The Bible of the LXX

With this name it indicates the first Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, made in Alexandria, for the use of the Hellenized Jews who resided there, who generally no longer understood Hebrew. It is therefore also called “Alexandrine“. Most commonly it is, But, said of the LXX because, according to the oldest document that speaks of it, the Epistle of Aristea (that. 200 a.C.), would be due to 72 (rounded figure then to 70) doctors of the law, which, experts in Greek and Hebrew, brought the manuscripts from Jerusalem and retired to the island of Faro (the island of the famous lighthouse in the port of Alexandria, one of 7 wonders of the ancient world), near Alessandria, in 72 days would translate the whole Pentateuch. This would have happened at the request of Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 a.C.), who wanted to enrich his library in Alexandria. Aristea's letter to Philocrates is not, But, authentic and clearly has a celebratory intent of the Greek translation of the Bible. Later, to his story, added the legend according to which the translators, closed in separate cells, they managed to translate a perfectly identical version even in words.

Anyway, it is certain that this Greek version, begun in the third century. to.C. and performed by different translators and in different times, it was finished at the beginning of the second century. a.C.; first used by Jews living in Egypt, it spread throughout the Diaspora and became common in the Greco-Roman world and also in Palestine. In force since the time of Jesus, it was followed by the writers of the New Testament, by the Fathers and the Church, and it was the basis of many ancient versions, including the Latin one preceding the Vulgate of S. Girolamo.

The Council of Trent promoted an official edition, which came out with the date of 1586, made on the Vatican B manuscript, and became the Textus Receptus of the Greek Old Testament.

The importance of this version comes from the fact that it derives from Hebrew manuscripts prior to the work of unification carried out by the scribes.

The LXX Bible knows 7 books unknown to the Hebrew Bible, that is, the apocryphals, which Catholics call deuterocanonical: Tobia, Giuditta, 1 e 2 Maccabei, Baruch and the letter of Jeremiah (Bar 6), Sirach and Wisdom, as well as passages by Daniel and Esther present only in Greek.

Catholics have always favored this broad form of the canon, following the version of the LXX. These apocryphal books, although they are not recognized as inspired by both the Hebrew and Protestant canons, they consider them inspired equally.