Septuagint Studies

Overview

The Septuagint is the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible and the first major work of religious translation in history. It provides us with a significant window into the Jewish understanding of the Scriptures in the three centuries before the time of Jesus. Furthermore, it was the version of the Old Testament studied by the Church as it spread throughout the Graeco-Roman world and became distinguished from Judaism. The majority of Old Testament quotations in the New Testament are from this Greek translation. So the Septuagint functions as a unique bridge between Judaism and Christianity in relation to the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, and it serves as the basic canon of the Old Testament for early patristic exegesis.

The John William Wevers Institute for Septuagint Studies is one of the foremost research institutions on the Greek Old Testament in the world, with the mission to promote research on the Septuagint — the Old Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures and the Bible of many early Christians including the authors of the New Testament — with a particular focus on hermeneutical issues related to this biblical version. By studying at ACTS, you have the opportunity to work with world-class researchers to engage the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. These texts provide unique insight into the world in which Jesus lived and in which the early church grew.

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