The Septuagint, sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy, and often abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Hebrew. The full Greek title derives from the story recorded in the Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates that "the laws of the Jews" were translated into the Greek language at the request of Ptolemy II Philadelphus by seventy-two Hebrew translators—six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Theodotion was a Hellenistic Jewish scholar, perhaps working in Ephesus, who in c. 150 CE translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. Whether he was revising the Septuagint, or was working from Hebrew manuscripts that represented a parallel tradition that has not survived, is debated. In the 2nd century Theodotion's text was quoted in The Shepherd of Hermas and in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho. His finished version, which filled some lacunae in the Septuagint version of the Book of Jeremiah and Book of Job, formed one column in Origen of Alexandria's Hexapla, c. 240 CE. The Hexapla, now only extant in fragments, presented six Hebrew and Greek texts side-by-side: two Greek versions, by Aquila and Symmachus, and Theodotion's version following it, apparently reflecting a contemporary understanding of their historical sequence.
The Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri or simply the Chester Beatty Papyri are a group of early papyrus manuscripts of biblical texts. The manuscripts are in Greek and are of Christian origin. There are eleven manuscripts in the group, seven consisting of portions of Old Testament books, three consisting of portions of the New Testament, and one consisting of portions of the Book of Enoch and an unidentified Christian homily. Most are dated to the 3rd century CE. They are housed in part at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland, and in part at the University of Michigan, among a few other locations.
The Septuagint (LXX), the ancient Alexandrian translation of Jewish scriptures into Koine Greek exists in various manuscript versions.
Papyrus 12, α 1033, designated by siglum 𝔓12, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Epistle to the Hebrews, it contains only Hebrews 1:1. The manuscript palaeographically has been assigned to ca. 285. It may have been a writing exercise or an amulet.
Papyrus 18, designated by 𝔓18, is an early copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript containing the beginning of the Book of Revelation. It contains only Revelation 1:4–7. It is written against the fibres of the papyrus. On the other side of the papyrus is the ending of the book of Exodus. It is unclear whether the papyrus was a scroll of Exodus later reused for a copy of Revelation or a leaf from a codex with miscellaneous contents. The two sides of the papyrus were copied in different hands, but the original editor of the papyrus did not think there was a great interval of time between the copying of the two sides. He assigned the Exodus to the third century and the Revelation to the third or early fourth century.
Papyrus 47, designated by siglum 𝔓47, is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri. Manuscripts among the Chester Beatty Papyri have had several places of discovery associated with them, the most likely being the Faiyum. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), it has been dated to the early 3rd century CE. The codex contains text from the Book of Revelation chapters 9 through 17. It is currently housed at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.
Papyrus 62, signed by 𝔓62, known also as ‘‘Papyrus Osloensis’’, is a copy of the New Testament and Septuagint in Greek-Coptic. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew and Book of Daniel. The manuscript palaeographically has been assigned to the 4th century.
Uncial 0166, is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 5th century.
Codex Chisianus 45 is a 10th-century biblical manuscript, first edited in 1772.
Codex Marchalianus designated by siglum Q is a 6th-century Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint. The text was written on vellum in uncial letters. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 6th century. Marginal annotations were later added to the copy of the Scripture text, the early ones being of importance for a study of the history of the Septuagint.
Papyrus Rylands 458 is a manuscript of the Pentateuch in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible. It is a roll made from papyrus, which has survived in a very fragmentary condition. It is designated by the number 957 on the list of Septuagint manuscripts according to the numbering system devised by biblical scholar Alfred Rahlfs. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), the manuscript has been dated to the middle of the 2nd century BCE.
The Papyrus Fouad 266 are fragments, part of a papyrus manuscript in scroll form containing the Greek translation, known as the Septuagint, of the Pentateuch. They have been assigned palaeographically to the 1st century BCE. There is discussion about whether the text is original or a later recension of the Septuagint.
Carl Schmidt was a German Coptologist. He made editions of various Coptic texts, and was active in Egypt in purchasing papyri for German universities. He also assisted Sir Chester Beatty in his papyri purchases.
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 1007 is a fragment of a Greek Septuagint manuscript written on parchment. The manuscript was discovered in Oxyrhynchus, modern El-Bahnasa, Egypt. Using the study of comparative writing styles (palaeography), the manuscript has been dated to the 3rd century CE.
Papyrus Berlin 17213 is Koine Greek fragment of the Septuagint dated to the 3rd century CE.
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 656 – is a Greek fragment of a Septuagint manuscript written on papyrus in codex form. This is a manuscript discovered at Oxyrhynchus, and it has been catalogued with number 656. Palaeographycally it is dated to late second century or early third century.
The Samareitikon is the name given to the Greek translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch.
The P.Yale 1 inv. 419 is a septuagint manuscript of the biblical Book of Genesis. This is possibly the oldest fragment of Genesis written on papyrus in koine Greek. It is paleographically dated to the early 2nd century CE.
The Papyrus Schøyen MS 2648 are six leaves of a papyrus codex of the Septuagint that contain the text of Joshua 9:27-11:3 in Koine Greek. It has been dated to the early third century.
