The conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) not only spread the Greek culture but also the Greek language throughout the known world. The common Greek language of his day was Koine Greek. Due to the spread of Greek influence, the world had greater access to the Word of God than ever before because God’s Word was in words.
Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews 11:317-335) wrote about Alexander’s visit to Judaea on his route to Egypt; however, scholars question the validity of this account. Keep in mind that Josephus wrote about this 400 years later. Josephus’ record certainly contains some embellishments, and some scholars question whether or not Alexander ever came to Jerusalem. Alexander’s campaign eventually brought him to Egypt in 331 B.C. The city Alexandria in Egypt was named in his honor. There was a great library in Alexandria begun by Ptolemy I (305-285 B.C.) and completed by Ptolemy II (285-246 B.C.). Writings from across the world were sought to be included in this famous library, including the Old Testament but translated into Greek. Supposedly, Ptolemy II instructed the librarian, Demetrius, to obtain a Greek translation.
Septuagint is the name for the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The name is from the Latin word septuaginta, meaning seventy. Readers will sometimes come across the designation for the Septuagint as LXX, seventy in Roman numerals. One of the sources regarding the creation of the translation is the Letter of Aristeas, which is a supposed correspondence between Aristeas and his brother, Philocrates, about the creation of this translation. While there is uncertainty about the authenticity of the Letter of Aristeas, this is the only source of information that we have on the creation of the Septuagint. Some scholars consider the Letter of Aristeas as propaganda or promotional material to increase the translation’s acceptance. The record states that 70 (or 72) Hebrew scholars, six from each of the 12 tribes, were sent to Alexandria to complete the translation, which was done on the island of Pharos. Supposedly the work was completed in 72 days. Later writers would embellish the story even further with claims of miraculous feats demonstrating inspiration of the work, but these are exaggerated assertions to probably bolster the Septuagint’s acceptance. The original scope of the work was the Pentateuch. Translations of other books of the Old Testament were completed much later, and we are less certain about the identity or circumstances of these translators. The Pentateuch was completed around the 3rd century B.C., and scholars estimate the balance of the Old Testament was completed around the 2nd century B.C.
Why is the Septuagint important? One teacher stated to his class that if they did not have a copy of the Septuagint, then they should sell all they have and secure a good copy of it. Why? Part of the reason is ascertaining the definition of a word. When we read a novel or some other book, if we do not know a definition of a word, we may be able to pass it over and get the gist of the sentence without having to use a dictionary. Yet, what if there was no dictionary? We would have to determine a word’s meaning by reading its usage in various contexts. One of the values of the Septuagint is that it provides context for Koine Greek terms found in the New Testament that enrich our understanding of the Word. Today, we have the benefit of scholars who study documents in Koine Greek and assemble their research into lexicons so we can profit from their diligent study. While we may not need to have a copy of the Septuagint, we should be aware of the value of this ancient translation of the Old Testament.
Works Consulted
Bell, Albert A. Exploring the New Testament World. Nashville: Nelson P., 1998.
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.
Overton, Basil. Gems From Greek. Abilene: Quality P., 1991.
The Letter of Aristeas. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray. New York: MacMillan, 1917.
[Editor’s Note: The Septuagint is a translation among many translations of the Bible, in part or in whole. All translations have some weaknesses and most of them have their strengths, too. That a translation can adequately convey the inspired Word of God from one language to another is evident from the fact that Jesus Christ and other Spirit-guided New Testament writers quoted from the Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Hebrew (and Aramaic) Old Testament. For more on the Septuagint, see the following web addresses.https://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=5174
https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2015/feb/page10.html
https://www.gospelgazette.com/gazette/2017/aug/page2.html
~ Louis Rushmore, Editor]
