03 — The Septuagint

The Septuagint (LXX), the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, is the Old Testament of the Orthodox Church — the Bible of the Apostles and the Fathers, and the text from which the New Testament most often quotes. This section explains why the LXX holds priority in Orthodox use over the Masoretic Hebrew, and then treats the textual differences between them soberly and without polemic.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

The Septuagint is not, for Orthodoxy, a mere translation of a more authoritative Hebrew original; it is the received Old Testament of the Church, with a real theological priority. But that priority does not require dismissing the Hebrew text or pretending the two are identical. This section holds both together: the LXX’s churchly primacy, and an honest account of where and why it differs from the Masoretic Text.

Files

File	Description
the-septuagint-as-the-churchs-old-testament.md	The LXX as the Old Testament of the Church and the Apostles; the New Testament’s citation of the LXX; its priority in Orthodox liturgy and theology over the Masoretic Text; the tradition of its origin.
text-numbering-and-the-masoretic-question.md	The concrete differences — the Psalm numbering, the longer and shorter texts, key christological readings (Isaiah 7:14); the both-sides treatment of the LXX/Masoretic relationship, without polemic.

See Also

• The Wider Old Testament and the Anagignoskomena — the LXX carried the wider canon
• Christ the Key to the Scriptures — the christological reading the LXX often supports
• The Bible as the Liturgical Book — the LXX as the liturgical Old Testament