The Septuagint and Its Origin - Research Paper Example

?THE SEPTUAGINT AND ITS ORIGIN The Septuagint and its Origin What are the differences between the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint? What is the Septuagint? The earliest and oldest version of the Old Testament Bible that is in existence and contains any certain information is the translation carried out in Alexandria before the beginning of the Christian era in the 3rd century. This version of the earliest Bible or scripture has been referred to as the Septuagint. In addition, the Septuagint can be regarded as the earliest translations of the Jewish Bible or scriptures. The history and emergence of the Septuagint was enshrined in various stories in the 3rd century, which in turn has been the work of modern study to explain and describe the facts and information, which may be considered as well authenticated. It is significant to note that the Septuagint had its emergence or origin in Alexandria (Hengel 25-27). In addition, it was broadly utilized among the Hellenistic Jews. The Greek translation was conducted because many Jews in the empire started to lose their original Hebrew language. The Letter of Aristeas started that about 72 Jews writers were mandated during the rule of Ptolemy Philadelphus to conduct the work of translation. Therefore, the word Septuagint refers to seventy in Latin Language and the scripture is called so to acknowledge the 72 Jews scholars. It is difficult to tell the exact century and place in which the translation was done but renowned Jews scholars such as Aristobulus who lived in the 2nd century asserted that the description of the policy or law into Greek was finished during the rule of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Due to this, it has been acknowledged that the translation commenced during this time. It is recorded in the letter of the Aristeas that when the translation was read in front of the Jewish priests, people and princes in Alexandria who identified and praised the excellent conformity of the translation with the original Hebrew. On the other hand, the widely accepted origin of the Septuagint holds that according to the Pentateuch, the Jews people in the 2nd and 3rd century were many in Egypt, particularly in Alexandria in that at one point, they comprised of the two-fifths of the total population (Abraham 55). Gradually, the Jews people stopped using the Hebrew language and began to forget it, which posed a risk of them forgetting the law. However, it became customary for to explain and interpret the law, which was read in the temple or synagogue, and it was usual that after some time, some people zealous for the policy or law should have commenced to collect and compile a Greek translation of the law or the Pentateuch (Mclay 39-42). This process took place in the middle of the 3rd century. It is important to note that as to the other Hebrew Scriptures-the historical and prophetical-it was usual that the Jews living in Alexandria were using the translated law or Pentateuch in their church or liturgical services. In addition, the desire to read the remaining scriptures led to the gradual translation into Greek, which had become their original language. This in turn implied that the Hebrew language was diminishing and dying daily. It is not easy to figure out the exact time in which the translations were made but it can be deduced that Pentateuch or law, historical, prophets and other scriptures or books such as hagiographies existed in Greek as early as the 2nd century. It is also difficult to know the exact number of the translators but it is said that they were seventy or seventy tow as stated in the Brassac-Vigouroux narration. On the other hand, the Talmudists argue that the law or Pentateuch was translated by five people. History offers us no precise figure but the scriptures reveal that the authors were distinct for different scriptures (Wegner 61-4). Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or book is a word applied to refer to the accepted anthology or collection of Jewish scripture that are the common source of the Old Testament scriptures. These books are compiled majorly in biblical Hebrew with some paragraphs and passages written in Biblical Aramaic (The Jewish Publication Society73-5 ). The Hebrew Bible is used to refer to neutral alternative to the words and terms with religious implications or connotations. Further, the Hebrew Bible represents the original language of the biblical books and is sometimes used to refer to the Jewish in Diaspora and the Jewish of the second temple that maintained and preserved the diffusion of the Masoretic texts up to today. The Hebrew Bible unlike the Septuagint incorporates small parts in Aramaic, particularly the books of Ezra and Daniel, written and published in Aramaic language, which in turn was adopted as the Hebrew alphabet following the release of the Jews from exile in Babylon. In addition, the Hebrew Bible unlike the Septuagint attempts to offer specificity with regard to the contents of the books found in the Bible while evading allusion to any specific interpretive theological or tradition interpretations (The Jewish Publication Society 87) The Septuagint The Septuagint is a term utilized in the Alexandrian scripture of the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament generated between the first and third century before the Christian era. Unlike the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint Bible contains additional texts of the ancient Jewish canon beyond those found in the Hebrew Bible. Such books include the Maccabees and first and second Judith, which are loved and cherished by the Jewish people today (Abraham 79-82). It is significant to note that the additional books were compiled in Greeks with small parts in Aramaic, and in most situations, only the Greek description has lived up to today while in the Hebrew Bible, the Aramaic portions have survived up to today. The Septuagint differs from the Hebrew Bible in the sense that it is the oldest and most significant finished version of the Old Testament than the Hebrew or the Masoretic texts in that it predates the Hebrew Bible by more than 1,000 years. The early church Christians utilized the Greek language because Greek has been the language that the early church has used and because the prophetic information clearly outlined what Jesus Christ in the Septuagint Bible said (The Jewish Publication Society 112-4). The same description is missing in the Hebrew Bible in that when Jerome began the translation of the Bible into Latin language, he compared the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible, and identified big differences between the two texts. For instance, the book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible differs significantly with that found in the Septuagint. The scholars of the New Testament read widely in the Septuagint because it was written in Greek, the language that most people understood at that time. This is important because some passages in the Hebrew or Masoretic text are diverse in regard to prophesies of the Christ. The Eastern Church desires to utilize the Septuagint as the platform for interpreting the Old Testament texts into other languages because they view the Hebrew Bible as unclear on some matters. In addition, most Christians have argued that the Septuagint is more reliable and accurate than the Hebrew Bible, which is seen as a new text (Brenton 41-6). Summarily, the originated between the first and third century B.C and it refers to seventy in Latin Language and the scripture is called so to acknowledge the 72 Jews scholars. In addition, different explanations have been offered as to when the translation from the Hebrew to Greek occurred. However, the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible differ in many instances especially in regard to clarity of original information of what the prophets said about the Christ. Bibliography Abraham, Simon. Torah: Hebrew Bible. New York: Kindle Books, 2012. Brenton, Lancelot. The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. Boston: Hendrickson Publishers, 1986. Hengel, Martin. The Septuagint as Christian Scripture: Its Prehistory and the Problem Of Its Canon. New York: Routledge, 2010. McLay, Timothy. The Use of the Septuagint in New Testament Research. New York: Praeger, 2000. The Jewish Publication Society. The Jewish Bible: Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures -- The New JPS Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text: Torah * Nevi'im * Kethuvim. Telaviv: The Jewish Publication Society, 1986. Wegner, Paul. Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible. New York: Baker Academy, 2004. Read More