The Septuagint gets its name from the Latin word septuaginta, which means “seventy.” This name is based on an ancient Jewish legend that says seventy (or seventy-two) Jewish scholars were commissioned to translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek.
According to the tradition (recorded in the Letter of Aristeas), King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt (around 3rd century BC) wanted a Greek version of the Hebrew Bible for his great library in Alexandria. So he brought together 72 Jewish scholars—six from each of the twelve tribes of Israel—to do the work.
The legend says they were placed in separate rooms to translate the Hebrew text independently, and miraculously, all 72 produced identical translations. This was seen as a sign of divine approval. Because of this, the translation became known as the “Version of the Seventy”—or Septuagint, often abbreviated as LXX, the Roman numeral for 70.
The legendary seventy (or seventy-two) translators who are said to have created a unified Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, making it one of the oldest and most influential versions of the Old Testament, especially in early Christianity.
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