Septuagint — LLMpedia

Septuagint
Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · source
Name	Septuagint
Abbreviation	LXX
Language	Koine Greek
Period	3rd–2nd centuries BCE
Religion	Hellenistic Judaism
Based on	Hebrew Bible

Contents

Origins and Historical Context
Translation Process and Language
Content and Canonical Structure
Influence on Hellenistic Judaism
Role in Early Christianity
Comparison with the Masoretic Text
Legacy and Textual Transmission

Septuagint. The Septuagint is the foundational Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, produced for the Hellenistic Jewish community of Alexandria beginning in the 3rd century BCE. Its creation represents a pivotal moment of cultural and religious synthesis, bridging the Near Eastern traditions of Ancient Babylon and Jerusalem with the dominant Hellenistic world. This translation became the primary scriptural text for Greek-speaking Jews and later for the early Christian Church, profoundly shaping Western religious thought.

Origins and Historical Context

The translation project originated in the cosmopolitan city of Alexandria, the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt. According to the legendary account in the Letter of Aristeas, the work was commissioned by Ptolemy II Philadelphus for the famed Library of Alexandria. Seventy-two (or seventy) Jewish scholars were brought from Jerusalem to perform the task, hence the name "Septuagint," derived from the Latin for "seventy." While the legend emphasizes royal patronage, the historical impetus was the needs of the large and influential Diaspora Jewish community, whose ancestral tongue was increasingly supplanted by Greek following the conquests of Alexander the Great. This community, while living under Hellenistic civilization, sought to preserve its religious identity, which had been shaped by earlier experiences in Ancient Babylon.

Translation Process and Language

The translation was not a single event but a process spanning several centuries, likely beginning with the Torah (the Pentateuch) and later extending to the Prophets and Writings. The language used was the common Koine Greek of the Eastern Mediterranean, the lingua franca of trade, administration, and culture. The translators faced the immense challenge of rendering Biblical Hebrew concepts, legal terminology, and poetic imagery into Greek. Their approach varied from highly literal, almost mechanical translation in some books (like the later sections of Isaiah) to more paraphrastic and interpretative in others (like the Book of Proverbs). This process created a distinct theological vocabulary that would later be crucial for Early Christianity.

Content and Canonical Structure

The Septuagint contains the entire corpus of the Hebrew Bible, but its canonical structure and the inclusion of certain books differ significantly from the later standardized Masoretic Text. It organizes the historical and prophetic books differently and includes several texts not found in the Hebrew canon, known collectively as the Deuterocanonical books or Anagignoskomena. These include works like Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, additions to Daniel and Esther, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. The very existence of this expanded canon reflects the diverse textual traditions circulating in the Hellenistic period, some of which may have origins or influences traceable to the intellectual milieu of Ancient Babylon.

Influence on Hellenistic Judaism

For centuries, the Septuagint was the Bible of Hellenistic Judaism. It was used in synagogues throughout the Diaspora, from Alexandria to Antioch. Major Jewish philosophers and apologists, most notably Philo of Alexandria, used the Septuagint as the basis for their writings, which sought to reconcile Jewish law and thought with Greek philosophy. The translation allowed Judaism to articulate its faith within the dominant Hellenistic culture, ensuring its survival and intellectual vitality outside of Judea. It served as a bulwark for tradition and identity in a cosmopolitan world.

Role in Early Christianity

The Septuagint was the scriptural text of the Apostolic Age. The authors of the New Testament wrote in Greek and overwhelmingly quoted from the Septuagint, not the Hebrew original. Key theological concepts, such as the Greek term *Christos* for "Messiah," were established through its language. The inclusion of the Deuterocanonical books in the Septuagint provided a broader historical and wisdom context for early Christian teaching. Figures like the Apostle Paul used the Septuagint in their missionary work across the Roman Empire, and it formed the basis for the Old Testament of the early Christian Church Fathers, including Origen and Augustine of Hippo.

Comparison with the Masoretic Text

Significant textual variations exist between the Septuagint and the later, standardized Masoretic Text compiled by Jewish scribes (the Masoretes) between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. These differences range from minor phrasing to major chronological data and even theological emphases. For example, the Book of Jeremiah in the Septuagint is notably shorter and arranged differently. Scholars believe the Septuagint often translates from a different, and sometimes older, Hebrew manuscript tradition than the one that became the Masoretic standard. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran confirmed the existence of such variant Hebrew texts, validating the Septuagint as a witness to an ancient textual lineage.

Legacy and Textual Transmission