Product Description

This comprehensive yet user-friendly primer is useful to those who are just beginning to study the Septuagint. Now in paperback, the book explores the history of the Septuagint, the various versions available, and its importance for biblical studies. "Admirably delivers what it promises: it is a clearly written and organized introduction to the Greek-language Hebrew Scriptures. . . . Highly recommended."--Library Journal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #629432 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780801031151
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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From Library Journal
This book by academics Jobes and Silva admirably delivers what it promises: it is a clearly written and organized introduction to the Greek-language Hebrew Scriptures commonly called the Septuagint, or LXX. The authors address, with great effectiveness, the history of the Septuagint itself, its transmission over time, the establishment of its text, its interpretation, its relationship to Judaism and Christianity both ancient and modern, and the current state of scholarship on the subject. Sustaining interest in this text, still too little known to the non-specialist, is a fine achievement, especially when done with the grace and intelligence the authors display. Highly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap
As the Bible of Hellenistic Judaism and of the early church, the Septuagint has long been important to biblical scholarship as an aid for interpreting both the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament. Until now, however, no user-friendly introduction to the Septuagint has been available. Previous volumes presupposed a great deal of prior knowledge about the scholarly discussions that had been going on for decades. Writing for beginning students and seasoned scholars alike, Karen Jobes and Moisés Silva give the necessary background and provide a primer that is both accessible and comprehensive. As it moves from basic introductory matters to more advanced issues, Invitation to the Septuagint €

clarifies the Septuagint's importance for the field of biblical studies €

reviews the history of early Greek versions of the Bible €

introduces the current printed editions of the Septuagint €

provides explanatory notes on selected Septuagint passages €

surveys the present state of Septuagint research This practical resource will undoubtedly become the standard introduction for those seeking a clear and accessible guide to the study of the Septuagint.

From the Back Cover
A comprehensive, accessible primer to the Septuagint Jobes and Silva have produced the first genuine introduction to the Septuagint. The timing of its appearance is fortuitous, since at least half a dozen translations of the Greek into modern languages are currently in progress-a clear testimony to wide-spread interest. The book is well organized; its scholarship is very informed and even handed. There is no doubt that the authors have discovered a need in biblical studies and have filled it superbly. -Albert Pietersma, University of Toronto A very inviting book for anyone wanting to learn about the Septuagint, not only those for whom this is a first introduction but also those who know their way in this area. -Emanuel Tov, Hebrew University This book makes a very complex subject understandable and is very fitting for students of the Bible, theologians, philologists, and historians. -Natalio Fernández Marcos, CSIC, University of Madrid This book provides up-to-date information concerning the making, transmission, and significance of the Greek Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew Bible. Students and pastors alike will profit from the research of Jobes and Silva, presented in clear and understandable form. -Bruce M. Metzger, Princeton Theological Seminary Invitation to the Septuagint answers the crying need for an up-to-date, well-informed introduction to the Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible. The authors have pitched the work just right for students tenderfooting their way into biblical scholarship. I dare say, though, that many a seasoned scholar who often uses the Septuagint will learn much to improve that use and prevent misuse. Here is a volume not to be missed-good for use as a textbook and good for continuing use as a reference. -Robert H. Gundry, Westmont College

Customer Reviews

Excellent Beginner's Guide
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.

A Must for Septuagint Study
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.

A good, but flawed, introduction
James Barr's review of this work hits the flaw of Dobes and Silva's work accurately, if with too much emphasis. Whenever the LXX is compared to the MT in the work, the MT is presupposed to be the more accurate, even when good grounds exist for seeing the LXX as at least equally probably, J&S leave the reader convinced the LXX is the inferior reading.

They overuse the appeal to the "more difficult reading" since one does not know what that the LXX Vorlage would have actually 'been' easier. One of the goals of a translator is to make the text understandable in the language it is translated into. By appealing to the more difficult reading rule in a case of translation, they are assuming that the text is a woodenly literal translation when it may not have been.

The result is when the LXX is clearly a complicated reading, the LXX must have 'garbled' the text. When the LXX is simpler, it must have been a later reading in the Hebew. One is left without a clear idea as to why one 'should' study the LXX, other than as a course of study or to work on one's Greek.

Much of the work is excellent. The biographies, the background of the LXX and the history of its translation, and other matters are very well done. But the work is significantly flawed in the area of Hebrew/Greek text comparison, and one should perhaps compare this with a work that is less presupposed to MT dominance when doing text comparisons and side-by-side translations of the MT and the LXX.