Introductions to the LXX

An up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to the LXX in English has been long overdue. It is therefore with some degree of satisfaction to note that not only one, but three introductions to the LXX have recently been published in English

:

  • BHSKaren H. Jobes and Moisés Silva, Invitation to the Septuagint (Baker Academic, 2000). This is probably the best introduction for beginning students. It aims to familiarize readers with the history and current state of Septuagintal scholarship as well as the use of the LXX in textual criticism and biblical studies. For a more detailed description, see my review in the Catholic Biblical Quarterly 64 (2002) 138-140. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
  • Jennifer Dines, The Septuagint (T & T Clark, 2004). This is the most recent introduction published on the LXX. It is geared to more advanced students than Jobes and Silva’s work and has the added advantage of being able to interact with their work as well as Fernendez Marcos’s. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com
  • BHSNatalio Fernendez Marcos, The Septuagint in Context: Introduction to the Greek Version of the Bible (W.G.E. Watson, translator; Brill, 2000). This is a more in-depth treatment of the current state of LXX studies and its daughter versions. Unfortunately, this edition has many errors which have been corrected in the revised Spanish edition. Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com

There are also a number of older introductions which are still very useful:

There has also been a book on the Septuagint recently published that focuses on the legends surrounding its origins (the Letter of Aristeas), as well as its reception history:

  • Abraham Wasserstein and David J. Wasserstein, The Legend of the Septuagint: From Classical Antiquity to Today (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). Buy from Amazon.ca | Buy from Amazon.com

In addition to these introductions, an invaluable resource for the study of the LXX are the following exhaustive bibliographies:

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