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What is the Septuagint? It is the oldest and quite possibly the most important translation of the Bible. It was preferred to the Hebrew text by the Early Christian Church.
When Hebrew ceased to be the spoken language of the Jewish people after they went into exile, Aramaic became their primary language. However Greek became the primary language for the many Jews living in Egypt, and it became necessary for the Hebrew Scriptures to be translated into Greek.
The term Septuagint, meaning "seventy," actually refers to the seventy-two translators, six from each tribe of Israel, involved in translating the Pentateuch from Hebrew to Greek in the third century BCE (seventy-two is rounded down to seventy.)
The importance of the Septuagint cannot be emphasized enough. It is the Bible that Jesus read and the translation that the New Testament writers quoted from 90 percent of the time. There are around 300 Old Testament passages that are directly quoted or strongly alluded to in the New Testament that are from the Septuagint and not the Hebrew or Masoretic text.
Many Christians today have little or no knowledge of this most important translation of the Bible, which is why I felt compelled to record at least the Book of Genesis. If there is a demand, I will record more.
I am reading from the English translation by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, first published in London in 1851.
When Hebrew ceased to be the spoken language of the Jewish people after they went into exile, Aramaic became their primary language. However Greek became the primary language for the many Jews living in Egypt, and it became necessary for the Hebrew Scriptures to be translated into Greek.
The term Septuagint, meaning "seventy," actually refers to the seventy-two translators, six from each tribe of Israel, involved in translating the Pentateuch from Hebrew to Greek in the third century BCE (seventy-two is rounded down to seventy.)
The importance of the Septuagint cannot be emphasized enough. It is the Bible that Jesus read and the translation that the New Testament writers quoted from 90 percent of the time. There are around 300 Old Testament passages that are directly quoted or strongly alluded to in the New Testament that are from the Septuagint and not the Hebrew or Masoretic text.
Many Christians today have little or no knowledge of this most important translation of the Bible, which is why I felt compelled to record at least the Book of Genesis. If there is a demand, I will record more.
I am reading from the English translation by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, first published in London in 1851.