The Septuagint is the term commonly used to refer to the corpus of early Greek versions of Hebrew Scriptures. The collection is of immense importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The renderings of individual books attest to the religious interests of the substantial Jewish population of Egypt during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and to the development of the Greek language in its Koine phase. The narrative ascribing the Septuagint's origins to the work of seventy translators in Alexandria attained legendary status among both Jews and Christians. The Septuagint was the version of Scripture most familiar to the writers of the New Testament, and became the authoritative Old Testament of the Greek and Latin Churches. In the early centuries of Christianity it was itself translated into several other languages, and it has had a continuing influence on the style and content of biblical translations.
The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint features contributions from leading experts in the field considering the history and manuscript transmission of the version, and the study of translation technique and textual criticism. The collection provides surveys of previous and current research on individual books of the Septuagint corpus, on alternative Jewish Greek versions, the Christian 'daughter' translations, and reception in early Jewish and Christian writers. The Handbook also includes several conversations with related fields of interest such as New Testament studies, liturgy, and art history.
List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Alison Salvesen: Introduction PART I: FIRST THINGS 1: Cameron Boyd-Taylor: What Is the Septuagint? 2: Scott Mandelbrote: The History of Septuagint Studies: Early Modern Western Europe 3: Felix Albrecht: The History of Septuagint Studies: Editions of the Septuagint PART II: THE CONTEXT OF THE SEPTUAGINT 4: James K. Aitken: The Social and Historical Setting of the Septuagint: Palestine and the Diaspora 5: Livia Capponi: The Social and Historical Setting of the Septuagint: Hellenistic and Roman Egypt 6: Trevor V. Evans: The Nature of Septuagint Greek: Language and Lexicography 7: Mogens Müller: Theology in the Septuagint? 8: Dries De Crom: The Letter of Aristeas 9: Michael P. Theophilos: Manuscripts, Papyri, and Epigraphy: Papyri and Epigraphy Relating to the Septuagint 10: Luciano Bossina: Manuscripts, Papyri, and Epigraphy: Manuscripts of the Septuagint from Uncials to Minuscules 11: Hans Ausloos: Translation Technique PART III: THE CORPUS OF THE SEPTUAGINT 12: Dirk Büchner: The Pentateuch 13: Natalio Fernández Marcos: Joshua and Judges 14: Anneli Aejmelaeus: The Books of Samuel 15: Tuukka Kauhanen, Andrés Piquer Otero, Timo Tekoniemi, and Pablo Torijano: The Books of Kings 16: Laurence Vianès: Chronicles/Paralipomena 17: Rodrigo F. de Sousa: Isaiah 18: Matthieu Richelle: Jeremiah and Baruch 19: Katrin Hauspie: Ezekiel 20: Olivier Munnich: Daniel, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon: Old Greek and Theodotion 21: Cécile Dogniez: The Twelve Minor Prophets 22: Robert J. V. Hiebert: Megillot (Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther) 23: Staffan Olofsson: The Psalter 24: Lorenzo Cuppi: Proverbs 25: Maria Gorea: The Book of Job 26: Alison Salvesen: Deuterocanonical and Apocryphal Books PART IV: THE SEPTUAGINT IN ITS JEWISH CONTEXT 27: Sarah J. K. Pearce: Philo and the Septuagint 28: Tessa Rajak: Josephus and the Septuagint 29: Eugene Ulrich: The Scrolls from the Judean Desert and the Septuagint 30: Siegfried Kreuzer: Kaige and 'Theodotion' 31: Giuseppe Veltri with Alison Salvesen: Aquila 32: Michaël N. van der Meer: Symmachus 33: Bradley John Marsh, Jr.: Quinta, Sexta, and Septima 34: Bradley John Marsh, Jr.: The Samaritan Pentateuch in Greek 35: Julia G. Krivoruchko: The Constantinople Pentateuch and Medieval Jewish Use of Greek Biblical Texts PART V: THE SEPTUAGINT AS CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE 36: David Lincicum: Citations in the New Testament 37: Tuukka Kauhanen: The Proto-Lucianic and Antiochian Text 38: Peter J. Gentry: Origen's Hexapla 39: John A. L. Lee: The Use of the Septuagint in the Liturgy and Lectionary of the Greek Orthodox Church 40: Reinhart Ceulemans: Reception of the Septuagint among Greek Christian Writers 41: Michael Graves: The Septuagint in the Latin World PART VI: THE SEPTUAGINT IN TRANSLATION 42: Pierre-Maurice Bogaert: The Vetus Latina (Old Latin) 43: Pablo A. Torijano: Armenian, Georgian, and Church Slavonic Versions 44: Marketta Liljeström: The Syrohexapla 45: Andrés Piquer Otero: Coptic, Arabic, and Ethiopic Versions 46: Eberhard Bons: Modern Translations of the Septuagint 47: Bénédicte Lemmelijn: Textual Criticism 48: J. Ross Wagner: New Testament 49: John Barton: Christian Theology 50: Maja Kominko: Illustrated Manuscripts of the Septuagint Index
Alison G. Salvesen is Professor of Early Judaism and Christianity at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford, and Polonsky Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Jewish Studies. Timothy Michael Law is an independent scholar.
Reviews for The Oxford Handbook of the Septuagint
In sum, the editors have succeeded in presenting the diversity of research on the Septuagint in a scholarly yet readable manner * Martin Rosel, Journal for the Study of Judaism * I salute the editors and authors of this very substantial and impressive new contribution to the field of Jewish, as well as biblical, studies. * Nicholas de Lange, Journal of Jewish Studies *
