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The Bible: Exploring Facts and Myths About the Word of God  /  The Apostle's Bible (Part 1)  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 9
Bercot argues that key New Testament theological vocabulary (law, righteousness, mercy, truth, propitiation) and even church terms (grace, church, angel, bishop/overseer, presbyter/elder) come “directly from the Septuagint,” along with the practice of using “God/Lord” instead of the divine name Yahweh. How does this claim affect the way we should define and protect doctrine—should we prioritize how words function in the Septuagint as background for the New Testament, and what might that disrupt in modern word-study methods?
Another way to ask: If many New Testament key words and church terms come from the Septuagint, should that shape how we define and defend doctrine? How might that change the way people do word studies today?

Direct Answer Based on Bercot’s teaching, Christians should treat the Septuagint as a major backdrop for how New Testament terms carry meaning, since the apostles inherited that vocabulary and its patterns. This could disrupt word studies that jump straight to Hebrew meanings or assume later Hebrew-based traditions are the primary control for New Testament theology.

Support from Transcript:

  • He quotes a reference work: New Testament theological terms like “law, righteousness, mercy, truth, and propitiation…were taken over directly from the Septuagint and must be understood in the light of their use in that version.”
  • He adds even clearer examples: “grace, church, angel, bishop, and Presbyter or elder” are terms the New Testament writers used “that the translators of the Septuagint had used.”
  • He emphasizes the translators “could have chosen many different terms,” but their choices set a pattern followed by the apostles.
  • He notes the Septuagint used “Hades” for “sheol,” shaping later Christian language.
  • He highlights the decision not to use “Yahweh” but “Theos (God)” or “Curios (Lord),” and says Jesus and the apostles “never use the divine name…This was a practice that had first begun in the Septuagint,” which he regards as providential.
Discussion Follow-ups What happens to our doctrinal definitions if we treat later Hebrew vocalization/tradition as the main authority rather than the Bible-language the apostles actually used?

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