The Septuagint, often abbreviated as LXX, is an ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). The name “Septuagint” comes from the Latin word for “seventy,” referring to the tradition that 70 (or 72) Jewish scholars independently translated the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) into Greek in the 3rd century BCE. This translation was done in Alexandria, Egypt, where there was a large Jewish community. The Septuagint is significant for several reasons. The book is the oldest existing version of the Old Testament and includes some books not found in the standard Hebrew Bible. The book was widely used in the Hellenistic world, where Greek was the lingua franca. This made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many non-Jews and influenced the spread of Christianity. Some Christians believe the Septuagint is the most accurate version of the Bible because of the following reasons. The book is used in New Testament. The writers of the New Testament, when quoting the Old Testament, often used the Septuagint version. This suggests that they considered it reliable. The book’s inclusion of Deuterocanonical Books. The Septuagint includes several books (such as Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees) not found in the Hebrew Bible but included in the Catholic and Orthodox canons. The book’s age and preservation. Being the oldest version of the Old Testament, some argue that it may preserve readings lost in later Hebrew texts. The book’s translation by Jewish scholars in third century BCE. The tradition that the Septuagint was translated by 70 Jewish scholars gives it an aura of authenticity and accuracy. However, not all Christians agree on the superiority of the Septuagint. Many Protestant groups, for example, prefer the Masoretic Text, a Hebrew version of the Old Testament from the Middle Ages. The question of which version is “most accurate” often depends on one’s religious tradition and scholarly perspective.  Finally, the weight of biblical and secular history appear to supports the Septuagint of the 3^rd Century BCE over the Masoretic Text of the 9^th Century CE. The Septuagint chronology is supported by Flavius Josephus, Demetrius the Chronographer, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and secular history. The Septuagint reveals that the Creation of Adam was probably around 6,001 BCE assuming there are small time gaps in the Genesis chronology.

SOURCES: Flavius Josephus, Dead Sea Scrolls, Septuagint,