Sons of Israel or God?
Deuteronomy 32:8 NASB
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.
Deuteronomy 32:8 describes God dividing the nations according to the number of the sons of God. Some translations say the sons of Israel, but the Septuagint clearly says: "ἀγγέλων θεοῦ"
ἄγγελος (32)
-GPM---
(approximately 180 occurrences)
a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God
θεός (2316)
-GSM---
(approximately 1338 occurrences)
a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities
the Godhead, trinity
God the Father, the first person in the trinity
Christ, the second person of the trinity
Holy Spirit, the third person in the trinity
spoken of the only and true God
refers to the things of God
his counsels, interests, things due to him
whatever can in any respect be likened unto God, or resemble him in any way
God's representative or viceregent
of magistrates and judges
The dead sea scrolls, which are the oldest copies of the Word that we have also say "sons of God" quite specifically.
Given that the oldest Greek and Hebrew texts collectively say "sons of God", it is unreasonable to assume that the Masoretic text is accurate in this case.
Furthermore, saying the sons of Israel makes no sense given that Israel did not yet exist at that time.
It is for these reasons that ESV translates it as "sons of God"
Deuteronomy 32:8 ESV
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
The concept of this passage is also described by Plato in his Socratic writing Timaeus and by the Hebrew historian Flavius Josephus in the antiquities of the Jews.
"In the days of old, the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by allotment"
- Timaeus
"Now different gods had their allotments in different places which they set in order."
- Timaeus
"I have before remarked in speaking of the allotments of the gods, that they distributed the whole earth into portions differing in extent, and made for themselves temples and instituted sacrifices."
- Critias
Michael Hieser also gives a good summary of this fact in the following video: