Hebrew Bible HB and Septuagint LXX and Old

Hebrew Bible (HB) and Septuagint (LXX) and Old Testament (OT) Similarities and Differences SCTR 19 – Religions of the Book Prepared by Sean Hind

What is the Hebrew Bible? • A collection of ancient Jewish Scriptures: • 24 “books” (originally “scrolls”) • Most composed from 10 th to 5 th centuries BC • but not finally “canonized” until ca. 90 AD • Language mostly Hebrew • but some parts written in Aramaic • Also called the Mikra or Ta. Na. K: • Torah – LAW (Teaching/Instruction) • Nevi’im – PROPHETS (Former & Latter) • Khetuvim – WRITINGS (Miscellaneous)

What is the Septuagint? • Another collection of Ancient Jewish Scriptures, but in GREEK, and larger than the HB: • Greek translation of 24 HB books (some subdivided), • PLUS additional books not in HB, called “Deuterocanonical” or “Apocryphal” Books • Various editions: between 46 and 53 books total. • Abbrev. LXX (legend of 70 translators / 70 days). • First translated and compiled around 250 BCE • Used by Greek-speaking Jews living outside of Israel • Shorthand Summary: LXX = Greek trnsl. of HB + Apocrypha

What is the Septuagint? • Differences from Hebrew Bible: • • Number & arrangement of categories is different. Total number of canonical books is larger. Titles of some books are changed. Categorization of some books is different. • Four Main Divisions of LXX: • • Pentateuch / Law Historical Books Poetic / Wisdom Books Prophetic Books (vs. 3 in HB)

Total Number of Books: • HB has 24 books; LXX up to 53 books: • Yet the content is not really doubled! • Some HB books are subdivided in LXX: e. g. Samuel, Kings, Chronicles two books each • "The Twelve" minor prophets (one book in HB), are counted as twelve separate books in LXX. • LXX has a few additional books not in HB: • 7 New: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch (T. J. Mc. Web) • Some later LXX editions also add 1 Esdras, Odes, 3&4 Maccabees, etc.

Book Titles & Categorizations: • Some HB books have different titles in LXX: • "Samuel" "1 Kingdoms" & "2 Kingdoms" • “Kings” “ 3 Kingdoms” & “ 4 Kingdoms” • Some HB books in different sections of LXX: • Most Khetuvim are in LXX “Poetic/Wisdom Books” • But several HB "Writings" are relocated among the "Historical Books" or "Prophets“ in the LXX: • Ruth, Esther, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah are all among the LXX “Historical Books. ” • Lamentations and Daniel are reordered among the LXX “Prophetic Books. ”

Hebrew Bible Part 1 LXX Part 1

Hebrew Bible Part 2 A LXX – Part 2

Hebrew Bible Part 2 B LXX – Part 4

Hebrew Bible Part 3 LXX Part 3

What is the Old Testament? • Jewish scriptures, as used/adapted by Christians: • • Contents & arrangements based both on HB & LXX. Many translations: Latin, German, English, etc. Contents vary for different Christian churches. Abbrev. OT (in contrast to Christian “New Testament” - NT) • Whose Bible? Different Christian editions of OT: • Roman Catholic OT: 46 books • Alexandrian Canon of LXX (24 HB, subdivided , plus 7 more) • Eastern Orthodox OT: up to 53 books (various editions) • Based on later expansions of LXX, with even more books • Western Protestant OT: reduced to 39 books • Reformers removed 7 “Apocrypha”, but kept RC order & titles

Summary • Hebrew Bible (HB): • Collection of ancient Jewish scriptures in Hebrew. • Septuagint (LXX): • Translation and rearrangement and expansion of ancient (pre-Christian !) Jewish scriptures, used by Greek-speaking Jews living outside of Israel. • Old Testament (OT): • Christian name for ancient Jewish scriptures, based both on HB & LXX, in any translation. • Various editions: Orthodox 53; Catholic 46; Protestant 39