What is the Septuagint?

The Septuagint is the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. It was likely created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. The Torah, or Pentateuch, was likely translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, with the rest of the Old Testament following in the 2nd century BCE. Legend says that 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, produced identical versions independently. The name Septuagint comes from the Latin word for "70". The Greek text of the Septuagint, rather than the original Hebrew, was the primary source for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and some Arabic translations of the Old Testament.

Why was the Septuagint created?

The Septuagint, the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew, was created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. According to legend, 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, independently translated the text, producing identical versions. The Torah, or Pentateuch, was likely translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, with the rest of the Old Testament following in the 2nd century BCE. Early Christians used the Septuagint to find prophecies they believed were fulfilled by Christ. The Septuagint includes books of the Hebrew canon, separates the minor prophets, and incorporates extra books known as apocryphal texts.

In what language was the Septuagint written?

The Septuagint , the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament, was created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. Experts believe the Torah was translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, and the remaining Old Testament books were translated in the 2nd century BCE. The legend suggests that 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, independently translated the text, producing identical versions. The Greek text of the Septuagint, rather than the original Hebrew, became the primary basis for translations into Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and some Arabic versions of the Old Testament.

How does the Septuagint differ from the Hebrew Bible?

The Septuagint is the earliest existing Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. It was likely created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. The Hebrew Bible is a collection of writings that were initially compiled and preserved as sacred books of the Jewish people. It makes up a large portion of the Christian Bible, known as the Old Testament. A key difference lies in the canon: the Septuagint includes additional books referred to as Apocrypha, which are not part of the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint also divides the books differently, into law, history, poetry, and prophets, whereas the Hebrew Bible has three divisions: the Torah (Law), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).

How did the Septuagint influence early Christianity?

The Septuagint is the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. Commissioned for the Jewish community in Egypt, it became vital to early Christianity because Greek was the common language of the early Church. Christians used it to find prophecies they believed were fulfilled by Christ. As Christianity spread, the Septuagint served as a tool to mediate Jewish teachings to the pagan world. However, its adoption by Christians led to mistrust from Jews, who eventually stopped using it. The Septuagint then became the basis for Old Latin, Coptic, and other translations and remains the standard Old Testament version in the Greek Church.

Why is the Septuagint still important for biblical studies today?

The Septuagint (LXX), the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew, remains important for biblical studies today because it provides insights into the history of the biblical text and its early interpretations.

Septuagint

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Septuagint

biblical literature

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Top Questions

What is the Septuagint?
The Septuagint is the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. It was likely created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. The Torah, or Pentateuch, was likely translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, with the rest of the Old Testament following in the 2nd century BCE.

Legend says that 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, produced identical versions independently. The name Septuagint comes from the Latin word for "70". The Greek text of the Septuagint, rather than the original Hebrew, was the primary source for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and some Arabic translations of the Old Testament.
2 Britannica Sources
1. biblical literature: Sources of the Septuagint
2. Septuagint
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why was the Septuagint created?
The Septuagint, the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew, was created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. According to legend, 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, independently translated the text, producing identical versions.

The Torah, or Pentateuch, was likely translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, with the rest of the Old Testament following in the 2nd century BCE. Early Christians used the Septuagint to find prophecies they believed were fulfilled by Christ. The Septuagint includes books of the Hebrew canon, separates the minor prophets, and incorporates extra books known as apocryphal texts.
2 Britannica Sources
1. biblical literature: Sources of the Septuagint
2. Septuagint
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
In what language was the Septuagint written?
The Septuagint, the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament, was created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. Experts believe the Torah was translated around the mid-3rd century BCE, and the remaining Old Testament books were translated in the 2nd century BCE.

The legend suggests that 72 translators, six from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, independently translated the text, producing identical versions. The Greek text of the Septuagint, rather than the original Hebrew, became the primary basis for translations into Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and some Arabic versions of the Old Testament.
2 Britannica Sources
1. biblical literature: Manuscripts and printed editions of the Septuagint
2. Septuagint
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How does the Septuagint differ from the Hebrew Bible?
The Septuagint is the earliest existing Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. It was likely created for the Jewish community in Egypt, where Greek was the common language. The Hebrew Bible is a collection of writings that were initially compiled and preserved as sacred books of the Jewish people. It makes up a large portion of the Christian Bible, known as the Old Testament.

A key difference lies in the canon: the Septuagint includes additional books referred to as Apocrypha, which are not part of the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint also divides the books differently, into law, history, poetry, and prophets, whereas the Hebrew Bible has three divisions: the Torah (Law), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings).
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the Septuagint influence early Christianity?
The Septuagint is the earliest known Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. Commissioned for the Jewish community in Egypt, it became vital to early Christianity because Greek was the common language of the early Church. Christians used it to find prophecies they believed were fulfilled by Christ.

As Christianity spread, the Septuagint served as a tool to mediate Jewish teachings to the pagan world. However, its adoption by Christians led to mistrust from Jews, who eventually stopped using it. The Septuagint then became the basis for Old Latin, Coptic, and other translations and remains the standard Old Testament version in the Greek Church.
2 Britannica Sources
1. biblical literature: The Septuagint (LXX)
2. Septuagint
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is the Septuagint still important for biblical studies today?
The Septuagint (LXX), the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew, remains important for biblical studies today because it provides insights into the history of the biblical text and its early interpretations.
- Textual witness The Septuagint offers a glimpse into Hebrew texts that predate the Masoretic text, which is the standard text of the Hebrew Bible.
- Historical context It reveals how Jewish teachings spread to the Greek-speaking world and influenced the early Christian church. Early Christians used it to find prophecies they believed were fulfilled by Christ.
- Translation studies The Septuagint is a key source for understanding the translation techniques and hermeneutics of the Second Temple period.
- Manuscript tradition The Septuagint is preserved in early manuscripts like the Codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, which are crucial for textual criticism.
2 Britannica Sources
1. biblical literature: Manuscripts and printed editions of the Septuagint
2. Septuagint
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Septuagint, the earliest extant Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. The Septuagint was presumably made for the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the common language throughout the region. Analysis of the language has established that the Torah, or Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament), was translated near the middle of the 3rd century bce and that the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century bce.

The name Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta, “70”) was derived later from the legend that there were 72 translators, 6 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel, who worked independently to translate the whole and ultimately produced identical versions. Another legend holds that the translators were sent to Alexandria by Eleazar, the chief priest at Jerusalem, at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 bce), though its source, the Letter of Aristeas, is unreliable. Despite the tradition that it was perfectly translated, there are large differences in style and usage between the Septuagint’s translation of the Torah and its translations of the later books in the Old Testament. In the 3rd century ce Origen attempted to clear up copyists’ errors that had crept into the text of the Septuagint, which by then varied widely from copy to copy, and a number of other scholars consulted the Hebrew texts in order to make the Septuagint more accurate.

Given that the language of much of the early Christian church was Greek, many early Christians relied on the Septuagint to locate the prophecies they claimed were fulfilled by Christ. Jews considered this a misuse of Holy Scripture and stopped using the Septuagint altogether; its subsequent history lies within the Christian church. The Greek text, not the original Hebrew, was the main basis for the Old Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic, and part of the Arabic translations of the Old Testament and has never ceased to be the standard version of the Old Testament in the Greek church. Indeed, St. Jerome used the Septuagint to begin his translation of the Vulgate Old Testament in 382 ce.

Septuagint

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