Hebrew Bible (HB)and

Septuagint (LXX)and

Old Testament (OT)

Similarities and Differences

SCTR 19 – Religions of the BookPrepared by Sean Hind

What is the Hebrew Bible?

•A collection of ancient Jewish Scriptures: •24 “books” (originally “scrolls”)

•Most composed from 10th to 5th centuries BC•but not finally “canonized” until ca. 90 AD

•Language mostly Hebrew•but some parts written in Aramaic

•Also called the Mikra or TaNaK:•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: (vs. 3 in HB)

• Pentateuch / Law• Historical Books• Poetic / Wisdom Books• Prophetic Books

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. McWeb)

• 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 BiblePart 1

LXXPart 1

Hebrew BiblePart 2A

LXX – Part 2

Hebrew BiblePart 2B

LXX – Part 4

Hebrew BiblePart 3

LXXPart 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