I’ve been reading quite a bit about Archimedes lately, and in the course of that reading have learned more about the Library at Alexandria.  It was founded around 300 BC and in the next two centuries it accumulated most of the important works (or at least copies) of the ancient Greek world.  It was more than a library, however; in modern day terms we would call it a think tank, much like the Institute for Advanced Study.  Archimedes received his advanced training there, and later was supported as a scholar in residence.  Even after he returned to Syracuse, his main correspondent was Eratosthenes, its director.  By the way, Eratosthenes computed excellent estimates of the diameter of the earth and the distance from the earth to the sun.

After the exile to Babylon, Jews were dispersed throughout the middle east.  Since Greek became the predominant language in the area after Alexander the Great, by 300 BC most of these Jews spoke Greek as their native language.  Hence there was a need for a Greek translation of what we call the Old Testament.  In about 250 BC the Ptolemy II assembled a group of 70 (some say 72) Jewish scholars and commissioned them to make a Greek translation.  He gave them quarters on an island in the middle of the harbor at Alexandria and took care of all their needs.  The legend is that there was amazing harmony in the translations of the different scholars, and that they were able to complete their work in 70 days.  The word Septuagint is a reference to these seventy scholars; it is sometimes denoted by the Roman numerals LXX.

By the time of Jesus and the early church, the Septuagint was in widespread use.  The wording of most of Paul’s Old Testament references is from it.  Jesus spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and probably also Latin.  Most of his preaching was probably in Aramaic, and the Gospels contain a record of what he spoke.  Many of his Old Testament references also have the wording of the Septuagint, but some of this may have been due to the authors who were writing years later.  The Septuagint played a critical role in extending the Word to new Gentile converts, who spoke Greek, but not Hebrew.  Ironically, due to this proselytizing the Jewish community over a period of time would abandon the Septuagint in favor of the Hebrew versions.

This experience of the early church makes it ironic that centuries later the church would vigorously oppose having the Bible translated into the languages spoken by locals.  This was one of the issues of the Reformation.  For example, Martin Luther translated the Bible into German.  Not only did this bring the Word to common people, it helped standardize the German language.  Today scholars have translated the Bible into virtually every know language.  Few of us can read Hebrew or Greek, but we’re still able to read for ourselves about God’s promises and the Gospel story.  Having these translations enables us to read about God’s unconditional love for YOU and me.

Jim