RTS Washington Faculty Podcast ShoRTS: How Did We Get Our Old Testament? (Septuagint vs. Masoretic Text)
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Mar 9, 2026 A lively dive into why the Septuagint and Masoretic Text differ and which traditions shaped our Old Testament. Short histories of the Greek translation and the Masoretes' vowel-pointing project are covered. The conversation highlights tricky books like Jeremiah and Job and explains how scholars compare manuscripts to reconstruct original Hebrew texts.
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What The Masoretic Text Actually Is
- The Masoretic Text (MT) is the vowel-pointed Hebrew Bible standardized by Masoretes between the 5th–10th centuries AD.
- They preserved consonantal text and added vowel points so anyone literate in Hebrew could read a consistent vocal tradition.
The 70 Translators Legend Illustrates Ancient Debates
- Tommy recounts the legendary origin story of the LXX about 70 translators producing identical Greek at once.
- He calls the story almost certainly a myth but says it reflects ancient Jewish debates about Hebrew versus Greek authority.
Septuagint Is Older But Not Uniform
- The Septuagint (LXX) is a collection of Greek translations dating from c. 250 BC built on older Hebrew exemplars.
- Its age makes it valuable, but it's a translation layered with different histories per book.