The LXX provides a wide variety of Hebrew, Aramaic, and other Semitic words transcribed into Greek. Most of the transcriptions are straightforward: the letter lamedh ל, for example, is always transcribed as lambda λ.
However, the letter shin שׁ is less consistent. At the beginning of a word, it's always written with a single sigma σ. But between vowels, it's sometimes written with a double sigma σσ.
For example:
- מָשִׁיחַ > Μεσσίας (double sigma)
- יֵשׁוּעַ > Ἰησοῦς (single sigma)
What affects the decision to use one versus the other?