Septuagint

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, created between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE in Alexandria, Egypt. Often abbreviated as LXX (the Roman numeral for 70), it represents the oldest complete translation of Hebrew scriptures and served as the primary biblical text for Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians throughout the ancient Mediterranean world.

The Septuagint emerged from the practical needs of the large Jewish community in Hellenistic Alexandria, where Greek had become the dominant language. Many Jews of the diaspora could no longer read Hebrew fluently, creating an urgent need for their sacred texts to be accessible in Greek. This translation project would prove to be one of the most influential literary works in human history, shaping both Jewish and Christian traditions for centuries.

Origins and Legend

The name "Septuagint" derives from the Latin word for seventy, referring to a legendary account of the translation's creation recorded in the Letter of Aristeas. According to this 2nd-century BCE text, Ptolemy II Philadelphus commissioned seventy-two Jewish scholars—six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel—to translate the Hebrew Torah into Greek for the famous Library of Alexandria.

The legend claims these scholars worked independently for seventy-two days and miraculously produced identical translations, demonstrating divine inspiration. While modern scholarship recognizes this as a pious fiction designed to establish the translation's authority, it reflects the reverence with which ancient communities regarded the Septuagint.

Historical evidence suggests the translation process was far more gradual and complex. The Torah (Pentateuch) was likely translated first, around 280-250 BCE, followed by other books over the subsequent two centuries. Different books show varying translation styles and approaches, indicating multiple translators working across different time periods rather than a single coordinated effort.

Content and Structure

The Septuagint contains not only Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible but also several additional books not found in the later Masoretic Text—the authoritative Hebrew manuscript tradition. These include Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Baruch, and 1-2 Maccabees, among others. These works, known as the deuterocanonical books, were written originally in Greek or survive only in Greek translation.

The arrangement of books in the Septuagint also differs from the Hebrew Bible. While the Hebrew tradition organizes texts into Torah (Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), the Septuagint follows a more thematic structure: Law, History, Poetry and Wisdom, and Prophecy. This organization would later influence the structure of Christian Old Testament canons.

Textually, the Septuagint sometimes preserves readings that differ from the Masoretic Text, occasionally reflecting earlier Hebrew manuscripts that have since been lost. These variants have proven invaluable for biblical textual criticism and understanding the development of biblical texts.

Significance for Early Christianity

The Septuagint became the Bible of the early Christian church. Most New Testament authors, writing in Greek, quoted from the Septuagint rather than translating directly from Hebrew. This created a seamless linguistic and conceptual bridge between Jewish scriptures and Christian writings.

Certain Septuagint renderings proved theologically significant for Christian interpretation. The famous prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, translated as "a virgin shall conceive" in the Septuagint (using the Greek word parthenos), became central to Christian understanding of Jesus's birth, though the Hebrew word almah more generally means "young woman."

Early Christian apologists like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus defended the Septuagint's authority against Jewish critics who increasingly favored more literal Greek translations by Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion. The church fathers viewed the Septuagint as divinely inspired, equal in authority to the Hebrew original.

Manuscript Tradition and Modern Scholarship

The Septuagint survives in numerous manuscript traditions, with significant textual variations between different families of manuscripts. Major early witnesses include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus from the 4th century CE, along with extensive papyrus fragments from Egypt dating back to the 2nd century BCE.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the mid-20th century revolutionized Septuagint studies. These Hebrew manuscripts, dating from the 3rd century BCE to the 1st century CE, sometimes align more closely with the Septuagint than with the Masoretic Text, suggesting the Greek translators worked from Hebrew texts that differed from those preserved in later Jewish tradition.

Modern critical editions, particularly the Göttingen Septuagint, attempt to reconstruct the earliest recoverable text through careful analysis of manuscript evidence. This scholarly work continues to illuminate the complex textual history of both the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible.

Cultural and Linguistic Impact

Beyond its religious significance, the Septuagint represents a remarkable achievement in ancient translation theory and practice. The translators grappled with fundamental challenges of rendering Hebrew concepts, poetry, and legal terminology into Greek, often creating new vocabulary and expressions that enriched the Greek language.

The translation introduced numerous Hebraisms into Greek, influencing the development of Jewish Greek and later Christian Greek. Words like synagogue (assembly), baptism (immersion), and Christ (anointed one) entered Greek through biblical translation and became foundational terms in Western religious vocabulary.

The Septuagint also preserved ancient Jewish interpretive traditions, as translators sometimes incorporated contemporary understanding of difficult Hebrew passages into their Greek renderings. These interpretive elements provide valuable insights into Jewish thought during the Second Temple period.

Related Topics

• Hebrew Bible
• Masoretic Text
• Dead Sea Scrolls
• Biblical textual criticism
• Hellenistic Judaism
• Early Christian biblical interpretation
• Ancient Greek translations
• Deuterocanonical books

Summary

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible created in Alexandria between the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE, serving as the primary biblical text for Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians while preserving unique textual traditions and interpretive elements not found in later Hebrew manuscripts.