ARTICLE GUIDE
At a Glance
The Septuagint emerged within Hellenistic Jewish life and became a major scriptural resource for the New Testament. This study examines its Alexandrian setting, translation models, textual plurality, and role in the promise-plan.
What This Study Explores
The essay follows the Hellenistic Mediterranean, Alexandrian Jewish language use, the Letter of Aristeas, linguistic evidence for translation provenance, Qumran’s textual plurality, and New Testament uses of Greek Scripture.
Why Does the Septuagint Matter for Reading the New Testament?
The study shows how Greek translations supplied scriptural wording and vocabulary used by New Testament writers. Citation case studies illuminate interpretation within Second Temple textual plurality and the extension of Israel’s scriptural promises to the nations.
Key Claims
- Koine Greek transformed the conditions in which Israel’s Scriptures could be heard.
- The Letter of Aristeas is evaluated as a later charter narrative rather than a court transcript.
- Translation models must reckon with diverse textual witnesses and Hebrew source forms.
- Greek scriptural mediation is read alongside, rather than against, Israel’s continuing calling.
Interpretive Context
The essay separates the historical reconstruction of the Septuagint’s origins from its theological account of providential mediation. The Greek textual tradition is studied within Jewish history and the canon’s organic development.
Selected Scholarship
- Timothy Michael Law, When God Spoke Greek (2013).
- Tessa Rajak, Translation and Survival (2009).
- Walter C. Kaiser Jr., The Promise-Plan of God (2008).
Scripture Connections
Isaiah 7:14; 61:1–2; 58:6; Amos 9:11–12; Psalm 40:6; Romans 11
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