Today is the 10th annual International Septuagint Day! So don’t forget to read some Greek Old Testament, browse some early editions of Liddell Scott, and brush up on your accentuation rules in celebration.

A Brief History

I have posted some about this history of Septuagint Day here and here. But the long and short is this:

Dr. Robert Kraft made the observation that today’s date is the only one we to be historically related to the Greek Scriptures. In a document dating to February 8th, 533 C.E. the Emperor Justinian, announces permission for public reading of Jewish Scriptures in the Roman Empire. He proclaims his approval of any language, but where Greek is used he states that “those who use Greek shall use the text of the seventy interpreters [i.e. the LXX], which is the most accurate translation, and the one most highly approved…” An English translation of the novella is available here.

In recognition of the joyous event, in November of 2006 the IOSCS approved the institution of this grand day. Here is an excerpt from the General Business Meeting minutes:

A motion to establish February 8 annually as International Septuagint Day to promote the discipline on our various campuses and communities was moved by Karen Jobes, seconded by James Aitkin and carried.

LXX Scholar Interviews

Some of you will know about the various interviews I have conducted with scholars active in the field of Septuagint.
Thus far I have had thepleasure of interviewing:

• Dr. Karen Jobes
• Dr. Robert Hiebert
• Dr. John Meade
• Dr. W. Edward Glenny, and
• Dr. James K. Aitken

I have also been hard at work preparing more interviews with prominent scholars active in the discipline, and I am very exited to share these with you in the coming months. You can look forward to seeing posts from…

• Dr. Jan Joosten
• Dr. Cameron Boyd-Taylor
• Dr. Claude Cox
• Dr. Cécile Dogniez
• Dr. Emanuel Tov
• Dr. Albert Pietersma
• Dr. Natalio Fernández-Marcos
• Dr. Anneli Aejmelaeus
• Dr. Robert Kraft

I am very grateful to all who have given me their time and energy to complete these interviews. It is my hope that they will help fulfill the goal of International Septuagint Day: generating attention and interest in the discipline among those less familiar with it.