CONTENTS OF INTRODUCTION

Alexandria. (Page 1.) The Museum. The Library. Mixed population. Jews in Alexandria. Did the translation of the Old Testament arise out of their needs? This is not the traditional account.

The Letter of Aristeas. (Page 4.) Three points to be noted--(1) reason for the name Septuagint; (2) it applies properly only to the translation of the Pentateuch; (3) no claim made to inspiration.

The Inspiration of the Septuagint. (Page 8.) -- (1) .maintained by Philo, but not by Josephus; (2) how viewed by the early Christian Fathers: Justin Martyr. Irenaeus. Clement of Alexandria. Eusebius. Epiphanius. St. Jerome and St Augustine.

Are we to accept the Letter of Aristeas as Genuine? (Page 10.)
External Evidence -- Aristobulus. Philo.
Internal Evidence -- Difficulty with respect to Demetrius of Phalerum. Irenaeus' account intrinsically more credible. Minor objections against the Letter. Signs of a late origin. The work of Aristobulus may itself be a forgery; in any case both it and the Letter seem to belong to the same period. Wendland's view as to date. The work pre-Roman, notwithstanding a plausible argument against this view.

What was the Date or the Septuagint? (Page 14). Two forms of the tradition with respect to its origin. Earlier than the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus. Philo's acquaintance with it. The making of it a long process, not a single act.

Objections to the Stort of Aristeas. (Page 16.)

Translations of the Old Testament prior to the Septuagint. (Page 16.) The mention of such probably fictitious.

Translations of the Old Testament subsequent to the Septuagint. (Page 17). Aquila. Theodotion. Symmachus. All three emanated from the side of Judaism. Anonymous versions. Origen's Hexapla. His Tetrapla. Lucian's recension.

Supremacy of the Septuagint. (Page 19.) The Vulgate. Influence of the Septuagint. Its bearing on the interpretation of the New Testament.

Hellenistic Greek. (Page 21.) Relation of the Septuagint to Alexandrian Greek. Propriety of the term 'Biblical Greek.' The Greek of Josephus contrasted with that of the Septuagint. The Hebraism of the Septuagint due to reverence for the sacred text. Occasional doubt as to whether the Greek has a meaning. Necessity of expressing ideas foreign to the Greek mind. The Septuagint a factor in the evolution of Greek as it is.

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