The Septuagint E-Book

Greg Lanier

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

A Thorough, Accessible Introduction to the Greek Translation of the Old Testament Scholars and laypeople alike have stumbled over Bible footnotes about the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Many wonder, What is it? Why do some verses differ from the Hebrew text? Is it important to Scripture? In this introduction to the Septuagint, Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross clarify its origin, transmission, and language. By studying its significance for both the Old and New Testaments, believers can understand the Septuagint's place in Judeo-Christian history as well as in the church today.

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“It is good to have Lanier and Ross as reliable guides to the tricky but fascinating domain of the Greek Old Testament. Their short introduction is a rare achievement: introducing the complexities behind the term ‘Septuagint’ in a simple way without compromising accuracy. An excellent book.”

Peter J. Williams, Principal, Tyndale House, Cambridge

“Pastors and seminary students regularly ask me about the Septuagint and its significance for a modern, English-speaking Christian. The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters is my new number-one recommended resource for these inquiries. The book is informed by a scholarly knowledge of the subject, yet it remains accessible and a pleasure to read.”

Robert L. Plummer, Collin and Evelyn Aikman Professor of Biblical Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Founder and Host, Daily Dose of Greek

“Interested in the Septuagint? Start here. This accessible introduction carefully navigates the what and the so what of the Septuagint, charting a steady course through a quagmire of complex issues. Tricky matters are treated with scholarly precision and theological sensitivity, and readers will find a corrective both to an overemphasis and to an underemphasis on the Septuagint. This book will be useful to the beginning student, the graduate student, the pastor, and anyone interested in learning more about how we got the Bible.”

Brandon D. Crowe, Professor of New Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary

“In class I’m regularly asked how much value and authority we should attribute to the Septuagint. The answer is complex, but students are looking for clear answers. As a teacher, I had yet to come across a clear yet precise resource explaining the origins and role of the Septuagint—until now. Lanier and Ross have produced a book I will be recommending each time this question is posed. I highly recommend it.”

Patrick Schreiner, Associate Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

“The Septuagint is unfamiliar and intimidating to most Bible students. I don’t know of a more accessible introduction than this book.”

Andrew David Naselli, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and New Testament, Bethlehem College & Seminary; Pastor, Bethlehem Baptist Church

“The Septuagint is a minefield of quandaries for both Bible scholar and devoted layperson: Why is the Septuagint in my Bible’s footnotes, offering a different reading from the main text or the source for the reading in the main text? Why do the New Testament authors quote from the Septuagint and not the Hebrew? In this book, Lanier and Ross know the minefield and ably guide readers through the potential dangers related to terminology, the task of ancient translation, textual and translational histories, canonical formation, and biblical authority and lead them safely to the other side. I happily recommend this book!”

John D. Meade, Associate Professor of Old Testament; Codirector, Text & Canon Institute, Phoenix Seminary; coauthor, The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity

The Septuagint

The Septuagint

What It Is and Why It Matters

Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross

The Septuagint: What It Is and Why It Matters

Copyright © 2021 by Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jeff Miller, Faceout Studios

Cover image: Shutterstock

First printing 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ASV are from the American Standard Version of the Bible. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.

Quotations marked NETS are taken from A New English Translation of the Septuagint, © 2007 by the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, Inc. Used by permission of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIrV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIrV” and “New International Reader’s Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked TCEB are taken from the Casual English Bible® (Beta Edition), Copyright © 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 by Stephen M. Miller Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Casual English Bible® (TCEB) is a trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Stephen M. Miller Inc. StephenMillerBooks.com, CasualEnglishBible.com.

Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from the Holy Bible, Today’s New International Version®. TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the authors.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-7052-0 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-7055-1 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-7053-7 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-7054-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lanier, Gregory R., author. | Ross, William A., 1987– author.

Title: The Septuagint : what it is and why it matters / Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross.

Description: Wheaton : Crossway, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020049309 (print) | LCCN 2020049310 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433570520 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781433570537 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433570544 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433570551 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Old Testament Greek—Versions—Septuagint—Introductions.

Classification: LCC BS744 .L36 2021 (print) | LCC BS744 (ebook) | DDC 221.4/8—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020049309

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020049310

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2021-09-22 01:36:55 PM

To the students who bravely take our Septuagint electives

and humor their professors’ excessive zeal about obscure topics.

You’re secretly our favorites.

Contents

List of Tables

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1

What Is the Septuagint?

1 What (If Anything) Is the So-Called Septuagint?

2 Who and Where Did the Greek Old Testament Come From?

3 How Was the Greek Old Testament Translated?

4 How Did the Greek Old Testament Develop?

Part 2

Why Does It Matter?

5 Why Does the Septuagint Matter for Studying the Old Testament?

6 Why Does the Septuagint Matter for Studying the New Testament?

7 What Kind of Authority Does the Septuagint Have?

Appendix: Ten Key Questions about the Septuagint

General Index

Scripture Index

Tables

3.1  Translation Possibilities for John 1:12

4.1  The Double Texts

4.2  The Columns of the Hexapla

5.1  Greek Apocrypha

5.2  Apocryphal Books Found in Major Greek Codices

5.3  Examples of the ESV Adopting “Septuagint” Wording

6.1  Greek Old Testament Influence on New Testament Vocabulary

7.1  Framework for “Authority”

7.2  New Testament Use of Nonbiblical Sources

7.3  Quotation Patterns in the New Testament

7.4  Diverse Ways of Quoting the Same Old Testament Passage

7.5  Expanded Framework for “Authority”

Abbreviations

Abbreviations of ancient works (e.g., Ag. Ap. for Against Apion, by Josephus) follow §8 of The SBL Handbook of Style, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: SBL, 2014).

ABS

Archaeology and Biblical Studies

Ag. Ap.

Against Apion, by Josephus

Ant.

Jewish Antiquities, by Josephus

Anton.

Antonius, by Plutarch

ASNU

Acta Seminarii Neotestamentici Upsaliensis

BASOR

Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

B. Bat.

BabaBatra (Talmud text)

BBR

Bulletin of Biblical Research

BCAW

Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World

BETL

Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium

Bib

Biblica

BIOSCS

Bulletin of the International Organization of Septuagint and Cognate Studies

BJS

Brown Judaic Studies

BPT

Biblica et Patristica Thoruniensia

BTS

Biblical Tools and Studies

CBET

Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology

Civ.

De civitate Dei, by Augustine

Comm. Isa.

Commentariorum in Isaiam libri XVIII, by Jerome

Comm. Jo.

Commentarii in evangelium Joannis, by Origen

Comm. Matt.

Commentarium in evangelium Matthaei, by Origen

Comm. Tit.

Commentariorum in epistulam ad Titum liber, by Jerome

ConBOT

Coniectanea Biblica: Old Testament Series

Contempl.

De vita contemplativa, by Philo

CRINT

Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum

CrSHB

Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible

CTL

Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics

De mens.

De mensuribus et ponderibus, by Epiphanius

Dial.

Dialogus cum Tryphone, by Justin Martyr

Doctr. chr.

De doctrina christiana, by Augustine

Ep. Afr.

Epistula ad Africanum, by Origen

ESV mg.

ESV marginal note

ET

English translation

1 Apol.

First Apology, by Justin Martyr

Flacc.

In Flaccum, by Philo

Geogr.

Geographica, by Strabo

Haer.

Adversus haereses, by Irenaeus

Hist.

Eusebii historia ecclesiastica a Rufino translata et continuata, by Rufinus

Hist. eccl.

Historia ecclesiastica, by Eusebius

JAJ

Journal of Ancient Judaism

JETS

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

JNSL

Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages

JSJ

Journal for the Study of Judaism

JSJSup

Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism

JSNTSup

Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series

JSOTSup

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series

JTS

Journal of Theological Studies

Jub.

Jubilees

LCC

Library of Christian Classics

LCL

Loeb Classical Library

Leg.

Legum allegoriae, by Philo

Legat.

Legatio ad Gaium, by Philo

LES

Lexham English Septuagint

Let. Aris.

Letter of Aristeas

LHBOTS

Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies

LXX

An abbreviation commonly used for the Septuagint, variously defined

LXX.H

Handbuch zur Septuaginta

Mos.

De vita Mosis, by Philo

MT

Masoretic Text

NETS

New English Translation of the Septuagint

NovT

Novum Testamentum

NovTSup

Supplements to Novum Testamentum

NT

New Testament

OBO

Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis

OG

Old Greek

OLA

Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta

OT

Old Testament

OTS

Old Testament Studies

OtSt

Oudtestamentische Studiën

P.Oxy.

Oxyrhynchus Papyrus

Praef. ad Par.

Praefatio in libro Paralipomenon, by Jerome

Praef. ad Sal.

Praefatio in libros Salomonis, by Jerome

Praep. Ev.

Praeparatio evangelica, by Eusebius

Pr. Azar.

Prayer of Azariah

P.Ryl.

Rylands Papyrus

r.

reigned

Rahlfs-Hanhart

Rahlfs, Alfred, and Robert Hanhart, eds. Septuaginta: Editio altera. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2006.

RB

Revue biblique

RESt

Review of Ecumenical Studies

SCS

Septuagint and Cognate Studies

SEC

Semitica et Classica

SJOT

Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament

SNTSMS

Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

Somn.

De somniis, by Philo

STDJ

Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah

Strom.

Stromateis, by Clement of Alexandria

TBN

Themes in Biblical Narrative

TENTS

Texts and Editions for New Testament Study

Text

Textus

Them

Themelios

TSAJ

Texte und Studien zum antiken Judentum

UBW

Understanding the Bible and Its World

VCSup

Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae

Vit. Const.

Vita Constantini, by Eusebius

VTSup

Supplements to Vetus Testamentum

WTJ

Westminster Theological Journal

WUNT

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

ZAW

Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft

ZNW

Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft

Introduction

Not many people know much about the Septuagint. This is just as true of the majority of churchgoing Christians as it is of many religion students and even pastors. Nor is it all that surprising.

Many pastors find it challenging enough to get their people to read the Old Testament in English, let alone become familiar with its ancient Greek translation. Devout Bible readers rarely stop to consult the cryptic marginal notes that mention the Septuagint, even though it appears as early as Genesis 2:2 in the CSB and Genesis 4:8 in the ESV and NIV.

With pressures hitting higher education from all sides, the typical religion curriculum barely has enough room already for courses on church history, theology, and Bible introduction. Should ministers-in-training really spend time learning the intricate textual history of the Bible rather than, say, counseling or preaching? After all, how often can the Septuagint possibly be relevant in sermon preparation? These pragmatic reasons and others like them have led many to conclude that this area of study is excusably ignored.

Yet this book exists, and you are reading it—two facts that attest to growing interest in the Septuagint. This growth is mostly concentrated among scholars and zealous students. But like some scholarly trends, it is beginning to get attention outside those circles as well. There are several reasons for this wider interest: questions about the text of the Old Testament and its reliability, lack of clarity about the formation of the Old Testament canon, and affirmations—or denials—of the importance of the Septuagint for New Testament authors. Each issue merits serious reflection by thoughtful Bible readers.

To this end, a few introductions to the Septuagint have appeared in recent years.1 Why write another? This book aims to accomplish what even we as the authors occasionally thought was an impossible task: to distill the enormous complexity surrounding the origins, transmission, and role of the Septuagint into a brief introduction that is accessible to laypeople but still informative for scholars. Achieving this goal requires delving into some details that may be novel and complex for newcomers (press on!), while avoiding other details that may be expected by specialists (forgive us!). A true “introduction” that is around 200 pages and does not require knowledge of the biblical languages cannot say everything that could be said.2 So we focus on answering two big questions, broken down into smaller subtopics.

In part 1, we answer the question “What is the Septuagint?” by covering the following topics:

Chap. 1: The basics of the “Septuagint” and why that label is somewhat problematic

Chap. 2: The origins of the translation (who and where from)

Chap. 3: The approach(es) used in translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek

Chap. 4: The transmission of the Greek texts throughout history

Part 1 gives readers a broad working knowledge about the Septuagint.

In part 2, we address the question “Why does it matter?” by covering the following topics:

Chap. 5: The value of the Septuagint for studying the Old Testament (canon, text, and interpretation)

Chap. 6: The value of the Septuagint for studying the New Testament (adoption by the early church, influence on New Testament style/vocabulary, and use in Old Testament quotations)

Chap. 7: The nature of the Septuagint’s authority for today’s church

Part 2 introduces readers to the many ways in which a working knowledge of the Septuagint is vital for Christians today.

The book concludes with a snapshot of the ten things a minister or Bible teacher should know (and teach) about the Septuagint, including a selected bibliography of key resources for further study.

1  Especially Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva, Invitation to the Septuagint, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015).

2  For comparison, the volume by Jobes and Silva is over 400 pages, often assuming experience in Greek and Hebrew.

Part 1

What Is the Septuagint?

1

What (If Anything) Is the So-Called Septuagint?

On the surface, “Septuagint” is a term applied to the collection of Israel’s Scriptures in Greek. But there are many complexities under the surface of that deceptively simple definition. Before delving into them in the chapters that follow, we first need to explain more clearly what exactly the so-called Septuagint is and is not—and whether that term is even useful. We will seek to do this by addressing two issues:

1. The backdrop of the Hebrew Bible: What aspects of the Hebrew Bible do people need to understand before discussing its Greek translation?

2. The challenge of terminology: What are unhelpful ways to conceptualize the Septuagint, and what is the best way to label this collection of Greek texts?

Discussing these topics here lays a foundation for answering the questions posed in subsequent chapters.

The Backdrop of the Hebrew Bible

To speak about the Septuagint is to presume the Hebrew Bible.1 In some ways, that presumption is obvious, since one is essentially a translation of the other. But there are less obvious (or less understood) aspects of the Hebrew Bible that are critical for avoiding Septuagint pitfalls right out of the gate.

The Old Testament Today

Virtually all modern editions of the Old Testament on the market today are translations of the ancient Hebrew Bible. As stated in their introductory pages, these translations are based on a particular tradition known as the Masoretic Text (MT).2 The best complete manuscript of the Masoretic Text is the Leningrad Codex, which dates to the early eleventh century AD, though it reliably preserves a written tradition that is much older.

At the same time, modern Old Testament translations also include footnotes that refer to wording found in ancient texts that does not match the Masoretic Text that they are otherwise translating. For instance, the ESV footnote at Genesis 4:8 says, “Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate add Let us go out to the field.” Or at Genesis 4:15, the NIV main text reads, “Not so,” but the footnote says, “Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well.” The majority of these differences are minor. But some are significant, which we will consider later. Such footnotes indicate that the Masoretic Text—while very reliable and ancient overall—is not perfect and does not by itself contain the singular “original” text of the Old Testament.

The point here is to note that the Hebrew text used for modern Bible translations is not absolutely identical to what was circulating thousands of years ago when Scripture was being written—nor to what the ancient Greek translators had in front of them. So it is important to get a sense for where the Hebrew Bible came from and how the differences in wording (like those we see in modern Bible footnotes) began to enter the picture.

The Earliest Copies of Scripture in Hebrew

As the Hebrew Scriptures were recorded over the centuries, the text was written and copied by hand (as were all texts prior to the printing press). Most ancient writing was done on stone, clay tablets, wood, parchment, and even metal. Because Scripture was more esteemed as a written text, it was likely written on sheets of papyrus or leather, which were joined into a roll called a megillah or sepher.3

Because of the intricacies of early writing systems (like cuneiform), writing in much of the ancient world was a specialized task. But with the development of simpler alphabetic scripts between 2000 and 1500 BC, literacy among the general population grew.4 Among Israelites it appears that some portion of the population could read and perhaps write at a basic level (e.g., Deut. 6:9; Judg. 8:14).5

By the time of David a system of professional training had likely emerged for Hebrew scribes in association with the Jerusalem palace and temple (e.g., 2 Sam. 8:16–18; 1 Kings 4:1–6; 2 Kings 18:18).6 Given the importance of the monarchy and religious practice within Israelite society (e.g., Deut. 17:18–19), scribal training focused on recording and copying written documents with as much consistency and accuracy as possible. Foremost among these documents was the text of Scripture itself, which had to be reproduced precisely when making extra copies or when scrolls wore out.7 While many details remain unclear, it appears that certain priestly scribes who were connected with Israel’s religious administration preserved the authoritative copies of the sacred writings in a temple archive. This practice continued as long as the temple of Solomon was standing.

Textual Diversification and the Septuagint

The fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC had major consequences for the text of the Hebrew Bible. In their conquest, the Babylonians destroyed the temple, as well as the royal infrastructure that supported it. Many priestly scribes and other officials were killed or exiled, along with the royal court and other well-educated figures (2 Kings 24:14–15; Jer. 24:1). Any copies of Scripture that survived the destruction were geographically scattered along with the people.

As the biblical text was copied in disparate areas over the following centuries with much less coordination or oversight by the Jerusalem priesthood, textual variations both large and small inevitably started to enter the picture. Although the reconstruction of the temple around 516 BC reinvigorated priestly scribal activity, some measure of textual diversification of the Hebrew Bible had already begun. The results of this process are visible in the biblical manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in the 1940s but include scrolls dating as early as the third century BC. Some of these scrolls closely or even perfectly match the much later Masoretic Text tradition. But others differ from the Masoretic Text in nontrivial ways, at both the microlevel (specific words or phrases) and the macrolevel (larger differences in the arrangement or length of books).8

These developments do not mean that every copy of Scripture was considered equally valid or equally good in the ancient world. In chapter 7, we discuss the evidence for a standardized temple copy or majority text existing amid other nonstandard texts (such as those found among the Dead Sea Scrolls). But the fact remains: when the Greek translators began their work, a plurality of Hebrew texts was on the scene. Not only did ancient copies of Hebrew Scripture not perfectly match the Hebrew Masoretic Text used for modern translations today, but also ancient copies differed from each other to varying degrees. The history of the Hebrew Bible is, ultimately, not as tidy as we might like.

The Challenge of Terminology

The preceding discussion highlights the need to establish concepts and terminology carefully, particularly to avoid pitfalls about what the Septuagint is and is not. Thus far we have been talking somewhat plainly about the “Septuagint,” but now we need to refine our terms.

First, as shown above, it is an oversimplification to say that the Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible in a straightforward way, since the translators were not working with a standardized text (or with the same text we use today).

Second, it is an oversimplification to say that the Septuagint is a singular or homogenous entity in itself, as if it were produced in full, at one time, by a single translation committee (like many modern Bible translations). This mistake is common among students, pastors, and even scholars for at least two reasons. First, there is an assumption—often unconscious—that because we can purchase a copy of “the” Septuagint today, it must have come into being in antiquity all at once, like a new publication.9 But that is not the case, as we discuss in subsequent chapters. Second, the standard terminology itself can perpetuate this misconception: the Septuagint is called “the Septuagint.” It has a singular title, just like all books, and that can create the impression of coordination and homogeneity.

In the ancient world, however, not only did writing and publishing work differently than it does today, but there is no actual evidence that “the” Septuagint was conceptualized as a singular entity anyhow. In fact, we have no evidence for any notion of either unity or uniformity for the Greek translations (note the plural) of the Hebrew Bible as a whole, at any point, anywhere, all the way from the earliest translation efforts to at least the end of the Second Temple period (ca. mid-third century BC through late first century AD).10 As far as we know, based on ancient writings, including the New Testament, there was no terminology used to refer specifically to Jewish Scriptures written in Greek.

Put differently, Scripture in Hebrew and Scripture in Greek were apparently not considered qualitatively different in a way that required separate labels. Again, that observation does not rule out certain copies of Scripture (whether Hebrew or Greek) being considered better or worse for various reasons, as discussed in chapter 4. The point here is that numerous texts and versions of the Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible were produced, copied, revised, and circulated among many groups, in many locations, and over several centuries, yet with no uniform title or term to identify those texts as either distinct or unified strictly on the basis of their being written in Greek.

A History of the Term “Septuagint”

So what, if anything, is the “Septuagint”? To put it bluntly, it is a mediocre term of convenience with lots of baggage, but we are probably stuck with it. Yet it did not come out of nowhere. The word “Septuagint” is an English adaptation of the Latin word for the number seventy: septuaginta. Likewise, the abbreviation LXX is often used as shorthand for the “Septuagint” because it is the Roman numeral for the number seventy. Why seventy?

This tradition began with the ancient Greek document known as the Letter of Aristeas, which was written in the Jewish community in Egypt sometime in the second century BC. As discussed in the next chapter, the Letter of Aristeas features a (largely legendary) account of seventy-two Jewish scholars traveling from Jerusalem to Egypt to translate the Pentateuch (Genesis–Deuteronomy) into Greek.

Over the subsequent two millennia, developments occurred in both the grammar and referent of the term septuaginta as it was adopted and used in various languages.11 One development was that the idea of seventy-two translators known from the Letter of Aristeas shifted to just seventy (=LXX) translators, possibly as a kind of shorthand.12 In time, writers began using septuaginta (“the seventy”) as a way of discussing the Greek translation as a text, without mentioning the translators themselves.13 In the medieval and early modern periods, a further shift occurred when writers began to use the number seventy in grammatically singular expressions (e.g., la Septante in French). As a result, it became much more natural to construe the numerical term (septuaginta/LXX) as a title for a singular textual entity, rather than as a reference to the number of translators.14

Alongside these grammatical developments, important changes also took place in what was considered part of the “Septuagint” corpus. Originally, in the Letter of Aristeas and other early Jewish writings, only the Greek Pentateuch was in view.15 But early Christian writers tended to include the translations of other books, if not the entire Old Testament in Greek, under the same term.16 To make things even more confusing, some early Greek Christian Bibles included certain Apocryphal works. Some of these were Greek translations of books originally written in Hebrew (e.g., Sirach), books originally composed in Greek (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon), or even certain works that were actually Christian in origin (e.g., Odes 12).17The practical effect of this history is an imprecise and potentially misleading term: the “Septuagint.”

Where Do We Go from Here?

So should we abandon the “Septuagint” as a label? There are two different impulses that lead some to do just that. One is based on a faulty idea of what is actually under discussion, and the other arises from a recognition of the historical and textual complexities discussed above.

The first impulse tends to appear within certain fundamentalist Christian circles that uphold the 1611 King James Version as the only legitimate Bible. At least on the surface, the rationale for this sometimes fiercely held position comes from reverence for the textual basis used for the KJV, often known as the Majority Text (or Textus Receptus). Oftentimes, KJV-only advocates hold the erroneous view that all other Bible versions are textually corrupt and therefore dangerous. Some advocates go to such extremes in this view that they vigorously deny that the “Septuagint” existed at all before the time of Christ, especially because it includes Apocryphal books.18 The underlying rationale is that because those books are not part of inspired Scripture, it is inconceivable that Jesus and the New Testament authors would have used the “Septuagint” themselves, since doing so would grant legitimacy to the Apocryphal books by extension.19

While some aspects of this perspective are understandable, it is fraught with incorrect assumptions. For our purposes, it is enough to point out the faulty ideas about what is actually under discussion when it comes to the “Septuagint.” Among those who hold this view, the term is used in a way that implies a stable, unified, and book-like entity with a table of contents that circulated in the ancient world. By now it should be clear that such an understanding is wrong. The textual situation of Scripture in the Second Temple period included nothing of the sort. But it is true that New Testament authors did use the Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible, which raises numerous important questions. We treat that topic in detail in chapter 6 and discuss the implications for the doctrine of Scripture in chapter 7.

The second impulse to dispense with the “Septuagint” as a label is driven by a desire for terminological qualification, nuance, and precision. Often this impulse is characterized by a clear recognition of the very textual complexity in the ancient context that is too often ignored or misunderstood. To be sure, caution is warranted given the laxity and inaccuracies that appear even in the work of seasoned scholars.20 In most instances, however, scholars do specify how they intend to use their terminology. The most common uses of the following terms are worth summarizing briefly here.21

1.  Septuagint (LXX)

a.  Used most ambiguously to refer to ancient Jewish Greek Scriptures in general, with no specific text, boundaries, or historical phase in view—which is the sense intended in the title of this book

b.  Used in a slightly more restricted sense to designate the literary boundaries of the corpus, usually as represented in manuscripts like Codex Vaticanus or Codex Alexandrinus and some modern editions, but not necessarily a specific textual form

c.  Used in the historical sense to refer only to the earliest translation of the Greek Pentateuch, as portrayed in the Letter of Aristeas; sometimes also referred to as “the Septuagint proper”

2.  Old Greek (OG): A term used to refer to the oldest, original translation of any given book of the Hebrew Bible, in distinction to any later textual revisions or recensions. Scholars tend to regard the best available critical editions of the text in the Vetus Testamentum Graecum