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Did 72 Scholars Alter the Bible? The Truth About the Septuagint
Chronicles of Mankind
Overview
This video explores the historical and theological significance of the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. It details how this translation, commissioned around 270 BC by Ptolemy II, became the primary scripture for early Christians. The video highlights key differences between the Septuagint and later Hebrew texts, such as Isaiah 7:14 and Psalm 22:16, and discusses how these variations have fueled centuries of debate regarding messianic prophecies and textual integrity. It also touches upon the political and religious motivations behind the standardization of the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the lasting impact of Jerome's decision to translate from Hebrew rather than Greek, ultimately presenting two distinct textual traditions that continue to influence different Christian denominations today.
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Chapters
- Alexander the Great's conquests spread the Greek language (Koine Greek) as the common tongue across the Mediterranean.
- The Jewish diaspora, with many Jews living outside Israel and speaking Greek, needed their scriptures in a language they understood.
- Around 270 BC, Pharaoh Ptolemy II commissioned 72 Jewish scholars to translate the Torah (first five books of Moses) from Hebrew into Greek.
- This translation, known as the Septuagint (meaning 'seventy'), became the Bible read by the earliest Christians.
Understanding the context of the Septuagint's creation explains why a Greek translation was necessary and why it became so influential for early Christianity.
Jews born in Egypt or Greece centuries after Alexander's conquests had lost fluency in Hebrew and relied on Greek for daily life, including religious practice.
- The Hebrew word 'almah' in Isaiah 7:14 means 'young woman' or 'maiden', not specifically 'virgin'.
- The Hebrew word for 'virgin' is 'bethulah', which Isaiah did not use.
- The Septuagint translators rendered 'almah' as 'parthenos', the Greek word for 'virgin'.
- This translation choice became a foundational text for the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth, as quoted in the Gospel of Matthew.
This translation difference highlights how a single word choice in the Septuagint significantly impacted the interpretation of a key prophecy and influenced core Christian beliefs.
Matthew's Gospel quotes Isaiah 7:14 using the Greek word 'parthenos' to support the virgin birth of Jesus, directly referencing the Septuagint version.
- The Masoretic Text (later Hebrew) of Psalm 22:16 reads 'They pierced my hands and my feet' (or similar phrasing depending on translation, the video states 'Like a lion my hands and my feet' but then explains the 'pierced' interpretation comes from the Septuagint and a Dead Sea Scroll fragment).
- The Septuagint translation of Psalm 22:16 reads 'They have pierced my hands and my feet'.
- A Dead Sea Scroll fragment (dated 50-68 AD) of Psalm 22:16, predating the Masoretic Text, supports the Septuagint's reading of 'pierced'.
- This suggests the Septuagint preserved an older reading that was later altered in the Masoretic tradition.
The discrepancy in Psalm 22:16 provides evidence that the Septuagint may have preserved more ancient readings than the later standardized Hebrew texts, impacting interpretations of Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.
The Dead Sea Scroll fragment from Nahal Hever contains a Hebrew reading consistent with the Septuagint's 'pierced hands and feet', contradicting the Masoretic Text's 'like a lion'.
- Following the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple and the rise of Christianity, Jewish rabbinical authorities met at Jamnia around 90 AD.
- Christians were using the Septuagint to support claims about Jesus being the Messiah.
- The rabbis decided to standardize the Hebrew text to create an authoritative version for Judaism.
- This effort led to the development of the Masoretic Text over centuries, which became the official Hebrew Bible of Judaism.
The standardization of the Hebrew text was a political and religious response to Christianity's use of the Septuagint, creating a distinct textual tradition for Judaism.
The rabbis aimed to ensure a consistent Hebrew text that would not be easily interpreted by Christians as predicting Jesus's messiahship.
- In 382 AD, Pope Damasus commissioned Saint Jerome to create an official Latin Bible (the Vulgate).
- Jerome, uniquely among Christian scholars of his time, knew Hebrew and chose to translate the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, not the Septuagint.
- This decision, supported by Jerome but opposed by figures like Saint Augustine, was controversial.
- Most modern Protestant Bibles are translated from the Hebrew Masoretic Text, potentially differing from the Septuagint, which is still used by Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.
Jerome's decision to prioritize the Hebrew Masoretic Text over the Septuagint established a textual basis for many modern Bibles, creating a divergence from the scriptures used by the earliest Christians.
Saint Augustine argued against Jerome's translation from Hebrew, believing it was a theological error to abandon the Septuagint, the Bible used by the apostles.
Key takeaways
- The Septuagint was a crucial translation that made the Hebrew scriptures accessible to Greek-speaking Jews and became the Bible of early Christianity.
- Translation choices, like rendering 'almah' as 'parthenos' in Isaiah 7:14, had profound theological implications, shaping core Christian doctrines.
- Evidence from Dead Sea Scrolls suggests the Septuagint sometimes preserved older textual readings than the later standardized Hebrew Masoretic Text.
- The standardization of the Masoretic Text was partly a response to Christianity's use of the Septuagint.
- Saint Jerome's decision to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin, rather than Greek, influenced the textual basis of many modern Bibles.
- Different Christian traditions (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) may rely on different ancient source texts for their Old Testaments, leading to ongoing interpretive differences.
- The historical study of biblical texts reveals that textual variations are not new and have been debated for millennia.
Key terms
SeptuagintKoine GreekJewish diasporaTorahAlmahParthenosBethulahMasoretic TextDead Sea ScrollsSaint JeromeVulgate
Test your understanding
- Why was the Septuagint translation necessary for Jewish communities in the 3rd century BC?
- How did the translation of Isaiah 7:14 from 'almah' to 'parthenos' impact Christian theology?
- What evidence suggests that the Septuagint might preserve older readings than the Masoretic Text, and why is this significant?
- What were the historical and religious motivations behind the standardization of the Hebrew Masoretic Text?
- What was the significance of Saint Jerome's decision to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew rather than the Septuagint?