Septuagint and Cognate Studies

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Septuagint and Cognate Studies concerns the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and the versions that grew up around it. The Septuagint was the Bible of the Greek-speaking synagogue, the text most often quoted by the New Testament writers, the scriptural voice of the early church, and the ancestor of the Christian Old Testament in much of the East. It is also a translation, which makes it a witness to interpretation as well as to text. Students work in Greek and Hebrew simultaneously, comparing the versions word by word. The curriculum covers the origins and legends of the translation, the character and technique of the individual translator-books, the recensions of Origen, Lucian, and others, the daughter versions, the relationship of the Greek to the Qumran Hebrew evidence, and the text-critical use of the Septuagint in establishing the Hebrew text. A second stream studies reception: how the New Testament quotes the Greek, how the fathers read it, and how the Septuagint shaped early Christian vocabulary for God, law, covenant, and salvation. Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion, the Hexapla, and the modern critical editions are all handled directly. The dissertation makes an original contribution on translation technique, textual history, or reception in a specific corpus. Graduates teach Old Testament and Greek, contribute to critical editions and lexica, and bring rare textual competence to churches and schools.

Core Courses

• LXX 801 — Introduction to the Septuagint (6 credits)
• LXX 812 — Translation Technique (6 credits)
• LXX 824 — Textual History and the Recensions (6 credits)
• LXX 836 — Septuagint and Hebrew Textual Criticism (6 credits)
• LXX 848 — Reception in the New Testament and the Fathers (5 credits)
• LXX 860 — Research Design in Septuagint Studies (4 credits)
• LXX 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Septuagint Studies (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree in biblical studies, theology, history, or a closely related field
• Prior coursework in the biblical or historical languages the specialization requires
• Statement of purpose naming the research question you intend to pursue
• Academic writing sample, ideally an exegetical or historical research paper
• Current curriculum vitae
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available