One additional evidence of an apparent revision or redaction of the Hebrew text as indicated by Christian Ginsburg and of the existence of a pre-A.D. 100 old Greek Septuagint would be Aquila’s Greek Old Testament translation made around A. D. 126. S. Douglas Woodward claimed: “That the rabbis felt it necessary to see a new Greek Bible produced to change what the LXX recorded proves that the LXX was real and existed beforehand” (Septuagint and the Defense of the Christian Bible, p. 231).
In the introduction to his English translation of the Septuagint, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton wrote: “The first of the Greek versions of the Old Testament executed in the second century [A. D.] was that of AQUILA” (p. v). Lancelot Brenton noted: “His translation is said to have been executed for the express purpose of opposing the authority of the Septuagint; his version was in consequence upheld by the Jews. His labour was evidently directed in opposing the passages which the Christians were accustomed to cite from the Septuagint as applicable to the Lord Jesus” (Ibid.).
Daniel Gruber asserted: “To some extent, he [Akiba] set the canon and most likely ‘standarized’ the Hebrew text itself. He authorized a new Greek translation and a new Aramaic Targum of his own text. In whatever language a Jew read or heard the Scriptures, he would be hearing from Akiba” (Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah, p. 112).
In his book about Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, Rabbi Reuven Hammer wrote: “Akiva was also concerned to see to it that translations of the Bible reflected the interpretations of the Sages, thus further ‘rabbinizing’ or ‘Judaizing’ the text. His disciple Aquila, a convert to Judaism, translated the Bible into Greek in a way that corrected many of the passages in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation that was in general use at the time), passages that might have led to Christian conclusions or that represented alternative readings to the masoretic (authoritative Hebrew) text. For Christians the Septuagint had become the standard text, even when it differed from the Hebrew text. Aquila’s new Greek translation of the entire Bible instead reflected Akiva’s interpretations” (Akiva, p. 83).
In the introduction to his English translation of the Septuagint, Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton wrote: “The first of the Greek versions of the Old Testament executed in the second century [A. D.] was that of AQUILA” (p. v). Lancelot Brenton noted: “His translation is said to have been executed for the express purpose of opposing the authority of the Septuagint; his version was in consequence upheld by the Jews. His labour was evidently directed in opposing the passages which the Christians were accustomed to cite from the Septuagint as applicable to the Lord Jesus” (Ibid.).
Daniel Gruber asserted: “To some extent, he [Akiba] set the canon and most likely ‘standarized’ the Hebrew text itself. He authorized a new Greek translation and a new Aramaic Targum of his own text. In whatever language a Jew read or heard the Scriptures, he would be hearing from Akiba” (Rabbi Akiba’s Messiah, p. 112).
In his book about Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, Rabbi Reuven Hammer wrote: “Akiva was also concerned to see to it that translations of the Bible reflected the interpretations of the Sages, thus further ‘rabbinizing’ or ‘Judaizing’ the text. His disciple Aquila, a convert to Judaism, translated the Bible into Greek in a way that corrected many of the passages in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation that was in general use at the time), passages that might have led to Christian conclusions or that represented alternative readings to the masoretic (authoritative Hebrew) text. For Christians the Septuagint had become the standard text, even when it differed from the Hebrew text. Aquila’s new Greek translation of the entire Bible instead reflected Akiva’s interpretations” (Akiva, p. 83).