Why did the translators of the Septuagint use kurios instead of theos in the place of God's names? Important

Question

300 hundred years before Jesus came to earth, Jewish scribes went to Alexandria, Egypt to translate a Jewish Bible into Greek form. As my question says on top, why did the translators use "kurios" (which means lord, possessor, owner) instead of "theos" (which means god)? It all comes down to Romans 10:9 (NIV) which states:

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord (kurios)," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

(Paranthesis mine) Paul is the one who wrote this great statement by the Holy Spirit. Paul being a Jew, and used to seeing things in the Septuagint, was familiar with God's many names having the greek word "Lord" in place of it. Is it any suprise that when he was converted to Christianity, that he said by the Spirit,"You must confess Jesus is Lord to be saved" that it may mean to confess that Jesus is God? Knowing why the translators did what they did has a big impact on what it means to confess Jesus is Lord.

Answer 1

Lord (Grk - kurios ) has a wide variety of meanings but there are good reasons for considering the New Testament denotation of Christ with this word to be a signifier of his deity. Kurios was frequently used in the Septuagint as a rendering of Adonai which was in turn used as a substitute for Yahweh. Though the apostles new of this usage of Kurios they still applied it intentionally to Christ. Paul’s epistles alone contain 275 usages of Kurios to denote Christ. Paul repeatedly speaks of Christ as the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 he says “There is but one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom all things came and through whom we live.” The Kind of Lordship Paul claims here for Christ goes beyond any of the merely human meanings of kurios. The fact that “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3) indicates that a greater than human use is intended for kurios. It would require no such inspiration to say that Jesus is a man with honor or authority, but to confess his deity requires just such an inspiration. Oscar Cullman says the following about this usage of kurios:

"Actually the passages which confer upon Jesus the title Kurios the name of God, are at least as important as those in which he is directly addressed as ‘God’ – and in some cases the former are even more important. We have seen that on the basis of the designation Kurios early Christianity does not hesitate to transfer everything the Old Testament says about God."

Usage of Kurios in New Testament times is also informative. The ptolemies and the Roman Emperors would allow the term to be applied to them only after they had been deified in their religions. Archeological discoveries at Oxyrhyncus confirm this. Revelation 19:16 refers to Christ as the “Lord of Lords.” Christ is more than the boss. He is God the Son.

Answer 2

well the only part of the Septuagint that was written by the "Jewish scribes of Alexandria"

was the first five books.

Additionally how could the Septuagint have Romans in it 300 years before Jesus??? That's not possible.

Answer 3

God s name isn t Elohim/Theos (God) but ADONAI/KURIOS (LORD/YHWH). [Is human your name??!!] God s name isn t adonai (lord/master).



The Greek word "theos" (can mean god and can mean king) is a translation of the Hebrew word "elohim" (can mean god and can mean king).

The Greek word "kurios" (lord/master) is a translation of the Hebrew word "adonai" (lord/master).

God s personal name is YHWH and the Jews while in Babylon said and wrote ADONAI because they wanted to protect God s name from the pagans, who would use it in vain. One of God s commandments is NOT to use His name in vain. They used capital letters for God s name to differentiate it from adonai (lord/master).

When the Jews translated the Old Testament into Greek, they used the SAME concept; the word kurios (lord/master) was used with capital letters for God s name.



The text of Romans 10:9 states that Jesus is Kurios (Lord/Master) and NOT KURIOS (LORD/YHWH).

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians 15 too. 1 Corinthians 15 is VERY similar to Psalms 110. In Psalms 110, Jesus (the Son) is mentioned in it as the Lord/Master and God (the Father) is mentioned as LORD/YHWH). So, Paul did NOT believe that Jesus was LORD/YHWH.

Answer 4

Amen bro. May the Lamb that was slain receive the rewards of His suffering.