Septuagint

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/septuagint

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary textual basis?Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)
2. What is the target language and audience?Koine Greek; Jewish diaspora and Hellenistic world
3. Why did people in Alexandria make the Septuagint?In Alexandria, many Jewish people spoke Greek and needed their sacred books in a language they understood. Translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek helped them keep their faith and talk with the surrounding Greek culture.
4. Where did the Septuagint come from?The translation started in Alexandria, Egypt, during the time of the Ptolemaic rulers. It took many years and many different translators, so the books were written by different people over time.

Koine Greek: The common form of Greek spoken and written during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Masoretic Text: The authoritative medieval Hebrew and Aramaic text of the Jewish Bible.
Diaspora: The dispersion of a people from their original homeland.
Hellenization: The historical spread of classical Greek culture, language, and civilization.