Old Testament Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Greek=== {{see also|Septuagint}} Hebrew texts began to be translated into Greek in [[Alexandria]] in about 280 BC and continued until about 130 BC.{{Sfn | Gentry | 2008 | p = 302}} These early Greek translations {{ndash}} supposedly commissioned by [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] {{ndash}} were called the {{langnf|la|[[Septuagint]]|Seventy|links=no}} from the supposed number of translators involved (hence its abbreviation "[[LXX]]"). This Septuagint remains the basis of the Old Testament in the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Church]].{{Sfn | Würthwein | 1995}} It varies in many places from the Masoretic Text and includes numerous books no longer considered canonical in some traditions: 1 and 2 [[Esdras]], [[Book of Judith|Judith]], [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]], 3 and 4 [[Books of the Maccabees|Maccabees]], the [[Book of Wisdom]], [[Sirach]], and [[Book of Baruch|Baruch]].{{Sfn | Jones | 2000 | p = 216}} Early modern [[biblical criticism]] typically explained these variations as intentional or ignorant corruptions by the Alexandrian scholars, but most recent scholarship holds it is simply based on early source texts differing from those later used by the [[Masoretes]] in their work. The Septuagint was originally used by [[Hellenization|Hellenized]] Jews whose knowledge of [[Koine Greek|Greek]] was better than Hebrew. However, the texts came to be used predominantly by gentile converts to Christianity and by the early Church as its scripture, Greek being the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of the early Church. The three most acclaimed early interpreters were [[Aquila of Sinope]], [[Symmachus the Ebionite]], and [[Theodotion]]; in his [[Hexapla]], [[Origen]] placed his edition of the Hebrew text beside [[Secunda (Hexapla)|its transcription in Greek letters]] and four parallel translations: Aquila's, Symmachus's, the Septuagint's, and Theodotion's. The so-called "fifth" and "sixth editions" were two other Greek translations supposedly miraculously discovered by students outside the towns of [[Jericho]] and [[Nicopolis]]: these were added to Origen's Octapla.<ref>Cave, William. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-L5UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406 A complete history of the lives, acts, and martyrdoms of the holy apostles, and the two evangelists, St. Mark and Luke]'', Vol. II. Wiatt (Philadelphia), 1810. Retrieved 2013-02-06.</ref> In 331, [[Constantine the Great and Christianity|Constantine I]] commissioned [[Eusebius]] to deliver [[Fifty Bibles of Constantine|fifty Bibles]] for the [[Church of Constantinople]]. [[Athanasius]]<ref>''Apol. Const. 4''</ref> recorded [[Early centers of Christianity#Alexandria|Alexandrian]] scribes around 340 preparing Bibles for [[Constans]]. Little else is known, though there is plenty of speculation. For example, it is speculated that this may have provided motivation for canon lists and that [[Codex Vaticanus]] and [[Codex Sinaiticus]] are examples of these Bibles. Together with the [[Peshitta]] and [[Codex Alexandrinus]], these are the earliest extant Christian Bibles.<ref>'' The Canon Debate'', pp. 414–15, for the entire paragraph</ref> There is no evidence among the [[First Council of Nicaea#Promulgation of canon law|canons of the First Council of Nicaea]] of any determination on the canon. However, [[Jerome]] (347–420), in his ''Prologue to Judith'', claims that the [[Book of Judith]] was "found by the [[First Nicene Council|Nicene Council]] to have been counted among the number of the Sacred Scriptures".<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Book of Judith}} Canonicity: "..." the Synod of Nicaea is said to have accounted it as Sacred Scripture" (Praef. in Lib.). No such declaration indeed is to be found in the Canons of Nicaea, and it is uncertain whether St. Jerome is referring to the use made of the book in the discussions of the council, or whether he was misled by some spurious canons attributed to that council".</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page