Nature of Septuagint Greek
The LXX is **linguistically heterogeneous**. Many books are translations from Hebrew or Aramaic and can show source-language effects, but translators differ greatly in technique, literalness, register, and Greek idiom; other books were composed in Greek. Accordingly, no single set of "Hebrew-style" constructions characterizes the whole corpus. Translation influence must be demonstrated book by book and construction by construction, while ordinary Koine syntax must be recognized as such.
Translation Greek
**Translation Greek** refers here to Greek usage shaped by a source text through translation. Effects may involve wording, collocation, constructional choices, or discourse organization. They need not make the result ungrammatical or unidiomatic: a conventional Greek structure can closely correspond to the source because the two languages offer compatible resources.
Compare the Greek passage with its proposed source and with suitable Greek usage elsewhere. Close correspondence is evidence to investigate, not an automatic measure of a translator's linguistic ability. The translation's original production and its later interpretation as Greek Scripture are also distinct questions. A Greek reader may understand a phrase through its Greek context without reconstructing every step of the translation process. Neither one homogeneous translation register nor one obligatory approach to every book should be assumed.
Native Greek Composition in the Septuagint
Some writings within the broad Septuagint collection were **composed in Greek**. **Wisdom of Solomon** is generally understood in this way; it uses Greek literary and rhetorical resources while also drawing on Jewish Scripture. Greek composition and scriptural influence therefore coexist.
The main narrative of **2 Maccabees** is a Greek literary epitome of Jason of Cyrene's work. Its prefixed letters should be distinguished from that narrative: proposals that the letters derive from Semitic originals concern those components, and the proposed parent texts are not preserved. Do not assign every part of a composite book one production history merely from its title.
Composition in Greek does not automatically make a work more idiomatic than every translated book, nor does close translation automatically mean poor Greek. Assess actual constructions, register, and literary purpose.
Septuagint Vocabulary in the New Testament
The LXX is a major **mediator and developer of Jewish-scriptural Greek vocabulary** inherited by the NT. Lexemes such as **ἐκκλησία, δικαιοσύνη, δόξα, νόμος,** and **πνεῦμα** acquire important contextual associations through Greek Jewish Scripture, but their semantic histories differ. No blanket rule should say that their theological senses simply "originated" in the LXX; each lexeme must be traced through earlier Greek, its translation equivalents, Jewish usage, and NT contexts.
**Acts 19:39, excerpt** — **ἐν τῇ ἐννόμῳ ἐκκλησίᾳ** ("in the lawful assembly"). ἐκκλησία here denotes a civic assembly. Its use in Christian discourse does not eliminate other established senses.
**Acts 7:38, excerpt** — **ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ** ("in the assembly in the wilderness"). The referent is Israel’s wilderness assembly; identify it from the discourse rather than substitute “church” mechanically.
**John 12:43, excerpt** — **τὴν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων** ("human praise"). δόξα can concern esteem or honor. Its scriptural associations do not give every occurrence the same referent or a meaning derived from a Hebrew root.
Septuagint Syntax in the New Testament
Investigate proposed **Septuagintal syntax** construction by construction. The same Greek resources can be used in ordinary composition, close translation, and deliberate scriptural imitation. Possible influence may concern combinations, discourse functions, distribution, or lexical choices; it is not confined to raw frequency.
For example, the narrative frames around **ἐγένετο** deserve comparison with Greek Scripture. As Chapter 71 explains, however, a temporal **ἐν τῷ + infinitive** phrase is not the same construction as an infinitival statement of what happened. Likewise, **ὅτι** can introduce direct quotation in Greek; attributing an individual use to a scriptural model requires positive evidence.
Genitive dependence, parataxis, and passive voice are available Greek structures. A **divine passive** is a contextual description of a passive whose implied agent is understood as God, not a special Semitic passive form. The motive of avoiding the divine name is a further interpretive proposal, not something encoded by passive morphology.
**Luke 5:12, excerpt** — **ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων** ("while he was in one of the towns"). This infinitival phrase supplies the temporal setting. A scriptural-style narrative frame does not by itself identify a quotation.
**Matthew 5:4, excerpt** — **αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται** ("they will be comforted"). The divine agent is inferred from context; the passive ending itself does not identify the agent.
Septuagint Quotations
The NT repeatedly quotes Israel's Scriptures, often in **Septuagintal or Septuagint-related Greek**. But ‘the LXX’ is not one invariant text. An NT quotation can agree closely with a Greek witness, differ from a modern edition, combine passages, or reflect adaptation or another textual form. A discrepancy alone does not show whether it arose in the NT author's wording, the source available to that author, or later transmission.
For a responsible comparison, identify the **NT text and Greek-scriptural edition or witness**, delimit the quotation, and compare agreements as well as differences. Consult Hebrew and other witnesses where relevant. The medieval manuscripts underlying standard Masoretic editions are valuable evidence; they are not simply the physical texts available to first-century authors. Avoid choosing between ‘LXX’ and ‘Hebrew’ as though each label referred to a single uniform manuscript.
**Hebrews 1:5–13** and **Romans 3:10–18** arrange scriptural passages into sustained arguments. In Hebrews the chain contrasts the Son and angels; in Romans it supports the argument about sin. Those rhetorical uses do not make every quotation textually identical to one modern LXX edition. **Matthew 1:23** supplies a manageable example: compare its wording with Greek Isaiah 7:14 and record both overlap and variation.
**Matthew 1:23, excerpt** — **ἰδοὺ ἡ παρθένος ἐν γαστρὶ ἕξει** ("behold, the virgin will conceive"). These words agree with the checked Greek Isaiah 7:14 presentation after Unicode normalization. Later in the verse the checked Matthew text has καλέσουσι, “they will call,” while that Isaiah presentation has καλέσεις, “you will call.” This bounded comparison is not a complete manuscript collation.
**Hebrews 1:5, excerpt** — **υἱός μου εἶ σύ, ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκά σε** ("You are my son; today I have begotten you"). This citation of Psalm 2:7 is placed within Hebrews’ contrast between the Son and angels. The quoted Greek here is checked as NT text; it is not presented as a new collation of all Psalm witnesses.
Septuagint Allusions
A **quotation** presents wording from another text, often with an introduction; an **allusion** evokes a source without necessarily reproducing or formally introducing it. Scholars use ‘echo’ for some less explicit relationships, but terminology and thresholds vary. An unintroduced quotation is possible, and a general theme is not automatically an identifiable allusion.
Assess proposed allusions using the specificity and extent of verbal correspondence, the plausibility that the source was available, contextual and thematic fit, and the explanatory value of the proposal. Consider alternative sources and ordinary shared vocabulary. If the proposed relationship depends on distinctively Greek-scriptural wording, show that wording rather than relying only on similar English translations.
A writer's use of scriptural language does not prove that every reader recognized the source or all its implications. State separately the evidence for a textual relationship, a proposal about authorial purpose, and a claim about audience recognition. Record uncertainty instead of using the existence of an alleged allusion as its own proof.
Grammatical Influence of Scriptural Formulae
Greek Scripture helped shape a recognizable **scriptural register** in the NT. Explicit citation formulae such as **γέγραπται** ("it is written") or **λέγει κύριος** ("says the Lord") can introduce or mark scriptural citation. Narrative/biblical-style expressions such as **καὶ ἐγένετο** may evoke LXX diction or translation style, but they do **not by themselves signal that a writer is quoting Scripture**. Formulae must therefore be classified by function rather than grouped indiscriminately as citation markers.
**Matthew 4:4, excerpt** — **γέγραπται** ("it is written"). Perfect passive indicative, third singular, of γράφω. In this context it introduces a scriptural citation. It is not intrinsically restricted to Scripture in every possible Greek use.
**Matthew 1:22, excerpt** — **ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν** ("so that what was spoken might be fulfilled"). This is part of Matthew’s fulfillment introduction to the citation in 1:23. Fulfillment introductions are a particular type of citation framing, not the definition of every quotation.
Distinguishing LXX Influence from General Koine Usage
To distinguish **Greek-scriptural influence** from general Greek usage, first describe the feature accurately and compare suitable texts. A shared Greek word, genitive, passive, or conjunction is insufficient on its own. Conversely, a construction's being normal Greek does not rule out a scriptural model for its particular use.
An explicit quotation provides a strong starting point for tracing a relationship, but influence can also appear in narrative style, inherited formulas, and lexical associations outside a formally marked citation. The extent of that influence must be demonstrated; ‘Scripture-saturated’ cannot function as a circular label that both assumes and proves the relationship.
Keep an evidence record: the proposed source and textual form, the observed correspondence, relevant Greek alternatives, a plausible transmission route, and the confidence warranted. Distinguish immediate literary dependence from a community's shared scriptural register. A modern edited LXX is an essential comparison tool, not automatic proof of exactly which wording an NT author encountered.
Paradigms
No paradigms in this chapter.
Chapter glossary
- ἐκκλησία — assembly, church
ekklēsia
noun
Assembly or congregation, with the referent determined by context. Greek-scriptural usage for Israel's assembly is important background to Christian usage, but NT ἐκκλησία also denotes civic assemblies (Acts 19:39) and Israel in the wilderness (Acts 7:38). Do not equate every occurrence with a Christian church or derive its contextual meaning from its word parts.- δόξα — glory
doxa
noun
Glory, honor, praise, or reputation according to context. Greek usage already included reputation and honor; Greek-scriptural use in rendering Hebrew kavod contributes important associations but does not replace all earlier senses. John 12:43 concerns human praise. Neither Hebrew root associations nor one English gloss determine every occurrence.- νόμος — law
nomos
noun
Law or an established norm, with scope determined by context. Greek Scripture often uses νόμος for Torah, and that background matters in the NT; nevertheless, its referent and force vary. Identify whether a passage concerns Mosaic instruction, a particular command, Scripture, or another use rather than automatically inserting one fixed meaning.- — Septuagint (LXX)
background
Broad conventional label for the diverse Greek Jewish scriptural corpus and its textual traditions, including translations and Greek compositions. Distinguish the earliest recoverable Greek translation of a book, later revisions, manuscript witnesses and modern editions; the label does not denote one fixed ancient volume with uniform contents.- — translation-Greek
background
Greek usage shaped by translation from a source text, to differing degrees in different works or passages. Source correspondence can coexist with ordinary idiomatic Greek; production history and later reception of the Greek text are related but distinct questions.- — biblical Greek
background
A broad descriptive label for the Greek of biblical writings, not a single dialect or uniformly imitated LXX register. Greek-scriptural diction is one important influence among diverse styles, genres and translation or composition practices.- — formula-quotation
syntax
Matthew's fulfillment quotations in this usage: scriptural citations framed as fulfillment of what was spoken. Introductions vary, as Matthew 1:22, 8:17 and 2:17 show. This is a narrower category than all introduced quotations; the label alone proves neither a unique authorial fingerprint nor use of one particular source edition.- — divine passive
syntax
Contextual interpretive label for an ordinary Greek passive whose unexpressed agent is inferred to be God; not a special Semitic passive form, and reverential-avoidance explanations are interpretive proposals rather than grammatical fact.