Translate the Greek Old Testament – Septuagint (LXX) Online Texts
The Septuagint stands as one of the great historical wonders of the world. It was the world’s first major work of translation. The history and stories behind the Septuagint are shrouded with intrigue and mystery. It also has held general prominence over any other version of the Old Testament for over 500 years. The Septuagint, not the Hebrew Bible, was the Old Testament for the writers of the New Testament as well as the church fathers. Because most of the church fathers could not read Hebrew, exegetical debates were settled using the Septuagint. Even today the Septuagint remains the canonical text for the Orthodox Christian tradition. Its impact upon the New Testament cannot be overstated. It also provides a wealth of philological data for understanding Koine Greek. Furthermore, the varied translation techniques found throughout the Septuagint have raised questions concerning theories and methods of translation, which still haunt modern translators. “Although few students will pursue Septuagint studies as a specialty at the graduate level, all students of the Bible, regardless of their religious identity, should understand the historical importance of the Septuagint and its significant contribution to the development of the Bible that we hold in our hands today. As the eminent biblical scholar Ferdinand Hitzig is said to have remarked to his students, ‘Gentlemen, have you a Septuagint? If not, sell all you have, and buy one.'”1
1Karen H. Jobes, Invitation to the Septuagint, Baker (Grand Rapids, April 2001), 26.