Στερέωμα in the LXX and Related Literature and the Origin of the Quotation from Genesis in Pseudo-Longinus’s On the Sublime

Journal of Septuagint and Cognate Studies (JSCS). 2021. No. 54. P. 95–109.

Seleznev M.

The LXX, as well as Jewish visions, apocalypses, and “testaments” preserved the ancient Near Eastern worldview with the heavenly στερέωμα as a solid body above the earth. The Hellenistic Jewish books that tried to follow the rules of the Greek literature avoided the word. The major exception is Philo, who advanced the conception of two skies, incorporeal and corporeal, and used στερέωμα to denote the “corporeal” one. Christian intellectuals turned out to be more willing to use the word, often combining a more literal understanding with the Philonic exegesis. Pagan Greek writers (except later writers, such as the Neoplatonists, influenced by the biblical tradition and/or magical texts) were unaware of the semantic development that took place in the LXX—sometimes, as in the case of Pseudo-Longinus, probably even to the point of misunderstanding biblical quotations.

Keywords: Септуагинта, Pseudo-Longinus, Псевдо-Лонгин, Hebrew Bible, Greek Bible, Septuagint, Masoretic text, Bible translation, Orthodox Christianity, theology