---
title: "Septuagint | Intro to Christianity"
description: "Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible used by many early Christians, shaping New Testament quotation, theology, and interpretation."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/introduction-christianity/key-terms/septuagint"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Intro to Christianity"
unit: "Unit 6"
---

# Septuagint | Intro to Christianity

## Definition

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, often called the LXX. In Intro to Christianity, it matters because many early Christians read Scripture through this version.

## What It Is

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, usually shortened to LXX. In Intro to Christianity, it shows up as the Bible version many Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians actually read, quoted, and argued from.

The translation began in Alexandria, Egypt, in the third and second centuries BCE. Jewish communities there lived in a Greek-speaking world, so Scripture had to be available in Koine Greek, the everyday Greek used across the eastern Mediterranean. That means the Septuagint was not just a word-for-word swap of languages. It was a bridge between Jewish sacred texts and a wider Greek-speaking culture.

This matters because early Christianity emerged inside that Greek-speaking world. When New Testament authors quote the Old Testament, they often follow the Septuagint wording rather than the later standardized Hebrew text. So if you are reading a Christian text and the quotation sounds a little different from a modern English Bible based on the Hebrew tradition, the Septuagint may be part of the reason.

The Septuagint also includes books and additions that are not part of the Hebrew Bible in the same way, such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom. These texts are often discussed under the label Apocrypha, though different Christian traditions classify them differently. That makes the Septuagint a useful window into canon formation, because it shows that the boundaries of Scripture were not received identically by every Jewish and Christian community.

For biblical interpretation, the Septuagint is not just a translation artifact. It preserves how some ancient Jews understood their own Scriptures and gives you a snapshot of the interpretive world early Christians inherited. When a class discussion asks why a passage sounds different across traditions, or why a New Testament writer uses a verse in a surprising way, the Septuagint is often part of the explanation.

## Why It Matters

The Septuagint matters in Intro to Christianity because it sits right at the intersection of language, canon, and interpretation. If you are tracing how Christian theology developed, you need to know that early Christians often encountered Scripture in Greek, not Hebrew, and that shaped how they read key passages.

It also helps explain why New Testament quotations sometimes match the Greek wording of the Septuagint more closely than the Hebrew-based text used in later Jewish tradition. That can affect how you interpret prophecy, messianic references, and proof-texting in early Christian writing.

In a course unit on hermeneutics and exegetical methods, the Septuagint gives you a concrete example of why translation is never neutral. A translated Bible can preserve meaning, but it can also steer interpretation by the words it chooses. That is why comparing versions is such a common move in theological discussion and textual analysis.

The Septuagint also helps with canon conversations. Because it includes books associated with the Apocrypha, it shows that Christian traditions do not all organize the biblical library in exactly the same way. That difference comes up when you study Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant approaches to Scripture.

## Connections

### Hebrew Bible

The Septuagint translates the Hebrew Bible into Greek, so the two texts are closely related but not identical. Comparing them helps you see where wording, ordering, and emphasis shift. In Christianity courses, this comparison comes up when a New Testament passage seems to quote a verse in a form that differs from a modern English Bible based on Hebrew traditions.

### Apocrypha

The Septuagint includes several books and additions that many traditions place in the Apocrypha. That makes it useful for studying canon differences across Christian communities. If a class asks why one Bible includes Tobit or Wisdom while another does not, the Septuagint is part of the answer.

### Koine Greek

Koine Greek is the language of the Septuagint and the New Testament, so it links the two texts historically and linguistically. When early Christians quoted Scripture, they often used the Greek form they knew best. That is why translation choices in Koine Greek can affect how a passage sounds and how it gets interpreted.

### [historical-critical method](/introduction-christianity/key-terms/historical-critical-method)

The historical-critical method asks where a text came from, who used it, and how it changed over time. The Septuagint is a perfect example of that kind of inquiry because it reflects a real translation history and a real community setting. It helps you ask not just what a verse says, but which textual tradition you are reading.

## On the AP Exam

A quiz or essay prompt may ask you to identify the Septuagint as the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and explain why early Christians used it. When you see a passage analysis question, check whether a New Testament quotation lines up with the Septuagint wording instead of a later Hebrew-based translation. That is a strong clue that the writer is working from the Greek scriptural world.

You may also be asked to compare Christian Bible traditions or explain why some books appear in one canon but not another. In that kind of prompt, the Septuagint helps you connect translation history to canon formation and interpretation. A good answer names the language, the audience, and the effect on early Christian theology.

## Septuagint vs Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible is the collection of sacred texts in Hebrew and some Aramaic, while the Septuagint is its ancient Greek translation. They overlap a lot, but they are not identical. The Septuagint can include different wording, different book order, and additional texts, so it is not just a copy of the Hebrew Bible in another language.

## Key Takeaways

- The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, often shortened to LXX.
- It was especially important for Greek-speaking Jews and for the early Christian church, which often read Scripture through Greek wording.
- New Testament writers sometimes quote the Septuagint rather than a later Hebrew-based version, which affects how passages are interpreted.
- The Septuagint includes books associated with the Apocrypha, so it matters for canon differences across Christian traditions.
- In Intro to Christianity, the Septuagint is a translation history topic and a hermeneutics topic at the same time.

## FAQs

### What is the Septuagint in Intro to Christianity?

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, usually called the LXX. In Intro to Christianity, it matters because many early Christians used it as their Scripture, so it shapes how they quoted and interpreted the Old Testament.

### Why is the Septuagint important for the New Testament?

Many New Testament authors were writing in Greek and often quoted Scripture in forms that match the Septuagint. That means translation choices can affect how a prophecy or teaching is read. If a quotation looks different from a modern English Bible, the Septuagint is often the reason.

### Is the Septuagint the same as the Hebrew Bible?

No. They overlap, but they are not identical. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and can differ in wording, book order, and included texts. That difference matters when you study canon and interpretation.

### Does the Septuagint include the Apocrypha?

Yes, it includes books and additions often grouped under the Apocrypha, such as Tobit, Judith, and Wisdom. Different Christian traditions treat those books differently, which is why the Septuagint comes up in canon discussions.

## Related Study Guides

- [6.3 Hermeneutics and exegetical methods](/introduction-christianity/unit-6/hermeneutics-exegetical-methods/study-guide/RbyOCxxx2WbjQbj9)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
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