New English Translation of the Septuagint-OE

by Benjamin G. Wright and Anonymous

Book Overview

The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings) is of great importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The first translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible (plus additions) into the common language of the ancient Mediterranean world made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many outside Judaism. Not
only did the Septuagint become Holy Writ to Greek speaking Jews but it was also the Bible of the early Christian...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195289757
• ISBN13: 9780195289756
• Release Date: November 2007
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 1056 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

You sent to me The New English Bible and not a New Translation of the Septuagint!!! Please send me t

I cannot rate the book because I was sent the wrong book!!!

This is an important book

This is an excellent translation of the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew Bible, rendered into Greek. There are essentially two approaches to understanding the Septuagint. The first, the general consensus among academics today, is that there was an original Torah that no longer exists. Academics call this lost Torah the "Ur-Torah," or original Torah. According to these academics, three different strands of Judaism copied the Ur-Torah before it was lost, making changes to its wording for various reasons, such as to use it to prove their conception of Judaism, or to add clarity, or because of simple errors or misunderstandings. According to this approach, the Septuagint is one version of the original lost Torah, the Samaritan Bible is a second, and the current Hebrew text, called the Masoretic Text, is the third. The third version is named the Masoretic Text because early scholars, called Masorites (from the word masorah, meaning traditional), worked on the text to ensure that it was what they considered the correct original divine text from the past. The Masorites lived and worked during the first millennium of the Common Era. Different Masoretic versions, with very slight variations, existed as late as the twelfth century. The great Jewish philosopher and codifier Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) examined them and decided which was correct, and his decision was generally accepted. There are still very minor differences in texts today. The second view, the view of many traditional believers, is that the Masoretic Text is the original Torah, although it contains some errors; the Septuagint and Samaritan Bible inserted changes into this original text intentionally to meet the needs of the groups who were using the two altered versions. They are thus changes to the Masoretic Text, not changes to an Ur-Torah. This book is important whichever view one accepts because of the antiquity of the Septuagint.

Within Its Own Self-Imposed Limits, an Admirable Translation

I am not a great fan of the Hebrew Bible. As Professor Alter explains in his most scholarly The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary, the temple priests were not only rather careless and slovenly in the way they kept and transcribed the scrolls, they were not above re-writing the text itself when it didn't suit their purposes. If you believe the Bible is God's word, then you're making a wrong choice if you select the Hebrew Bible as a basis for that belief. I've always maintained the Greek text, the Septuagint, to be a far more accurate transcription. Not without errors to be sure, but on the whole to be preferred. Furthermore, the Septuagint preserves some particularly important books, some of which I selected and translated in BIBLE WISDOM FOR MODERN TIMES: Selections from the Orthodox Old Testament. However, given that its emphases and its modus operandi err very deliberately on the side of what might be called mainstream (or traditional or conventional) Biblical theology, this "New English Translation" does have many pointers in its favor as other reviewers have commented. Whether you add the book to your own library simply comes down to how far you agree or disagree with the mind set of its translators. And to their everlasting credit they do put all their cards firmly on the table.

A New English Translation of the Septuagint

The last popularly published, English translation of the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, commonly called the Septuagint, was in 1851. And now, after over 150 years, a nice English translation has been published again...long over due. This NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE SEPTUAGINT is the final product of extensive academic study by members of the INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF SEPTUAGINT AND COGNATE STUDIES and is far more impressive than Brenton's 1851 translation. It is a valuable addition to the library of anyone who is interested in the study of not only the Hebrew Tanach [Old Testament] but also the New Testament, since the Septuagint was a theological and linguistic "bridge" between the Hebrew Tanach and Greek New Testament, as well as the most ancient "commentary" that we have of the Hebrew Tanach. Larry N. Baker, prof. of NT Greek, Mid-America Christian University, Oklahoma City

Excellent LXX

The NETS is the single best translation of the Septuagint on the market (at least at the moment). The translation follows an ultra-literal method of translation they call "interlinear". The reason for this is that the LXX follows the same pattern and is very jarring. So, where the Hebrew and LXX agree, they translate the Hebrew text and translate it as literally as possible following the LXX at the same time. Where it disagrees, they follow the LXX. It has as a "boiler-plate" the NRSV, but it eschews many NRSV translation principles like gender-inclusive language. All gender-inclusive language except when the LXX's language is itself gender-inclusive (and this happens). The method of translation further removes it from its English parent. In the end, the only way you can know that it started as an NRSV would be to read the introduction. It really only has a few drawbacks. First, because the Bible is written for scholarly study, it is not useful for liturgical use or for private devotional use. Its language would also be too hard for the average reader because of its audience. This, however, is its stated goal. It may be a draw-back, but that's a side-effect of what it set out to do. I do not like the way they translated "pnevma theou" as "divine wind" in Genesis. It's justifiable to a point (it means "breath" and "wind" as much as it does "spirit), but everywhere else I checked they translated translated "pnevma" as "spirit". It should be consistent. The reason for this is plainly obvious: it was produced by an inter-religious committee of Christians and Jews. Since Jews are not Trinitarians, and that would be a valid understanding of the Hebrew and to a degree of the Greek, they would naturally not want anything like this. Christians, almost from the beginning, have made the connection between "Spirit of God" in Genesis and "Holy Spirit". The connection is further exasperated in English, because "spirit" for us does not have the same range of meaning as it does in Greek or Hebrew. So, the only fault I can give them is that it is an inconsistent translation, not that it's an invalid one. The prefaces also almost invariably favor the theory that the LXX is a translation with liberties over that it has a different parent text. Both are truly present, but we generally cannot tell when the LXX reading cannot be derived from repointing or re-dividing the Hebrew words (at that time, they had not yet pointed the text or put spaces in it, and so there were more ways to interpret the consonants than in its current form). Again, however, they do not say anything that is invalid regarding the relation of the LXX and its parent text. I simply divide the text differently than they do and so do not always like the introductions' emphasis. Going back to its strengths, its production standards were exceptional. The binding is excellent, the font is excellent, and it has generous margins. It even does this by being as cheap as the "cheap" Bibles. Short of go

Excellent English Translation

A New English Translation of the Septuagint is a very welcomed new Translation of the ancient and revered Septuagint (LXX) into the English Language. As a Greek Orthodox Christian my Old Testament is the Septuagint and as an English-Speaking Christian I finally have "My" Old Testament in English. I assume, from reading the translators website, that the electronic postings of this translation are the same as they are going to be in the Hardcover book, and if that is the case, the translation is truly wonderful. Having said this it must also be said that the English and sentence structure used is NOT SUITABLE for Liturgy. This is a reference and study source only, and if one is looking for a litugically acceptable English translation of the Septuagint then get the FULL Orthodox Study Bible that is coming out next year (2008) in March. However, I would still recommend any Orthodox (and Non-Orthodox) Christian to buy the NETS Translation and to read it, study it and cherish it and to add NETS to Brenton's and Charles Thompson's English translations of the Septuagint, although NETS is Much, MUCH Better! I already Pre-Ordered my copy get yours right away!!! To the Translators and Editors of NETS, especially Prof. Albert Pietersma and Benjamin Wright all I can say to them and their translation is AXIOS!