Did Aristobulus Use the LXX for His Citations?

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the similarities and differences between Aristobulus’s fragments and the LXX to determine how close Aristobulus’s citations adhere to our LXX text. Having identified specific differences between the texts we will turn our attention to the question of whether or not the text as presented by Aristobulus provides evidence of the use of the LXX, of an alternate Greek version, or of a personal translation. Ultimately, after discussing Aristobulus’s citation technique and the nature of the cited text we will challenge some of the blanket claims of LXX use by scholars and call for greater nuance when discussing this issue.