Abstract:

Shown as LXX and meaning "seventy" in Latin, "Septuagint" generally refers to Greek translation of Tanakh. Septuagint is considered holy both for the Jews and Christians. While the Diasporic Jews were still irragably Jewish during the conquest and later on; with the emergence of the Common Tongue (Koine / Η Κοινή), which was a new language, the concept of Judaism gained a totally new shape. There were several speculations rising with the inclusion of Septuagint into the lives of Diasporic Jews. Stories about the creation of Septuagint and its use by the New Testament authors led the researchers to raise questions related to the old text. The study is three-layered. First, the debates on the identification of historical evidence relating to the roots of Septuagint, its date, location of production, and composition were handled. Along with that, the pseudo-epigraphic Letter of Aristotle was dwelled on, which is the only evidence in hand for the Septuagint. The second part is based on the translations and versions of Septuagint. Lastly, the opinions of Jewish and Christian communities on the Septuagint were analyzed. The study seeks to provide an explanation for the marked opinions of Septuagint specialists, as well as analyzing their findings, without an attempt to prove each answer asserted for these main subjects.

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Abstract:

Shown as LXX and meaning “seventy” in Latin, “Septuagint” generally refers to Greek translation of Tanakh. Septuagint is considered holy both for the Jewish and Christians. While Diasporic Jews were still inarguably Jewish during the conquest and later on; with the emergence of the Common Tongue (Koine / Η Κοινή), which was a new language, the concept of Judaism gained a totally new shape. There were several speculations risen with the inclusion of Septuagint into the lives of Diasporic Jews. Stories about the creation of Septuagint and its usage by the New Testament authors led the researchers to raise questions related to the old text. The study is three-layered. First, the debates on the identification of historical evidences pertaining to the roots of Septuagint, its date, location of production, and composition were handled. Along with that, the pseudo-epigraphical Letter of Aristeas (Letter of Philokratos) was dwelled on, which is the only evidence in hand for the Septuagint. The second part is based upon the translations and versions of Septuagint. Lastly, the opinions of Jewish and Christian communities on the Septuagint were analyzed. The study seeks to provide an explanation for the marked opinions of Septuagint specialists, as well as analyzing their findings, without an attempt to prove each answer asserted for these main subjects.