Septuagint in Context

Gallagher, Edmon L.  Translation of the Seventy: History, Reception, and Contemporary Use of 

        the Septuagint (LXX).  n.p.: Abilene Christian University Press, 2021.  ISBN: 

        9781684269198

What do you know about the Septuagint (also call LXX)?  The Septuagint is often used to refer to a Greek language version of the Old Testament used by Jews and early Christians which is still used in some parts of the world today.  Edmon Gallagher provides a detailed examination of the origin, importance, and use made of this translation of the Bible.

 

Gallagher divides the book into three sections - Starting Points, Cannon and Text in Early Judaism and Earliest Christianity, and The Text of the Septuagint among the Fathers.  Each section has three or four chapters.

 

Section 1: Starting Points provides the history of the Septuagint and what ancient Jewish authorities and modern scholars think of the origins of LXX.  It is called the Septuagint because Ptolemy II of Egypt wanted a copy of the Jewish Law for his Alexandrian Library, but since he could not read Hebrew, he commissioned a translation team of seventy-two men. Early Christians by tradition refer to the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures as the Septuagint whereas the Jews use that only for the translation of the Pentateuch.  

Section 2: Canon and Text in Early Judaism and Earliest Christianity delves into the role the LXX played in shaping what books to include as canon in the Christian Bible.  A chapter looks at the LXX in relation to other Jewish texts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and the Masoretic Text.  A third chapter looks at how the LXX is quoted in the New Testament.

Section 3: The Text of the Septuagint among the Fathers looks at how early Christian authors used and viewed the LXX.  There are two chapters dealing with Greek Christian Fathers including Justin Martyr, Origen, and Irenaeus among others.  Then there are two chapters for  Latin Christian Fathers - specifically one for Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin and one for Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo.

If you have an interest in Biblical scholarship or the history of Biblical translations, you ought to take the time to read this title.  Edmon Gallagher has take great care to make this title readable and interesting for all readers.