A Lexical Study of the Septuagint Version of the Pentateuch

elow) have been limited in extent, and the important older ones
by Deissmann and Anz are now in need of re-appraisal and supple­
menting with new evidence. Much recent study has been limited,
especially in that it has tended to concentrate on words of
theological interest, and then often with the chief object of
elucidating the language and ideas of the NT.
The evidence of the papyri, although generally recognized
as important for LXX lexicography, has yet to be thoroughly in­
vestigated. As many of the examples in this study will show,
there is still a great deal to be discovered about LXX usage
from this source. Much that is important for the LXX vocabulary
has not been noted by any of the standard dictionaries.
An up-to-date lexicon of the LXX, embodying the results of
a thorough re-examination of its vocabulary and taking full
account of the papyrological evidence, is clearly a pressing
2
requirement. There is at the present time an increased inter­
est in providing such a work, but the task will be a difficult
and lengthy one, and it is clearly desirable that as much pre­
liminary study as possible should be undertaken for it.
It is intended that the present study should make a
contribution in this direction, not only by its examination of
individual words and uses but also by offering a number of ob­
servations relevant to LXX lexicography generally. In particu­
lar we shall observe how important a full investigation of the
non-Biblical evidence can be in deciding the meaning of a word
in the LXX.
In any study of the LXX one encounters at the outset the
problem of the uncertainty of our text. We may distinguish
three separate questions on which there is still some measure of
uncertainty. They are: (i) Is it possible to speak of a single
original LXX translation? (ii) To what extent is an ancient
translation preserved in our MSS? (iii) If such a translation
does survive, at what date was it made? The present study is
not directly concerned with solving these problems. It will
2. G.B. Caird JTS XIX (1968) 453, Jellicoe, SMS, 359. Already
in 1909 Deissmann spoke of the 'clamant need' of a lexicon,
BS 73 η.3.