Septuagint

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. In World Religions, it shows how Jewish scripture was read and spread in the Greek-speaking world and by early Christians.

What is the Septuagint?

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, and in World Religions it shows how sacred texts change as they move across languages and communities. It is usually dated to the 3rd century BCE, when many Jews in the Mediterranean world were reading Greek more easily than Hebrew.

The name comes from the Latin word for “seventy,” tied to the tradition that seventy or seventy-two Jewish scholars helped produce it. That story matters because it gives the translation religious prestige, not just linguistic value. It suggests the text was not seen as a random copy, but as an honored version of scripture for Greek-speaking Jewish communities.

The Septuagint is not just a word-for-word translation. Like any major translation, it can reflect interpretation. Some passages sound a little different from later Hebrew textual traditions, and those differences become important when you compare how Jews and Christians read the same biblical material.

It also includes books that are not in the Hebrew Bible, such as Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach. In many Christian traditions, these books are called deuterocanonical, while other traditions may group them with the Apocrypha. That means the Septuagint is not only a translation, it is also part of the larger story of biblical canon and which books different communities treat as scripture.

Early Christians used the Septuagint a lot because many of them spoke Greek. That is why the New Testament often quotes wording that lines up with the Septuagint rather than with a Hebrew-based version. For a class discussion or reading question, that difference can matter when you are asked why a biblical passage sounds slightly different from one source to another.

Why the Septuagint matters in World Religions

The Septuagint matters because it sits right at the point where translation, canon, and religious identity meet. In World Religions, it helps explain how one set of sacred writings can become meaningful in more than one language and more than one community.

It also gives you a concrete example of how scripture is transmitted. A text is not just copied and frozen forever. It is translated, quoted, edited, read aloud, and used in worship, which can shape how people understand it. The Septuagint is one reason Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians could share many biblical stories even when they did not read Hebrew.

This term also comes up when comparing Jewish and Christian traditions. Different book lists and different translation choices can lead to different canons, different labels, and different theological emphasis. If you see a question about why a passage in the New Testament matches a Greek version more closely than a Hebrew one, the Septuagint is usually part of the answer.

How the Septuagint connects across the course

Hebrew Bible

The Septuagint is a Greek version of material from the Hebrew Bible, so the two are closely linked but not identical. Comparing them shows how the same sacred traditions can appear in different languages and sometimes with different wording or book lists. That comparison is useful when you are tracing how scripture moves across communities.

Vulgate

The Vulgate is another major Bible translation, but into Latin instead of Greek. Like the Septuagint, it helped scripture reach readers who did not use the original language. Together they show a bigger pattern in religious history, translation can widen access while also shaping interpretation.

Apocrypha

Some books included in the Septuagint are labeled Apocrypha in certain Christian traditions. That connection matters because the label depends on tradition, not just on the text itself. If a course asks why one community counts a book as scriptural and another does not, the Septuagint is part of that story.

1 Corinthians

New Testament writings such as 1 Corinthians were written in a Greek-speaking Christian world, so they often reflect the language and scriptural habits of the Septuagint. When Paul quotes the Bible or echoes biblical language, students may notice wording that matches the Greek version rather than a Hebrew text.

Is the Septuagint on the World Religions exam?

A quiz item or short response may ask you to identify the Septuagint as the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and explain why it mattered for Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians. You might also be asked to compare a passage that appears in a New Testament reading with its Hebrew Bible source and notice that the wording tracks the Septuagint.

In source analysis, use it to explain how translation can affect canon, interpretation, and which books a community treats as scripture. If the prompt mentions deuterocanonical books, Greek scripture, or early Christian quotations from the Old Testament, the Septuagint is usually the bridge term that ties those ideas together.

The Septuagint vs Vulgate

The Septuagint and the Vulgate are both major translations of biblical texts, but they are not the same thing. The Septuagint is Greek and much older, while the Vulgate is Latin and became central in Western Christianity later. If you mix them up, you can lose the historical timeline and the language context of a passage.

Key things to remember about the Septuagint

• The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, not a separate religion’s scripture.

• It mattered because many Jews and early Christians read and quoted scripture in Greek.

• It includes books that are not found in the Hebrew Bible, which connects it to canon debates and the Apocrypha or deuterocanonical books.

• Differences between the Septuagint and Hebrew textual traditions can change how a passage is interpreted.

• When a New Testament quotation matches Greek wording closely, the Septuagint may be the source behind it.

Frequently asked questions about the Septuagint

What is the Septuagint in World Religions?

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. In World Religions, it shows how Jewish scripture was carried into the Greek-speaking world and later used heavily by early Christians.

Why is the Septuagint different from the Hebrew Bible?

It is a translation, so wording can shift, and it also includes some books not found in the Hebrew Bible. Those differences matter because they affect canon, interpretation, and how later Jewish and Christian communities read scripture.

Is the Septuagint the same as the Apocrypha?

No, but they are related. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of biblical material, while the Apocrypha is a label used by some traditions for books that are included in some Bibles but not others. Some of those books appear in the Septuagint.

Why do New Testament quotes sometimes match the Septuagint?

Because the New Testament was written in Greek and early Christians often used Greek scripture. When authors quote the Old Testament, their wording may line up with the Septuagint instead of a Hebrew text, which can change the exact phrasing you see.