The Septuagint
The Origin of the Septuagint
The third century BC is supported for the Torah translation by a number of factors, including its Greek being representative of early Koine Greek, citations beginning as early as the second century BC, and early manuscripts datable to the second century BC. After the Torah, other books were translated over the next two to three centuries.
The Epistle of Aristeas
The Epistle of Aristeas purports to be an eyewitness account by a Gentile official at the court of Ptolemy II Philadelphus of the circumstances that led to the translation of the Septuagint. The story of the translation, however, is peripheral, the bulk of the book being concerned with a panegyric on the Jewish people and the superiority of their religion, ethics and wisdom.
The Oldest Bible Translation
The Septuagint is a collection of ancient Greek texts produced by Jews between the third century BC and the second century AD. Most of those texts are translations of the books of the Hebrew Bible.
When God Spoke Greek
The Septuagint was the Old Testament of the Christian church for centuries because it was the Scripture of Israel in its Greek form that was used extensively by the New Testament writers and the early Church fathers. From the time of the Reformation, the Hebrew Masoretic Text has eclipsed the place of the Septuagint in Protestant scholarship.
The Importance of the Septuagint for Biblical Studies
Published in 1955 & 1956 by Bibliotheca Sacra, this two-part series by Everett F. Harrison, Th.D., Ph.D., is excellent!
The Septuagint
The Septuagint (LXX) holds a unique place among the ancient translations of the OT. Begun in the 3rd century B.C., it was a bold pioneering work. Not only was it the first attempt to reproduce the Hebrew Scriptures in another tongue, but the size and nature of the undertaking were entirely unprecedented in the Hellenistic world. Sociologically it bore witness to the breakdown of international barriers and to the dissemination of the Greek language as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great.
Detailed Encyclopedic Article!
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