History

Research on the Septuagint has strong traditions at the University of Helsinki. The focus of the “Helsinki School” – founded by Professor Ilmari Soisalon-Soininen – has mainly been on translation technical research of Septuagintal Greek syntax. With the assignment of Professor to prepare the critical Septuagint edition of 1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms) in the series of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Göttingen, the scope of Finnish Septuagint research started to broaden to the study of its textual history, daughter versions, recensions, Patristic quotations, as well as the Hebrew source text reflected in it.

Aejmelaeus founded the project "Textual Criticism of the Septuagint" (Adacemy of Finland funding 2004–2007, 2009–2012). With the edition of 1 Samuel in focus, the project involved doctoral dissertations on the Hebrew text, the Proto-Lucianic question, the Sahidic and Syriac daughter versions, and the translation technique of the Septuagint of 1 Samuel.

Tuukka Kauhanen, The Proto-Lucianic Problem in 1 Samuel, 2011. ()

Elina Perttilä, Sahidic 1 Samuel – A Daughter Version of the Septuagint, 2013. ()

Raimund Wirth, Die Septuaginta der Samuelbücher: Untersucht unter Einbeziehung ihrer Rezensionen, 2015. ()

Christian Seppänen, The Hebrew Text of Samuel: Differences in 1 Sam 1 – 2 Sam 9 between the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, and the Qumran Scrolls, 2018.

The research group after Aejmelaeus' inaugural lecture, Helsinki, 2009. From left: Miika Tucker, Elina Perttilä, Tuukka Kauhanen, Raimund Wirth, Anneli Aejmelaeus, Christian Seppänen, Marketta Liljeström.