Septuagint: Difference between revisions

| caption = Fragment of a Septuagint: A column of [[uncial]] book from [[1 Esdras]] in the ''[[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209|Codex Vaticanus]]'' {{circa|325–350 AD|lk=no}}, the basis of [[Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton|Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton's]] Greek edition and [[Brenton's English Translation of the Septuagint|English translation]]

| Date = {{circa|3rd century [[Before Christ|BC]]|lk=no}}

The '''Greek Old Testament''', or '''Septuagint''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɛ|p|tj|u|ə|dʒ|ɪ|n|t}},<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|usalso|s|ɛ|p|ˈ|tj|uː|ə|dʒ|ɪ|n|t}};<ref>{{cite Merriam-Webster|Septuagint|access-date=8 August 2020}}</ref> from the {{lang-la|septuaginta|lit=seventy}}; often abbreviated ''70''; in [[Roman numerals]], '''LXX'''), is the earliest extant [[Koine Greek]] translation of books from the [[Hebrew Bible]] and [[deuterocanonical books]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Septuagint | website = Dictionary |url= https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Septuagint | publisher = Merriam-Webster |access-date= April 7, 2018}}</ref> The first five books of the Hebrew Bible, known as the [[Torah]] or the [[Pentateuch]], were translated in the mid-[[3rd century BC]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=William |title=The Most Important Bible Translation You’ve Never Heard Of |url=https://textandcanon.org/the-most-important-bible-translation-youve-never-heard-of/ |website=Text & Canon Institute}}</ref> The remaining books of the Greek Old Testament are presumably translations of the [[2nd century BC]].<ref name="Beckwith">{{cite book |last1=Beckwith |first1=Roger T. |title=The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church |date=2008 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |location=Eugene, Oregon |pages=382, 383}}</ref><ref name="Van Gorcum">{{cite book |last1=Mulder |first1=M. J. |title=Mikra : text, translation, reading, and interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in ancient Judaism and early Christianity |date=1988 |publisher=Van Gorcum |location=Phil. |isbn=978-0800606046 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6eZ5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81 }}</ref><ref name="britannica1">{{cite web |title= Septuagint |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Septuagint |website= Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date= 26 March 2019 |date= June 15, 2017}}</ref>

The full title ({{lang-grc |Ἡ μετάφρασις τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα||The Translation of the Seventy}}) derives from the story recorded in the [[Letter of Aristeas]] that the Hebrew Torah was translated into Greek at the request of [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] (285–247 BC) by 70 Jewish scholars or, according to later tradition, 72: six scholars from each of the [[Twelve Tribes of Israel]], who independently produced identical translations.{{cn|date=July 2021}} The miraculous character of the Aristeas legend might indicate the esteem and disdain in which the translation was held at the time; Greek translations of Hebrew scriptures were in circulation among the [[History of the Jews in Alexandria|Alexandrian Jews]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13722a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Septuagint Version|website=www.newadvent.org|access-date=2019-07-24}}</ref> Egyptian [[papyri]] from the period have led most scholars to view as probable Aristeas's dating of the translation of the Pentateuch to the third century BC. Whatever share the Ptolemaic court may have had in the translation, it satisfied a need felt by the Jewish community, in whom the knowledge of Hebrew was waning.<ref>{{cite web |last1= Sigfried |first1= Carl |last2=Gottheil |first2= Richard |title= Hellenism |year= 1906 |url= http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7535-hellenism |website= Jewish Encyclopedia |publisher= The Kopelman Foundation |access-date=26 March 2019}}</ref> However, the authenticity of Aristeas' letter has been questioned; "[i]t was the English monk [[Humphrey Hody]] (1684) who was able to show convincingly that the letter was not by a contemporary of Philadelphus."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Alan T.|first=Levenson|title=The Wiley-Blackwell History of Jews and Judaism|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2012|isbn=978-1405196376|location=UK|pages=121–141}}</ref>

"Septuagint" is derived from the [[Latin]] phrase ''versio septuaginta interpretum'' ("translation of the seventy interpreters"), which was derived from the {{lang-grc |Ἡ μετάφρασις τῶν Ἑβδομήκοντα|hē metáphrasis tōn hebdomḗkonta|The Translation of the Seventy}}.<ref name="Jobes and Silva"/> It was not until the time of [[Augustine of Hippo]] (354–430&nbsp;AD) that the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures was called by the Latin term ''Septuaginta''.<ref>Sundberg, in McDonald & Sanders, eds., ''The Canon Debate'', p.72.</ref> The Roman numeral LXX (seventy) is commonly used as an abbreviation, in addition to <math> \mathfrak{G} </math><ref>''[[Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia]]'', for instance.</ref> or ''G''.

Philo of Alexandria writes that the number of scholars was chosen by selecting six scholars from each of the [[twelve tribes of Israel]]. Caution is needed here regarding the accuracy of this statement by [[Philo|Philo of Alexandria]], as it implies that the twelve tribes were still in existence during [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus|King Ptolemy's]] reign, and that the [[Ten Lost Tribes]] of the twelve tribes had not been forcibly resettled by [[Assyrian captivity|Assyria]] almost 500 years previously.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ziva|first=Shavitsky|title=The Mystery of the Ten Lost Tribes: A Critical Survey of Historical and Archaeological Records relating to the People of Israel in Exile in Syria, Mesopotamia and Persia up to ca. 300 BC|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4438-3502-2|location=UK}}</ref> According to later [[rabbinic tradition]] (which considered the Greek translation as a distortion of sacred text and unsuitable for use in the synagogue), the Septuagint was given to Ptolemy two days before the annual [[Tenth of Tevet]] fast.<ref name="JE-Septuagint" /><ref>[[Arba'ah Turim|Tur]] Orach Chaim 580, quoting [[Simeon Kayyara|Bahag]].</ref>

The 3rd 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 2nd century BC, and early [[manuscript]]s datable to the 2nd century.<ref>J.A.L. Lee, A Lexical Study of the Septuagint Version of the Pentateuch (Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 14. Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1983; Reprint SBL, 2006)</ref> After the Torah, other books were translated over the next two to three centuries. It is unclear which was translated when, or where; some may have been translated twice (into different versions), and then revised.<ref>Joel Kalvesmaki, [http://www.kalvesmaki.com/LXX/ The Septuagint]</ref> The quality and style of the translators varied considerably from book to book, from a [[literal translation]] to [[paraphrase|paraphrasing]] to an interpretative style.

The translation process of the Septuagint and from the Septuagint into other versions can be divided into several stages: the Greek text was produced within the social environment of [[Hellenistic Judaism]], and completed by 132 BC. With the spread of [[Early Christianity]], this Septuagint in turn was rendered into Latin in a variety of versions and the latter, collectively known as the ''[[Vetus Latina]]'', were also referred to as the Septuagint<ref>Cornelia Linde, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RxjGBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12 ''How to Correct the Sacra Scriptura? Textual Criticism of the Bible between the Twelfth and Fifteenth Century,''] Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature 2015 {{isbn|978-0-907-57044-8}} pp.9ff,29ff.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=owd9zig7i1oC&pg=PA369 ''Life after death: a history of the afterlife in the religions of the West'' (2004)], Anchor Bible Reference Library, [[Alan F. Segal]], p.363</ref><ref>Gilles Dorival, Marguerite Harl, and Olivier Munnich, ''La Bible grecque des Septante: Du judaïsme hellénistique au christianisme ancien'' (Paris: Cerfs, 1988), p.111</ref> initially in [[Early centers of Christianity#Alexandria|Alexandria]] but elsewhere as well.<ref name="Jobes and Silva">{{cite book |author=[[Karen H. Jobes]] and [[Moises Silva]] |title=Invitation to the Septuagint |year=2001 |publisher=[[Paternoster Press]] | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OysSAQAAIAAJ |isbn=978-1-84227-061-5 }}</ref> The Septuagint also formed the basis for the [[Old Church Slavonic language|Slavonic]], [[Syro-hexaplar version|Syriac]], Old [[Armenian language|Armenian]], Old [[Georgian language|Georgian]], and [[Coptic language|Coptic]] versions of the Christian [[Old Testament]].<ref name="Würthwein">Ernst Würthwein, ''The Text of the Old Testament,'' trans. Errol F. Rhodes, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. Eerdmans, 1995.</ref>

Extant copies of the Septuagint, which date from the 4th century AD, contain books and additions<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blowers |first1=Paul M. |last2=Martens |first2=Peter W |title=The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |pages=59, 60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jguXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA59 |access-date=17 October 2019|isbn=9780191028205 }}</ref> not present in the Hebrew Bible as established in the Palestinian Jewish canon<ref name="SchiffmanD1991">{{cite book|author1=Lawrence H. Schiffman|author2=Sol Scharfstein|title=From Text to Tradition: A History of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kWYHyBb4C8C|year=1991|publisher=KTAV Publishing House, Inc.|isbn=978-0-88125-372-6|page=120}}</ref> and are not uniform in their contents. According to some scholars, there is no evidence that the Septuagint included these additional books.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=E. E.|title=The Old Testament in Early Christianity|date=1992|publisher=Baker|page=34|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=978VyfpZy7YC&pg=PA78 |access-date=4 November 2014|isbn=9783161456602}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Beckwith|first1=Roger|title=The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church|date=1986|publisher=Eerdmans|location=Grand Rapids, MI|page=382}}</ref><ref name="Beckwith"/> These copies of the Septuagint include books known as ''[[anagignoskomena]]'' in Greek and in English as [[Deuterocanonical books|deuterocanon]] (derived from the Greek words for "second canon"), books not included in the [[Development of the Hebrew Bible canon|Jewish canon]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meade |first1=John D. |title=Was there a "Septuagint Canon"? |journal=Didaktikos: Journal of Theological Education. |url=https://academic.logos.com/was-there-a-septuagint-canon/#easy-footnote-bottom-3-8069 |access-date=8 October 2019|date=2018-03-23 }}</ref><ref name="Van Gorcum"/>

These books are estimated to have been written between 200 BC and 50 AD. Among them are the first two books of [[Books of the Maccabees|Maccabees]]; Tobit; Judith; the Wisdom of Solomon; Sirach; Baruch (including the Letter of Jeremiah), and additions to Esther and Daniel. The Septuagint version of some books, such as Daniel and [[Book of Esther|Esther]], are longer than those in the [[Masoretic Text]], which were affirmed as canonical by the rabbis.<ref>Rick Grant Jones, ''Various Religious Topics,'' "[https://web.archive.org/web/20030606114529/http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/7224/Rick/Septuagint/sp_books.html Books of the Septuagint]", (Accessed 2006.9.5).</ref> The Septuagint [[Book of Jeremiah]] is shorter than the Masoretic Text.<ref>{{Cite book |last =Blenkinsopp |first =Joseph |title =A history of prophecy in Israel|publisher =Westminster John Knox Press |year =1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6P9YEd9lXeAC&pg=PA166 |isbn =9780664256395|page =130}}</ref> The [[Psalms of Solomon]], [[3 Maccabees]], [[4 Maccabees]], the [[Letter of Jeremiah]], the [[Book of Odes (Bible)|Book of Odes]], the [[Prayer of Manasseh]] and [[Psalm 151]] are included in some copies of the Septuagint.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Old Testament Canon and Apocrypha|url=http://www.bible-researcher.com/canon2.html|website=BibleResearcher|access-date=27 November 2015}}{{better source needed|date=November 2015|reason=This statement should be based on reliable sources.}}</ref>

Fragments of deuterocanonical books in Hebrew are among the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]] found at [[Qumran]]. [[Sirach]], whose text in Hebrew was already known from the [[Cairo Geniza]], has been found in two scrolls (2QSir or 2Q18, 11QPs_a or 11Q5) in Hebrew. Another Hebrew scroll of Sirach has been found in [[Masada]] (MasSir).<ref name="Abegg">{{cite book| last1 = Abegg| first1 = Martin| last2 = Flint| first2 = Peter| last3 = Ulrich| first3 = Eugene| title = The Dead Sea Scroll Bible| year = 1999| publisher = HarperOne| isbn = 978-0-06-060064-8 }}</ref>{{rp|597}} Five fragments from the Book of Tobit have been found in Qumran: four written in [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] and one written in Hebrew (papyri 4Q, nos. 196-200).<ref name="Abegg"/>{{rp|636}} Psalm 151 appears with a number of canonical and non-canonical psalms in the Dead Sea scroll 11QPs(a) (also known as 11Q5), a first-century-AD scroll discovered in 1956.<ref>{{Citation | first = JA | last = Sanders | title = Ps. 151 in 11QPss | journal = Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft | volume = 75 | year = 1963 | pages = 73–86 | doi=10.1515/zatw.1963.75.1.73| s2cid = 170573233 }}, and slightly revised in {{Citation | editor-first = JA | editor-last = Sanders | title = The Psalms Scroll of Qumrân Cave 11 (11QPsa) | journal = DJD | volume = 4 | pages = 54–64}}.</ref> The scroll contains two short Hebrew psalms, which scholars agree were the basis for Psalm 151.<ref name="Abegg" />{{rp|585–586}} The canonical acceptance of these books varies by Christian tradition.

In the most ancient copies of the Bible which contain the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the Book of Daniel is not the original Septuagint version but a copy of [[Theodotion]]'s translation from the Hebrew which more closely resembles the Masoretic Text. The Septuagint version was discarded in favor of Theodotion's version in the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD. In Greek-speaking areas, this happened near the end of the 2nd century; in Latin-speaking areas (at least in North Africa), it occurred in the middle of the 3rd century. The reason for this is unknown. Several Old Greek texts of the Book of Daniel have been discovered, and the original form of the book is being reconstructed.<ref name="Dines" />

Several factors led most Jews to abandon the Septuagint around the second century AD. The earliest [[gentile]] Christians used the Septuagint out of necessity, since it was the only Greek version of the Bible and most (if not all) of these early non-[[Jewish Christian]]s could not read Hebrew. The association of the Septuagint with a rival religion may have made it suspect in the eyes of the newer generation of Jews and Jewish scholars.<ref name="Würthwein"/> Jews instead used Hebrew or Aramaic [[Targum]] manuscripts later compiled by the [[Masoretes]] and authoritative Aramaic translations, such as those of [[Targum Onkelos|Onkelos]] and [[Targum Jonathan|Rabbi Yonathan ben Uziel]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marcos |first1=Natalio F |title=The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Bible |edition=2000}}</ref>

Jerome broke with church tradition, translating most of the [[Old Testament]] of his [[Vulgate]] from Hebrew rather than Greek. His choice was sharply criticized by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], his contemporary.<ref>Jerome, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.LXXII.html From Jerome, Letter LXXI] (404&nbsp;AD), NPNF1-01. ''The Confessions and Letters of St. Augustin, with a Sketch of his Life and Work,'' Phillip Schaff, Ed.</ref> Although Jerome argued for the superiority of the Hebrew texts in correcting the Septuagint on philological and theological grounds, because he was accused of heresy he also acknowledged the Septuagint texts.<ref name="Rebenich2013p58">Rebenich, S., ''Jerome'' (Routledge, 2013), p. 58. {{ISBN|9781134638444}}</ref> Acceptance of Jerome's version increased, and it displaced the Septuagint's [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin translations]].<ref name="Würthwein"/>

Modern scholarship holds that the Septuagint was written from the 3rd through the 1st centuries BC, but nearly all attempts at dating specific books (except for the Pentateuch, early- to mid-3rd century BC) are tentative.<ref name="Dines"/> Later Jewish revisions and [[recension]]s of the Greek against the Hebrew are well-attested. The best-known are [[Aquila of Sinope|Aquila]] (128&nbsp;AD), [[Symmachus the Ebionite|Symmachus]], and Theodotion. These three, to varying degrees, are more-literal renderings of their contemporary Hebrew scriptures compared to the Old Greek (the original Septuagint). Modern scholars consider one (or more) of the three to be new Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible.

The oldest manuscripts of the Septuagint include 2nd-century-BC fragments of Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Rahlfs nos. 801, 819, and 957) and 1st-century-BC fragments of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the [[Twelve Minor Prophets]] ([[Alfred Rahlfs]] nos. 802, 803, 805, 848, 942, and 943). Relatively-complete manuscripts of the Septuagint postdate the Hexaplar recension, and include the fourth-century-AD [[Codex Vaticanus Graecus 1209|Codex Vaticanus]] and the fifth-century [[Codex Alexandrinus]]. These are the oldest-surviving nearly-complete manuscripts of the Old Testament in any language; the oldest extant complete Hebrew texts date to about 600 years later, from the first half of the 10th century.<ref name="Würthwein"/> The 4th-century [[Codex Sinaiticus]] also partially survives, with many Old Testament texts.<ref name=Würthwein/>{{rp|73}}{{rp|198}} The Jewish (and, later, Christian) revisions and recensions are largely responsible for the divergence of the codices.<ref name="Dines"/> The [[Codex Marchalianus]] is another notable manuscript.