Manuscripts
The Septuagint (LXX)
- Era
- translated c. 250-150 BC
- Location
- Alexandria, Egypt
- Discovered
- —
The Greek translation of the Old Testament, completed before Christ. It preserves Messianic prophecies in a language no later Christian could have manipulated, and it is the Bible most often quoted in the New Testament itself.
The find
According to the Letter of Aristeas, the Torah was translated into Greek for the Library of Alexandria in the 3rd century BC; the rest of the Old Testament followed by the 2nd century BC. The Septuagint was the Bible of the Greek-speaking Jewish diaspora and is the version most quoted by the New Testament authors.
Why it matters
Because the Septuagint was completed long before Christ — and preserved by Jewish communities that were hostile to Christian claims — every Messianic prophecy it contains (Isaiah 7:14's "virgin," Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2, Daniel 9) simply cannot have been altered by Christians after the fact.
Cross-linked Scripture
Doctrine check
Sources
- ·Jobes, K.H. & Silva, M. (2015). Invitation to the Septuagint, 2nd ed.
- ·Marcos, N.F. (2000). The Septuagint in Context
- ·Brenton's Septuagint — full English text (CCEL)
- ·Septuagint (Wikipedia)
See also
