Septuagint Bridge -- How the Greek Old Testament Illuminates the New

When New Testament authors quoted the Old Testament, they were usually not translating directly from the Hebrew. They were quoting the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible produced in Alexandria beginning in the third century BC. This matters more than most readers realize, because the Septuagint sometimes differs from the Hebrew Masoretic text in ways that directly affect New Testament theology. The Septuagint Bridge tool lets you see those differences side by side.

One of the most consequential examples is Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew text uses the word "almah," which means "young woman." The Septuagint translates this as "parthenos," which specifically means "virgin." When Matthew 1:23 quotes this verse to describe Mary, he is quoting the Septuagint's rendering, not the Hebrew. This is not a minor textual curiosity -- it is the foundation of one of Christianity's central doctrines. Understanding that the Septuagint made this translation choice two centuries before Christ's birth gives the prophecy a dimension that reading only the English KJV obscures. The Book of Mormon independently confirms the virgin birth through Nephi's vision (1 Nephi 11:18-20), providing a Restoration witness that aligns with the Septuagint's reading.

Another revealing case is Psalm 16:10. The Hebrew reads "you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your faithful one see the pit (shachath)." The Septuagint renders "shachath" as "diaphthoran" -- corruption or decay. When Peter quotes this passage in Acts 2:27 to argue for Christ's resurrection, he relies on the Septuagint's rendering: Christ's body did not see corruption. The Hebrew word "shachath" can mean either "pit" or "corruption," but the Septuagint made the interpretive choice that became the apostolic proof text for the resurrection. Seeing both versions side by side lets you appreciate the exegetical work the early apostles were doing.

The Septuagint Bridge also reveals cases where the Greek Old Testament preserves readings that the Hebrew Masoretic text lost or altered over centuries of transmission. The Dead Sea Scrolls have confirmed that some Septuagint readings are actually older than the received Hebrew text, a finding that aligns with the Latter-day Saint understanding that "plain and precious things" were lost from the biblical record (1 Nephi 13:28). The Septuagint is not a replacement for the Hebrew, but it is an indispensable witness -- and this tool makes both witnesses available for comparison.