u/Acadian_Pride

I would strongly encourage every single Christian, regardless of denomination and canon, to be using the Septuagint (LXX, Old Testament) instead of the Masoretic Text (MT, Tanakh) as their everyday Bible.

The LXX is a completely separate manuscript tradition than the MT and it is the manuscript tradition that has been defended, maintained, and trusted in the Christian Chain of Custody since the early Church Fathers. It has a higher and more accurate Christology, typology, and Chronology than the MT and has been proven to be of a more ancient textual pedigree.

There is a significant amount of misunderstanding and false information that is perpetuated, primarily that the Masoretic Textual tradition is more accurate. This has been proven unequivocally FALSE. The DSS and a host of other archaeological manuscript developments has completely vindicated the LXX of the propaganda and slander that it received from the early Church through the reformation.

This is not a small difference- there are hundreds of textual variants, many of which not only chip away at the christiological message, but also appear to be intentionally altered. This is not conspiracy and the same sentiment would be shared by any Scholar of textual criticism at every public university in the country.

This topic is incredibly intricate and can’t be fully unpacked in a Reddit post, so I’ll leave you with the critically important facts.

1. The LXX and MT are completely separate traditions

2. The LXX is the source material used in the NT

3. The LXX is the Old Testament

4. The LXX has been proven to be accurate and ancient

5. The LXX is the OT text that was vehemently defended by the church fathers, entrusted in their custody, and maintains a much higher view of Christianity and messianic prophecy.

If interested, here are a few variants worth a google/chatgpt to highlight the issue I’m raising, just keep in mind there are hundreds more- psalm 22:16, psalm 40:6, Deut 32:43, Amos 9:12, Isaiah 53:11, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 42:4, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 7:14.

*Specifically referencing pre-Hexapla contamination*

Hey guys,

I’m a layman trying to find a copy of the LXX and read it as its own manuscript tradition prior to any attempts at harmonization with the masoretic textual tradition.

Besides NETS, it appears all available English editions are based on manuscripts that are post Origins Hexapla, thus are a harmonization of the LXX and the proto-MT (and Theodotion, Aquila, etc).

The NETS translation uses the NSRV for its base structure, AGAIN inserting influence from the masoretic tradition (please correct me if my understanding is wrong)

I understand the OG version of the LXX only survives in fragments across Old Latin, DSS, Papyrus, etc- but is there a single edition available that-

1. Prioritizes the OG LXX for everything that survives and is still available.

2. Where the OG LXX root base is no longer extant, utilizes (and notes) the Hexapla, and where the Hexapla is not available utilizes (and notes) the other revisions that are available like Theodotion, Aquila, etc.

3. Is not structured/ based on a masoretic translation (like NETS appears to be).

This whole thing has been a big puzzle to me, but ultimately I’m looking for guidance from someone that understands these things better and understands my goal is to view the LXX tradition as purely and separate from the influence of the MT tradition as possible.

Does something like this exist? If not, what is the best option to achieve or best approximate my stated goal?