The 1707 Greek Septuagint Edition

The 1707 Greek Septuagint Edition

The Septuagint edition produced by the German scholar Johann Ernst Grabe is considered one of the most important early critical publications that sought to present a text closely aligned with the Greek Septuagint tradition. Grabe relied primarily on the ancient Greek Codex Alexandrinus, and his edition has become a major reference in biblical studies since the eighteenth century.

This edition appeared during a period of flourishing of textual criticism—which is the discipline concerned with studying ancient manuscripts in order to reconstruct the form closest to the original text written by the author. It emerged within a growing scholarly interest in the Septuagint as an early witness to a Hebrew text older than the Masoretic tradition. Grabe’s edition contributed significantly to later developments in textual criticism and highlighted important differences between the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text, especially in the historical and poetic books. It continues to be used today in critical studies aiming to reconstruct the Septuagint text prior to Origen’s revisions in the Hexapla. This edition is distinguished by presenting a complete Greek text of the Old Testament according to the order of the Codex Alexandrinus. It includes critical marginal notes indicating manuscript variants, as well as a scholarly introduction explaining Grabe’s method of textual comparison. It also incorporates several deuterocanonical books in accordance with the Alexandrian manuscript tradition.