Historical and legendary features in the Septuagint translation novel

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Vice-manager of Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria

Abstract

This research deals with the story of the translation of the Torah "Septuagint", which began during the reign of the Ptolemaic king "Ptolemy II - Philadlphos" (283-246 BC), who gave the Jews great care more than any other Ptolemaic king to the extent that he was famous as a friend of the Jews, so The Jewish sources attributed to this king his doing a great work to honor the Jews at that time, which is the Greek translation of their Bible, which is known as the “Septuagint translation of the Torah” or (LXX). This was mentioned in the context of the famous “Aristeas” novel, which the Jewish historian Josephus" repeated again later in the Roman era, so the research deals with the following points:
• The story of translating the Jews' Bible from the Hebrew language into the Greek language, which is known as the "Septuagint translation of the Torah" according to the ancient Greco-Roman sources.
• Analyzing the story of the "Septuagint Translation of the Torah" from a historical point of view and showing the extent of its historical authenticity.
• The real reasons for translating the Torah into Greek, the most important of which is the Jews' adaptation to the flooded world surrounding them during the Hellenistic era.
• The fact that the translation of the laws of the Jews is linked to the liberation of all the Jewish prisoners in the Ptolemaic Kingdom.

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