Editing Septuagint (section)

=== Christian use ===
{{See also|Development of the Old Testament canon}}
The [[Early Christianity|Early Christian]] church used the Greek texts,<ref name=Toy1906 /> since Greek was a ''lingua franca'' of the eastern parts of the Roman Empire at the time and the language of the Greco-Roman Church, while [[Aramaic]] was the language of [[Syriac Christianity]]. The relationship between the apostolic use of the Septuagint and the Hebrew texts is complicated. Although the Septuagint seems to have been a major source for the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], it is not the only one. St. Jerome offered, for example, [[Matthew 2:15]] and [[Matthew 2:23|2:23]], John 19:37,<ref>{{bibleverse|John|19:37|KJV}}</ref> John 7:38,<ref>{{bibleverse|John|7:38|KJV}}</ref> and 1 Corinthians 2:9<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Corinthians|2:9|KJV}}</ref><ref name=JeromeApology>St. Jerome, ''Apology Book II''.</ref> as examples found in Hebrew texts but not in the Septuagint. Matthew 2:23 is not present in current Masoretic tradition either; according to [[Jerome]], however, it was in [[Isaiah 11:1]]. The New Testament writers freely used the Greek translation when citing the Jewish scriptures (or quoting Jesus doing so), implying that Jesus, his apostles, and their followers considered it reliable.<ref name=jewishencyclopedia>{{cite web |title=Saul of Tarsus |year=1906 |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11952-paul-of-tarsus |website=Jewish Encyclopedia |publisher=The Kopleman Foundation |access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=Swete1989>H. B. Swete, ''An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek,'' revised by R.R. Ottley, 1914; reprint, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1989.</ref><ref name=Toy1906 />

In the early Christian Church, the presumption that the Septuagint was translated by Jews before the time of Christ and that it lends itself more to a [[Christological]] interpretation than 2nd-century Hebrew texts in certain places was taken as evidence that "Jews" had changed the Hebrew text in a way that made it less Christological. [[Irenaeus]] writes about [[Isaiah 7:14]] that the Septuagint clearly identifies a "virgin" (Greek ''παρθένος''; ''bethulah'' in Hebrew) who would conceive.<ref name=Paulkovich2012>{{Citation |title=No Meek Messiah |author=Paulkovich, Michael |year=2012 |publisher=Spillix Publishing |isbn=978-0-9882161-1-2 |page=24}}</ref> The word ''almah'' in the Hebrew text was, according to Irenaeus, interpreted by Theodotion and [[Aquila of Sinope|Aquila]] (Jewish [[Proselyte|converts]]), as a "young woman" who would conceive. Again according to Irenaeus, the [[Ebionites]] used this to claim that Joseph was the biological father of Jesus. To him that was [[Heresy in Christianity|heresy]] facilitated by late anti-Christian alterations of the scripture in Hebrew, as evident by the older, pre-Christian Septuagint.<ref name=Irenaeus>Irenaeus, ''Against Herecies Book III''.</ref>

Jerome broke with church tradition, translating most of the [[Old Testament]] of his [[Vulgate]] from Hebrew rather than Greek. His choice was sharply criticized by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]], his contemporary.<ref name="JeromeLXXI">Jerome, [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf101.vii.1.LXXII.html From Jerome, Letter LXXI] (404&nbsp;AD), NPNF1-01. ''The Confessions and Letters of St. Augustin, with a Sketch of his Life and Work,'' Philip Schaff, Ed.</ref> Although Jerome argued for the superiority of the Hebrew texts in correcting the Septuagint on philological and theological grounds, because he was accused of heresy he also acknowledged the Septuagint texts.<ref name=Rebenich2013p58>Rebenich, S., ''Jerome'' (Routledge, 2013), p. 58. {{ISBN|978-1134638444}}</ref> Acceptance of Jerome's version increased, and it displaced the Septuagint's [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin translations]].<ref name=Würthwein1995 />

The [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Church]] prefers to use the Septuagint as the basis for translating the Old Testament into other languages, and uses the untranslated Septuagint where Greek is the liturgical language.

Critical translations of the Old Testament which use the [[Masoretic Text]] as their basis consult the Septuagint and other versions to reconstruct the meaning of the Hebrew text when it is unclear, corrupted, or ambiguous.<ref name=Würthwein1995 /> According to the [[New Jerusalem Bible]] foreword, "Only when this (the Masoretic Text) presents insuperable difficulties have emendations or other versions, such as the [...] LXX, been used."<ref name=NJB1990>New Jerusalem Bible Readers Edition, 1990: London, citing the Standard Edition of 1985</ref> The translator's preface to the [[New International Version]] reads, "The translators also consulted the more important early versions (including) the Septuagint [...] Readings from these versions were occasionally followed where the [[Masoretic Text|MT]] seemed doubtful"<ref name=NIV1988>"Life Application Bible" (NIV), 1988: Tyndale House Publishers, using "Holy Bible" text, copyright International Bible Society 1973</ref>