The Constitutive Problem of the Septuagint

Abstract

This article problematizes the common distinction between production and reception in biblical studies with Septuagint study as a case in point. The article illustrates the problem in connection with two recent, major translation projects, A New English Translation of the Septuagint and Other Greek Translations Traditionally Included under That Title and La Bible d’Alexandrie. I argue that the binary classification of production and reception is inadequate to capture the textual history of the Septuagint and suggest an alternative way to conceptualize the development.