The Septuagint: the Scriptures translated into Greek
Hebrews 10:5–7; Psalm 40:6–8; Acts 8:30–35
Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Law of Moses into Greek, the common language that Alexander's conquests had spread. Completed later with the rest of the Old Testament, it became the Bible of the early church.
Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, “You didn’t desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me.”
Hebrews 10:5 (World English Bible)
By now many Jews lived in Egypt and the Greek-speaking world, and many could no longer read Hebrew. According to the Letter of Aristeas, King Ptolemy II Philadelphus wanted the Jewish Law for his great library at Alexandria, and the high priest sent seventy-two elders, six from each tribe, to translate it. The name Septuagint (“seventy”) comes from this story.
The Septuagint was read in synagogues across the Greek-speaking world, and the New Testament writers often quote it. Hebrews 10:5 follows its Greek wording of Psalm 40, “you prepared a body for me,” where the Hebrew reads “You have opened my ears” (Psalm 40:6). When the gospel went out to the nations, a Bible they could read was already waiting for them.
Ancient witnesses outside the Bible
Historical sources, not Scripture.
- Antiquities 12.2.1–15 — Josephus retells the Letter of Aristeas: six elders from each tribe translate the Law for Ptolemy Philadelphus
Dating notes
Ussher dates the translation to 277 BC, in the reign of Ptolemy II, following the Letter of Aristeas. Most scholars place the translation of the Law in the mid-200s BC and the rest of the Old Testament over the following century or more. The Aristeas story is widely thought to be embellished, but its setting under Ptolemy II is generally accepted. The date shown is approximate.