Hexapla

Origen the early Christian scholar prepared (c. 230-245 AD) a comparison of the different versions of the Old Testament in columns side by side. He was interested in the relation between the Septuagint (LXX) and Hebrew text.

Origen's motives were both scholarly (to establish the biblical text) and missionary (to be effective in talking with Jewish scholars), primarily to avoid quoting parts of the Bible that were not in the Hebrew text. His work is an early example of Christian text criticism and still of considerable importance in establishing the text of difficult passages.

Towards these goals Origen listed, from left to right:

Hebrew text, in Hebrew characters
Greek transliteration of the Hebrew
Aquila's version
Symmachus version
LXX
Theodotion's version (not Psalms or Minor Prophets)

He also presented some other versions for some books only. “Heptapla” and “Octapla” describe parts that contain seven or eight columns.

This page is part of the Hypertext Bible Commentary - Amos , if you have reached it as a standalone page, to view it in context, go to www.bible.gen.nz
© Tim Bulkeley, 1996-2005, Tim Bulkeley. All rights reserved.