Psalm 8

The very first translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek was probably made early in the third century BC. The translation is called the Septuagint (LXX) version (from the Latin word for “seventy”). The traditional account of its origin credit the monumental work to the hands of 72 translators. We know of this history because the story is told in the Letter of Aristeas.

The letter tells how King Ptolemy II of Egypt commissioned the royal librarian, Demetrius of Phaleron, to build the library by purchasing or copying every book in the world. He wrote a letter to Eleazar, the high priest in Jerusalem, requesting six elders from each of the twelve tribes who were skilled in the Torah and the Greek language to make the translation. This would make a total of 72 men laboring on the translation.

On arrival from Jerusalem to Alexandria, Egypt, the translators were greeted by the king. They were given a banquet and celebration. The men were then taken to a secluded house on the island of Pharos whose 110-meter-high lighthouse was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. According to the letter, the translation was completed in 72 days. When the Alexandrian Jewish community assembled to hear the new version, the people were amazed at its clarity in the new language. A curse was pronounced on anyone who should alter the text by the addition, omission, or transposition of the words.

The implication seems to be the inscriptions were already a part of the text when the LXX was composed.