Septuagint (LXX)

Origin & History

The Septuagint (from Latin septuaginta, "seventy") is the earliest known Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. According to the Letter of Aristeas (2nd century BCE), 72 Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, translated the Torah into Greek during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–247 BCE).

The remaining books were translated over the following centuries. By the 1st century BCE, the entire Hebrew Bible existed in Greek — making it accessible to Greek-speaking Jews throughout the Diaspora and later to the early Christians.

Significance for Christianity

• The primary Bible of the early Church — most NT authors quote the OT from the LXX, not the Hebrew
• Approximately 80% of OT quotations in the NT agree with the LXX wording
• Introduced key theological vocabulary later used in the NT (e.g., "ekklēsia," "diathēkē," "nomos")
• Basis for early translations: Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, and Slavonic OT versions
• Remains the official OT text of Eastern Orthodox Churches today

Key Manuscripts

• Codex Vaticanus (B, 4th c.) — Most complete and reliable LXX witness
• Codex Sinaiticus (א, 4th c.) — Contains most of the OT in Greek
• Codex Alexandrinus (A, 5th c.) — Excellent witness especially for the Prophets
• Chester Beatty Papyri (2nd–4th c.) — Early fragments of various OT books
• Dead Sea Scrolls — Some Hebrew texts align with the LXX rather than the MT, confirming the LXX sometimes preserves older readings

LXX vs. Masoretic Text

The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew manuscripts older than those used to produce the Masoretic Text. Differences occur because:

• The translators may have had a different Hebrew Vorlage (source text)
• Interpretive or theological translation choices were made
• Scribal changes accumulated independently in both textual traditions
• Dead Sea Scroll discoveries have confirmed that some LXX readings reflect genuinely ancient Hebrew variants