If one is to argue for Sola Scriptura—the doctrine that Scripture alone is the highest authority—it stands to reason that we should use the most accurate and authoritative version of that Scripture. The historical and textual evidence overwhelmingly supports the Septuagint (LXX), including the Deuterocanonical books, as the Scriptures known, quoted, and used by Jesus and the apostles.
The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) confirm that many texts in the LXX predate the Masoretic Text (MT) and that books later excluded from the Protestant canon were accepted in Jewish communities before and during the time of Christ. New Testament writers quote from the LXX over 80% of the time, often in ways that directly contradict the MT. Moreover, the MT was not finalized until centuries after Christ, making it a later revision rather than a faithful preservation of the texts Jesus and His disciples read.
It is also important to recognize that those who assembled and standardized the MT had a vested interest in undermining the authority of Jesus and His followers. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, rabbinic Judaism sought to distance itself from Christianity, which was rapidly growing and using the LXX as its authoritative text. The removal of certain books and the textual alterations in the MT served not only to solidify a new post-Temple Jewish identity but also to weaken connections between Old Testament prophecy and Jesus as the Messiah.
Therefore, if one rejects the LXX and its full canon while claiming to uphold Sola Scriptura, they are building their argument on a scriptural foundation that is historically incomplete and textually inaccurate. A doctrine that claims to rely solely on Scripture while disregarding the very Scriptures that Christ and His apostles used is not just inconsistent—it represents a flawed and compromised interpretation of biblical authority. If Sola Scriptura is to be taken seriously, it must be based on the Scriptures that Jesus Himself gave authority to, namely the LXX, not the later-edited MT.
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