Appendix 1
Septuagint
The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament). The name was derived from the Latin word for the number 70, as it is believed to have been translated by a team of seventy Jewish scholars (there are some references that state the number was actually 72 scholars) that were assembled and hired by King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.) to translate the Hebrew text to Greek. It is typically referenced with the Roman numerals LXX.
Since there appears to have been a significant time gap from when ancient Hebrew was last heard and used to the much later ‘modern era’, the Septuagint has been called the “Rosetta Stone” of the Hebrew language, as it has helped many scholars in translating several Hebrew words that were previously unknown.
The Septuagint certainly qualifies as being “Scripture” as it is the source of most, if not all, New Testament quotations from the Old Testament, however, it is not free of controversy. First of all, the history of the document is not consistent, and what we refer to as the Septuagint today may not be the original work, as today’s version contains what scholars refer to as Apocryphal (questionable origin) and Pseudepigraphal (the claimed author is not the true author) books that are not considered part of the accepted Biblical canon (the word ‘canon’ refers to a ‘rule’ or standard). Secondly, if we disregard the extra books, we can see that the text of many Hebrew manuscripts vary slightly from the Greek text in the Septuagint. Some of these differences could be considered significant (see below).
While the Greek translation is dependent and subservient to its Hebrew parent, these differences indicate that there has been some changes in either the Septuagint Greek or the Hebrew canon. Since the Septuagint may actually represent, in some cases, an earlier version of the original text, it should not be automatically rejected when a variance is found. As it is always necessary to examine Scripture in context, one should include the Septuagint version in their studies to: 1) aid in understanding difficult Hebrew words and phrases; 2) compare Greek New Testament words to those used in the Old Testament and vice versa; and 3) examine any textual variances; they often provide additional insight to a verse’s context. Since most English Bible translations and versions incorporate the use of Hebrew manuscripts or canon, a copy of the Septuagint translated into English would be a good addition to any person studying the Bible[1]
One example of the differences can be seen in the rendering of Proverbs 11:31. The Hebrew rendition as found in the ESV reads, “If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!” The Septuagint reads, “If indeed the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinful appear?”[2] The primary difference is the word ‘repaid’ (Hebrew ‘yešǔl·lām’,[3] meaning to be safe) versus ‘scarcely saved’ (Greek ‘mólis’,[4] with difficulty, hardly; and ‘sōzō’,[5] meaning to save, be delivered). Peter quoted this verse 1 Peter 4:18, see the commentary to understand how he interpreted and used the verse’s meaning.
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[1] Adapted from author’s book, “Everything a Christian Should Know About the Torah A Commentary on the First Five Books of the Bible.”
[2] Brannan, R., Penner, K. M., Loken, I., Aubrey, M., & Hoogendyk, I., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Septuagint (Pr 11:31). Lexham Press.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 7999.
[4] Strong’s Greek 3433.
[5] Strong’s Greek 4982.