Old Testament Greek Origins

• Old Testament Greek Origins
  • Timeline
  • Introduction
  • The Letter of Aristeas
    • Dr Hillman discusses the forgery
  • Stylistic Linguistic Evidence from Dr Hillman
  • Julius Africanus
  • Porphyry - these books, they’re not written in Hebrew
    • Porphyry’s Key Works and Influence
    • His Views on Ancient Texts
    • The Line About Hebrew Texts
    • Porphyry’s Argument on the Septuagint
  • Gad Barnea at U of Haifa
  • Ketef Hinnom scrolls
  • Any older Hebrew fragments are just liturgical fragments
    • Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls (c. 650–587 BCE)
    • Lachish Letters (Ostraca) (c. 588 BCE)
    • Siloam Tunnel Inscription (c. 701 BCE)
    • Gezer Calendar (c. 925 BCE)
    • Tel Zayit Abecedary (Zayit Stone) (10th c. BCE)
    • Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription & Others (11th–10th c. BCE)
    • Other Paleo‐Hebrew Inscriptions from 8th–7th c. BCE
    • Miscellaneous Script Evidence
    • Proto-Literary Hebrew Content Pre-270 BCE
  • Greek New Testament quotes the Greek concepts from the Greek Septuagint not from the Hebrew versions
  • Hebrew was dead by 400BCE
  • Stylistic Analysis from Complexity - Hebrew 3rd grade level vs Greek advanced technical reality
    • Genesis 2:18
    • Genesis 1:1–2
    • Numbers 6:24–26 (Priestly Blessing)
    • Psalm 22:1
    • TODO: pull more examples from Dr Hillman
    • Overall Pattern:
  • The Septuagint and Atticizing Tendencies
  • Scholarly Support
    • Russell Gmirkin — Hellenistic Composition of the Torah
    • Mainstream Mimesis Theory — NT Influenced by Homer
    • Judaic Legal Structures and Platonic Influence
    • Hellenistic Judaism and Cultural Integration
    • Summary
  • What have we found in ancient synagogues
    • Greek Influence in Ancient Synagogues — Scholarly Evidence
      • 1. Greek Inscriptions Predominate
      • 2. Greek Inscriptions & Donor Language at Myra and Side
      • 3. Hellenistic Imagery in Synagogue Decoration
      • 4. Greek Architectural and Functional Symbols
    • Conclusion: Hellenistic DNA in Synagogue Culture
  • Specific word examples
    • alalazō vs hallelujah
    • Adam and Eve
  • Conclusion

Timeline

The oldest canonical Old Testament we have evidence of, comes to us via the Greek language.

• Before ~300BCE (no earlier Old Testament)
  • No earlier Old Testament exists than the Septuagint LXX books and chapters in the Greek language...
  • There is no known Hebrew literature before this time.
  • There are Hebrew minor inscriptions or short blessings occasionally included into Septuagint books/chapters (see below).
  • Hebrew was also a dead language by 400BCE, with severe language limitations, 3rd grade level. (see below)
• 290-250BCE - Septuagint LXX (Koine Greek - Alexandria, Egypt)
  • mixture of three different manuscripts: codex vaticanus, codex sinaiticus, and the Codex Alexandrakis
  • the Septuagint (LXX) shows clear layers of Greek style, and many scholars note that certain books or passages are “Atticizing” or show influence from Attic Greek norms, even though the language is fundamentally Koine Greek.
  • Certain books show Attic vocabulary, syntax, and stylistic traits. e.g. Job and Isaiah in the Septuagint are often singled out as showing strong Atticizing tendencies
• 250-68BCE - Dead Sea Scrolls (Paleo-Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek)
  • Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the Qumran Caves in the West Bank between 1946 and 1956.
  • discovered in caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea. While the exact authorship is debated, many scholars believe the scrolls were written by a Jewish sect, potentially the Essenes, who inhabited a settlement at Qumran
  • Contains both Hebrew and Greek fragments
    • Hebrew makes up 85% of the scrolls
    • Aramaic makes up about 13%
    • Greek comprises around 2%
  • Simplified
    • Simplified Hebrew is based on Septuagint Greek from ~300BCE.
    • Hebrew at this time has ~7000 words, while the Greek has ~1.5M words, so simplification was nessesary. Hebrew was a dead language, and much lower resolution technically.
    • The Greek fragments also simplified. (as if back translated from the simple Hebrew)
  • The Greek appears to be a back-translation from the Proto Hebrew translation, for a propaganda campaign by the Qumran sect, to own those previous texts for their cult.
  • Conclusion: The Qumran cult converts original Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) to a much simplified Hebrew (8000words in Paleo-Hebrew, 1.6M in Ancient Greek, Hebrew is dead language by 400BCE this point). Which loses all nuance and Hellenic context found in the earlier Greek Septuagint (LXX). It contains both Greek (back-translated from Hebrew) and Hebrew (translated from the original Greek). Attempt to resurrect the dead Hebrew language for the extremist cult to co-opt and own the Greek language rabbinical work for their extremist sect. Simplification and Hebrewification towards a narrative of owning the text for the strength of the cult. The scrolls were written in Paleo-Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. The scrolls were written on parchment, papyrus, and bronze. The scrolls were created by Jewish extremists that lived in Qumran until the Romans destroyed the settlement around 70 CE. The scrolls are also known as the Qumran Caves Scrolls. A mix of Paleo-Hebrew (for some texts like parts of Leviticus) and the square Aramaic script (proto-Masoretic and Qumran script styles).
• 200-400CE - Nag Hammadi (Sahidic Coptic)
  • The Nag Hammadi Codices were discovered in 1945.
  • Sahidic Coptic, a late form of the Egyptian language. While the texts are in Coptic, they are believed to be translations of works originally written in Greek
• 7-10th century CE - Masoretic text was written (Medieval Hebrew)
  • Using the Medieval Hebrew language that existed from the 6th to the 13th century CE, when Hebrew borrowed words from other languages.
• ~930 CE - Aleppo Codex (Medieval Hebrew)
  • Earliest complete Pentateuch in Hebrew. Parts are missing now. When Hebrew borrowed words from other languages.
• 1155CE - Talmud (Medieval Hebrew)
  • Using the Medieval Hebrew language that existed from the 6th to the 13th century CE, when Hebrew borrowed words from other languages.

Introduction

The Septuagint (LXX) is the original and foundational text, written in Greek by a group of 70 rabbis from Crete who harbored disdain for the female tyrants and oppressors of neighboring lands (the Medes, the civilization of Medea; such as the oracular justice system by the Parthenos ). This Greek Septuagint was rich in philosophical and mystical concepts derived from the pre-Hellenic Bronze Age, rooted in the drug/divining/medicine culture that was dominant at the time—an era when knowledge was largely oral and fragmented. These scholars drew upon a broad knowledge of mystical philosophy, myth, and metaphysics, embedding the sophisticated concepts of the region’s Bronze Age Greek, Mycenaean, Minoan, and Medean cultures into the original Greek text.

Ancient Hebrew, however, is not the root language of these texts. Instead, it was a later, constructed form—a fabricated language developed by an extremist sect seeking to consolidate power, gain control over the religious narrative, and reshape the people’s connection to divinity. This sect, operating under a cult-like agenda, recognized the power and descriptive richness of the original Greek scriptures, but sought to downplay the profound nuances of the Greek Septuagint in favor of a much more simplistic and rigid Hebrew. This movement effectively drove out any references to pharmaka (the substances related to seeing, divining, healing, and spiritual experiences), replacing them with vague and fantastical terms like “magic” or “sorcery,” which obscured the deeper connections to drug-induced divination and the spiritual practices of the time.

The key driving force behind this movement was the creation of a version of the text that replaced the reality (pharmaka and cognitive practices) with the fairy tale, it's more dogmatic, and more easily commands the control of people, disarming critical thinking. In a nutshell it replaces Greek precision and technicality with Hebrew simplified language with nonsensical meaning opening the door to wild interpretive metaphor. The translation from Greek to Hebrew was a deliberate process of simplification, where the deep philosophical, mystical, and spiritual meanings tied to ancient mystery rites involving Chrio (χριω / application of salves) with Pharmaka (φαρμακον / drugs) along with the metaphysics (set / setting instructions) were flattened and reduced to their most basic, literal forms in Hebrew. Often simplified to what amounts as mistranslation. This move from entheogenic experiential practice, to spiritual nonsense, allowed the sect to control the narrative, removing complex layers that might have encouraged personal experience or challenge to the established religious hierarchy.

In this fabricated language scenario:

The Greek Septuagint is a document rich in pharmaka-related mystical concepts, offering an expansive view of the divine and the relationship between humanity and the divine, from a perspective that mirrors much of the Bacchic or Dionysian mystery. During the Bronze Age, this mystery and pharmaka knowledge was well known within the priesthood, linking the sacred to altered states of consciousness and divination. Also diverse pharmaka use for inspiration, medicine and healing, spiritual connection, was all part of the popular culture of human civilization at that time.

Hebrew, by contrast, emerged as an artificial language constructed to strip away these mystery rites and other complex spiritual teachings, reducing pharmaka-related truths to a rigid, linear form. With its limited vocabulary (8198 words, 2099 roots), Hebrew could not encapsulate the depth of meaning that Greek could convey, resulting in a simplified and less adaptable translation. The Septuagint’s philosophical language is particularly evident in its treatment of divine concepts. Words like Logos (λόγος), Aion (αἰών), and Sophia (σοφία), Ouranos, carry profound meanings that far exceed the depth of their Hebrew counterparts, creating a chasm of understanding—by design.

In contrast, the later derivative extremist Hebrew version imposes a narrow, literal framework, leaving much of the philosophical depth and spiritual truth embedded in the Greek Septuagint unexplored. It is as though the vast ocean of meaning is being forced into a small, rigid vessel. Over time, the simplification of language reshaped the religious worldview of both Jewish and Christian people, aligning them more closely with the power structures of the sect that controlled the Hebrew version of the text.

The original, containing references to the rich Greek mystery traditions, was ultimately overshadowed in favor of a simplified, hierarchical, and doctrinally constrained version. The cultists who created the Hebrew version used this new, narrow interpretation to enforce a more authoritarian understanding of religious texts, ultimately maintaining dominance over spiritual authority. This shift in control paved the way for the Roman Empire and the dark ages.

One further piece of evidence is the fact that the New Testament, written in Ancient Greek, frequently references the Greek Septuagint. This reinforces the idea that the Septuagint was the original and foundational text for the early Christian community.

There has been no earlier Hebrew version found of the Greek Septuagint parts, that did not also contain fragments of Greek with those Hebrew fragments (e.g., Dead Sea Scrolls contained both Hebrew and Greek texts; Nag Hamadi, much later, had coptic only).

Ancient Hebrew, with its 8198 words and 2099 roots (Hapax legomena), is far more limited in scope compared to the expansive vocabulary of Ancient Greek. As noted by scholars like Ghil’ad Zuckerman, the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae contains over 110 million words, with 1.6 million unique word forms and 250,000 unique lemmata, a vast resource compared to the more limited scope of Hebrew.

Thus, at worst, we can conclude that the later Hebrew Old Testament are derivative fabrications designed to reframe, simplify, control, and constrain the original texts. While, at best, it was simply a translation to a much less expressive language, flawed in execution. The result is the same, regardless of intention, the Hebrew washes the Greek of all nuance and mysteries meaning. When compared to the Greek Septuagint, the limitations of Hebrew become glaringly apparent. The profound richness of the Greek version, full of mystery illumination towards metaphysical and spiritual insights, was simply obscured and lost in the transition to a simplified and more rigid and nonsensical form.

The Letter of Aristeas

The forged letter of Aristeas is the only proof for a supposed LXX translation.

The Letter of Aristeas is a Hellenistic-era text that claims to describe the creation of the Septuagint by 72 Jewish scholars (often rounded to 70) who were brought to Alexandria at the request of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 285–246 BCE) to translate the Torah (the first five books) from Hebrew into Greek.

The Letter of Aristeas presents itself as an account written by a court official named Aristeas, addressed to his brother Philocrates. It describes the circumstances of the translation, emphasizing divine inspiration and the scholarly rigor of the translators, as well as promoting the cultural and philosophical alignment between Jewish wisdom and Greek thought.

However, modern scholars generally view it as a later literary work rather than a historical document.

Several ancient critics regarded the Letter of Aristeas as propaganda rather than a factual account. While no single work was dedicated solely to refuting it, some ancient writers and Church Fathers commented on its implausibility or treated it with skepticism. Here are a few key sources that criticized or challenged the narrative:

1. Josephus' Against Apion (Ἀπὸν ἢ περὶ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀρχαιότητος) – While Josephus (1st century CE) actually repeats parts of the Letter of Aristeas in his Antiquities of the Jews (Book 12), in Against Apion, he defends Jewish antiquity against Hellenistic critics. Some scholars believe his account reflects an awareness of the propaganda aspects of Aristeas’ claims.
2. Origen's and Jerome's Writings – Origen (3rd century CE) and Jerome (4th century CE) were aware of textual variations between the Septuagint and the Hebrew texts, and they expressed doubts about the claim that the translation was divinely perfect. While they do not directly call Aristeas a forgery, their critiques of the Septuagint suggest skepticism about the legendary aspects of its creation.
3. Eusebius' Praeparatio Evangelica (Εὐαγγελικὴ προπαρασκευή) – Eusebius (4th century CE) discusses the Letter of Aristeas but presents it in the context of how Greek and Jewish knowledge align. While he does not outright dismiss it, his work indirectly highlights inconsistencies.
4. Early Rabbinic Criticism – While not a single document, early rabbinic sources in the Talmud (e.g., Megillah 9a-b) suggest that the translation of the Torah into Greek was seen by some Jewish scholars as a tragic event, a sign of cultural loss rather than divine inspiration. This indirectly criticizes the idealized claims of Aristeas.
   1. These rabbinic concerns primarily come from the Tannaitic and Amoraic periods of Jewish scholarship, meaning they were formulated between the 1st century BCE and the 5th century CE. The earliest rabbinic writings that reference the translation, such as Megillah 9a-b and Sofrim 1:7-8, likely date to the late Second Temple period (before 70 CE) but were compiled more fully in the Talmudic period (3rd-5th centuries CE).

While there is no surviving ancient work that is purely a direct rebuttal to the Letter of Aristeas, these sources indicate a historical awareness that the document was more rhetorical than factual.

1. Lack of Contemporary Mentions: Greek and Roman writers from the Hellenistic period do not appear to reference the Letter of Aristeas at all, either positively or negatively. This suggests that it may not have been widely circulated outside of Jewish and Hellenized Jewish circles during its early history.
2. Later Pagan Criticism of Jewish Texts: While we lack early critiques of the Letter of Aristeas, later Greco-Roman writers such as Manetho (3rd century BCE, Egypt), Apion (1st century CE, Egypt), Tacitus (1st-2nd century CE, Rome), and Celsus (2nd century CE, Rome) wrote negatively about Jewish history and traditions. Manetho, for example, crafted an alternative Egyptian history that painted the Jewish Exodus in a negative light, while Apion and Tacitus framed Judaism as an insular or superstitious tradition. While these critiques do not specifically target the Letter of Aristeas, they do reflect broader skepticism toward Jewish narratives in Greco-Roman intellectual circles.
3. Hellenistic Rhetorical Traditions: The Letter of Aristeas follows a well-known Hellenistic literary tradition of presenting a fabricated document as a means of lending credibility to a narrative (pseudepigraphy). If contemporary Greek scholars had encountered it and viewed it as propaganda, they might have dismissed it as an idealized or exaggerated origin story, similar to how some Greek and Roman intellectuals viewed the legendary histories of other cultures.
4. Potential Greek Skepticism: Greek scholars familiar with linguistic and textual traditions (e.g., the Alexandrian grammarians who studied Homer and other ancient texts) might have recognized the Letter of Aristeas as a literary construction rather than a strict historical account. However, no direct writings survive from them critiquing it.

Dr Hillman discusses the forgery

in Cosmic Tension

Wikipedia quote from here. The reason the way you think the way you do, and say things like "biblical history" or "Bible times", the reason you think that is because of this false letter. That they knew was false in antiquity, this is the letter that establishes the Septuagint is a translation. It was never questioned before. Someone came along in the 1st cent and created this letter to give it some substantiation to say this thing (Septuagint) is a translation of Hebrew.

• Letter of Aristeas - Describes a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible

Imagine if someone writes an epic tome.
Then 200 years later, someone writes a letter that says this epic tome was a translation.
And everyone buys it!!!

That's because the predominant wave in the 1st, 2nd cent CE is towards this Christian acceptance.
Those Hebrew originals Which strangely don't exist.
This is why people were so excited to get the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because it had some Hebrew in it, it also had the Greek that they were trying to copy into Hebrew but didn't have enough words in the Hebrew to do successfully.

Ha!!! "Some scholars" not just modern scholars, they did the same thing in antiquity: they said "this thing is a lie" but remember it was the pagans that got silenced when the Christians found their expletive Constantine. Are we just reliving? Yes. And you're doomed to. Because you don't study this stuff. Because if we had studied this stuff we wouldn't have let it lead up to this point.

• see Cosmic Tension

Stylistic Linguistic Evidence from Dr Hillman

Dr DCA Hillman with 35 years Ancient Greek experience, PhD and degree in bacteriology, has the experience to "date" Ancient Greek texts that he reads "linguistically". That is, by seeing the grammar, vocabulary, and diacritical marks usage, he can place a text within a century or two.

When was it written stylistically?
(from Septuagint VS Masoretic Text - 100K Subs - Ammon Hillman Kipp Davis Mythvision - Gnostic Informant)

Dr Hillman tells us in Renaissance Portal - Jesus and the Sphinx

Strength of the language from Septuagint VS Masoretic Text - 100K Subs - Ammon Hillman Kipp Davis Mythvision - Gnostic Informant

from Christ Means What - Part 1

Example of a much more advanced form in the Greek than you do in the Hebrew, from Renaissance Portal - Theology in Flames

from Ancient Hebrew and its forgery - Faked Language and False History

from Study Notes Ammon U - 02

Julius Africanus

from Christ Means What - Part 1

• search more for Julius Africanus

Porphyry - these books, they’re not written in Hebrew

Porphyry came along and said “these books, they’re not written in Hebrew”, who’s poetry are they burning?

• from Judaism Part 3 - Sex

Gad Barnea at U of Haifa

Before 300 BC, there is no evidence for the existence of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Moses etc. The Bible and its characters were invented after the Library of Alexandria was established. This is according to Dr. Gad Barnea at U of Haifa. His book (2024): Yahwism under the Achaemenid Empire.

There was little if any "Torah" observance taking place in Palestine until the Hasmonean Greeks spread it starting about 160 BC. This is according to the research of Dr. Yonatan Adler at Ariel University. His book (2024): The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library)

Interviews with Drs. Barnea and Adler can be watched on YouTube.

Ketef Hinnom scrolls

Two tiny silver amulets, inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew with blessings.

The Ketef Hinnom scrolls, discovered in a burial cave near Jerusalem and dating to the 6th–7th century BCE, contain the earliest known version of the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24–26. This demonstrates that parts of Hebrew biblical text existed centuries earlier than previously assumed.

Key point: these scrolls are simply blessings—short inscriptions—not narrative literature. They do not prove the existence of a fully developed Hebrew literary corpus. Their significance lies in showing that a small portion of biblical text was extant; the Septuagint later incorporated such blessings into its Greek translation.

Even if Hebrew influence existed, the Septuagint was also heavily shaped by Hellenic mystery traditions—the philosophies, ritual knowledge, and priestly frameworks of earlier Greek cultures. As James R. Davila notes:

“While the scrolls show that some of the material found in the Five Books of Moses existed in the First Temple period, the suggestion that they are proof that the Five Books of Moses were in existence during the First Temple period is an overinterpretation of the evidence.” (Wikipedia)

In short, these amulets are "evidence" that Hebrews could write, and that they had a mythos, but not evidence of advanced linguistic capacity to produce libraries or even complex literature. It is plausible that early Hebrew language speaking priesthood learned from Greek-speaking priesthood, as Jewish communities lived in Crete and other Hellenic areas.

Any older Hebrew fragments are just liturgical fragments

Any Hebrew fragments of the Old Testament, which undeniably carbon date older than any Greek texts, are just liturgical fragments and do not provide any linear storylines like the Septuagint does. The Septuagint is a complete work, and the Hebrew bible wasn’t complete until ~900-1000 AD. Theres no Hebrew Comedy, Poetry, Tragedy, Prose etc. Only liturgical snippets.

Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls (c. 650–587 BCE)

The oldest known biblical text, containing the Priestly Blessing from Numbers, inscribed in Paleo-Hebrew on silver amulets.Wikipedia.

Quote: "Dr. James R. Davila has similarly pointed out that while the scrolls show that "some of the material found in the Five Books of Moses existed in the First Temple period", the suggestion that they are "proof that the Five Books of Moses were in existence during the First Temple period" (as described in an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz) is "an overinterpretation of the evidence."" [14]

Lachish Letters (Ostraca) (c. 588 BCE)

Carbon-ink inscriptions on pottery sherds from the time of Jeremiah, likely military correspondence.Wikipedia Reference.org

A collection of inscribed pottery shards in Paleo-Hebrew from Lachish, dating to the late 7th century BCE. These ostraca contain military correspondence and brief notes.

Key point: they are functional messages, not narrative literature. While they show writing was used for communication and record-keeping, they do not indicate the existence of full-fledged literary works or libraries in Hebrew. They demonstrate early literacy, administration, and awareness of a mythos expressed in Hebrew language, but nothing approaching complex storytelling, or anything complete as would have fed the Greek Septuagint.

Siloam Tunnel Inscription (c. 701 BCE)

Inscribed on the tunnel wall commemorating Hezekiah’s engineering works; early Hebrew script.HiSoUR Infogalactic

A commemorative inscription in Hebrew from the 8th century BCE, marking the completion of Hezekiah’s water tunnel in Jerusalem.

Key point: this is a technical inscription, documenting engineering achievement. It is not a literary text. Like the Ketef Hinnom scrolls and Lachish Ostraca, it shows that writing existed in Hebrew for practical purposes, but there is no evidence of extensive narrative or theological literature prior to the Greek Septuagint.

Gezer Calendar (c. 925 BCE)

Agricultural calendar inscription—possibly Hebrew or Phoenician; early writing system.Infogalactic HiSoUR

Tel Zayit Abecedary (Zayit Stone) (10th c. BCE)

Alphabet inscription providing early form of Paleo-Hebrew script.Wikipedia HiSoUR

Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription & Others (11th–10th c. BCE)

Early alphabetic inscriptions possibly in Hebrew—or early Canaanite dialect—such as the Khirbet Qeiyafa pottery fragments.HiSoUR

Other Paleo‐Hebrew Inscriptions from 8th–7th c. BCE

Includes:

• Mesad Hashavyahu ostracon (c. 639–609 BCE)
• Ekron inscription (c. 600 BCE)
• Additional ostraca and inscriptions from Samaria, Beth-Shean, Hazor, Gibeon, Ramat Rachel, etc.HiSoURInfogalactic

Miscellaneous Script Evidence

Early alphabetic pieces like the Tel Lachish bowl and ewer sherds (13th–12th c. BCE), though not definitively Hebrew, hint at the script’s early presence.M SaundersWikipedia

Proto-Literary Hebrew Content Pre-270 BCE

While we lack surviving complete literary narratives from this period, scholars infer early textual traditions based on linguistic and thematic evidence:

• Poetic passages such as the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), Song of Deborah (Judges 5), Blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33), and Jacob’s Prophecy (Genesis 49) are considered some of Hebrew literature’s oldest, potentially dating to 12th–11th c. BCE.The BAS Library

Early Hebrew was minimally represented in surviving texts before 270 BCE—mostly as inscriptions, amulets, and brief pottery notices. Literary content is extremely sparse, largely confined to poetic remnants preserved within biblical tradition. These attest to an early scribal and religious culture, but they fall far short of representing a broad, narrative literary corpus.

Greek New Testament quotes the Greek concepts from the Greek Septuagint not from the Hebrew versions

In the Greek New Testament (which is originally Koine Greek with atticisms), it refers to concepts that are only in the Greek Septuagint LXX, and are not in the Hebrew.

Here are a few notable instances where the New Testament quotes from the Greek Septuagint, using terms or readings that are only present in the Greek, not in the Hebrew Masoretic Text:

• Hebrews 2:7 quotes Psalm 8:5 LXX—"a little lower than the angels"—instead of the Hebrew "a little lower than God" (Elohim) Wikipedia.
• Hebrews 1:6 cites Deuteronomy 32:43 via the LXX reading "Let all the angels of God pay him homage," reflecting uniquely Greek additions present in the Septuagint bibleauthenticity.com.
• Acts 7:43 (Stephen’s speech) uses the term Remphan (Ῥεφάν), a LXX rendering variant, instead of the Hebrew Chiun (Kiyyun), showing reliance on the Greek translation tradition Wikipedia.
• Matthew 21:16 clearly follows the LXX reading of Psalm 8:2—“you have prepared praise” (αἶνον)—while the Hebrew reads “you have established strength,” again indicating LXX-based quotation Reddit.
• Hebrews 11:21 follows the Septuagint wording about Jacob leaning on his staff, diverging from the Masoretic Text’s "leaning on his bed" bibleauthenticity.comlarshaukeland.
• Acts 2:26 (“my flesh will dwell in hope”) quotes Psalm 16:8 LXX using ἐν ἐλπίδι (in hope) rather than the Hebrew securely (bṭḥ), another uniquely LXX nuance Christianity Stack Exchange.
• More broadly, the New Testament contains around 90 direct quotations and 80 paraphrases or allusions to Old Testament passages that align with the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text Updated American Standard Version.

These examples make it clear that the New Testament authors were not simply translating from Hebrew—they were often quoting directly from the Greek Septuagint, drawing on its unique vocabulary, syntax, and conceptual world.

This strongly suggests that the New Testament writers—Greek speakers immersed in the intellectual and cultural milieu of the Hellenistic world—regarded the Greek Septuagint as a primary, if not the primary, textual authority for their Old Testament references.

Could an earlier, complete Hebrew work have existed? Certainly—but no such manuscript has survived to substantiate that claim. What we do have is evidence that the Apostles, writing in Greek, drew heavily upon the Septuagint and its Hellenic thought forms. That alone gives the Greek Septuagint a profound and undeniable weight in the textual history of both Judaism in the diaspora and early Christianity.

The continuity of Greek textual tradition from roughly 300 BCE to 100 CE—spanning both Old and New Testament writings—and the clear Hellenic influence within the Septuagint, suggest that Judaism and Christianity alike drew heavily from the philosophical and metaphysical currents of the ancient Hellenic priesthood. It is equally possible that multiple priestly traditions of the ancient world exchanged and blended their ideas in a kind of cross-pollination. What emerges is less the picture of doctrines divinely originated and inspired—springing forth in isolation as something unprecedented or uniquely special—and more the gradual evolution of thought, layered over centuries of earlier philosophy and metaphysics. When we consider the role of pharmakon—the ritual use of psychoactive substances to induce personal “divine” encounters—this evolution of monotheistic metaphysical thought becomes even more plausible.

These visionary experiences may have felt profoundly real to their participants, but from our vantage point, they are better understood as powerful, brain-generated phenomena rather than objective visitations from beyond.

Hebrew was dead by 400BCE

Hebrew was a dead language by 400BCE, just like Oscan or Umbrian, it died out with 7000 words (atticized Koine Greek 1.6M words).
We didn't see Hebrew reemerge until the translation work of the Dead Sea scrolls (after the Greek Septuagint was authored) seemingly meant to reframe the ownership to a Qumran fringe sect, evidence of a propaganda campaign, or during the Medieval period where Hebrew started borrowing words from other languages.

Hebrew didn't have the strength of concepts to survive.

Stylistic Analysis from Complexity - Hebrew 3rd grade level vs Greek advanced technical reality

Many passages in the Hebrew old testament read at a naive “3rd grade” level (where metaphysics are represented as non-sensical, metaphorical, supernatural), while the Greek versions convey advanced, technical, and precisely nuanced descriptions of cognitive metaphysics and pharmakon mechanisms rooted in reality. The Greek writing is practical, in that a pharmakon practitioner in the mystery schools could experience the effects themselves, while the Hebrew simplification go outside reality to explain their concepts. This suggests that the more detailed, philosophically rich Greek texts, rooted in reality of pharmakon magia, likely predate the Hebrew versions.

The Hebrew writings often appear to be crude adaptations or simplifications of the Greek, constrained by the language’s limited expressive capacity. Speakers of early Paleo Hebrew, particularly before 400 BCE when that language died out, would have struggled to grasp complex metaphysical or technical concepts, reducing them to oversimplified narratives.

In effect, the Paleo-Hebrews seem to have inherited ideas from the more sophisticated Hellenic tradition, but filtered through a lens that obscured nuance and depth, producing what can appear as naïve or garbled renditions of originally advanced thought.

Examples:

Genesis 2:18

Where the Hebrew text uses the word ezer (עֵזֶר) for Eve, which is traditionally translated as “helper”:

• Hebrew:

“I will make a helper suitable for him” — ezer kenegdo (עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ)

Here, the Hebrew ezer carries the sense of “assistant” or “one who comes to help,” often used in the Hebrew Bible for God as a helper to Israel, but it’s vague and contextually ambiguous—it reads as subordinate or supporting.

• Greek Septuagint:

18 Καὶ εἶπεν Κύριος ὁ θεός Οὐ καλὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον μόνον· ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ᾽ αὐτόν.
“I will make him a βοηθόν (boēthón) corresponding to him” — poiesō autōn boēthon pros auton (ποιήσω αὐτὸν βοηθὸν πρὸς αὐτόν)

The LXX boēthón is richer: in classical Greek, it can imply a comrade in arms, a peer who fights alongside you, not merely a subordinate assistant. This choice gives the text a military or regimented undertone:

• Eve is not just "a helper", she is a strategic partner or collaborator, at his level of leadership, capable of acting in conjunction with Adam in a coordinated effort.

Significance
This is a clear example where the Hebrew reads as simple, almost naïve (“helper”), whereas the Greek conveys a technical, sophisticated concept of partnership and agency, consistent with Hellenic ideas of hierarchical but collaborative structures (like a phalanx or military unit). It supports the point that the Greek preserves the advanced original idea, while the Hebrew simplifies it.

Genesis 1:1–2

Hebrew (MT style simplified):

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void..."

• The Hebrew is very basic, almost literal “3rd grade” descriptive level. It gives the outline of creation, but little technical or conceptual detail.
• The story reads like a simplistic narrative or fairy tale: earth is formless → God fixes it. Very straightforward, almost storybook.

Greek Septuagint:

2 ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, καὶ σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου· καὶ πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος.
"In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was invisible and unfinished, and darkness was upon the abyss..."

• The Greek uses technical, abstract philosophical vocabulary: ἀόρατος (invisible), ἀτελής (unfinished), χάος (chaos/abyss).
• The style reads like a cosmological, almost technical exposition of metaphysical reality. It frames creation in terms of Hellenic philosophical categories rather than simple story.

Observation: The Greek elevates the Hebrew outline into a coherent metaphysical framework.

Numbers 6:24–26 (Priestly Blessing)

Hebrew (Ketef Hinnom/Ketef Hinnom scrolls):

“May Yahweh bless you and keep you. May Yahweh make His face shine upon you…”

• Functional, ritualistic, “magical words.” Very pragmatic, literal, little literary sophistication.

Greek Septuagint:

24 Εὐλογήσαι σε Κύριος καὶ φυλάξαι,
25 καὶ ἐπιφάναι Κύριος τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ ἐλεήσαι σε·
26 ἐπάραι Κύριος τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ δῴη σοι εἰρήνην.
“The Lord bless you and guard you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you, and give you peace.”

• Greek adds structural symmetry, expanded meaning, and philosophical resonance (“peace” / εἰρήνη as cosmic harmony).
• Reads as ritual-infused text with metaphysical overtones, not just a literal blessing.
• The Greek refers to the Kurios (Κύριος) - defined as lord of the realm or one of many gods

Psalm 22:1

Hebrew:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

• Very emotional, simple, and direct. Expresses personal anguish in a raw, narrative way.

Greek LXX:

1 Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀντιλήμψεως τῆς ἑωθινῆς· ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαυείδ. Ὁ θεὸς ὁ θεός μου, πρόσχες μοι· ἵνα τί ἐγκατέλιπές με; μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου οἱ λόγοι τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, and from the words of my groaning?”

• Adds expansion, precision, technical phrasing: “words of my groaning” (λογίαι τῶν στεναγμῶν μου).
• Greek reads more like structured lamentation with logical progression, almost like a technical description of suffering, not just raw narrative.

TODO: pull more examples from Dr Hillman

Overall Pattern:

• Hebrew: Simple, literal, functional, sometimes naïve or fairy tale storybook-like.
• Greek Septuagint: Conceptually richer, technically articulated, philosophical and metaphysical framing.

This supports the argument that Greek translation was not just language conversion, but an intellectual and conceptual elevation, integrating Hellenic philosophical/mystery-cult thought.

The Septuagint and Atticizing Tendencies

When examined purely as Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, certain books of the Septuagint display clear Atticizing features — stylistic and lexical elements reminiscent of Classical (5th–4th century BCE) Attic prose and poetry. These elements appear within an overall Koine framework but employ vocabulary, syntax, and rhetorical devices favored by educated Greek authors seeking to invoke prestige and authority.

These features suggest that parts of the Septuagint were produced — or at least heavily edited — by Greek-speaking intellectuals steeped in Classical Attic models, consciously adapting sacred narratives into the idiom of elite Hellenistic literature. This is not the work of translators struggling with alien concepts, but of trained authors crafting a text for a Greek-literate audience already familiar with the philosophical, rhetorical, and poetic heritage of Athens.

bottom line
The presence of Atticisms in the Septuagint—classical vocabulary, rhetorical structuring, and stylistic flourishes drawn from the prestige dialect of Athens—strongly suggests that at least portions of the work were composed, or at minimum heavily edited, by authors deeply trained in the Greek literary tradition. This is not the kind of language one produces when merely translating from a rustic or semitic tongue into everyday Koine; it is the deliberate adoption of high-register Greek to evoke authority, learning, and philosophical gravitas. Such Atticizing style was a hallmark of Hellenistic mystery schools and philosophical circles, where sacred texts were crafted to resonate with an educated initiatory audience. The result is a text whose Greek is not accidental or purely functional, but culturally embedded—either born from, or intentionally aligned with, the intellectual and ritual environment of the Hellenic mystery tradition.

Scholarly Support

Dr Hillman claims that the Greek came before the Hebrew.

Ammon is not entirely alone in this thought. Mainstream scholars like Russell Gmirkin point out that Hebrew and Christian texts take from Plato, and mainstream scholars like Dennis MacDonald point out that Hebrew and Christian texts take from Homer and Greek poetry and comedies and tragedies. That means these Hebrew and Christian authors were reading Greek in the original Greek, and they must have translated texts into Hebrew to pass down, and would have been inspired by Greek texts when writing their own myths.

Russell Gmirkin — Hellenistic Composition of the Torah

Russell Gmirkin argues that the formation of the Pentateuch belongs firmly to the Hellenistic era. In Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus (2006), he asserts that the Torah reflects significant influence from Greek historiographical traditions—specifically the works of Babylonian historian Berossus and Egyptian chronicler Manetho. Gmirkin proposes that Jewish scholars in Hellenistic Alexandria (circa 273–272 BCE) not only authored these texts but also cast them in a literary style shaped by Greek models. In his follow-up book, Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible (2016), he further contends that the Torah's law code echoes Plato’s Laws, suggesting that Hellenic legal and philosophical frameworks are embedded in its structure. Wikipedia

Mainstream Mimesis Theory — NT Influenced by Homer

Dennis R. MacDonald, a respected New Testament scholar, has advanced the theory that early Christian writings were modeled on classical Greek epics. His work on Mimesis Criticism—notably in The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark—posits that the Gospel authors deliberately emulated narrative patterns and themes from Homeric texts to craft their accounts. This reflects not only access to but also creative engagement with Greek literary traditions. Wikipedia+1

Judaic Legal Structures and Platonic Influence

Gmirkin’s work falls under a broader scholarly conversation about the Hellenistic shaping of Judaism. As examined in biblical studies journals, there are positions that see the Torah and related writings not merely as pre-Hellenistic developments, but as products of Hellenistic legal and philosophical environments, particularly influenced by Platonic ideas. HTS Teological StudiesResearchGate

Hellenistic Judaism and Cultural Integration

The context within which these texts arose—the late Second Temple period—is widely recognized as deeply Hellenized. In the works of Martin Hengel and others, scholars assert that Jewish religion, language, and culture were thoroughly interwoven with Greek thought and expression long before Christianity emerged. Wikipedia

Summary

• Gmirkin anchors the Pentateuch firmly in the Hellenistic, Greek-influenced world—not as a retroactive translation of Hebrew texts, but as a work composed by Greek-educated Jewish intellectuals.
• MacDonald demonstrates that New Testament authors wrote in dialogue with Greek literary traditions, including Homer.
• The broader scholarly environment acknowledges that Jewish texts of this era were formed in a Hellenistic cultural matrix, where Greek language and philosophy were the norm.

Together, these scholars bolster the view that the Old Testament, as preserved in the Septuagint, originates from a Greek-speaking, Hellenic priestly or intellectual class—an origin story that respects the historical paucity of extended Hebrew literature before 300 BCE.

What have we found in ancient synagogues

Many early Jewish sites had statues of Plato and Dionysus, and had greek language in their Synagogues.

Shows that many of these myths and story structures came from Greek thinkers, and that many of the texts were written in Greek.

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Examples: Huqoq synagogue mosaic featuring Helios and zodiac symbols, and zodiac motifs from Hamat Tiberias

Greek Influence in Ancient Synagogues — Scholarly Evidence

1. Greek Inscriptions Predominate

At the Sardis Synagogue (Asia Minor, late 3rd–6th century CE), over 80 inscriptions were found—all but six in Greek, even though it was clearly a Jewish worship space. The Greek inscriptions commemorate donors and contributors to synagogue decoration, underscoring that Greek was the lingua franca of these Jewish communities.One Messianic Gentile Wikipedia

2. Greek Inscriptions & Donor Language at Myra and Side

In the 5th-century synagogue at Myra, inscriptions were carved in Greek, naming commissioners with heavily Hellenized names like Macedonius, Romanus, and Procles, invoking a sense of cultural assimilation.The BAS Library

Likewise, a synagogue discovered in Side, Turkey, dating from the early Byzantine era, contained inscriptions in both Greek and Hebrew. Notably, Greek appears prominently in donor inscriptions alongside Hebrew phrases like “Shalom.”ArkeonewsThe Jerusalem Post

3. Hellenistic Imagery in Synagogue Decoration

• Huqoq Synagogue (5th century CE): Located in Galilee, its mosaics include scenes featuring Greek-style mythological figures, such as Helios (the sun god), a zodiac wheel, and even a scene interpreted as Alexander the Great meeting a Jewish high priest.patternsofevidence.comWikipediaReddit
• Hamat Tiberias Synagogue: Also displays prominent zodiac and Helios imagery, complete with naked figures and pagan symbols—visual elements that are otherwise alien to early rabbinic tradition.Wikipedia
• Dura-Europos Synagogue (3rd century CE, Syria): Walls are filled with carefully painted biblical scenes using a Roman-style cella (temple architecture), executed in Graeco-Roman artistic technique, clearly demonstrating a blend of Greek artistry and Jewish religious narrative.Wikipedia

4. Greek Architectural and Functional Symbols

The Delos Synagogue—dating to ca. 2nd century BCE—was constructed using aedicula structures (small shrines) and featured inscriptions referencing “the Most High God” in Greek, revealing that Greek architectural forms and language were integral even at the dawn of diaspora synagogues.alexander-the-great.org

Conclusion: Hellenistic DNA in Synagogue Culture

These examples demonstrate that many ancient synagogues were not just influenced by Greek culture—they were deeply embedded in it. Greek was the primary liturgical and communal language, while iconography, decoration, and architectural models drew directly from Hellenistic religious, mythological, and artistic traditions.

This underscores that early Jewish religious spaces were not isolated cultural enclaves, but dynamic, syncretic environments where Greek language and visual culture played critical roles—supporting the argument about the Greek language (not Hebrew language) foundational influence in their religious and literary formation.

Specific word examples

alalazō vs hallelujah

• alalazetai/elelizetai (ἐλελίζεται/ἀλαλάζεται) - hallelujah - is a cry, a loud call, or a battle shout—something intense and stirring, possibly linked to ritual invocations.
  • alalazō/elelízō (ἐλελίζω/ἀλαλάζω) appears in ancient Greek literature, often describing war cries, ritual shouts, or invocations in religious contexts.

The Hebrew word Hallelujah starts with an ‘h’; it has that heavy h-sound that we associate with Semitic languages. Notice, the Greek version we are citing starts with ‘ἀ’.

In the greek, a curved "heavy breathing" mark is placed before or above the initial vowel or (diphthong) sound to get a rough sound, an ‘h’-sound, if you will. However, it appears that the mark above the letter ‘a’ in alaladzo is smooth, and that is why it’s pronounced in such a manner as it is. If it came from the Hebrew, from scribes who know Hebrew and Greek, then they would be aware of this, and they would put a proper accent mark on the word, in order to have the ‘h’-sound, which is conspicuously absent from the Greek word, which means that the word Pindar and Euripides and Sophocles, and many others, used is likely an authentic Greek word, and it is an authentic Greek word that was used long before any Hebrew literature.

Adam and Eve

They come from Linear B in the Mycenean.

• see Adam and Eve are Greek Names

Conclusion

The Paleo-Hebrews seem to have inherited ideas from the more sophisticated Hellenic tradition, but filtered through a lens that obscured nuance and depth, producing what can appear as naïve or garbled renditions of originally advanced thought.

Many people point to discoveries like the Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls—containing an early Hebrew priestly blessing—as proof of Hebrew scriptural tradition dating back to around 700 BCE. While these artifacts demonstrate that fragments of biblical text existed in Hebrew during that era, they do not substantiate the existence of fully developed narrative texts comparable to the Greek Septuagint.

What we do have is a coherent, linear collection of Old Testament narratives in the form of the Greek Septuagint, composed in Attic-influenced Koine Greek in Alexandria centuries before any complete Hebrew compilation existed. This Greek text provides precise, sophisticated philosophical expressions—requiring no supernatural framing—whereas the later Hebrew versions often include sections of nonsensical Hebrew prose compared to it's Greek counterpart, the Hebrew mythos relies mostly on shorthand, allegorical, metaphorical, and supernatural interpretation, while the Greek has natural mechanisms when comparing those differences.

Given this, the most compelling and parsimonious conclusion is that the Septuagint stands as the earliest full version of the Old Testament, foundational to both Judaism in diaspora and the early Christian tradition. Absent stronger evidence of comprehensive Hebrew originals from the same period, the Septuagint remains the most authoritative witness to these texts.