The evidence is more complicated than the often-repeated claim that “the Septuagint originally always used the Tetragrammaton and Christians later changed it to κύριος.”
| Date | Evidence | Hebrew name represented | Greek form | How certain? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd–2nd c. BC | Old Greek Leviticus, especially Lev. 24:16 | יהוה (YHWH) | κυρίου (kyriou, “Lord”) | Strong evidence that the Greek translation used κύριος |
| mid-2nd c. BC | Papyrus Rylands 458 (LXX Deuteronomy) | YHWH in Deut. 26:18 | Possibly κύριος | Uncertain — the relevant place is a lacuna |
| 1st c. BC | 4Q126, unidentified Greek Qumran text | Possibly YHWH | κυριο[ς] | Very uncertain — text cannot be identified and connection with YHWH is unproven |
| 1st c. BC | 4Q120 (4QLXXLevb) | YHWH | ΙΑΩ (IAŌ) | Certain that this manuscript does not use κύριος at the two preserved occurrences |
| 1st c. BC | Papyrus Fouad 266 | YHWH | יהוה in Hebrew script | Certain |
| late 1st c. BC–early 1st c. AD | 8ḤevXIIgr, Greek Minor Prophets | YHWH | יהוה in Paleo-Hebrew | Certain |
| 1st c. AD | Jewish Greek writings and quotations, e.g. Philo | YHWH | κύριος | Strong evidence of contemporary Jewish usage, although this is not a biblical manuscript |
| 2nd–3rd c. AD | Earliest substantial Christian LXX manuscript tradition | YHWH | κύριος / κΣ | Certain and increasingly standard |
This may actually be the earliest evidence relevant to this question.
The Hebrew text says:
“Whoever blasphemes the name of YHWH...”
The Greek translation has:
ὀνομάζων δὲ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου
“the one who names/utters the name of the Lord...”
So the Greek translator has κύριος where the Hebrew text has יהוה. The translation of Leviticus is generally placed in the early Greek translation period, traditionally associated with the 3rd–2nd centuries BC. (TIPs)
That means κύριος used as an equivalent of YHWH is not demonstrably a Christian invention of the 2nd or 3rd century AD.
However, there is an important textual-critical complication: our physical manuscript evidence for this early Greek translation is much later than the translation itself. That’s why we need to distinguish date of translation from the date of the surviving manuscript. The translation happened before.
Papyrus Rylands 458 is particularly interesting because it is from approximately the middle of the 2nd century BC and is one of our oldest Greek biblical manuscripts. (Wikipedia)
At Deuteronomy 26:18, where YHWH would occur, there is a blank space.
Some scholars have argued that the space originally contained the Tetragrammaton. Others have argued that κύριος was intended. C. H. Roberts, for example, thought it was probably κύριος, while other scholars have proposed that the space was deliberately left for Hebrew יהוה. (Wikipedia)
So I would not count Rylands 458 as definite evidence for κύριος.
This is especially relevant to the question about the Dead Sea Scrolls.
4Q126 is a Greek Qumran manuscript dated to approximately the 1st century BC. One fragment appears to contain:
κυριο[ς]
This is potentially extremely important because it could be an early Jewish Greek manuscript using κύριος. (Wikipedia)
But there is a major problem: 4Q126 is unidentified. We don’t know exactly what work it represents, and scholars cannot establish that the κύριος in it represents YHWH. Anthony Meyer, for example, has cautioned that the fragment is too uncertain to provide substantive evidence for reconstructing κύριος in this context. (Wikipedia)
Therefore:
4Q126 = possible early evidence, but not proof that κύριος replaced YHWH.
The chronological picture is therefore something like this:
3rd–2nd c. BC
→ Greek translation of Leviticus uses κύριος for YHWH
↓
2nd c. BC
→ Rylands 458: possible κύριος, but lacuna
↓
1st c. BC
→ 4Q126: possible κύριος, but unidentified text
↓
1st c. BC
→ 4Q120: ΙΑΩ
→ Fouad 266: יהוה
↓
late 1st c. BC / early 1st c. AD
→ 8ḤevXIIgr: יהוה
↓
1st c. AD
→ Jewish writers such as Philo regularly use κύριος in Greek contexts
↓
2nd–4th c. AD
→ Christian Greek manuscripts overwhelmingly use κύριος / κΣ
This shows something quite important: there was not a single linear transition from “YHWH” → “IAŌ” → “κύριος.” Different Jewish Greek traditions appear to have used different conventions simultaneously.
A recent major scholarly treatment by Anthony R. Meyer specifically examines ΚΥΡΙΟΣ in the Second Temple period, including the earliest Jewish-Greek Scriptures, Qumran material, and the question of the original Greek rendering of the divine name. (DOI)
If the question is:
“Can we prove that κύριος was being used for YHWH by Jews before Christianity?”
I would say yes, there is good evidence for that, with Leviticus 24:16 being particularly important.
If the question is instead:
“Do the oldest surviving Greek biblical manuscripts show that κύριος was the original replacement for YHWH?”
Then the answer is no. The oldest physical manuscripts give us a much more diverse picture: יהוה, ΙΑΩ, blanks, and possibly κύριος. The evidence does not support a simple universal rule.
And this distinction is particularly important when we get to the New Testament, because the NT writers’ use of κύριος when quoting passages containing YHWH can then be compared directly with these pre-Christian Jewish Greek practices.
So, let’s broaden the list to include Jewish writings composed during the Second Temple period (roughly 516 BC–AD 70) and also Josephus and Philo, who wrote shortly before and after the beginning of Christianity.
One important correction to my previous answer: “κύριος for God” is not the same thing as proving that κύριος was being used as a written replacement for יהוה in the manuscript. A Jewish author can call Israel’s God “κύριος” even if the underlying Hebrew name was YHWH, Adonai, or another divine designation.
Here are the clearest examples I can identify.
| Date | Jewish writing | Passage | Greek wording | Meaning/context | Underlying Hebrew concept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd–2nd c. BC | Greek Leviticus / Old Greek | Lev. 24:22 | ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν | “I am the Lord your God” | יהוה אלהיכם |
| 2nd c. BC | 2 Maccabees | 1:24 | κύριε κύριε ὁ θεός | “O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all” | God of Israel / YHWH |
| 2nd c. BC | 2 Maccabees | 7:23 | ὁ τοῦ κόσμου κτίστης... κύριος | God is the Creator and sovereign Lord | God/YHWH |
| 2nd c. BC | 3 Maccabees | 2:2 | κύριε κύριε, βασιλεῦ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ δέσποτα πάσης κτίσεως | “Lord, Lord, King of the heavens and Sovereign of all creation” | God of Israel |
| 2nd–1st c. BC | Wisdom of Solomon | 12:16 | ὅτι δεσπόζεις ἰσχύος... / Lordship language | God exercises universal sovereignty | God |
| 2nd–1st c. BC | Wisdom of Solomon | 15:1 | σὺ δέ, ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, χρηστὸς... | God is addressed as Israel’s God; surrounding context uses divine sovereignty language | God/YHWH |
| 1st c. BC | Psalms of Solomon | numerous passages | κύριος | God is repeatedly called “Lord” | YHWH |
| 1st c. BC | Philo | De Somniis 1.167 | κύριος εἰς θεόν | Philo explicitly applies “Lord” language to God | God/YHWH |
| 1st c. BC–1st c. AD | Philo | De Somniis 1.63 | βασιλικῆς δὲ κύριος ὄνομα | “Lord” is the name associated with God’s royal/ruling power | God |
| 1st c. AD | Josephus | numerous passages | κύριος | Josephus uses “Lord” as a designation for the Jewish God | YHWH/God |
The first three are especially clear because the Greek itself is unmistakably prayer addressed to the God of Israel.
For example, 2 Maccabees 1:24 reads:
κύριε κύριε ὁ θεὸς ὁ πάντων κτίστης
“O Lord, Lord God, Creator of all.”
The surrounding prayer describes this Lord as the Creator, King, just one, and merciful one. (New Christian Bible Study)
And 3 Maccabees 2:2 is even more striking:
κύριε κύριε, βασιλεῦ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ δέσποτα πάσης κτίσεως...
“Lord, Lord, King of the heavens and Sovereign of all creation...” (New Christian Bible Study)
That is clearly κύριος being used as a divine title, not merely “sir” or “master.”
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BC–AD 50) is valuable because he is a Jewish author writing Greek, rather than a Christian author.
In De Somniis 1.167, Philo says:
ἵνα αὐτῷ γένηται κύριος εἰς θεόν
He is discussing Jacob’s prayer and interprets the expression as asking that God become “Lord” (κύριος) to him. (Perseids)
Even more explicitly, in De Somniis 1.63 Philo writes:
χαριστικῆς μὲν οὖν δυνάμεως θεός, βασιλικῆς δὲ κύριος ὄνομα
Approximately:
“The name of His beneficent power is God, while the name of His royal power is Lord.”
So Philo actually discusses κύριος as a divine designation in his theological discussion of God. (Perseids)
These are particularly interesting because they are Jewish, probably composed around the middle of the 1st century BC. The collection is generally dated around 45 BC, although the precise date and the date of its Greek translation are uncertain. (Jewish Encyclopedia)
The Greek Psalms of Solomon repeatedly use κύριος in reference to God. However, there is an important complication: the Greek version we possess is a translation whose exact date is uncertain, so it is safer not to use it as evidence for the precise manuscript practice concerning the Tetragrammaton.
This is where the evidence becomes particularly interesting for this investigation.
There are three different claims:
Definitely yes.
2 Maccabees, 3 Maccabees, Philo, the Greek Scriptures, and other Jewish writings demonstrate this.
Yes, there is evidence for this.
The Greek Old Greek translation contains passages such as:
Hebrew: יהוה אלהיכם
Greek: κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν
“YHWH your God” → “the Lord your God.”
For example, Leviticus 24:22 has exactly this Greek wording. (Biblindex)
This is important because the Greek translator isn’t merely using κύριος as a generic title somewhere else in the sentence. κύριος occupies the position corresponding to YHWH.
No.
This is where the Dead Sea Scroll evidence complicates things considerably.
We have:
| Manuscript | Date | Treatment of YHWH |
|---|---|---|
| 4Q120 | 1st c. BC | ΙΑΩ |
| Papyrus Fouad 266 | 1st c. BC | יהוה |
| 8ḤevXIIgr | 1st c. BC/AD | יהוה |
| 4Q126 | 1st c. BC | possibly κύριος, but highly uncertain |
4Q126 is particularly intriguing because it contains what appears to be κυ-, potentially the beginning of κύριος. But the manuscript is so fragmentary and its text unidentified that scholars have cautioned against treating it as evidence that YHWH was rendered κύριος. (Wikipedia)
So we shouldn’t say that the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate a universal YHWH → κύριος convention.
There is actually an interesting progression:
Hebrew Bible
יהוה
↓
Greek Jewish literature
κύριος can be used as a designation for Israel’s God
↓
Greek biblical translation
יהוה → κύριος in at least some Old Greek traditions
↓
New Testament
κύριος becomes the normal Greek title for both God and Jesus
That means the NT writers were not introducing the Greek word κύριος as a divine designation for the first time. Jewish Greek writers had already been using it that way.
The much more specific question, which I think gets to the heart of this investigation, is:
When a Second Temple Jewish writer used κύριος, can we determine whether he understood it as a translation of YHWH, a translation of Adonai, or simply as an independent title for God?
That can actually be investigated passage by passage. Philo is especially useful for this, because he sometimes discusses the meanings and names of God explicitly.
If you want, I can make the next table much more rigorous: Hebrew original → Greek Jewish translation → exact form of κύριος → date → whether the Hebrew is YHWH, Adonai, Elohim, etc. That would let us see exactly which Hebrew divine names were being represented by κύριος before and during the time of Jesus.