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Jehovah, the God of CommunicationThe Watchtower—2015 | December 15
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6. How did God’s Word become available in languages other than Hebrew?
6 Alexander the Great later conquered much of the ancient world, and common, or Koine, Greek became an international language. Many Jews began to speak that language, leading to the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. This translation, thought to have been done by 72 translators, became known as the Septuagint. It was the first translation of the Bible and one of the most important.a The work of so many translators resulted in varied translation styles, from literal to rather free. Nevertheless, the Septuagint was viewed as God’s Word by Greek-speaking Jews and later by Christians.
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Jehovah, the God of CommunicationThe Watchtower—2015 | December 15
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a Septuagint means “Seventy.” Translation reportedly began in Egypt in the third century B.C.E. and may have been finished by 150 B.C.E. This translation is still important, as it gives scholars insight into the meaning of certain obscure Hebrew words and passages.
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