%3Aquality(75)%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fassets.lareviewofbooks.org%252Fuploads%252F201311when-god-spoke-greek-the-septuagint-and-the-making-of-the-christian-bible_6575_5001.jpg&w=1024)
Of Gods and Languages: On "When God Spoke Greek"
Kevin Hart reviews Timothy Michael Law's book, which explores the history and significance of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The article explains that the Septuagint was the primary Bible for the early Church and preserves older textual versions of Hebrew Scriptures. It also clarifies that the biblical canon was not fixed in the early centuries, challenging the modern assumption of a single, settled text.
- ▪The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Old Testament that served as the primary scripture for the early Christian Church.
- ▪According to the Letter of Aristeas, 72 Jewish scholars translated the Torah into Greek in Alexandria under King Ptolemy II.
- ▪Timothy Michael Law argues that the Septuagint preserves older versions of Hebrew Scriptures that predate the settled canon of the Hebrew Bible.
- ▪The term 'Septuagint' derives from the Latin word for seventy, referencing the traditional number of translators cited by Josephus.
- ▪Modern scholars believe the Letter of Aristeas was likely written by a Jew in the second century BCE to bolster Jewish wisdom and loyalty to the Ptolemaic reign.
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| Original publisher | Los Angeles Review of Books |
| Canonical URL | https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/of-gods-and-languages-on-when-god-spoke-greek/ |
| Publication time | Mon, 14 Sep 2026 06:34:06 +0000 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-09-14T06:46:51.193Z |
| Last seen | 2026-09-14T06:46:51.193Z |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Of Gods and Languages: On “When God Spoke Greek”Kevin Hart reviews Timothy Michael Law’s book about the Septuagint, When God Spoke Greek.By Kevin HartNovember 17, 2013When God Spoke Greek by Timothy Michael Law. Oxford University Press. 240 pages.Buy on Bookshop.orgBecome a member for 15% off at Bookshop.orgDid you know LARB is a reader-supported nonprofit?LARB publishes daily without a paywall as part of our mission to make rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts freely accessible to the public.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Los Angeles Review of Books.
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