Septuagint as a Result of Diaspora of Jews in Egypt - Research Paper Example

? THE SEPTUAGINT AS A RESULT OF THE DIASPORA OF JEWS IN EGYPT TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………ii INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..3 THE DIASPORA OF JEWS…………...……………………………………………...4 THE PTOLEMAIC REIGN…………………………………………………………...5 WRITING OF THE SEPTUAGINT…………………………………………………..6 IMPACT ON JEWISH LIVES………………………………………………………..8 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………..8 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………10 THE SEPTUAGINT AS A RESULT OF THE DIASPORA OF JEWS IN EGYPT Starting from the Babylonian Empire up to the reign of the Romans, there were numerous deportations of Jews to various geographic locations.1 Under the reign of several foreign kings, most of the members of the Jewish faith were removed out of Judea. These people had to adapt to the languages of the ruling empires to continue trade and commerce, aside from being under the rule of another empire. Under Persian rule, apart from Hebrew as the language of Jews, Aramaic also became the lingua franca, and eventually was accepted as an official language. So profound was the effect of the Persians that prayer books of Jews during that time were written in Aramaic.2 During the reign of Alexander the Great, there was a wide spread of the Hellenistic culture, and as a result aside from being able to speak Aramaic and Hebrew, most Jews were able to speak fluent Greek as well. The flexibility of Jews in adapting to the reigning empire’s generic laws such as the choice of languages enabled them not only to translate some of their scriptures into Aramaic, but to Greek as well. The Septuagint, also known as LXX, is a collection of Jewish scriptures that were translated into Greek, and was believed to have been written sometime during the Ptolemaic rule in Egypt, under Ptolemy II Philadelphus’ reign (282-246 BC).3 The original title of the Septuagint is interpretation septuaginta vivorum, or “the translation of seventy men” in English, and according to some legends these 70 or 72 men were composed of six scholars from each tribe of Judea. The collection of writings was considered to be the gift of Jews to the Greek-speaking world, as described by the Jewish author Philo of Alexandria in Egypt.4 For some scholars, the prototypes or the earliest forms of the translated scriptures were called Old Greek, abbreviated as OG, and the succeeding materials were collectively known as Septuagint.5 The texts were originally composed of the translations of the Pentateuch, but other scriptures were added to the collection.6 It can be deduced that the monotheistic nature of the Jews persisted during several periods under different rulers, which they considered to be polytheistic or Gentile. The resilience as well as the continuous faith of the Jews in their God has been proven by a number of works that have survived numerous centuries under the reign of several empires. Thus, the Septuagint, though being described by most Hebrew scholars during its time as a controversial document due to some deviations from the original Hebrew texts, is considered a testament of the Jews staying monotheistic regardless of where they are or who the reigning emperor is. THE DIASPORA OF JEWS The idea of leaving the homeland has been a recurring theme in the history of Jews, since the time of Abraham, and being exiled is the punishment of God that is to be accepted.7 Thus most of the stories in the Pentateuch were about the exile of Jews in search of the one true God. While the numerous travels and the long durations of being away from the homeland proved to be both harsh and not, for most Jews this also served as a blessing to them, especially with regard to the continuation of the Judean lineage.8 Since the Jews were emigrating to different lands while at the same time keeping their faith, it ensured that they would have more descendants in the future. The defeat of the Persian ruler Darius III in 333 BCE by Alexander the Great of Macedonia made another challenge to the Jews, mainly due to the implementation of the Hellenistic or Greek culture revival.9 The increase in the span of the Macedonian empire not only displaced some Jews, but also divided them into two large groups: the Western Greek-speaking Mediterranean Jews that spoke and wrote solely in Greek; and the Eastern Aramaic and Hebrew-speaking Jews.10 Despite the presence of the great divide in the two groups of Jews the strong adherence of both groups to their Jewish laws and beliefs as well as their fervent worship produced the Hebrew Bible and the formation of the Synagogue.11 THE PTOLEMAIC REIGN After the death of Alexander the Great in the year 323 BCE, numerous wars between the successors of the throne ensued. Many tumultuous years had passed before the kingdom of Macedonia was divided into four groups by the Diodochi, also known as the successors of Alexander the Great. The four generals that agreed to split the empire into four were Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy I Soter (or Lagi), and a previously unknown general named Seleucus I Nicator.12 Of these four, Ptolemy I is the most noted, mainly because he had a large tolerance to Judaism during his regime. Initially taking over Jerusalem deceptively during the Sabbath, Ptolemy I took many of the citizens as captives in Egypt and eventually let them live as Macedonians were living at that time.13 It was also during his dynasty, also known as the Ptolemaic reign, that the Septuagint was initiated. Since the majority of the Jews in the land of Egypt were only adept in speaking Greek, and Hebrew and Aramaic were limited to the scholars of that time, the translation of the Hebrew scripture into Greek made the Bible available to both non-Jews and non-educated Jews.14 Thus the proliferation of the Jewish faith in Egypt as well as in other Greek-speaking areas was increased with the creation of the Septuagint. WRITING OF THE SEPTUAGINT The creation of the Septuagint, or LXX is considered to be one, if not the most well-known and remarkable achievement of Hellenistic Judaism.15 The translation from Hebrew to Greek paved the way for the subsequent translations of the modern Christian Bible’s Old Testament, which is widely accepted.16 Aside from being the most complete Alexandrian writing that survived numerous centuries, it is one of the few extant works of Hellenistic Jewish literature that had a strong historical significance in Christianity.17 The Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates, which dates around 200 BC, first mentioned the writing of several Hebrew text in Greek and statds that it was under the rule of Ptolemy II Philadelphus that the project was initiated, mainly as a cultural need of the Jews, and later as a part of the library of Alexandria in Egypt.18 While the letter is claimed to be farce, it is presumed to be a contemporary of the Septuagint, and is in fact written by an unknown Jew. The 70 Jewish scholars that were said to have translated the Hebrew texts were also unknown and their names were not recorded.19 What is known, however, was which of the Hebrew texts were translated into Greek. Several books of the Hebrew bible were included in the Septuagint. Among these were the Pentateuch (Genesis up to Deuteronomy), the Historical books (Joshua up to 1-4 Maccabees), the Sapiental books (Psalms up to the book of Job) and the Prophetic books (Hosea to Daniel).20 The Greek translation was widely used not just by the early Christians, but also by the Jews who were living in Diaspora. Unfortunately, some difficulties arose during discussions with Jewish scholars, and the use of translated books was abandoned after only a few centuries due to discrepancies between the original Hebrew text and the Greek text. However, the purpose of the Septuagint as a way to promote the Jewish faith to non-Hebrew and non-Aramaic speaking people was still met, and as a result there was the continuation of the Jewish faith amidst other emerging religions.21 IMPACT ON JEWISH LIVES The Jews were known to be made up of people that were hardy, able to adapt and have a great deal of fidelity in terms of following agreements.22 Due to their nature of keeping up with traditions despite the constant bombardment of other ideas, most of those living in Diaspora were able to stay connected to their fathers and forefathers not through language, but through their beliefs of staying in the Jewish faith.23 For them, preservation of the legacy of the ancestors was akin to staying true to Jewish laws and customs as much as possible, which is apparent in their struggle to remain as they were even during the Hellenistic reign. While the Septuagint was a product of a long trial-and-error process with end results of being abandoned by Jews after a few centuries, it has served its purpose of keeping the Jewish faith alive under different empires, which proved to be effective. Also, by adapting the original Hebrew texts into a form that can be received better by Jews who have no knowledge of the Hebrew or Aramaic language, the religious, liturgical and educational needs of the Jews were fulfilled.24 CONCLUSION Since the beginning of the written texts in the Jewish Holy Texts, leaving the homeland has been a strong recurring theme, which is due to the punishment of God to the unfaithful Israelites. As they have accepted this idea fully, the Jews were able to become adaptable to wherever they may be displaced to or whoever their present ruler would be. Due to their resilience as well as their strong belief in their own faith above the current religion being imposed by the incumbent rulers, the persistence of the Jewish faith was able to prevail for a very long time. Under the Hellenistic regime, there is a large Diaspora of Jews in different geographical locations, scattering them in various places far away from Judea. As a result, numerous Jews were unable to speak in the language of their forefathers, which were Hebrew and Aramaic. In order to preserve their faith as well as to share it among non-Jews that were unable to speak Hebrew or Aramaic as well, the translation of several Jewish texts into the Greek language was undertaken. The result of this was the Septuagint, and through such efforts of unnamed Jewish scholars, the Jews living away from Judea were able to continue practicing the laws and customs of their ancestors, sans the language. Due to their fervent worship of their God, they have remained monotheistic throughout the ages, for otherwise, the creation of a book translated into the common language for most people would not even have been possible. While the use of the Septuagint was eventually abandoned due to issues of mistranslations as well as deviations from the original Hebrew texts, the fact that it was created proved to be a strong motivator for Jews to still believe in their traditional customs, at the same time sustaining their beliefs, despite proliferation of polytheistic customs in where they lived. The creation of the Septuagint can be considered as a testament of the faith of Jews regardless of who rules in their domain. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arie, Edrel. "Diaspora in the Hellenistic Period." In Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Vol.1, by Mark Avrum Ehrlich, 8-16. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2009. den Boeft, J., and M.L. van Poll-van de Lisdonk. The Impact of Scripture in Early Christianity. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Dines, Jennifer M. The Septuagint. York Road, London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004. Evans, Carl D. "Diaspora Themes: The Concept of Diaspora in Biblical Literature." In Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Vol.1, by Mark Avrum Ehrlich, 1-4. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2009. Forrest, Glen C. The Illustrated Timeline of Military History. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2011. Gmirkin, Russell. Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus: Hellenistic Histories and the Date of the Pentateuch. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006. Kraus, Wolfgang, and R. Glenn Wooden. Septuagint Research: Issues And Challenges in the Study of the Greek Jewish Scriptures. Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006. Lowenstein, Steven M. The Jewish Cultural Tapestry: International Jewish Folk Traditions. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2002. Marcos, Natalio Fernandez. The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Version of the Bible. Leiden: Brill, 2000. Sand, Shlomo. The Invention of the Jewish People. Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2009. Segal, Eliezer. "The Concept of Diaspora in Talmudic Thought." In Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture, Vol.1, by Mark Avrum Ehrlich, 4-8. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2009 VanderKam, James C. An Introduction to Early Judaism. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2001. Wasserstein, Abraham, and David J. Wasserstein. The Legend of the Septuagint: From Classical Antiquity to Today. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Read More