Bible Timeline · About 250 BC

The Septuagint: The Old Testament in Greek

The Septuagint is the Old Testament translated into Greek by Jews in Alexandria, Egypt, starting with the Law around 250 BC. It became the Bible of the early church, the New Testament often quotes it, and it included the extra books later called the Apocrypha.

Read it in the Bible: Luke 4:16-21 Acts 8:30-35 Hebrews 10:5 Psalm 40:6 Isaiah 7:14

The Septuagint is the first translation of the Old Testament, from Hebrew into Greek. Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt, started with the five books of Moses around 250 BC, in the days of King Ptolemy II, and the rest of the books followed over the next century or two. Its name comes from the Latin word for seventy, after a story that about seventy translators made it. It became the Bible of Greek speaking Jews and then of the early church. When the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, it very often uses the Septuagint.

Why Was the Old Testament Translated Into Greek?

After Alexander the Great conquered the Middle East, Greek became the common language of the world. A huge Jewish community grew in Alexandria, the great Greek city Alexander founded in Egypt. Within a few generations, many of these Jews spoke Greek better than Hebrew. They needed the Scriptures in a language they understood.

That is the same reason this site exists. People need God's Word in their own language. The Septuagint was the first big Bible translation project in history, and it set the pattern for every one since.

What Is the Letter of Aristeas Story?

The most famous account of how the Septuagint began is found in the Letter of Aristeas. It says King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt, who ruled from 285 to 246 BC, wanted a copy of the Jewish Law for his great library in Alexandria. So he asked the high priest in Jerusalem to send translators. Six elders came from each of the twelve tribes, 72 men in all. They worked on the island of Pharos and finished the Law in 72 days.

Later writers made the story even bigger. The Jewish thinker Philo said the translators worked separately and came up with the exact same wording, as if God dictated it. Later Christian writers said the same, and some extended the story to the whole Old Testament.

Most scholars think the letter is a later legend, written to give the translation honor. But many agree with its basic point. The five books of Moses were translated into Greek in Alexandria in the 200s BC, probably during Ptolemy's reign. Seventy is a rounded version of 72. That is why scholars abbreviate the Septuagint with the Roman numerals LXX.

When Was the Rest of the Septuagint Translated?

The Law came first. The Prophets and the Writings were translated by different people over the next century or two, probably finished by about 100 BC. You can tell different hands worked on it. Some books are very literal. Others are freer. Some, like Job and Jeremiah, are noticeably different in length from the Hebrew. The grandson of Ben Sira, writing in Egypt in the late 100s BC, already mentions the Law, the Prophets and the other books in translation.

Does the Septuagint Include the Apocrypha?

Yes. The Septuagint as it came down to us includes books and additions that are not in the Hebrew Bible. These include Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and extra parts of Esther and Daniel.

Christians later disagreed about these books. Catholic and Orthodox churches accept many of them as Scripture and call them deuterocanonical, meaning second canon. Protestants follow the shorter Hebrew canon and call them the Apocrypha, books worth reading but not equal to Scripture. Jerome, who made the Latin Vulgate, also preferred the Hebrew. Martin Luther placed them between the testaments in his German Bible as helpful books. The Apocrypha article and the page on Prophecies Fulfilled in the Apocrypha on this site go deeper.

How Did Jesus and the Apostles Use the Septuagint?

Many New Testament quotes of the Old Testament follow the Septuagint's wording, especially in Luke, Acts, Paul's letters and Hebrews. Since the New Testament was written in Greek to Greek readers, that makes sense. It was the Bible people had in their hands.

One good example is in Hebrews 10:5. The Hebrew of Psalm 40:6 says my ears You have opened. The Septuagint reads a body You prepared for Me, and Hebrews quotes that.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. Hebrews 10:5

Another famous case is Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew word almah means a young woman of marrying age. The Septuagint, translated by Jews long before Jesus, used parthenos, which means virgin. Matthew 1:23 follows it.

When the Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot, he was almost certainly reading the Septuagint. His question opened the door for Philip.

So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth. In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.” “Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:30 to 35

Why Does the Septuagint Still Matter?

The Septuagint is a witness to the Hebrew text as it stood more than two thousand years ago. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, some Hebrew scrolls matched the Septuagint where it differs from the later Masoretic Text. So it helps scholars see what the earliest Hebrew copies said. Modern translations, including the Berean Standard Bible behind The Owner's Manual, follow the Hebrew Masoretic Text and check the Septuagint in hard places, noting it in footnotes.

It is still the official Old Testament of the Eastern Orthodox Church today. And its Greek words, like Christos for Messiah and ekklesia for assembly, became the vocabulary of the New Testament. Without the Septuagint, the apostles would have had to invent a Christian vocabulary from scratch.

What Does the Septuagint Mean for You Today?

The Septuagint shows that God's Word was meant to be translated. Before Jesus came, God had already put His Scriptures into the world's common language. When the gospel spread, people across the Roman empire could open the same Bible the apostles quoted.

When Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from Isaiah and said, today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing, Luke 4:21. The Septuagint helped carry those words to the nations, so that Greeks, Romans, Ethiopians and eventually you could hear that the Messiah had come.

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Questions People Ask

What does Septuagint mean?

Septuagint comes from the Latin word for seventy. It refers to the story that about seventy, or more exactly 72, Jewish elders translated the Law into Greek. That is why it is often abbreviated LXX, the Roman numeral for seventy.

When was the Septuagint written?

The five books of Moses were translated into Greek in Alexandria, Egypt, around 250 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy II. The rest of the Old Testament was translated over the next century or two, probably finished by about 100 BC.

Did Jesus quote the Septuagint?

The Gospels are written in Greek, and many of their Old Testament quotes match the Septuagint's wording. Jesus likely spoke Aramaic and read Hebrew, so we cannot be sure which text He used each time. But the New Testament writers often quoted the Septuagint.

Is the Apocrypha in the Septuagint?

Yes. The Septuagint includes books like Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and 1 and 2 Maccabees that are not in the Hebrew Bible. Catholic and Orthodox Christians accept many of them as Scripture, while Protestants call them the Apocrypha.

Sources

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