“Septuagint”—Samting wea Helpem Man Bifor and Distaem
WANFALA bigman from Ethiopia hem gogo bak long hom from Jerusalem. Taem hem gogo followim wanfala desert road insaed chariot bilong hem, hem read big from wanfala scroll. Mining bilong olketa word wea hem readim barava affectim hem long wei wea, start long datfala taem, laef bilong hem change. (Acts 8:26-38) Man hia readim Isaiah 53:7, 8 from barava first transleison bilong Bible—datfala Greek Septuagint. From disfala transleison duim barava important waka for spreadim message bilong Bible for planti handred year olketa kolem hem wanfala transleison wea changem world.
Wanem taem and hao nao olketa preparem disfala Septuagint? Why nao need hem stap for wanfala transleison olsem? Long wanem wei nao hem helpem man insaed planti handred year wea go pas finis? Wanem samting nao Septuagint savve teachim iumi distaem?
Olketa Mekem for Olketa Jew wea Iusim Greek Languis
Long 332 B.C.E., taem Alexander the Great hem march go insaed Egypt bihaen hem finisim datfala taon bilong Tyre, Phoenicia, pipol welkamim hem olsem man for sevem olketa. Long there hem startim taon bilong Alexandria, wanfala ples for kasem education bilong bifor. From hem laek for spreadim olketa kastom bilong Greece go long pipol long olketa kantri wea hem winim and wea stap anda long hem, Alexander startim wei for evriwan mas iusim Greek languis wea olketa kolem Koine.
Long mek-thri century B.C.E., staka Jew kam for stap long Alexandria. Planti Jew, wea bihaen olketa kamap free from Babylon stap long olketa difren kantri wea stap anda long Greece, muv go long Alexandria. Waswe, olketa Jew hia savve gud long Hebrew languis? McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia hem sei: “Evriwan savve dat bihaen olketa Jew finis for olsem prisoner long Babylon and go bak hom, olketa no savve gud long Hebrew languis bilong bifor. Dastawe olketa wea readim olketa buk bilong Moses long olketa synagogue bilong Palestine mas explainim long Chaldaic languis . . . Maet olketa Jew bilong Alexandria barava no savve long Hebrew; languis wea olketa savve long hem nao Alexandrian Greek.” So luk olsem datfala taem nao hem best taem long Alexandria for transleitim olketa Hebrew Scripture go long Greek languis.
Aristobulus, wanfala Jew wea stap long mek-tu century B.C.E., raetem hao olketa transleitim Hebrew law go long Greek languis and olketa finisim transleison hia taem Ptolemy Philadelphus hem rul (285-246 B.C.E.). Planti difren idea stap abaot wanem Aristobulus hem minim taem hem sei “law.” Samfala tingse hem story abaotem Pentateuch, and olketa narawan talem dat hem minim evri Hebrew Scripture.
Nomata wanem hem minim, biliv saed long kastom talem hao 72 bigman bilong Jew religion transleitim firstfala copy bilong olketa Scripture from Hebrew go long Greek languis. Bihaen, olketa start for sei 70 man. Dastawe, olketa kolem diswan Septuagint, wea minim “70,” and olketa raetem LXX for hem, wea hem nao Roman namba for 70. Kasem end bilong mek-tu century B.C.E., pipol savve readim evri buk bilong olketa Hebrew Scripture long Greek languis. So, gogo datfala nem Septuagint hem minim evri Hebrew Scripture wea olketa transleitim go long Greek languis.
Helpem Man Long First Century
Olketa Jew wea iusim Greek languis bifor long taem bilong Jesus and olketa aposol and bifor long datfala taem, iusim datfala Septuagint evritaem. Planti long olketa Jew and proselyte wea hipap long Jerusalem long day bilong Pentecost 33 C.E. kam from distrik bilong Asia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, and Crete—olketa area wea pipol iusim Greek languis. For sure, olketa readim Septuagint evritaem. (Acts 2:9-11) So, disfala Bible hem barava help for spreadim gud nius long first century.
Olsem example, taem hem story witim olketa man from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia, disaepol Stephen hem sei: “Joseph sendem message for kolem kam dadi bilong hem Jacob and evri relative bilong hem from datfala ples [Canaan], and namba bilong olketa soul hia hem seventi-faev.” (Acts 6:8-10; 7:12-14) Hebrew text long Genesis chapter 46 talem hao namba bilong olketa relative bilong Joseph hem seventi. Bat datfala Septuagint hem iusim namba seventi-faev. Luk olsem Stephen talem toktok from Septuagint.—Genesis 46:20, 26, 27, footnote.
Taem aposol Paul hem travel go thru long Asia Minor and Greece long mek-tu and mek-thri missionary gogo bilong hem, hem preach long planti Gentile wea fraet long God and “olketa Greek wea worshipim God.” (Acts 13:16, 26; 17:4) Olketa hia kasem wei for fraet long God or worshipim hem from olketa kasem finis savve abaotem hem from datfala Septuagint. Taem hem preach long pipol hia wea Greek nao languis bilong olketa, planti taem Paul talem toktok from datfala transleison.—Genesis 22:18, footnote; Galatians 3:8.
Olketa Christian Greek Scripture talem barava toktok from olketa Hebrew Scripture 320 taem, and maet 890 taem hem point go long olketa or talem lelebet toktok from olketa. Planti long olketa hia garem faondeson long Septuagint. From diswan, toktok from datfala transleison and no from olketa Hebrew manuscript kamap part bilong olketa Christian Greek Scripture wea kam from God. Diswan hem wanfala barava important samting! Jesus talemaot hao olketa bae preachim gud nius bilong Kingdom evriwea long earth. (Matthew 24:14) For duim diswan, Jehovah bae letem pipol transleitim Word bilong hem go long olketa difren languis bilong pipol evriwea long world.
Helpem Iumi Distaem
Datfala Septuagint go ahed for helpem iumi distaem, and savve help for faendemaot olketa mistek bilong olketa wea copyim go long olketa Hebrew manuscript bihaen. Olsem example, Genesis 4:8 sei: “Bihaen datwan Cain sei long Abel brata bilong hem: [‘Iumi go long field.’] So taem tufala stap yet long field Cain hitim brata bilong hem Abel and killim hem dae.”
Toktok insaed olketa bracket wea sei “iumi go long field” hem no stap insaed olketa Hebrew manuscript wea olketa raetem bihaen long mek-ten century C.E. Nomata olsem, hem stap long olketa Septuagint manuscript and tu-thri nara raeting bifor datfala taem. Word for startim toktok bilong man hem stop long olketa Hebrew manuscript hia bat no eni toktok bilong Cain hem stap long datfala verse. Wanem nao maet happen? Genesis 4:8 garem tufala toktok wea end witim datfala toktok “long field.” McClintok and Strong’s Cyclopedia hem sei: “Luk olsem wei wea datfala word kamap tufala taem hem trikim eye bilong datfala Hebrew man for raet.” So luk olsem datfala man for mekem copy hem no lukim datfala firstfala toktok wea garem datfala toktok “iumi go long field.” Diswan showimaot klia hao datfala Septuagint, witim olketa nara manuscript wea moa old and wea stap yet, savve help for faendem olketa mistek long olketa copy bilong olketa Hebrew text wea olketa wakem bihaen.
Long narasaed, olketa copy bilong Septuagint tu savve garem samfala mistek, and samfala taem olketa lukim Hebrew text taem olketa stretem Greek text. So, taem iumi markem olketa Hebrew manuscript witim olketa Greek and nara difren languis transleison, iumi faendem samfala mistek bilong man wea transleitim and man wea copyim and diswan mekem iumi fit for trustim hao Word bilong God distaem no garem olketa mistek.
Olketa full copy bilong Septuagint wea stap distaem olketa wakem start long mek-foa century C.E. Olketa manuscript olsem witim olketa nara copy wea olketa wakem bihaen no garem datfala nem, Jehovah, wea long Hebrew hem datfala Tetragrammaton (YHWH). Evritaem wea datfala Tetragrammaton hem kamap long Hebrew text, olketa copy hia changem witim olketa Greek word for “God” and “Lord.” Nomata olsem, samting wea olketa faendem long Palestine smating olsem 50 year bifor hem showimaot samting abaotem diswan. Wanfala team wea lukluk insaed olketa cave klosap long west saed bilong Dead Sea faendem olketa pis bilong wanfala old leather scroll bilong 12-fala profet (Hosea go kasem Malachi) wea olketa raetem long Greek languis. Olketa putim date for scroll hia midolwan 50 B.C.E. and 50 C.E. Long olketa barava old pis bilong scroll hia olketa no changem Tetragrammaton witim olketa Greek word for “God” and “Lord.” So, diswan showimaot hao long olketa firstfala copy bilong Septuagint olketa iusim nem bilong God.
Long year 1971 olketa releasem for eniwan savve pablisim, olketa pis bilong wanfala barava old papyrus scroll (Fouad 266 papyri). Wanem nao olketa pis bilong Septuagint hia, wea olketa raetem long mek-tu or first century B.C.E., showimaot? Olketa garem nem bilong God insaed olketa tu. Olketa old pis bilong Septuagint hia givim strongfala pruv hao Jesus and olketa disaepol bilong hem long first-century savve long and iusim nem bilong God.
Distaem, Bible hem buk wea olketa transleitim moa winim eni nara buk long history. Winim 90 percent bilong olketa man savve readim maet full Bible or wanfala part bilong hem long languis bilong olketa. Iumi barava hapi for garem wanfala transleison wea stret and iusim olketa languis bilong distaem, disfala New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, wea olketa transleitim part bilong hem or full wan long winim 40 languis. Datfala New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References garem planti handred footnote and reference wea storyim Septuagint and olketa nara barava old manuscript. Tru nao, datfala Septuagint hem go ahed for helpem olketa Bible student long taem bilong iumi.
[Piksa long page 26]
Disaepol Philip hem explainim wanfala sekson bilong scripture wea wanfala bigman from Ethiopia readim from “Septuagint”
[Olketa Piksa long page 29]
Planti taem aposol Paul talem toktok from “Septuagint”