The Fascinating Origins of the Septuagint

In the early third century BCE, Demetrius of Phaleron approached Ptolemy Philadelphus, the king of Egypt, and said, "Your Majesty, I have learned that the Jews living in Judea have numerous books about their unique laws. These are important texts worthy of study and would be a great addition to Your Majesty's library. However, the script used by the Jews is unfamiliar, and we need Jewish scholars to transcribe their books into Greek for us to learn from them."

Sitting next to the king was Aristias, a close associate who had a fondness for the Jewish people. He spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, I know the Jews well and am familiar with their Torah laws. They worship the one God and believe that all humans are His creations. Therefore, if we desire that they translate their Torah for us and teach us, we must free all the Jewish slaves here in our land, a legacy from your father’s time."

"How many Jewish slaves are there in Egypt?", asked the king.

Andreas, his bodyguard, replied, "There are a hundred and ten thousand Jewish slaves in Egypt. Your father, Ptolemy I, employed them as border guards because he knew they were loyal to their oath and would not break it, as they had sworn to Alexander the Great, whom he trusted blindly. Hence, your father allowed them to serve as guards in the border fortresses."

"Well then," Ptolemy replied, "this is a small gift in exchange for such important books to be included in the library. I command the freedom of all Jewish slaves and declare that for every slave, I will pay their employer one hundred and twenty drachmas. Not only those brought by my great father, King Ptolemy, but every Jewish slave in Egypt shall be set free. This will be completed within three days, and anyone who disregards my order will have all their possessions seized for the royal treasury."

After the Jewish slaves were freed, Demetrius submitted a proposal to the king regarding the translation of the Torah. It was stated in this proposal that, upon searching, a Greek translation of the Jewish laws was found in the library. However, it was flawed and incomplete, clearly unprofessionally done. It was unfortunate that Greek poets had not known this Torah and that Greeks could not enjoy its wisdom until now. Therefore, he proposed that the king write to the High Priest in Jerusalem, named Eleazar, to provide him six elders from each of the twelve tribes of the Jews so that they could translate the Torah as accurately as possible.

The king promptly prepared a letter for Eleazar the High Priest. Along with his letter, he sent fifty talents of gold for crafting sacred vessels, numerous precious stones and jewels, and another hundred talents of silver for sacrifices. In the letter, he requested that the High Priest send seventy Jewish elders to translate the Torah. Josephus describes that the king also prepared a special table for the Temple and elaborately described its craftsmanship and splendor. It is not known if the table ever made it into use in the Temple.

Eleazar the High Priest, the son of Shimon the Righteous, who had met Alexander the Great, responded to the king in a letter with the following words: "To King Ptolemy, greetings. Know that we will undertake tasks that will benefit you, even if they are against nature, as we must repay you for the various kindnesses you have shown to our people. We have also immediately offered sacrifices on behalf of you, your sister, your children, and friends, and the people prayed that your heart's wishes be fulfilled, and your reign continue in peace."

Aristias returned to Egypt with the seventy elders, and the king immediately received them. This was unusual, as delegations usually waited a month or more to meet the king. The king was delighted with all the gifts sent by the High Priest, but he was most captivated by the Torah scroll. He had never seen such a large book written on parchment in such a uniform and impressive manner. He asked the elders to read and translate it orally from the scroll. The words he heard moved him deeply, bringing tears to his eyes. He declared that this day, when he first learned from the Torah of Israel, would be made a yearly festival. He commanded that the elders be hosted royally and appointed a special person to prepare kosher food for them according to Jewish laws. A special place for immersion before their work was provided, as well as arrangements for ritual handwashing according to Jewish laws.

The elders worked with great speed, and within about three months, they completed the translation effort. They strived for accuracy to ensure the text was understandable in Greek, and apart from a few changes they had to include, they remained precise. One of the changes they made was in the section about unclean animals, where they avoided mentioning the name "hare" and instead wrote "long-legged," since the Greek translation of "hare" is "lagos," which was also the name of the king's father. They wanted to avoid giving the impression of mocking the king, so they replaced "hare" with a different word. The translation they produced is known as the "Septuagint," and a version of it exists to this day.

The king was extremely pleased with the results. He pondered the words of the Torah and found them very interesting. Even the court philosopher, named Mendimos, was delighted to learn and grow from the Jewish Torah. One of the translators, a priest named Elisha, lifted his hands in prayer for the success of the event, and the Greeks listened in admiration and said amen.

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