagint for 1 and 2 Samuel. Another scroll of Zechariah, Jonah, and Malachi are Hebrew that appears to be between the Septuagint and the Massoretic text. The Septuagint version of Jeremiah is 60 verses (1/8 shorter) than the Massoretic text. The Dead Sea scroll 4QJerb supports some of these absences. One scroll contained the Hebrew of Psalm 151, which is also in the Septuagint.
The Apocrypha and Other Books: 2Q18 (= 2QSir) contains chapter 6 of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Cave 7 contains fragments of Tobit. Cave 4 also contains 5 fragments of Tobit (4Q196 through 4Q200). The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land p.114 says that unlike the books of the Bible, the copies of the Apocryphal manuscripts were not written by scribes living in Qumran, but were brought in to Qumran. While the Apocryphal books were undoubtedly written before the time of Christ, When Cultists Ask p.287 observes that we cannot say for certain whether they were added to the Septuagint before or after the time of Christ.
One scroll, 11QPs, contains additional Psalms, so-called psalms 152-155. Apart from the Dead Sea scrolls, various versions of these are known only in the Syriac language.
The Dead Sea Scrolls also had a number of hymns and other books not in the apocrypha, including 1 Enoch (except section 2), 14 copies of Jubilees in Hebrew, and many known only among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Thus Sirach and Tobit among the Dead Sea scrolls does not prove that anyone, even the Qumran community necessarily thought of them as scripture.
The Dead Sea scrolls are useful for shedding light on Jewish thought back then. The Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.441 says that the Dead Sea scrolls show that the Gospel of John and Paul's writings, rather than just being 2nd century Hellenistic documents, in fact have some parallels with the Dead Sea scrolls.
Summary: The caves of Qumran provided a wealth of Old Testament manuscripts from the time of Christ, and about 1,000 years older than the Massoretic text. They also had many other writings, which provide background to some of things in the New Testament. The next tract gives readings from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the tract after that tells of a few additional Old Testament manuscripts that have been preserved and are just about as old as the Dead Sea scrolls.
See the Wycliffe Bible Dictionary p.434-441 for more info on the Dead Sea Scrolls in general.

Q: What are some of the differences in reading from the Massoretic text and the Dead Sea scrolls?
A: Here is a sampling of some of the "most significant" readings. Except where noted, the Massoretic text is the first reading and a Dead Sea scroll is the second.
Dt 5:5 "word" vs. "words" (Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum)
Dt 10:13 "Lord" vs. "Lord your God" (Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Syriac)
Dt 31:1 "went and spoke" vs. "had finished speaking all" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 32:8 Massoretic: "children of Israel" vs. Septuagint: "angels of God" vs. a Dead Sea scroll: "sons of God"
Dt 32:15 "Jeshurun" vs. "Jacob ate his fill; Jeshurun" (Dead Sea scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint)
Dt 32:19 "saw it" vs. "saw it and was jealous" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 32:43 "nations" vs. "Heavens" (Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 32:43 (absent) vs. "Let all God's angels worship him." (Septuagint, Hebrews 1:6, and a Dead Sea Scroll)
Dt 32:43 "servants" vs. "children" (Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 32:43 (absent) vs. "he will repay those who hate him" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 32:43 "cleans his land his people" vs. "cleans the land for his people") Dead Sea Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate)
Dt 33:8 "your Thummim" vs. "Give to Levi your Thummim" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint)
Dt 33:17 "His firstborn bull" vs. "a firstborn bull" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate)
1 Sam 1:23 "his word" (Massoretic text, Dead Sea Scrolls) "your word" (Septuagint, Syriac)
1 Sam 1:24 "with three bulls" vs. "with a three-year old bull" (Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint, Syriac)
1 Sam 2:1 "the LORD" vs. "my God" (Septuagint)
1 Sam 2:1 "your victory" vs. "my victory" (Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:20 "give you" vs. "repay you" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:20 "petition that she asked of" vs. "gift that she made to" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:21 "When the LORD" vs. "And the LORD" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:27 "when they were at the house" vs. "when they were slaves to the house" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:29,32 "kick" vs. "look with greedy eye" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:33 "your eyes … your heart" vs. "his eyes … his heart" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 2:33 "die young men" vs. "die by the sword" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 3:4 "called Samuel" vs. "called, "Samuel! Samuel!" (Septuagint, Dead Sea Scrolls)
1 Sam 14:49, 1 Sam 18:17 "Merab" vs. "Merob" in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (Expositor's Bible Commentary vol.3 p.669)
Job 22:8 (absent) vs. "And you say" (Dead Sea scroll targum of Job)
Job 22:17 "to them" vs. "to us" (Septuagint, Syriac, Dead Sea Scroll Targum)
Ps 119:37 "in your way" (Hebrew Massoretic text, Septuagint, Vulgate) vs. "according to your word" (two Massoretic manuscripts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Aramaic Targums)
Isa 7:14 Massoretic: "she shall call his name" vs. Septuagint and Dead Sea Great Isaiah scroll "His name shall be called." The difference is one consonant. See General Introduction to the Bible p.368 for more info.
Isa 53:9 "suffering of his soul and be satisfied" vs. "suffering of his soul he will see the light of life and be satisfied"
Isa 61:1 (absent) (Massoretic, Septuagint) vs. "the dead are raised" Dead Sea scroll 4Q521. (See The Case for Christ p.142 for more info.)
Jer 3:1 "Saying, if" (Massoretic) vs. "If" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Syriac)
Jer 3:8 "I" (Massoretic) vs. "she" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Syriac)
Dan 10:16 "one who looked like a man" vs. "something that looked like a man's hand" (Septuagint, Dead Sea scrolls, one Hebrew Massoretic text)
Hab 2:16 "be exposed" (Massoretic text) vs. "stagger" (Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Aquila the Jew (126 A.D.), and Syriac.)
For the details of all the differences in a passage, see the comparison of Isaiah 53 at the end of the questions on Isaiah.
Change in conclusions: Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls, the Septuagint was considered merely an inferior translation of basically the Massoretic text. However, many of the differences between the Dead Sea scrolls and the Massoretic text are places where the Dead Sea scrolls and the Septuagint agree. Thus it seems the Septuagint was more of a translation of a different Hebrew manuscript family than the Dead Sea scrolls. (though there are still places where the Septuagint translators were confused or mistaken)
Bibliography for this question: The footnotes in the NASB, NIV, NKJV, and NRSV Bibles, and The Expositor's Bible Commentary. The Massoretic translation was compared with Jay P. Green’s Literal Translation and the Septuagint rendering is from Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton’s translation of The Septuagint : Greek and English.

Q: What is the Massoretic text?
The Massoretes were scribes, in the Pharisee tradition, who lived after Jesus’ time. There are many Massoretic manuscripts, but they are after 900 A.D. Codex Leningradensis 1008 A.D. was a well-preserved Massoretic text that was a basis for the NIV translation, according to The Expositor’s Bible Commentary volume 3 p.246.

Q: Is the God of the Old Testament a different being, and an evil one, compared to the God of the New Testament?
A: This is one of the two or three teachings common to all branches of an ancient heresy called Gnosticism. Some of their arguments were because the New Testament repealed Old Testament dietary laws, the universe had a contrast between the visible and invisible, and the belief that since matter was all evil, only an evil god would create matter.
Outside of the Bible, as early as Clement of Rome (97 A.D. 1 Clement 4) Christians affirmed that the God of the Old Testament was good. He who is a friend of Abel and a friend of Abraham, is a friend of mine.
Theophilus (166-181 A.D.) was one of the earliest Christian writers who mentioned Creation and explicitly said "for nothing evil was made by god."(To Autolycus 2:16).
Tertullian effectively refuted the theory of a different Old Testament God in his work Against Marcion in 207 A.D.. Here is an incomplete condensation of what he wrote.
a. Can you find a church of apostolic origin that denied the Creator? "But if the churches shall prove to have been corrupt from the beginning, where shall the pure ones be found?… Show us, then, one of your churches, tracing its descent from an apostle, and you will have gained the day."
b. Why would the good god rescue man, if he did not create him?
c. Why did the bad god prophecy the coming of Christ in the Old Testament? The New Testament refers to these as prophesying the good Christ.
d. If the bad god prophesied a bad Christ, why did the good god prevent the bad Christ from coming and send the good Christ in his place. The good god should have let the bad Christ come first, instead of misleading people to think the bad god prophesied the good Christ.
e. Why did Jesus quote from the Old Testament as authoritative?
f. Why did Marcion have to reject parts of Luke and other parts of the New Testament to support his view?