The Septuagint from Alexandria to Constantinople: Canon, New Testament, Church Fathers, Catenae

Description

The Hebrew Torah was translated into Greek in Alexandria by Jewish scholars in the third century BCE, and other 'biblical' books followed to form the so-called Septuagint. Since the Septuagint contains a number of books and passages that are not part of the Hebrew Bible, the study of the Septuagint is essential to any account of the canon of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. However, the situation is complex because the Greek text of the Old Testament quoted in the New Testament and in the Church Fathers does not always match the Septuagint text as given by the earliest codices. Furthermore, it must be asked to what extent these texts of the Septuagint may have been Christianized. Up until the fifth century, the Old Testament of the Church Fathers was exclusively the Septuagint--except in the Syriac area--either in its Greek form or in a language translated from this Greek form. The Septuagint thus formed a much more important role in the building of Christian identity than it is usually recognised. After Jerome's Vulgate prevailed in the West, the Septuagint remained the reference text of the catenae. These Byzantine compilations of extracts of Patristic biblical commentary were produced first in Palestine, then in Constantinople and its dependancies between the sixth and fifteenth centuries and became the most important media for the transmission of patristic commentary in these centuries. The patristic extracts in the catenae provide a remarkable witness to the text of the Greek Old Testament as it was known and used by the Church Fathers. Cover The Septuagint from Alexandria to Constantinople: Canon, New Testament, Church Fathers, Catenae Copyright Preface Contents List of Figures Abbreviations Greek Old Testament New Testament Part I: Before Christianity: The Septuagint and the Biblical Canon 1: The Formation of the Jewish Canon Words and Concepts Theories of the Formation of the Biblical Canon Questions Raised by the Classic Theory The Torah or Law The Prophets The Writings The Prophets and the Writings Is the Classic Theory to Be Abandoned? Towards a New Model? 2: The Septuagint and the Issue of the Canon The Alleged Alexandrian Canon The Paradox of the Deuterocanonical Books The Supplements to the Shared Books The Number of Biblical Books in Greek Jewish Scripture The Subdivision of the Greek Jewish Scripture Part II: The New Testament and the Scribes (Copyists) of the Septuagint 3: Is the Septuagint the Old Testament of the New Testament? Lists of Quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament Texts of Quotations in the New Testament Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Paul’s Epistles Hebrews Catholic Epistles Revelation 4: Was the Text of the Septuagint Christianized? Christian Texts inside the Septuagint New Testament Verses inside the Septuagint Christian Additions in the Verses of the Septuagint Part III: The Church Fathers 5: Is the Septuagint the Old Testament of the Church Fathers? Syriac Area Greek and Latin Fathers The Authority of the Septuagint and the Greek Fathers 6: The Vocabulary of the Septuagint and the Church Fathers The Analysis of H. B. Swete Revisited The Septuagint in the Spiritual Life of the Ancient Christians The Septuagint in the Christian Hermeneutics The Septuagint in the Christian Doctrine Part IV: The Biblical Catenae 7: An Overview of the Catenae The Example of the Catena on Genesis A Survey of Research on the Catenae Debates Concerning the Catenae 8: The Catenae and the Septuagint The Specific Layouts of the Septuagint in the Catenae The Text of the Septuagint in the Catenae Other Biblical Glosses and Texts in the Catenae Conclusions Bibliography Index of Biblical Quotations Old Testament New Testament Index of Ancient Authors and Sources Index of Modern Authors