The Septuagint, Sexuality, and the New Testament: Case Studies on the Impact of the LXX in Philo and the New Testament

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Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004 - History - 163 pages
In this groundbreaking book William Loader shows how the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures created new slants and emphases on sexuality that would leave their mark on the writings of Philo and the New Testament--and ultimately on Christian thought itself. According to Loader, "Some things are lost in translation, others gained." The making of the Septuagint could not help but result in verbal connections, lost emphases, and novel wordplays that opened the door to new interpretations. One particularly important instance of this effect of translation is the Septuagint's treatment of sexuality. In the course of his book Loader explores sexuality as it is presented in the Decalogue, the stories of Creation and the Garden of Eden, and the brief reference to divorce in Deuteronomy 24, looking in turn at their Septuagint translations, their use in Philo, and their possible impact on the New Testament. These fascinating studies have important implications for thinking about gender issues and male-female relations.
 

Contents

THE CREATION STORIES
1
The Influence of the LXX Versions of the Decalogue in Philo
12
Conclusion
25
Influence of the LXX version of the Creation Stories in Philo
59
Deuteronomy 24124
68
The Influence of LXX version of the passage concerning Divorce
76
Paul
90
Deuteropauline literature
107
A2 The Decalogue in English Translation
133
79
147
Copyright

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About the author (2004)

William Loader is professor emeritus of New Testament at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia, and extraordinary professor at North-West University, South Africa. His many other books include The New Testament with Imagination: A Fresh Approach to Its Writings and Themes and Making Sense of Sex: Attitudes towards Sexuality in Early Jewish and Christian Literature.

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