| Septuagint Books What is it? The Septuagint (LXX) is the name of the Old Testament translated in the third century BC. It is the oldest and most complete translation of the Old Testament by Alexandrian Jews. History Behind the Name The Septuagint gets its name from the Latin number septuaginta, or 70. The abbreviation is often the Roman numeral LXX which also means 70. In the 3rd century BC, legend has it that seventy-two Jewish scholars, six from each of the twelve tribes, were asked by the Egyptian Pharaoh to translate the Old Testament for the Library of Alexandria. The legend goes that the translators operated in separate chambers, "all produced identical versions of the text in seventy-two days." It's Common Use in Modern Biblical Studies Because of its wide acceptance, the it became the primary Scripture of the early Christian Church. It is often referred to in studies of the New Testament in which quotes of the Old Testament are found in the New. It is believed that many, though not all, of the New Testament translations of the Old were influenced by the LXX. Terms, such as the "I AM" of Exodus 3:14 (God's name "Yahweh"; often translated "Jehovah") are translated identically between the LXX (Exodus 3:14) and the New Testament (John 5:58) as "Ego Eimi." It is likely that when Christ used this term in reference to himself, that the Jews understood him to be claiming the same title as the "Yahweh" (which would explain why they attempted to stone him for blasphemy). |