The Septuagint (greek) Apr 2026

The story goes that Ptolemy II Philadelphus, wanting the Jewish Torah for his collection, sent word to the High Priest in Jerusalem. He requested the finest minds to translate the Hebrew scrolls into Greek, the lingua franca of the Mediterranean.

This "miraculous" translation became known as the Septuaginta (Latin for "seventy"), often abbreviated as . The Septuagint (Greek)

Beyond the legend, the reality was just as impactful. For the first time, the Hebrew scriptures were accessible to the wider Greek-speaking world. It bridged the gap between Semitic thought and Hellenistic culture, eventually becoming the primary version of the Old Testament used by the early Christian church and the writers of the New Testament. The story goes that Ptolemy II Philadelphus, wanting

The was born in the bustling, scholar-filled streets of 3rd-century BCE Alexandria, where the Great Library sought to collect every scrap of human knowledge. Beyond the legend, the reality was just as impactful

Seventy-two elders—six from each of the twelve tribes—arrived in Egypt to a royal welcome. They were rowed to the island of Pharos, near the famous lighthouse, to work in seclusion. Legend, specifically from the Letter of Aristeas , claims that the translators were placed in seventy-two separate cells. Despite working in total isolation for seventy-two days, when they emerged and compared their scrolls, every single word matched perfectly.