Septuagint Studies

The Septuagint is the canon of Hebrew Scripture as translated into Koine Greek in the last three centuries before Christ. The Jews of the eastern Mediterranean had largely lost fluency in Hebrew, and so the Old Testament was preserved in the language of the common people. The Septuagint together with the New Testament form a complete canon of Christian Scripture in the Greek language.

Some pertinent background information from the Jewish Encyclopedia:

- According to Aristeas (c. 200 B.C.), the Pentateuch was translated at the time of Philadelphus, the second Ptolemy (285-247 B.C.), which translation was encouraged by the king and welcomed by the Jews of Alexandria.

- It is not known when the other books of the Bible were rendered into Greek. The grandson of Ben Sira (132 B.C.), in the prologue to his translation of his grandfather's work, speaks of the "Law, Prophets, and the rest of the books" as being already current in his day.

It is therefore more than probable that the whole of the Bible was translated into Greek before the beginning of the Christian era.

- The quotations from the Old Testament found in the New are in the main taken from the Septuagint; and even where the citation is indirect the influence of this version is clearly seen.

The Septuagint remains the authorized Old Testament of the Greek Orthodox Church today.

 

Paul quotes the Septuagint version of Psalm 14:3 in Romans 3:12-18.

Rom. 3:12-18 (KJV): They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Psa. 14:3 (KJV): They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Psa. 14:3 (Brenton Sept): They are all gone out of the way, they are together become good for nothing, there is none that does good, no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

And Charles Thompson's Sept: They had all gone aside, they were altogether become vile: there is none who doeth good; no not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre: with their tongues they practised deceit: the poison of asps is under the lips of them whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace they did not know: there is no fear of God before their eyes.

Why does this matter? The redaction of Psalm 14:3 in the Masoretic Text effectively severs its connection to the New Testament.

 

Psalm 7:11 (KJV): God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

ESV: God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

Psa. 7:11 per Brenton: God is a righteous judge, and strong, and patient, not inflicting vengeance every day.

And per Thomson: God, who is a judge just and powerful; (though he is long suffering and doth not execute vengeance every day)

 

I suppose the same could be said about any translation. Affirmation of the inerrancy and divine inspiration of the original autographs is universal, however.