Abstract:
Traces of thoughts. The place of a theology of the Septuagint in biblical scholarship: In the
past decades, research has raised the idea of a theology of the Septuagint (LXX) on various
occasions. Important works were recently published on this topic in the Handbuch zur
Septuaginta and the Septuagint and Cognate Studies series. The general theological tendencies of
the LXX are identified by scholars in eschatology, messianism, anti-anthropomorphism and
angelology. These tend to all be regarded as further developments of the theology of the
Hebrew Bible (HB). However, one can trace the evolution of these and other main topics of the
LXX in the New Testament (NT) and in the later apostolic writings as well. Based on three
concise case studies, I point out the evolution of theological ideas from the HB through the
LXX up to the NT in this paper. First, I will discuss the importance of the ‘Name of God’-
theology which is increasingly present in the LXX and has a key role in the messianic passages
of the NT. Then in two points it will be argued that addressing Jesus as κύριος implies
theological accents which can be detected in the LXX. These observations aim to show that the
development of the religious ideologies of the HB can be followed not only in the LXX but in
the NT and beyond as well. The importance of a theology of the LXX goes beyond the HB
research, having significant implications for the NT as well. In fact, such theology could build
the bridge between the HB and the NT, and should not only be written from the viewpoint of
the HB but also considering the NT.
CONTRIBUTION: This contribution traces the routes of three theological concepts originating in
the Hebrew Bible developed further in the LXX and finally adopted by the New Testament.
Based on these three examples, it is suggested here as a novel idea that a theology of the LXX
should not be written only with the Hebrew Bible in mind but also considering the New
Testament
Description:
This research is part of the project, ‘Prophetic Studies’, directed by Prof. Dr Alphonso Groenewald, Department of Old Testament Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.
