Invitation to the Septuagint

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An excellent introduction to the Septuagint, it tells you most of the things you may have wanted to know about the Septuagint, but didn't know where to ask. Discusses the differences between the Hebrew and Greek bibles. The style is very scholarly, the author is not interested in pushing one viewpoint or another, only to present all the current thinking and research in a way that the reader can make up their own mind and pursue further research if they so choose.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Beginner's Guide
Review: The two most impressive aspects of this work are 1) its organization and 2) it assumes no prior education in Septuagint studies on the part of the reader. The authors are careful to explain for the beginner such things as linguistic concepts and text-critical methods as they relate to biblical studies as a whole, and specifically to the Septuagint. It is not even assumed, for example, that the reader is aware the Septuagint and the LXX are one and the same. Throughout the book, Jobes and Silva clearly describe the numerous difficulties involved in this field, giving several examples along the way. As the book progresses, the level of difficulty increases, and the reader is made keenly aware of the problems involved in working with the Septuagint.

The book contains an outstanding glossary of terms, a subject index, a Scripture index, an index of authors, and a chart giving the corresponding English references for Septuagint references (as they do not always harmonize). It is organized into three parts, each part successively more involved and advanced than the previous. Total contents: Introduction, 14 chapters, 4 appendices, and 3 indices.

Introduction Part 1: The History of the Septuagint--Introduces the subject, including how "Septuagint" is pronounced and its relevance to biblical studies; describes its origin, how it was edited and copied over time, and introduces the reader to modern published editions of the Septuagint; explains translation methods of the Septuagint's translators. No Greek or Hebrew is required and any Greek or Hebrew terms used are transliterated.

Part 2: The Septuagint in Biblical Studies--Covers textual criticism; linguistic issues relating to Koine Greek in the New Testament and the Septuagint; importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls; the New Testament's use and quotation of the Septuagint; and the Septuagint translators' hermeneutical methods. Unlike Part 1 of the book, the reader will benefit more from this section by having at least an elementary knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. Terms are no longer transliterated.

Part 3: The Current State of Septuagint Studies--Introduces the reader to significant scholars in the field; current lexical and grammatical work; progress and theories related to textual criticism of the Septuagint; and theological factors during the Hellenistic period which may have affected interpretation and translation.

Overall, an excellent introduction. I myself have never before been exposed to the many issues related to Septuagint studies. I was impressed with the book's organization, clarity, and comprehensiveness in introducing the beginner to the difficulties and many related fields of study which are involved in working with the Septuagint.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Septuagint Study
Review: This book is an outstanding resource, both for beginners and seasoned amateurs. I can not comment for the professional, since this is not my profession. LXX study is very complicated, and has many interlocking issues including biblical scholarship, textual criticism, and historical analysis. Much of the material published in LXX Studies is highly specialized, and assumes a great deal of knowledge not easily accessible to the amateur or the beginner. This book is a brief survey of the many fields of research into the LXX and it also serves as an annotated bibliography. It assumes no a priori knowledge of LXX Studies, and presents the many different specialties in a broad overview. And at the end of each topic is a section "To Continue Your Study" giving an annotated bibliography on that particular specialty.

It has helped me to understand what the LXX is, how it was put together, and the relationship of the many different texts which are used to generate the critical modern editions of the LXX, such as Rahlfs "Septuaginta." It has also helped me to understand the relationship between the various specialties in LXX Studies.

The only drawback to this book is the sequence of the topics covered, since I had a hard time locating the excellent analysis of the modern critical editions. But this is a highly personal objection, and a small one at that.