Before the Rabbinic Backlash: What Jews Actually Thought of the Septuagint

Josephus, Philo, and the Septuagint: Unveiling Historical Textual Mysteries In this video, we delve into the intriguing relationship between the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus and the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint. We explore why Josephus, despite being a Jewish priest with access to high-quality Hebrew manuscripts, often aligns his quotations more closely with the Septuagint than the Masoretic Text. This leads us to reconsider some modern assumptions about these ancient texts. The video also covers Philo's contributions and later rabbinic perspectives on the Septuagint, offering a comprehensive picture of its historical and religious significance. Stay tuned until the end for a mind-blowing possibility about Josephus' sources and a special announcement. Note on Terminology In most discussions today, “Hebrew Bible” refers to the Old Testament as preserved in the Masoretic Text, and “Septuagint” refers to the Greek Old Testament. In this video, I use “Septuagint” in both the broader sense (the Greek Old Testament as a whole) and in the narrower historical sense (the original Greek translation of the Pentateuch). And when I say “Hebrew Bible,” I generally mean the Masoretic tradition, while also noting places where earlier pre-Masoretic Hebrew forms—reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls or Josephus—come into play. Select B-roll visuals created using Grok Imagine AI from xAI Quick update: The special resource I mentioned for those who dig deep has already sold out. It was still in stock when I recorded the video. Just to be clear, this isn’t a discount, special offer, or affiliate link — simply a resource I personally appreciate and wanted to share with those who enjoy going deeper into Septuagint studies. Here is the edition I referenced: 👉 https://newromepress.com/holy-bible-readers-edition If you’re interested in availability or possible restock updates, you can reach the publisher here: 👉 https://newromepress.com/contact-us Thanks to everyone who digs deep and supports this kind of research! Let’s stay in touch: https://x.com/stephen_hackett?s=21 00:00 Introduction to Josephus and His Hebrew Sources 01:18 Josephus' Alignment with the Septuagint 02:49 Key Examples of Josephus' Quotations 09:35 Josephus on the Translation of the Septuagint 15:45 Philo's Perspective on the Septuagint 19:20 The Reaction of Later Jewish Rabbis 21:04 Conclusion and Final Thoughts 23:23 Special Announcement and Game-Changing Possibility