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I don't know much about the Septuagint so I thought I'd post a little history and ask a few questions.
Septuagint History
- The Septuagint is the most ancient translation of the Old Testament and consequently is invaluable to critics for understanding and correcting the Hebrew text (Massorah), the latter, such as it has come down to us, being the text established by the Massoretes in the sixth century A.D.
- The Septuagint Version accepted first by the Alexandrian Jews, and afterwards by all the Greek-speaking countries, helped to spread among the Gentiles the idea and the expectation of the Messias, and to introduce into Greek the theological terminology that made it a most suitable instrument for the propagation of the Gospel of Christ.
- The Fathers and the other ecclesiastical writers of the early Church drew upon it, either directly, as in the case of the Greek Fathers, or indirectly, like the Latin Fathers and writers and others who employed Latin, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic and Gothic versions. It was held tin high esteem by all, some even believed it inspired. (sounds like KJV onlyism)
Question: I've heard it said that Jesus quoted from the Septuagint, is this true, if so...why don't we use the Septuagint to translate from?
Massoretic History
- The Massoretic text is named for a group of Hebrew scholars called the Massoretes. They had schools in Babylon and Tiberius by the Sea of Galilee. They flourished from 500 to 1,000 A.D. The word "Massoretic" comes from the Hebrew word "massorah" which means "tradition".
- The Massoretes main concern was safeguarding the Hebrew consonantal text. Originally the Hebrew text was written only in consonants as there were no vowels. The Masoretes added vowel markings underneath the consonants called matres lectiones' meaning "mothers of reading". The vowel markings allowed those not familiar with the text the chance to read it. They also provided explanations of ambigious words, and counted the verses, words and letters of the Old Testament. The standardization of the Hebrew text was completed between 600 - 700 A.D.
Question: Why do we use the Massoretic text for modern versions if its older then the Greek Septuagint, but use older manuscripts (which we have less of) to translate the New Testament?
Notes on the Text
- This text DIFFERS CONSIDERABLY from the Bible that was considered "authoritative" for Early Christians. Most converts to Early Christianity were unable to read Hebrew, but they were conversant with Greek, which had become an "international language" by the first century CE. The Bible these Early Christians used was a Greek translation of a Hebrew text, made sometime in the 3rd century BCE. This Greek translation had been made for Jews, by Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt, who where more conversant with Greek than Hebrew.
- When the Early Christians came to inevitably dispute with Jews various passages in the "Old Testament" a problem arose, the Greek translation in some verses FLATLY CONTRADICTED the Jewish texts ! The Jews argued that the Early Christians had a "flawed," MISTRANSLATED Bible which was giving them WRONG ideas about God and the Messiah !
http://www.bibleorigins.net/OldTestament.html
Just wanted to know what you thought....
Septuagint History
- The Septuagint is the most ancient translation of the Old Testament and consequently is invaluable to critics for understanding and correcting the Hebrew text (Massorah), the latter, such as it has come down to us, being the text established by the Massoretes in the sixth century A.D.
- The Septuagint Version accepted first by the Alexandrian Jews, and afterwards by all the Greek-speaking countries, helped to spread among the Gentiles the idea and the expectation of the Messias, and to introduce into Greek the theological terminology that made it a most suitable instrument for the propagation of the Gospel of Christ.
- The Fathers and the other ecclesiastical writers of the early Church drew upon it, either directly, as in the case of the Greek Fathers, or indirectly, like the Latin Fathers and writers and others who employed Latin, Syriac, Ethiopian, Arabic and Gothic versions. It was held tin high esteem by all, some even believed it inspired. (sounds like KJV onlyism)
Question: I've heard it said that Jesus quoted from the Septuagint, is this true, if so...why don't we use the Septuagint to translate from?
Massoretic History
- The Massoretic text is named for a group of Hebrew scholars called the Massoretes. They had schools in Babylon and Tiberius by the Sea of Galilee. They flourished from 500 to 1,000 A.D. The word "Massoretic" comes from the Hebrew word "massorah" which means "tradition".
- The Massoretes main concern was safeguarding the Hebrew consonantal text. Originally the Hebrew text was written only in consonants as there were no vowels. The Masoretes added vowel markings underneath the consonants called matres lectiones' meaning "mothers of reading". The vowel markings allowed those not familiar with the text the chance to read it. They also provided explanations of ambigious words, and counted the verses, words and letters of the Old Testament. The standardization of the Hebrew text was completed between 600 - 700 A.D.
Question: Why do we use the Massoretic text for modern versions if its older then the Greek Septuagint, but use older manuscripts (which we have less of) to translate the New Testament?
Notes on the Text
- This text DIFFERS CONSIDERABLY from the Bible that was considered "authoritative" for Early Christians. Most converts to Early Christianity were unable to read Hebrew, but they were conversant with Greek, which had become an "international language" by the first century CE. The Bible these Early Christians used was a Greek translation of a Hebrew text, made sometime in the 3rd century BCE. This Greek translation had been made for Jews, by Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt, who where more conversant with Greek than Hebrew.
- When the Early Christians came to inevitably dispute with Jews various passages in the "Old Testament" a problem arose, the Greek translation in some verses FLATLY CONTRADICTED the Jewish texts ! The Jews argued that the Early Christians had a "flawed," MISTRANSLATED Bible which was giving them WRONG ideas about God and the Messiah !
http://www.bibleorigins.net/OldTestament.html
Just wanted to know what you thought....