It is yet again that magical time of years for lovers of the Septuagint: International Septuagint Day. In case you are unaware, this joyous occasion has been celebrated these seventeen years, ever since the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies (IOSCS) pronounced it a holiday in 2006. 

As you can see in the image to the right, however, this celebration goes back to antiquity. Even the sphynxes observed this important festival. In that same spirit, I include here links to previous years’ celebrations:

ISD 2022    |    ISD 2021    |    ISD 2020    |    ISD 2019    |    ISD 2018

ISD 2017    |    ISD 2016    |    ISD 2015    |    ISD 2014

To celebrate this year, I am pleased to point readers to another important annual event within Septuagint scholarship.

The 2023 Grinfield Lectures on the Septuagint

As with International Septuagint Day, I have also posted a number of times over the years about the Grinfield lectures (see here). If you aren’t aware, the Grinfields began in 1861 as a multi-year series of lectures hosted by Oxford and focused on the Septuagint. 

This new series will be given by Sébastien Morlet, Professor of Greek language and literature, Sorbonne Université. His research is devoted to ancient Jewish and Christian texts written in Greek, with a focus on their relation to Greek paideia and philosophy. He is the author of La Démonstration évangélique d’Eusèbe de Césarée. Étude sur l’apologétique chrétienne à l’époque de Constantin (2009), Christianisme et philosophie : les premières confrontations (2014), Les Chrétiens et la culture : conversion d’un concept (2016) and Symphonia. La concorde des textes et des doctrines dans la littérature grecque jusqu’à Origène (2019). He is preparing the volume « 2 Règnes » (2 Kingdoms) in the Bible d’Alexandrie series.

Morlet’s first series of lectures will be given in just a few weeks, and is entitled “The Plurality of the Biblical Text: Past and Present.” You can attend the lectures virtually if you register in advance, which you can do by contacting Stefania Beitia (stefania.beitia@oriel.ox.ac.uk). More information: