<strong>The</strong> History of the LXX Chapter 1 - 16-
II. THE STATUS OF THE LXX THE HEXAPLA AND MESSIANIC PROPHECY 1 O r i g e n A d a m a n t i u s 2 compiled an Old Testament "Bible" called the Hexapla (c.245 A.D.). It was, in effect, a parallel Bible comprising six columns. <strong>The</strong> first column was the Hebrew Old Testament. In o r d e r t o leave abundant space for his "critical apparatus", this column contained no more than two Hebrew words to a line. In the second column, Origen transliterated the Hebrew words from the first column into the parallel letters of the Greek alphabet. Of course these Greek letters did not form words or make sense. Three other columns portrayed Greek translations made by men who professed <strong>Christian</strong>ity at some time in their lives but who later apostatized, returning to Judaism or becoming Ebionites. 3 Th e third column was a Greek version by Aquila (80- 135 A.D.) who had converted to Judaism. Later, upon seeing miracles at the hands of disciples of the deceased Apostles, he professed the <strong>Christian</strong> faith. He was excommunicated from the <strong>Christian</strong> community for steadfastly refusing to give up a s t r o l o g y , 4 mag i c , a n d t h e p r a c t i c e o f n e c r o m a n c y . 5 Aquila returned to Judaism (some say he also embraced the Ebionite ethic) and eventually was responsible for a contemptuous outrage against the Jews. During the reign of Hadrian (A.D. 117- 138), he supervised the building of a pagan temple to J u p i t e r o n t h e s i t e o f t h e T e m p l e o f S o l o m o n a n d p l a c e d a s t a t u e o f t h e E m p e r o r w h e r e t h e H o l y o f Holies had been. 6 H e t h u s e n d e d h i s v a u d e v i l l i a n c h e c k e r e d c a r e e r e n g a g e d i n t h e m a k i n g o f i d o l s for the Roman Caesar. 1 Foy E. Wallace, A Review of the New Versions, (Ft. Worth, TX: Noble Patterson Pub., 1973) Addenda, 3rd & 4th sections, pp. 13-36. Wallace reprints Professor R.C. Foster's "<strong>The</strong> Battle of the Versions" in his Addenda. 2 Origen (185-254 A.D.), a Greek philosopher, had been taught by the founder of Neo-Platonism (Ammonius Saccas 170-243 A . D . ) . N e o -Platonism is a strange combination of Aristotelian logic and Oriental cult teachings. It is a concept that conceives the world as being an emanation from "the one" - t h e i m personal one [not the personal "Abba" = "Dada" of the Bible] with whom the soul is capable of being reunited in some sort of trance or ecstasy. Origen was a follower of that philosophy and he attempted to add and amalgamate "<strong>Christian</strong>ity" to its views. <strong>The</strong> problem with Origen, as with many who profess <strong>Christian</strong>ity today, was that he tried to take the "best" of the world system (that which he had learned in school, his old philosophic views etc.) and incorporate it into <strong>Christian</strong>ity; but they do not mix. Origen was the third head master of a school founded 180 A.D in Alexandria, Egypt by the Greek philosopher Pantaenus. Pantaenus was succeeded in A.D. 202 by Clement of Alexandria (not Clement of Rome) who taught Plato's work was also inspired in the same sense as Scripture. <strong>The</strong>ir beliefs, as revealed in their writings, indicate that they were lost Greek philosophers. <strong>The</strong>y declared themselves "<strong>Christian</strong>" on the basis of their having been water baptized. Origen's energies were also directed toward the New Testament. Whereas he only "recovered and translated" the Old, he edited the New. Around the year A.D. 227, Origen traveled extensively throughout Palestine, Greece and Asia Minor. Everywhere he found Greek New Testament manuscripts he had them altered to fit his own doctrine. He, of course, felt that he was merely "restoring or correcting" the manuscripts (If one does not agree with a manuscript, the place for change is in translation; but to alter the original document - never!). Origen had a wealthy patron who supplied seven stenographers and seven copyists to accompany and assist him as he altered Scripture, Elgin S. Moyer, Who Was Who in Church History , (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962), p. 315; John H. P. Reumann, <strong>The</strong> Romance of Bible Scripts & Scholars, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1965), pp. 98-103. 3 <strong>The</strong> Ebionites were a cult of severely ascetic Judaizers who accepted the ethical teachings of Jesus but did not believe in Paul's doctrine of grace. <strong>The</strong>y did not believe that Jesus was Deity - that He was God with a capital "G"; thus they taught that Jesus was the hu man son of Joseph. 4 S w e t e , An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, op. cit. , p. 31. Also see A.E. Silverstone, Aquila and Onkelos, Semitic Languages Series, No. 1, (Manchester, Eng: University of Manchester, 1931). 5 Wallace, A Review of the New Versions, op. cit ., Addenda, section 3, p. 21. 6 Ibid., pp. 22-23. - 17-