Gothic Bible, Vetus Latina and Visigothic Law: Evidence for a Septuagint-based Gothic Version of Exodus

Although there is no extant version of the Gothic Bible book Exodus, this paper argues that Visigothic secular law provides textual and conceptual evidence for the existence of a Gothic translation of Exodus based on the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament, because Visigothic law on abortion (LV 6.3.2) is remarkably similar to the Septuagint version of the biblical law on abortion. Both laws on abortion distinguish between early term and late term abortion, using the concept 'formed — unformed'. The occurrence of this distinction in Visigothic secular law — an innovation in comparison with contemporary, written secular and canonical law — suggests that the Gothic Bible book Exodus was one of the sources used by the Visigothic lawmakers and that a Gothic version of Exodus did indeed exist. Arianism would then be the missing link.