Basically, the Septuagint is the Greek version of the Old Testament with the word “Septuagint” coming from the Latin septuaginta (interpretes), meaning “seventy” or “seventy interpreters,” and is a translation of the Hebrew into the Latin language or Latin Vulgate. The Greek translation of the Old Testament has a unique history and was highly favored by early Christians. Tradition relates how King Ptolemy II of Egypt established a vast library at Alexandria. These articles will explain why Orthodox Christians prefer the Septuagint, despite some admittedly beautiful and eloquent passages found in the Masoretic text. The background and origin of the Septuagint; The history of Septuagint use among Jews and early Christians; Five reasons you should care about the Septuagint; Examples of important differences between the Septuagint and our Bibles; How to get a copy of the Septuagint; It is difficult to articulate how important this topic is. Roughly 200 years before the birth of Jesus, a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures was developed that became widely accepted as a legitimate (even inspired) translation. In 1886, Alfred Edersheim wrote The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. The Latin Language. In fact, history shows that as late as the Fifth Century CE, it was still the preferred OT portion of the Bible of all Christians. The book of Acts records the travels of the apostles subsequent to the ministry of Jesus and it notes how they would come upon (and even look for) non-Jewish converts to Judaism. Distinctive Features of the Septuagint Translation A number of the special distinctive features of the Septuagint should be pointed out. It includes translations of all the books found in the Hebrew (Old Testament) canon, and as such it is the first known Bible translation.It also includes the so-called Apocryphal or deuterocanonical books, some translated from Hebrew originals and others originally composed in Greek.. The Greek word "Septuagint" is derived from the Latin word for 70 based on the tradition that 70 Jewish scholars served as the translators of the work (some sources say 72 scholars). The Septuagint – What is it? W hat is the Septuagint? The Septuagint (often abbreviated LXX) is the translation of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament into Greek. Septuagint Errors and Question of its Inspiration. Why are Greeks ‘worshiping’ at a Jewish festival in Jerusalem? Another important thing to consider is that the Septuagint (or a Hebrew text that read like it) appears to have been the OT Bible of preference for early Christians thereafter. He explained the background on the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek in what we know as the Septuagint Bible. The Septuagint is the Old Greek version of the Bible. Septuagint! All told, there are some 300 textual differences between the Masoretic and the Septuagint texts, some of them important and some of them insignificant. It is the influence of the Septuagint. Why is it important that we know? This was a highly scholarly work by a devout Christian gentleman. In Proverbs 6:8b, after the Hebrew proverb of the ant, the Septuagint adds a Greek proverb of the bee.