Rating: 
Summary: To all those concerned about the comments of John C. Taylor:
Review: It is unfortunate that the comments of Mr. John C. Taylor should have made the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses the crux of a scholarly Biblical discussion, a practice which is not followed by the translators of the New World Translation themselves. Following are excerpts from the appendixes of that translation, plus two unbiased comments from scholars regarding this matter. Hopefully, these will be sufficient to return the attention of this venue to its proper subject matter: the product of Sir Brenton's invaluable labors. Regarding LXXP: the appendixes say, in part: In 1944 a fragment of this papyrus was published by W. G. Waddell in JTS, Vol. 45, pp. 158-161. In 1948, in Cairo, Egypt, two Gilead-trained missionaries of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society obtained photographs of 18 fragments of this papyrus and permission to publish them. Subsequently, 12 of these fragments were published in the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, 1950, pp. 13, 14. Based on the photographs in this publication, the following three studies were produced: (1) A. Vaccari, "Papiro Fuad, Inv. 266. Analisi critica dei Frammenti pubblicati in: 'New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.' Brooklyn (N. Y.) 1950 p. 13s.," published in Studia Patristica, Vol. I, Part I, edited by Kurt Aland and F. L. Cross, Berlin, 1957, pp. 339-342; (2) W. Baars, "Papyrus Fouad Inv. No. 266," published in the Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift, Vol. XIII, Wageningen, 1959, pp. 442-446; (3) George Howard, "The Oldest Greek Text of Deuteronomy," published in the Hebrew Union College Annual, Vol. XLII, Cincinnati, 1971, pp. 125-131. Commenting on this papyrus, Paul Kahle wrote in Studia Evangelica, edited by Kurt Aland, F. L. Cross, Jean Danielou, Harald Riesenfeld and W. C. van Unnik, Berlin, 1959, p. 614: "Further pieces of the same papyrus were reproduced from a photo of the papyrus by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in the introduction to an English translation of the New Testament, Brooklyn, New York, 1950. A characteristic of the papyrus is the fact that the name of God is rendered by the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew square letters. An examination of the published fragments of the papyrus undertaken at my request by Pater Vaccari resulted in his concluding that the papyrus, which must have been written about 400 years earlier than Codex B, contains perhaps the most perfect Septuagint text of Deuteronomy that has come down to us." A further appendix notes, in part: Not only Matthew but all the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures quoted verses from the Hebrew text or from the Septuagint where the divine name appears. For example, in Peter's speech in Ac 3:22 a quotation is made from De 18:15 where the Tetragrammaton appears in a papyrus fragment of the Septuagint dated to the first century B.C.E. (See App 1C §1.) As a follower of Christ, Peter used God's name, Jehovah. When Peter's speech was put on record the Tetragrammaton was here used according to the practice during the first century B.C.E. and the first century C.E. Sometime during the second or third century C.E. the scribes removed the Tetragrammaton from both the Septuagint and the Christian Greek Scriptures and replaced it with Ky'ri•os, "Lord" or The•os', "God." Concerning the use of the Tetragrammaton in the Christian Greek Scriptures, George Howard of the University of Georgia wrote in Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 96, 1977, p. 63: "Recent discoveries in Egypt and the Judean Desert allow us to see first hand the use of God's name in pre-Christian times. These discoveries are significant for N[ew] T[estament] studies in that they form a literary analogy with the earliest Christian documents and may explain how NT authors used the divine name. In the following pages we will set forth a theory that the divine name, [here is inserted the Hebrew characters representing the Tetragrammaton] (and possibly abbreviations of it), was originally written in the NT quotations of and allusions to the O[ld] T[estament] and that in the course of time it was replaced mainly with the surrogate ? [abbreviation for Ky'ri•os, "Lord"]. This removal of the Tetragram[maton], in our view, created a confusion in the minds of early Gentile Christians about the relationship between the 'Lord God' and the 'Lord Christ' which is reflected in the MS tradition of the NT text itself." Another scholar made the following comments regarding this subject: Wolfgang Feneberg comments in the Jesuit magazine Entschluss/Offen (April 1985): "He [Jesus] did not withhold his father's name YHWH from us, but he entrusted us with it. It is otherwise inexplicable why the first petition of the Lord's Prayer should read: 'May your name be sanctified!'" Feneberg further notes that "in pre-Christian manuscripts for Greek-speaking Jews, God's name was not paraphrased with kýrios [Lord], but was written in the tetragram form [YHWH] in Hebrew or archaic Hebrew characters. . . . We find recollections of the name in the writings of the Church Fathers; but they are not interested in it. By translating this name kýrios (Lord), the Church Fathers were more interested in attributing the grandeur of the kýrios to Jesus Christ." Here is one scholar's comment regarding the NWT: In 1989, Professor Benjamin Kedar of Israel said: "In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translations, I often refer to the English edition of what is known as the New World Translation. In so doing, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible. Giving evidence of a broad command of the original language, it renders the original words into a second language understandably without deviating unnecessarily from the specific structure of the Hebrew. . . . Every statement of language allows for a certain latitude in interpreting or translating. So the linguistic solution in any given case may be open to debate. But I have never discovered in the New World Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not contain."
Rating:
Summary: Important Six Day Creation story in Septuagint
Review: It talks about in Day 5 how the water brought forth reptiles. This is a definite reference to amphibians coming out of the water. This version of the Bible is in particularly strong agreement with modern, conventional science as it places the appearance of amphibians before humans. It also is a strong boon for the idea that the six days of creation were indeed long geological eras of time and not 24-hour solar days.
Rating:
Summary: "JAVAN IN THE HOUSE OF SHEM:" A MUST-HAVE FOR ALL CHRISTIANS
Review: Javan was the forefather of the Greeks, just as Shem is the ancestor of the Semitic peoples, among these the Jews. This work, begun in 275 B.C. by a group of seventy rabbis, represents the union of two cultures that forever changed history. The Work of the Seventy, or THE SEPTUAGINT, is a watershed in Jewish history and critical in the formation of the Christian Church. The Septuagint allowed those with little or no knowledge of the Hebrew language or Judaic culture to read the prophecies and history that form the foundation of the Christian message, allowing its spread throughout the empire. In addition, much study has shown that the authors of the New Testament either allude to or quote directly from the Septuagint -a survey look at St. Paul's epistles will confirm this. Furthermore, Christian apologists since the Apostolic Fathers have used the Septuagint in defense of the Christian faith, such as Isaiah 7:14 on the Virgin Birth, where the Hebrew word "almah" -which means "maiden" or "virgin"- is translated into greek as "parthenon" which means "virgin" almost exclusively. (In fact, the Old Testament uses both "maiden" and "virgin" interchangeably, not always referring to a woman who has not had relations; this is a subject of continuing debate). As such, the Septuagint has played a critical part in the history and development of the Church and its theology (it is the Bible used by the Orthodox Church to this day). This edition of the Septuagint is among the best currently available, providing the Greek text alongside the 1851 English translation. This is NOT an interlinear; there is no English under the Greek sentences. The binding is beautiful and strong, capable of withstanding one's constant use (hopefully you'll use it avidly!). This LXX unfortunately sets the Apocrypha apart from the main body of the Scriptures, but this compromise is not a significant problem, as their inclusion allows for personal study among Christians throughout the theological and denominational spectrum. In regards to the debate over the so-called "exclusion" of the tetragrammaton, this is a blatant demonstration of sectarian propaganda: "KYRIOS" and THEOS were used by the translators of the Septuagint according to the Jewish tradition on the Nomen Sacrum of Yahweh, referred to this day by Jews as Adonai or Elohim- His name is too holy for common use: not in an effort to confound the Father with the Son, but to show proper respect to God. The only confounding is done by anti-Trinitarians, in their efforts to claim a conspiracy of sorts that elevated Christ to Deity. The presence or absence of the Divine Name does not affect the meaning of the texts in the Septuagint as much as sectarian intrigue does; such complaints therefore have no credibility. All in all, this is a highly recommended book, and a must-have for any Bible reference set. ENJOY!
Rating:
Summary: Please do not use the review column for religious debates!!!
Review: Please, please do not argue over whether what in the Greek text is correct or not, do not have religious debates in the review section, because it is to critique books, not religion. (...) On the case of the book, I think the book is great! The Greek is accurate, and I find it quite appealing to read the Old Testament in Greek as well as the New, and find it charming that they included the Apocrypha, even though I am not a Catholic, but it makes good for scholarly purposes, such as my own. A must have for any Greek student!
Rating:
Summary: Various LXX versions
Review: Sir Lancelot Brenton's edition of the LXX is based upon a single source, codex Vaticanus, with some variants from codex Alexandrinus mentioned in the footnotes, but not affecting, I believe, the translation, except in a few cases where the Vaticanus manuscript was mutilated and Alexandrinus provided the next best text (and these cases are enumerated in an appendix). Likewise, Rahlfs' edition (Septuaginta, ISBN: 3438051214) is also based upon Codex Vaticanus, but textual variants found in codex Alexandrinus and codex Sinaiticus are adopted in preference to those in codex Vaticanus based upon Rahlfs' critical opinion. He is using standard text critical methodology to judge which are more likely representative of the "Old Greek" version used by the majority of Jews...
Rating: 
Summary: A must have for any bible student or scholar
Review: The Greek Septuagint is an OT translation of the Hebrew scriptures and has quite a history as the introduction of this translation by Brenton goes into but it stops short at naming its source which someone here noted as the codex Vantinnicus. This manuscript is multilated in places so Brenton used the codex Alexandrius for the multilated sections and adds them to the Appendix. The Greek text and the English translation are side by side and though Brenton doesn't use the Lord's name in this translation it's there in the Greek text. On the topic of God's name it was originally in Hebrew so the name should be presented in its original version regardless of language as the name is divine and should not be translated this is just an opinion like the person who criticized Brenton for not using God's name was just a opinion. The only disadvantage I can see in Brenton's work is the Apocrypha and how he decided to seperate it for example the Greek version of Daniel had 14 chapters not 12 this translation would've been better if Brenton left the Septuagint's use of the Apocrypha untouched and merely just noted it as Apocrypha. He does include them in their own section along with a short description of what the book is about and its history however he stops short of saying where they fit into the Septuagint. The pages are not like tissue paper like many other bibles and the text is easy to read and understand however chapter numbers are in Roman numerals. A definite must have for any bible student or scholar but not for people new to the bible and looking for understanding or reading although it does read reasonbly well. It does have little problems like the one's I mentioned above but the seperation of the Apocrypha is considered a major one in my view this is why it gets 4 not 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Nice resource
Review: The Hebrew scriptures translated into the Greek language was an important milestone in history. Today we benefit by studying the septuagint, which helps us to understand jewish thought better, and this edition is a fine tool in this regard. Often when issues of translation come up, the septuagint can be used to help us appreciate what the Jewish framework was like in Jesus' day. The septuagint helps us to know how to translate certain verses in the Christian Greek scriptures, such as proskyneo. Is it "worship", "to bow", "obeisance" or what? The septuagint helps us appreciate that it can mean all of these and more, depending on the context. Incidently, translation issues often come up with the discussion of the trinity. If you would like to see a detailed discussion of the evidence both for and against Jesus being God, (and how the septuagint can help resolve some of the issues) see the book "Jesus-God or the Son of God?", available here at Amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Nice resource
Review: The Hebrew scriptures translated into the Greek language was an important milestone in history. Today we benefit by studying the septuagint, which helps us to understand jewish thought better, and this edition is a fine tool in this regard. Often when issues of translation come up, the septuagint can be used to help us appreciate what the Jewish framework was like in Jesus' day. The septuagint helps us to know how to translate certain verses in the Christian Greek scriptures, such as proskyneo. Is it "worship", "to bow", "obeisance" or what? The septuagint helps us appreciate that it can mean all of these and more, depending on the context. Incidently, translation issues often come up with the discussion of the trinity. If you would like to see a detailed discussion of the evidence both for and against Jesus being God, (and how the septuagint can help resolve some of the issues) see the book "Jesus-God or the Son of God?", available here at Amazon.com.
Rating:
Summary: Necassary to the student of the Bible
Review: This book presents the Septuagint (LXX) in parallel columns of Greek and an English translation. If you cannot read Greek, then the English translation is available for you to use. If you can read Greek, then the English is available to help clarify things when the torturous LXX Greek seems overwhelming. The New Testament authors largely used the LXX whenever they quoted the Old Testament, and it sometimes differs from our Hebrew text. It seeded the theological language of the early church and the New Testament in a more fundamental way than even the King James Bible has for the English speaking theology of today. To fully understand the New Testament, we must familiarize ourselves with the LXX. For example, the NT authors primarily used two words for the Church, "ecclesia" and "synagoge." These words were used almost exclusively in the OT for Israel. The NT authors' usage of these words can only mean that the Church and Israel are the same in their minds. I am an evangelical, but this fact challenges fundamentally some of the dominant teachings of our churches. Without the LXX, I would not have understood much NT doctrine. This includes far more than beliefs about the Church. Work through it and discover the others for yourself. That said, this book suffers from some fatal flaws. First, it divides the Apocryphal books from the rest of the books, and it does so with the Apocryphal portions of accepted OT books. The early Church did not look at them this way. While the Apocryphal portions of Daniel do not exist in our modern Protestant Bibles, most of the early Church read them without any indication that they were different. The division is artificial and changes the reading for us and polluting our studies in the LXX. It also does not document well where the text came from. If you are curious what manuscripts Brenton got his information from, you won't find it in the book. The textual apparatus is short and does not list many variant readings. With those flaws, I almost gave it three stars, but the value of the LXX in general forces it to have no less than four stars. If you are serious about learning the Bible, then you must study the LXX. It will enrich every area of study you embark on.
Rating:
Summary: Necassary to the student of the Bible
Review: This book presents the Septuagint (LXX) in parallel columns of Greek and an English translation. If you cannot read Greek, then the English translation is available for you to use. If you can read Greek, then the English is available to help clarify things when the torturous LXX Greek seems overwhelming. The New Testament authors largely used the LXX whenever they quoted the Old Testament, and it sometimes differs from our Hebrew text. It seeded the theological language of the early church and the New Testament in a more fundamental way than even the King James Bible has for the English speaking theology of today. To fully understand the New Testament, we must familiarize ourselves with the LXX. For example, the NT authors primarily used two words for the Church, "ecclesia" and "synagoge." These words were used almost exclusively in the OT for Israel. The NT authors' usage of these words can only mean that the Church and Israel are the same in their minds. I am an evangelical, but this fact challenges fundamentally some of the dominant teachings of our churches. Without the LXX, I would not have understood much NT doctrine. This includes far more than beliefs about the Church. Work through it and discover the others for yourself. That said, this book suffers from some fatal flaws. First, it divides the Apocryphal books from the rest of the books, and it does so with the Apocryphal portions of accepted OT books. The early Church did not look at them this way. While the Apocryphal portions of Daniel do not exist in our modern Protestant Bibles, most of the early Church read them without any indication that they were different. The division is artificial and changes the reading for us and polluting our studies in the LXX. It also does not document well where the text came from. If you are curious what manuscripts Brenton got his information from, you won't find it in the book. The textual apparatus is short and does not list many variant readings. With those flaws, I almost gave it three stars, but the value of the LXX in general forces it to have no less than four stars. If you are serious about learning the Bible, then you must study the LXX. It will enrich every area of study you embark on.
| 
