The Impact of the Septuagint

The Septuagint is arguably the most important translation of the Bible. It provided much-needed revelation for the development of the New Testament and had a tremendous impact. During the intertestamental period, as Luke wrote in the book of Acts, persecution scattered Jews across “every nation under heaven.” Many of these Jews spoke various languages but did not understand ancient biblical Hebrew; however, everyone understood Greek. The Septuagint met this need perfectly, providing the books of Moses to Jews scattered around the world. At the time of Jesus’ birth, most of the synagogues used the Septuagint as their Bible. For Jews, translating their holy Law into Greek was of great significance, both for defending their faith and for meeting their needs for worship and education. In turn, this translation also became a tool for introducing Jewish history and faith to others.

Despite its importance, many Christians today know little about it. The Septuagint was a key resource for early Jewish and Christian writers. The Greek vocabulary (or terminology) used in this translation to express Old Testament concepts had a profound and lasting influence on many later Greek writings, including the works of Philo and Josephus, as well as other Jewish historical, exegetical, poetic, and apologetic works. Later, the Septuagint was adopted by Christians from the Jewish community and became the standard for the church. It circulated widely, gaining more influence than it had within purely Jewish circles. Most New Testament authors quoted from the Septuagint, and many of their works—especially the Gospels (particularly the Gospel of Luke)—contain phrases and expressions from this translation. There are 350 direct quotes from the Old Testament in the New Testament. The theological vocabulary of the New Testament, such as “law,” “righteousness,” “mercy,” “truth,” and “atonement,” was directly drawn from the Septuagint and must be understood in the context of its usage in that translation.

The importance of the Septuagint cannot be overstated. It provided crucial insight into important words and theological concepts in both the Old and New Testaments. The Septuagint was the Bible of the early church fathers and thus helped them interpret church doctrine. It was a powerful tool for evangelism in the early church, helping us better understand the religious and political context in which Jesus and the New Testament authors lived. It helps scholars determine which manuscripts are most reliable for accurate translation. When the church needed to translate the Old Testament into other languages, most translations were done from the Septuagint rather than directly from the original Hebrew.