The transmission of the Old Testament text through different languages and communities illustrates the care with which it was preserved, as well as the challenges that arose when diverse textual traditions came into contact. One of the most significant examples of this process is the Kaige revision, a translation effort that emerged at the close of the first century B.C.E. or in the early decades of the first century C.E. This revision sought to bring the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into closer conformity with the Hebrew text that was taking shape as the protomasoretic tradition. Understanding the Kaige revision requires situating it within the broader developments of Jewish translation activity, the history of the Septuagint, and the eventual divergence between Jewish and Christian communities over the Greek Scriptures.

The Septuagint and the Need for Revision

The Septuagint (LXX), produced beginning in the 3rd century B.C.E. in Alexandria, was the first major Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Initially, it served the needs of Greek-speaking Jews in the Hellenistic world who no longer spoke Hebrew fluently. The Pentateuch was translated first, followed over the next century or two by the Prophets and the Writings.

While it was a monumental achievement, the Septuagint was not uniform in style or accuracy. Different books reflect different translation philosophies—some being freer and more interpretive, others more literal. Over time, this unevenness created tension, especially as the Hebrew text became increasingly standardized into the form that would later be preserved in the Masoretic tradition. By the late Second Temple period, there was a growing recognition among Jewish scholars that certain parts of the Greek Scriptures no longer reflected the Hebrew text with sufficient precision. This need for alignment spurred revisionary efforts, one of the most important being the Kaige revision.

Characteristics of the Kaige Revision

The Kaige revision takes its name from a distinctive feature in its translation style. The Hebrew word גם (“also”) or וגם (“and also”) was consistently rendered by the Greek phrase και γε (kai ge). This marker of translation technique allows scholars to identify the hand of the Kaige reviser across different parts of the Old Greek text.

The revision was not a new translation from scratch but rather a deliberate reworking of the Old Greek (OG) to bring it into closer alignment with the protomasoretic Hebrew text. Its primary features include:

1. Literalism: The Kaige reviser aimed to eliminate interpretive freedom, preferring word-for-word correspondence between Hebrew and Greek.

2. Conformity to Hebrew Word Order and Vocabulary: Where the OG had paraphrased or adapted, Kaige adjusted the text to mirror Hebrew syntax and lexicon more rigidly.

3. Use of Paleo-Hebrew for the Tetragrammaton: Instead of translating the divine name JHVH as Kyrios (Lord) or another Greek term, the Kaige reviser preserved it by writing it in Paleo-Hebrew script within the Greek text. This striking practice demonstrates the reverence with which the Divine Name was treated and also shows how Jewish scribes resisted replacing it with a mere title.

4. Alignment with the Protomasoretic Tradition: In places where the OG diverged from the Hebrew text, the Kaige reviser corrected the Greek to match the Hebrew form that was becoming standardized in Jewish circles.

Because of these features, the Kaige revision is often described as a bridge between the freer style of the Old Greek and the later, highly literal translations that came to dominate Jewish Greek Scripture traditions.

The Dating and Historical Context of the Kaige Revision

The Kaige revision is generally dated to the late first century B.C.E. or the early first century C.E. This was a critical moment in Jewish textual history. By this time, the Hebrew text had largely stabilized into the form that would become the Masoretic Text. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has confirmed that multiple Hebrew textual traditions coexisted during the Second Temple period, including proto-Samaritan, Septuagintal Hebrew, and protomasoretic forms. Yet by the first century C.E., the protomasoretic form had begun to dominate, especially among Pharisaic and later rabbinic circles.

The Kaige revision reflects this consolidation. Its goal was to ensure that Jews who read the Scriptures in Greek would not be misled by readings in the Old Greek that differed from the Hebrew text now considered authoritative. In this way, the Kaige reviser served as a guardian of textual fidelity, harmonizing Greek translations with the Hebrew text that was gaining exclusive status.

The Connection Between Kaige and Theodotion

The Kaige revision is sometimes called Kaige-Theodotion because of its relationship to the Greek version of Theodotion, an early Jewish reviser active around the late 2nd century C.E. Theodotion’s translation of certain books, especially Daniel, shows striking similarities to Kaige in its literalism and alignment with the Hebrew text. Scholars debate whether Theodotion was influenced by the Kaige tradition or whether both drew from a common stream of Jewish revisionary efforts. In either case, the Kaige revision represents the beginning of a trajectory of Greek versions that increasingly sought to reproduce the Hebrew text with exactness.

Jewish Suspicion of the Septuagint and the Rise of Rival Versions

In its earliest centuries, the Septuagint was highly esteemed among Jews, as evidenced by its wide circulation and the fact that it was even read in synagogues. However, by the 2nd century C.E., its role changed dramatically. As Christianity spread, the early church adopted the Septuagint as its primary Old Testament, especially because many Christians were Greek-speaking and had little access to Hebrew. In debates with Jews, Christians often appealed to Septuagint readings that differed from the Hebrew text, arguing that the Greek pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

This appropriation of the LXX by Christians caused Jews to view it with growing suspicion. As a result, during the 2nd century C.E., three rival Jewish Greek versions were produced:

• Aquila’s translation, an extremely literal rendering that reproduced Hebrew word order with near slavishness.

• Symmachus’s version, a smoother, more idiomatic Greek translation, though still rooted in the Hebrew.

• Theodotion’s version, which followed a middle ground of literalness and readability, closely aligned with the Hebrew.

Each of these efforts reflected different translation philosophies, but all shared a commitment to bringing the Greek Scriptures into strict conformity with the Hebrew text. The Kaige revision stands as the precursor to these later translations, representing the first systematic move in that direction.

The Textual Value of the Kaige Revision

From the standpoint of Old Testament textual studies, the Kaige revision holds great significance. It demonstrates the existence of a Jewish effort to align translations with the protomasoretic Hebrew text well before the time of the Masoretes. This shows that the Masoretic tradition was not a late invention but already exercised powerful influence during the late Second Temple period.

Furthermore, the Kaige revision helps textual critics identify where the Old Greek preserved a reading different from the Hebrew. When Kaige alters the OG to match the Hebrew, this alerts scholars to the fact that the OG once reflected a different textual tradition. Thus, Kaige is both a witness to the Hebrew text of its day and a window into the earlier stages of the Septuagint.

Conclusion

The Kaige revision represents a pivotal moment in the history of the Old Testament text. Emerging at the threshold of the Common Era, it reflects Jewish concern for fidelity to the Hebrew Scriptures at a time when the Greek Old Testament had become diverse in quality and usage. By aligning the OG more closely with the protomasoretic tradition, preserving the Divine Name in Paleo-Hebrew, and setting the stage for later Jewish translators like Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, the Kaige revision stands as a witness to the careful preservation of the Hebrew text across languages and centuries. Its existence underscores that the Hebrew Scriptures were already being safeguarded with great precision long before the Masoretic Text was finalized.

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