The Researcher's Library of Ancient Texts, Volume 3: The Septuagint: 1851 Translation by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton

Book excerpt: The Septuagint (or "LXX," or "Greek Old Testament") is a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and certain Apocrypha, which was sponsored according to tradition in the late 3rd century BC by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the king of Ptolemaic Egypt (283 BC to 246 BC). The Greek translation was originally created for use by the Alexandrian Jews who were fluent in Koine Greek, but not in Hebrew. Thus the Septuagint is sometimes called the "Apostle's Bible" and the one that Jesus and his disciples would have had access to. It is quoted in the New Testament by writers such as the Apostle Paul, and remained the Scripture of use by the Apostolic Fathers. The translation of the Septuagint into English by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton was first published in 1851 and was based primarily upon the Codex Vaticanus, one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible. It remains the standard of use by many scholars and students of Scripture and history. Contained in this volume (The Researchers Library of Ancient Texts Volume III): The English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible, Including the Apocrypha.