Why Did Jesus and the Apostles Quote from the Septuagint?
Question 1047
If you have ever compared an Old Testament quotation in the New Testament with the Old Testament passage itself, you may have noticed that sometimes the wording does not match exactly. This is not a translation issue in your English Bible—it reflects the fact that the New Testament authors frequently quoted from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, rather than translating directly from the Hebrew. Why would they do this? And what does this tell us about biblical inspiration and authority?
The Extent of Septuagint Usage
The New Testament contains approximately 300 direct quotations from the Old Testament, along with hundreds more allusions and echoes. Scholars estimate that roughly two-thirds of these quotations align more closely with the Septuagint than with the Masoretic Hebrew text. Some quotations match the Septuagint exactly; others show the author translating independently from Hebrew; still others appear to blend both traditions or quote freely from memory.
The Gospel of Matthew provides an interesting case study. Matthew, writing primarily for a Jewish audience, sometimes quotes the Hebrew text directly (as in Matthew 2:15, “Out of Egypt I called my son,” which matches the Hebrew of Hosea 11:1 more closely than the Septuagint). Yet in other places, Matthew follows the Septuagint closely, particularly when the Greek rendering serves his theological purpose. The author of Hebrews relies almost exclusively on the Septuagint, as does Luke in both his Gospel and Acts. Paul moves between traditions, sometimes quoting the Septuagint verbatim, sometimes adapting it, and occasionally translating directly from Hebrew.
Practical Reasons for Using the Septuagint
The most straightforward explanation is linguistic. By the first century, Greek had become the common language of the Mediterranean world. Many Jews, particularly those living outside Palestine in the Diaspora, spoke Greek as their primary language and knew the scriptures primarily through the Septuagint. When Paul planted churches in Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and Rome, his converts—both Jewish and Gentile—would have known the Old Testament (if they knew it at all) in Greek. Quoting from the Septuagint made Scripture immediately accessible to his readers without requiring translation.
Even in Palestine, Greek was widely spoken alongside Aramaic and Hebrew. Archaeological evidence, including Greek inscriptions in synagogues and on ossuaries, confirms that Greek was not foreign to Jewish life in the land of Israel. Jesus Himself likely spoke Greek on occasion, particularly when interacting with Gentiles or Roman officials. The Septuagint would have been familiar to many of His hearers.
The Septuagint as an Authoritative Translation
But there is more to this than mere convenience. The New Testament authors did not merely tolerate the Septuagint as a necessary accommodation; they treated it as an authoritative rendering of God’s Word. This is evident in cases where their argument depends on the specific wording of the Greek text.
Consider Hebrews 10:5-7, which quotes Psalm 40:6-8. The Hebrew text reads, “you have given me an open ear” (literally, “ears you have dug for me”). The Septuagint renders this as “a body you have prepared for me” (σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι, sōma de katērtisō moi). The author of Hebrews quotes the Septuagint and builds his argument about Christ’s incarnation and sacrifice on this very wording: “when Christ came into the world, he said… ‘a body have you prepared for me.'” The theological point about Jesus taking on a human body to offer Himself as a sacrifice depends on the Greek rendering, not the Hebrew.
Similarly, in Acts 15:16-17, James quotes Amos 9:11-12 to support the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s people. The Hebrew text speaks of Israel possessing “the remnant of Edom.” The Septuagint renders this as “the remnant of mankind” (using a different vowel pointing that reads אָדָם, adam, “mankind,” rather than אֱדוֹם, edom, “Edom”). James quotes the Septuagint reading to argue that God always intended to include Gentiles among His people. His argument works with the Greek text in a way it would not with the Hebrew.
What are we to make of this? Some suggest the Septuagint translators made errors that the New Testament authors unwittingly perpetuated. But this sits uncomfortably with the doctrine of inspiration. If the Holy Spirit guided the New Testament authors in their quotations—and we believe He did—then His use of the Septuagint indicates divine approval of those readings, at least for the purposes to which they are put.
The Septuagint as Interpretive Tradition
The Septuagint was not merely a mechanical translation; it was an interpretive translation. The Jewish scholars who produced it made decisions about how to render Hebrew words and phrases into Greek, and those decisions often reflected theological understanding. In some cases, the Septuagint clarifies what is ambiguous in the Hebrew; in others, it makes explicit what is only implicit.
A striking example appears in Isaiah 7:14. The Hebrew word עַלְמָה (almah) means “young woman” and does not necessarily imply virginity. The Septuagint translators rendered this as παρθένος (parthenos), which specifically means “virgin.” When Matthew quotes this prophecy in Matthew 1:23, he uses the Septuagint’s παρθένος, making explicit that Isaiah’s prophecy pointed to a virgin conception. Was this a clarification of the Hebrew, or an interpretation? The New Testament’s usage suggests it was a Spirit-guided clarification of what Isaiah meant all along.
Another example is Deuteronomy 32:43. The Masoretic Text reads, “Rejoice, O nations, with his people.” The Septuagint has a longer text that includes, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” The author of Hebrews quotes this in Hebrews 1:6 to demonstrate Christ’s superiority over angels. The Dead Sea Scrolls have since confirmed that the Septuagint’s longer reading reflects an older Hebrew text, vindicating the New Testament author’s choice.
What This Teaches Us About Inspiration
The New Testament’s use of the Septuagint offers important lessons about how inspiration works. First, it shows that inspiration extends to the New Testament authors’ use of sources. When Matthew, Paul, or the author of Hebrews quoted Scripture, the Holy Spirit guided not only their original composition but also their selection and application of Old Testament texts. This includes their choice of which textual tradition to follow.
Second, it demonstrates that God’s Word is not bound to a single language. The Old Testament was inspired in Hebrew (and Aramaic), yet God was pleased to have it translated into Greek and to use that translation as the vehicle for New Testament revelation. This has implications for Bible translation today: while we rightly value the original languages, God has shown that His Word can be faithfully communicated in translation.
Third, it reminds us that textual plurality is not a threat to biblical authority. The existence of variant readings between the Septuagint and Masoretic Text does not undermine Scripture’s reliability. Rather, it shows that God preserved His Word through multiple streams, each contributing to our understanding of the original revelation.
Conclusion
Jesus and the apostles quoted from the Septuagint because it was the Bible their audiences knew, because it often preserved faithful renderings of the Hebrew (sometimes even older readings), and because the Holy Spirit guided their use of it for theological purposes. Far from being a problem for biblical authority, the New Testament’s use of the Septuagint demonstrates God’s providential care in preserving and transmitting His Word across languages and centuries. We can read both the Hebrew and Greek textual traditions with confidence, knowing that God has ensured we have what we need to know Him and live for Him.
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Romans 15:4
Bibliography
- Jobes, Karen H. and Moisés Silva. Invitation to the Septuagint. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.
- McLay, R. Timothy. The Use of the Septuagint in New Testament Research. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
- Beale, G.K. and D.A. Carson, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
- Longenecker, Richard N. Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
