The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

How the biblical canon formed — lesson 1

The Septuagint and the Scriptures of the apostles

What the first Christians read as Scripture, and why the Orthodox Old Testament looks as it does.

  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.
  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.
  • Jurisdiction-specific practicePractice varies legitimately between canonical Orthodox jurisdictions. Variation in practice is not variation in faith.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (2)
  • Confirm the Orthodox account of the anagignoskomena and their authority against an official Orthodox source.
  • Compile a sourced comparison of the contents of Greek, Slavonic and English Orthodox printed Bibles.

Report an accuracy issue on this page

What this lesson covers

  • Describe what the Septuagint is and what it is not.
  • Explain why the Orthodox Old Testament follows the Greek transmission.
  • State honestly how far printed Orthodox Bibles agree.

About 7 minutes to read.

Read aloud. Your browser speaks the page using the voices installed on this device. Nothing is uploaded — the text never leaves your computer. Voice quality varies by browser and device.

When the New Testament writers quote Scripture, they usually quote the Greek. The septuagint — the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, made from the third century BC onward — was the Bible of the Greek-speaking synagogue and then of the Church.

Why the Orthodox Old Testament looks as it does

The Orthodox Church received its Old Testament through this Greek transmission, and continues to read it liturgically. That includes the books Greek usage calls the anagignoskomena, the readable books — Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, Judith, Baruch, the Maccabees and others — which are present in the Septuagint and not in the Hebrew canon.

Jerome argued in the West that these should be distinguished from the books of the Hebrew canon. The Latin Church of his day did not follow him; the Reformation later did, in its own way. The Orthodox Church did not follow him either.

How the authority of the anagignoskomena compares with the rest has been described in more than one way by Orthodox writers. The books are read in the Church; that much is not in question.

Key Scripture

  • Luke 24:44 — The law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms.
  • Hebrews 1:6 — A quotation whose wording follows the Greek rather than the Hebrew text as we have it.

On Scripture references. References are given so you can read the passage in the translation your parish uses. This site does not reproduce a modern copyrighted Bible text.

Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy

In practice an Orthodox parish hears the Old Testament chiefly at Vespers on feasts and through Lent, in readings chosen for their bearing on the feast. The Psalter is read continuously and is the single most-used book in Orthodox worship.

Review

What is the Septuagint?
The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, made from the third century BC onward, used by the New Testament writers and by the Greek-speaking Church. It is not a single uniform book with fixed contents.
Do all printed Orthodox Bibles contain the same books in the same order?
No. They differ in contents, order, book names and numbering between traditions.

Your notes

Stored in this browser only. Never uploaded, never visible to anyone else, and marked as your own words if you add this page to a study packet.

Going deeper

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Athanasius: Select Works and Letters Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.); Archibald Robertson (trans.) Athanasius, Festal Letter 39 translated edition of primary texts An early list, and one that does not match printed Orthodox Bibles. Source record
  2. Tier C Cyril of Jerusalem and Gregory Nazianzen Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 4 translated edition of primary texts A catechetical list from the mid-fourth century. Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.