Jennifer Dines provides an introductory survey of current scholarship on the Greek Bible - the Septuagint. She outlines its origins in the third to first centuries BCE, going on to trace its subsequent history to the fifth century CE. The Septuagint's relationship with the standard Hebrew text and its translational characteristics are examined, as is its value as a collection with its own literary and exegetical character.
The Septuagint is shown to be an important source for biblical studies (both Old and New Testament), to make a distinctive contribution to the history of biblical interpretation, and to be of considerable interest for understanding the early development of both Judaism and Christianity.