This volume presents original research on the historical context, narrative and wisdom books, anthropology, theology, language, and reception of the Septuagint, as well as comparisons of the Greek translations with other ancient versions and texts.

The Hebrew Torah was translated into Greek in Alexandria by Jewish scholars in the third century BCE, and other 'biblical' books followed to form the so-called Septuagint. Since the Septuagint contains a number of books and passages that are not part of the Hebrew Bible, the study of the Septuagint is essential to any account of the canon of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. However, the situation is complex because the Greek text of the Old Testament quoted in the New Testament and in the Church Fathers does not always match the Septuagint text as given by the earliest codices. Furthermore, it must be asked to what extent these texts of the Septuagint may have been Christianized. Up until the fifth century, the Old Testament of the Church Fathers was exclusively the Septuagint--except in the Syriac area--either in its Greek form or in a language translated from this Greek form. The Septuagint thus formed a much more important role in the building of Christian identity than it is usually recognised. After Jerome's Vulgate prevailed in the West, the Septuagint remained the reference text of the catenae. These Byzantine compilations of extracts of Patristic biblical commentary were produced first in Palestine, then in Constantinople and its dependancies between the sixth and fifteenth centuries and became the most important media for the transmission of patristic commentary in these centuries. The patristic extracts in the catenae provide a remarkable witness to the text of the Greek Old Testament as it was known and used by the Church Fathers.

Jennifer Dines provides an introductory survey of current scholarship on the Greek Bible - the Septuagint. She outlines its origins in the third to first centuries BCE, going on to trace its subsequent history to the fifth century CE. The Septuagint's relationship with the standard Hebrew text and its translational characteristics are examined, as is its value as a collection with its own literary and exegetical character. The Septuagint is shown to be an important source for biblical studies (both Old and New Testament), to make a distinctive contribution to the history of biblical interpretation, and to be of considerable interest for understanding the early development of both Judaism and Christianity.

This edition of "The Septuagint with Apocrypha" (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and the apocryphal books of the same linguistic origin) gives the complete Greek text along with a parallel English translation by Brenton. From the Preface This edition of the Septuagint, including Apocrypha, giving the complete Greek text along with a parallel English translation by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1807-1862), was first published in London in 1851. The Septuagint (from the Latin septuaginta, meaning "seventy," and frequently referred to by the roman numerals LXX) is the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The name derives from the tradition that it was made by seventy (or seventy-two) Jewish scholars at Alexandria, Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.). It has been preserved in a large number of manuscript copies of the original, and the Greek text in Brenton's edition is based on Vaticanus, an early fourth-century manuscript, with some reliance on other texts, particularly Alexandrinus, a fifth-century manuscript. Although it is not completely understood either when or why the translation was originally done, it is clear that it in large measure reflects the common language of the period and became the "Bible" of Greek-speaking Jews and then later of the Christians. It is worth noting that the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew Old Testament in certain ways: 1) the Greek text varies at many points from the corresponding Hebrew text; 2) the order of the Biblical Books is not the same--the threefold division of the Hebrew canon into the Law, Prophets, and Writings is not followed in the LXX; and 3) several books not found in the Hebrew are included in the LXX-- these books are known as the Apocrypha in the English Bible. While the majority of the Old Testament quotations rendered by the New Testament authors are borrowed directly from the Septuagint, a number of times they provide their own translation which follows the Hebrew text against the Septuagint. In general, the vocabulary and style of the Septuagint is reflected in the theological terms and phraseology chosen by the New Testament writers, and therefore, takes on particular significance for a better overall understanding of the Scriptures. It is not surprising--due to its early widespread use and enduring influence in the Church--that the order of the Biblical Books in the Septuagint, rather than that of the Hebrew O.T., became the accepted order. Although rejected by Protestants as non-canonical, the Apocryphal writings have enduring value as a literary and historical record of the intertestamental period. They often provide important background and illustrative material for a better understanding of the New Testament "world" and thus the New Testament itself.

Text-critical and Hermeneutical Studies in the Septuagint is the title of a bilateral research project conducted from 2009 to 2011 by scholars from the universities of Munich (Germany) and Stellenbosch (South Africa). The joint research enterprise was rounded off by a conference that took place from 31st of August – 2nd of September 2011 in Stellenbosch. It was held in cooperation with the Association for the Study of the Septuagint in South Africa (LXXSA). Scholars from Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, France, Canada and the USA, as well as South Africa, delivered papers focusing on the history of the LXX; translation technique and text history; textual criticism, and the reception of the Septuagint.