The Septuagint as Biblical Commentary - Part 2

How should we understand the relationship of the Septuagint to what we traditionally mean by Holy Scripture? What difference does it make to biblical interpretation and the vocabulary of theology if we work with the Septuagint alongside our Hebrew and Greek Testaments? And what does the field of Septuagint studies look like now, and where is it going?

Today's Greystone Conversations episode is the continuation of a conversation between Matthew Albanese and Dr. Mark A. Garcia regarding the Septuagint--the translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. In the first part of their conversation, Mr. Albanese and Dr. Garcia discussed how complicated--indeed how fraught with risks--such language is since there is no single Septuagint and it is far more than a translation in the modern sense of that word. They explored, in particular, the importance of approaching the Septuagint as the first commentary on the Hebrew Bible.

In this second part of the conversation, Mr. Albanese and Dr. Garcia discuss the vexed question of the status of the Septuagint in relation to the Hebrew and Greek Testaments, which the Church identifies, by creed and confession, as Holy Scripture. They also move more substantially into the rich topic of the New Testament use of the Old Testament in light of the Septuagint, including the heavy use of the Septuagint by the New Testament. To zero in on particular case studies for these grand and sweeping questions, they then discuss Mr. Albanese's own research project in Greek Isaiah and the fascinating ways in which Greek Isaiah displays internal ordering and various important intra-textual features--an ordering and features which signal not only the important unity of Isaiah but also the remarkable hermeneutical moves made by the Septuagint within a single book. After this, Mr. Albanese and Dr. Garcia turn to the current state of Septuagint research, directions that research is going, and promising but largely untapped areas for future work. Finally, Mr. Albanese offers some suggestions for where any thoughtful Christian can begin in one's practical appreciation of the Septuagint.

Now in the last stage of finalizing his Doctorate of Philosophy at Oxford University, in which he worked on Septuagint Isaiah, Matthew Albanese is also one of Greystone's recently appointed Associate Fellows focusing his Greystone activity in the large area of what has long been termed "Oriental Studies." In the months and years to come, our Lord willing, we can look forward to Matthew teaching series and modules for Greystone in Christian Syriac, Aramaic, the Septuagint, and various portions of the canon of Christian Scripture.