This comprehensive introduction to the Septuagint and other Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible will prove indispensable to the study of the textual and cultural aspects of the first translation of the Bible, and of its reception by Jews and Christians.

This comprehensive introduction to the Septuagint and other Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible will prove indispensable to the study of the textual and cultural aspects of the first translation of the Bible, and of its reception by Jews and Christians.

Most readers do not know about the Bible used almost universally by early Christians, or about how that Bible was birthed, how it grew to prominence, and how it differs from the one used as the basis for most modern translations. Although it was one of the most important events in the history of our civilization, the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek in the third century BCE is an event almost unknown outside of academia. Timothy Michael Law offers the first book to make this topic accessible to a wider audience. Retrospectively, we can hardly imagine the history of Christian thought, and the history of Christianity itself, without the Old Testament. When the Emperor Constantine adopted the Christian faith, his fusion of the Church and the State ensured that the Christian worldview (which by this time had absorbed Jewish ideals that had come to them through the Greek translation) would leave an imprint on subsequent history. This book narrates in a fresh and exciting way the story of the Septuagint, the Greek Scriptures of the ancient Jewish Diaspora that became the first Christian Old Testament.

"Examines the origins, language, textual history, and reception of the Greek Old Testament"--

A Thorough, Accessible Introduction to the Greek Translation of the Old Testament Scholars and laypeople alike have stumbled over Bible footnotes about the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Many wonder, What is it? Why do some verses differ from the Hebrew text? Is it important to Scripture? In this introduction to the Septuagint, Gregory R. Lanier and William A. Ross clarify its origin, transmission, and language. By studying its significance for both the Old and New Testaments, believers can understand the Septuagint's place in Judeo-Christian history as well as in the church today.

This comprehensive yet user-friendly primer to the Septuagint (LXX) acquaints readers with the Greek versions of the Old Testament. It is accessible to students, assuming no prior knowledge about the Septuagint, yet is also informative for seasoned scholars. The authors, both prominent Septuagint scholars, explore the history of the LXX, the various versions of it available, and its importance for biblical studies. This new edition has been substantially revised, expanded, and updated to reflect major advances in Septuagint studies. Appendixes offer helpful reference resources for further study.

Too often the Septuagint is misunderstood or, worse, ignored in New Testament studies. In this book R. Timothy McLay makes a sustained argument for the influence of the Greek Jewish Scriptures on the New Testament and offers basic principles for bridging the research gap between these two critical texts. McLay explains the use of the Septuagint in the New Testament by looking in depth at actual New Testament citations of the Jewish Scriptures. This work reveals the true extent of the Septuagint s impact on the text and theology of the New Testament. Indeed, given the textual diversity that existed during the first century, the Jewish Scriptures as they were known, read, and interpreted in the Greek language provided the basis for much, if not most, of the interpretive context of the New Testament writers. Complete with English translations, a glossary of terms, an extensive bibliography, and helpful indexes, this book will give readers a new appreciation of the Septuagint as an important tool for interpreting the New Testament.