The Law is Written in the Universal Language: 3rd-2nd Centuries bc

Next came the translation of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings into a unified written document in the universal Greek language.  Known as the Septuagint,[i]  (so called because Jewish tradition said it was made in 70 days by 72 elders sent from Jerusalem), it was written for the great library of Alexandria at the direction of Ptolemy Philadelphus (284-246 bc), and was used by the Greek-speaking Jews throughout all of  the Diaspora.

This translation proved to be of immense service to the Christian Church, for it taught, in what was then the language of the civilized world, the religious truths that had been the special possession of the Hebrew race.  In this way a church that was Jewish in origin was able to teach religion to the world.  In commentary material the Septuagint is often referred to as the LXX.[ii]

That which was essential to the Gospel mission, however, was viewed as heretical by many of the Jewish religious scholars.

Ancient and continuous as this task of translation was, it would be a mistake to think that there were no misgivings about it.  At least it is certain that opinions were divided as to the desirability of such undertakings.  While Philo and his Alexandrian coreligionists looked upon the translation of the Seventy as a work of inspired men, the Palestinian Rabbis subsequently considered the day on which the Septuagint was completed as one of the most unfortunate in Israel’s history, seeing that the Torah could never be adequately translated.[iii]

The Roman Empire Completed the Preparation: 63 bc

The final piece that needed to be put in place was a legal structure within which the Church could operate with sufficient protection as it moved from infancy to maturity.  That legal structure was the Roman Empire — which transcended local and national boundaries — making the establishment and spread of the Gospel possible for the first time. 

During the first thirty-six years after the Ascension, Roman officials were a protection to the Christian Church. At Philippi (Acts 16:37–39) and at Jerusalem (22:25–29; 23:27) Paul pleaded with success his rights as a Roman citizen. At Corinth the proconsul Gallio dismissed the charge brought against him (18:12–17); while at Ephesus the town clerk protected him from the fury of the mob (19:35–41), and the captain of the guard did the same at Jerusalem (21:31–32) . . . .

The Empire included a great variety of peoples.  Broadly speaking, the eastern half was Greek, the western Latin; but the Greek language was understood not only throughout the whole of the East, but in a great part of the West as well, and was the language of commerce everywhere.  It was only in the Lycaonian mountains (Acts 14:11) that Paul’s Greek was not enough.  The three largest cities of the Empire were Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch in Syria.  In each of these there were large Jewish colonies.  The Roman government of the provinces was not on the whole oppressive, though taxation was always heavy.  It was the policy of Rome to treat all national religions with respect . . . . The Jews also had exceptional privileges, e.g., freedom from military service and from legal business on the Sabbath.  The high priest could even send Saul to bring the Christians of Damascus to Jerusalem for punishment (Acts 9:2).  Yet the Jews always hated Roman rule, and were constantly in rebellion.  Even a census could not be taken without a dangerous rising (Acts 5:37) . . . . All through the apostolic age the storm was gathering that broke in seventy years (66-135 ad) of war between Rome and Israel.[iv]

In the apostolic age the Roman Empire was the one great power of the world.  It included everything between the Euphrates, the Danube, the Rhine, the Atlantic, and the Sahara desert.  Palestine became a client state in 63 bc, when Pompeius took Jerusalem.  That brought the life of the Savior into not only the ecclesiastical world of the Sanhedrin, and the political world of Herod, but the greater world of Rome itself. [v]

It was a world of commerce, transportation, literacy, law, finance, arts and all of the aspects of an integrated civilization. 

The Romans could well claim that their empire benefited those they ruled; travel was safe by land and by sea, civil order was maintained, trade and prosperity increased.[vi]

Finally: His Mission Could be Accomplished

And, it was only in place for Jerusalem for a very short period between the Maccabees (175 bc) and 70 ad – just in time for His ministry and that of His apostles.  And, when the Church no longer needed Jerusalem, it was totally destroyed, and Rome became the capital not just of the Roman Empire, but the Church of God until the death of the apostles.

And if the wisdom of the divine pre-arrangements is illustrated by the period of the spread of the Greek language, it is illustrated no less by that of the completion and maturity of the Roman government.   When all parts of the civilized world were bound together in one empire, — when one common organization pervaded the whole — when channels of communication were everywhere opened — when new facilities of traveling were provided — then was ‘the fullness of time’ (Galatians 4:4), then the Messiah came.   The Greek language had already been prepared as a medium for preserving and transmitting the doctrine; the Roman government was now prepared to help the progress even of that religion which it persecuted.   The manner in which it spread through the provinces is well exemplified in the life of St. Paul; his right of citizenship rescued him in Macedonia and in Judaea; he converted one governor in Cyprus, was protected by another in Achaia, and was sent from Jerusalem to Rome by a third.   The time was indeed approaching, when all the complicated weight of the central tyranny, and of the provincial governments, was to fall on the new and irresistible religion.[1]

So, as we ponder and celebrate this precious moment in history, let us give reverence at Christmas to the witness that God knew everything from the beginning, and that His love transcended all to send His Son into the world both in time and place where – even today – His faithful can hear His voice, and call Him Lord.

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come.

[1] W. J. Conybeare and S. J. Howson, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul.  Wm. B.  Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1964.  Originally published in about 1855, p. 13.

[i] Encyclopedia of Catholicism, p. 1183-4. Quotations by early writers and manuscript evidence suggest that the Torah was translated as early as ca. 250 bc, the Prophets by ca. 200 bc, and several of the Writings by ca. 150 bc.  The Septuagint was the first translation of the Hebrew Bible into another language, and it is the best single witness, after the Masoretic Text, to the ancient Hebrew text.  The Septuagint includes all the books in the Rabinnic Bible, as well as the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books.

In contrast to the threefold division found in the Masoretic Text (Law, Prophets, Writings), the earliest Septuagint codices display a messianic four-part arrangement (Pentateuch, Historical, Poetic, and Prophetic books), though early lists differ in contents and order.

  While some of these books are similar to their counterparts in the Masoretic Text (Isaiah), others are substantially shorter (Jeremiah) or longer (Daniel), thus attesting to different editions or editorial stages in the development of the books.  Several revisions of the Septuagint were made up to the mid-third century, both Jewish (Aquila) and Christian (Origen).  Until it was eclipsed by the Latin Vulgate, the Septuagint was the first testament in the Bible of the Christian Church, and it remains such for the Greek Orthodox Church.

[ii] The Holy Bible, Bible Dictionary, p. 771.

[ii] Encyclopedia of Catholicism, p. 1183-4.

[iii] The Holy Scriptures, p. iii-iv.

[iv] The Holy Bible, Bible Dictionary, p. 763-4.

[v] The Holy Bible, Bible Dictionary, p. 763-4.

[vi] Robin Griffith-Jones, The Four Witnesses, p. 203.