But now, if you believe the Masoretic to be the truly inspired version of the OT, what is your answer to those who point out that the LXX is actually cited ten times more often in the NT?
Just to clarify:
1. No texts other than the original manuscripts were inspired. So the Masoretic text is a FAITHFUL REPRESENTATION of the original manuscripts.
2. However, under the good hand of God, faithful copies of the manuscripts were made over the centuries, so that we can be confident that we have the Word of God in our hands. This is called the doctrine of the divine preservation of the Scriptures. And that is why we can say that the Bible is inspired, therefore inerrant, and therefore infallible.
3. The LXX was a corrupted Greek translation of the Hebrew Tanakh and was used by Hellenistic Jews. For details see The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah by Alfred Edersheim (a true scholar).
4. It is ALLEGED that the apostles used the LXX because of similarities in quotations within the NT. But that is superficial. There are also many dissimilarities, and frequently the Holy Spirit led Christ and the apostles to quote quite differently from even the Hebrew Tanakh.
5. Christ Himself REJECTED the LXX when He referred to the Hebrew Tanakh:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in [1] the Law of Moses, and in [2] the Prophets, and in [3] the Psalms, concerning me. (Luke 24:44)
What was the Lord referring to? The three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible:
1. "the Law of Moses" =
TORAH = the five books of Moses
2. "the Prophets" =
NEVIIM = the eight books of the Prophets
3. "the Psalms" =
KETUVIM = the eleven books of the Writings (starting with Psalms)
That is a total of 24 books (quite unlike the LXX which has close to 50 books). This also proves that both Christ, the apostles, and the scribes and Pharisees were referring to the Hebrew Tanakh within the NT. When Jesus said "IT IS WRITTEN" this is what He was talking about.
This also proves that from the time of Moses to the time of Christ (c 1500 years) the Bible remained unchanged.