What Is the Septuagint — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

The Septuagint (often abbreviated as LXX, the Roman numeral for seventy) is one of the most significant texts in biblical history — the first major translation of the Hebrew Bible into another language, and the version of the Old Testament most frequently quoted by the New Testament authors. According to the traditional account preserved in the Letter of Aristeas, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (285-246 BC) commissioned seventy-two Jewish scholars (six from each tribe) to translate the Torah into Greek for his royal library in Alexandria. The scholars worked independently, and when they compared their translations, they were found to be miraculously identical — a sign of divine approval. While the legendary elements of this story are debated by scholars, the historical core is well established: Greek-speaking Jews in Egypt, who no longer understood Hebrew, needed the Scriptures in their own language. The translation process extended over approximately 200 years, from the third to the first centuries BC. The Torah was translated first, followed by the prophets and the writings. The translators were Jewish scholars who sought to render the Hebrew text accurately into Greek while making it understandable to Greek-speaking readers. The Septuagint was immensely important for several reasons. First, it made the Hebrew Scriptures accessible to the vast Jewish diaspora scattered throughout the Mediterranean world. Synagogues across the Roman Empire read from the Septuagint. Second, it became the Bible of the early Christian church. Most of the Old Testament quotations in the New Testament come from the Septuagint, not from the Hebrew text. Paul's letters, the Gospel of Matthew, the Book of Hebrews, and the writings of Luke all reflect Septuagint wording. Third, it facilitated the spread of the gospel to the Gentile world, for Greek was the lingua franca of the Roman Empire. Gentile converts could read the Old Testament in Greek and see its fulfillment in Christ. Fourth, it preserved the text of the Old Testament in a form independent of the later Hebrew Masoretic tradition. In some places, the Septuagint preserves readings that differ from the Masoretic Text, and scholars debate which is more original. The Septuagint also included additional books not found in the Hebrew canon — the books known as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books. These books were part of the Greek Jewish tradition and were accepted by early Christians, but the Reformers later rejected them as authoritative Scripture, following the Hebrew canon rather than the Greek. The Septuagint's influence on Christian theology is immeasurable. Its Greek vocabulary shaped the theological language of the New Testament. Words like 'christ' (anointed one), 'ecclesia' (assembly/church), and 'kyrios' (Lord) carried specific meanings in the Septuagint that the New Testament authors drew upon. Its messianic passages were interpreted by the early church as pointing directly to Christ. Today, the Septuagint remains an essential tool for biblical scholarship, textual criticism, and the study of how the Old Testament was understood in the centuries before Christ. It reminds us that God has always provided His Word in the languages of His people, that translation is not treason but a means of grace, and that the Greek Scriptures prepared the way for the gospel just as the Hebrew Scriptures prepared the way for the Messiah.

Where It Sits in Scripture

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