Volume 3 of The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint, edited by the Cambridge scholar Henry Barclay Swete (1835-1917), was first published in 1894. It contains the books from Hosea to 4 Maccabees with the Psalms of Solomon as an appendix. Swete set an important precedent for later editors by using an actual manuscript text as the edition's base. He selected the fourth-century Codex Vaticanus, which is still widely considered to contain the earliest and most valuable form of Septuagint text; many later editors have followed suit. Where Vaticanus was defective the text was supplemented by Codex Alexandrinus or another important uncial manuscript. A critical apparatus contains the readings of eleven manuscripts for the Prophets and Maccabees, three for the Psalms, and five minuscules for the Psalms of Solomon. The edition's clarity helped it become one of the most widely used versions of the Septuagint.
The three volume set of The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint, edited by the Cambridge scholar Henry Barclay Swete (1835–1917), was first published in 1894. It contains the books from Hosea to 4 Maccabees with the Psalms of Solomon as an appendix. Swete set an important precedent for later editors by using an actual manuscript text as the edition's base. He selected the fourth-century Codex Vaticanus, which is still widely considered to contain the earliest and most valuable form of Septuagint text; many later editors have followed suit. Where Vaticanus was defective the text was supplemented by Codex Alexandrinus. or another important uncial manuscript. A critical apparatus contains the readings of eleven manuscripts for the Prophets and Maccabees, three for the Psalms, and five minuscules for the Psalms of Solomon. The edition's clarity helped it become one of the most widely used versions of the Septuagint.
Henry Barclay Swete (1835–1917) published An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek in 1900 as a manual to accompany his three-volume edition of the Septuagint (1887–1894) and to provide a guide through the vast corpus of Septuagint literature. Part 1 covers the textual history of the Septuagint, providing an in-depth analysis of its complex tradition, surveying the most important Greek witnesses and the earliest versions. Part 2 discusses the Alexandrian manuscript tradition, and covers the order and grouping of books, titles, comparison with the Hebrew Canon, and the textual divisions used in the manuscripts. Part 3 is concerned with the influence and use of the Septuagint in later works. An appendix contains the letter of pseudo-Aristeas with an introduction explaining the forgery. For over a century Swete's work has been an indispensable tool for every scholar and student of the Septuagint.
Volume 1 of The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint, edited by the Cambridge scholar Henry Barclay Swete (1835–1917), was first published in 1887. It contains the first fourteen books of the Greek Old Testament: Genesis to 4 Kings. Swete set an important precedent for later editors by using an actual manuscript text as the edition's base. He selected the fourth-century Codex Vaticanus, which is still widely considered to contain the earliest and most valuable form of the Septuagint text; many later editors have followed suit. Where Vaticanus was defective the text was supplemented by the fifth-century Alexandrinus. The critical apparatus gives the readings of other important ancient manuscripts: Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Cottonianus Geneseos, Bodleianus Geneseos, and Ambrosianus. The edition's convenient size and ease of use assured its place as one of the most widely used versions of the Septuagint, and it is still consulted today.
Volume 2 of The Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint, edited by the Cambridge scholar Henry Barclay Swete (1835-1917), was first published in 1891. It contains the books from 1 Chronicles to Tobit. Swete set an important precedent for later editors by using an actual manuscript text as the edition's base. He selected the fourth-century Codex Vaticanus, which is still widely considered to contain the earliest and most valuable form of Septuagint text; many later editors have followed suit. Where Vaticanus was defective the text was supplemented by Codex Sinaiticus or Codex Alexandrinus. The critical apparatus gives the readings of seven other important ancient manuscripts and fragments. The edition's convenient size and ease of use assured its place as one of the most widely used versions of the Septuagint, and it is still consulted today.