.^^p^ ^ 4t' J.W. Beardslee Biblicial Languages, Literature and Exegesis '^S^ ■l*!>^^ ■e*"%«»^ '^ ■*mi BS 476 .B4 1894 V-. ■ ^^ l-*4^i .^€^ •-^-UliAL cv._.- BIBLICAL Languages, Literature tf Exegesis, AN INAUGURAL ADDRESS, BY THE Rev. JOHN W. BEARDSLEE, D.D., Delivered November i, 1893, WHEN INSTALLED AS PROFESSOR IN THAT DEPARTMENT IN THE WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE REFORMED (DUTCH) CHURCH IN AMERICA, HOLLAND, MICHIGAN. ALBANY, N. Y.: Charles Munsell, 82 State Street, 1894. ^J Programme. VOIvUNTARY, INVOCATION, SCRIPTURES, PRAYER, ANTHEM—" I Will Feed Mj' Flock," SERMON, Mrs. Clara Louise Bingham. The Rev. Edward A. Collier, President of Board of Superintendents. The Rev. H. G. Birchby, Holland, Michigan. The Rev. Egbert Winter, D.D., Grand Rapids, Michigan. Simper. The Rev. Dennis Wortman, D.D., Vice-President of the General Synod. INSTALLATION- Call of General Synod. ertificate of Dismission from Classis. Constitutional Obligation. Signing the Formula. Prayer- Rev. Prof N. M. Stefifens, D.D. Announcement by President of the Board. ANTHEM— " Te Deum Laudamus," CHARGE TO THE PROFESSOR, Simper. The Rev. Peter Moerdyke, D.D., Chicago, Illinois. INAUGURAL ADDRESS. DOXOLOGY. BENEDICTION. Inauguraf (^bitree^^ ♦♦♦ It is customary in our Reformed Churcli, for a person when installed as a Professor in Theology to deliver an address, bearing upon some question of theological interest, related to that department of study to which the General Synod assigns him. In the Call given me, five years ago last June, the General Synod says : " The branches in which you are to instruct the youth committed to your charge are Biblical Languages, Literature and Exegesis." The words are suggestive of the position which our Reformed Church has always occupied in regard to the training of her ministry. She has uniformly demanded a ministry able to read and interpret the Word of God in the origi- nal languages in which God was pleased to first reveal his will to men. She will not have the 4 message in a modern translation merely, but in the very words wliicli have proceeded out of the mouth of God. The demand thus made of our ministry is a very serious one. It involves the careful study of languages far removed from those now employed as means of conveying thought ; it calls for patient and exhaustive study of ancient records, now hard to decipher and harder still to under- stand ; it requires an effort to bring again to life ancient civilizations and kingdoms, that we may know the conditions under which the truth was revealed and life was passed ; it compels the min- ister to take thought expressed in ancient and oriental forms, and translate it into modem terms, adapted to our Western world. It is no easy mat- ter for a person to take a truth uttered thousands of years ago, under the primitive conditions of society then existing, clothed in the glowing and often extravagant imagery so natural to the ori- ental mind, and present its exact equivalent in the realistic and prosaic age in which we live. And yet this is just what is required of the minister. 5 His text book was written thousands of years ago. Some of it bears the plainest marks of the world's intellectual childhood ; some of it glows with all the poetry and romance of oriental life ; some of it is saturated with the profoundest speculations of Grecian philosophy ; all of it breathes a spirit utterly foreign to our modern social and intel- lectual life. To read its instructions, he must become familiar with the sound and shape of for- eign words ; he must know how to translate that which is old and strange, into such living forms of thought as will reach and influence the world to-day. Let us look a little at the subject assigned us by the General Synod. I. She says : " Teach the young men the Bibli- cal Languages." What are they ? The Old Testa- ment is written in the Hebrew language, except a few sections which are in Aramaic. The New Testament is written in Greek. The Hebrew bears the marks of a world yet in its infancy. It is one of the branches of that great Semitic family of languages in which the thouglits and the life of the ancient world have been treasured up for the benefit of modern times. Allied on the South to the Arabic, on the North to the Aramaic, aud on the East to the Assyrian and Babylonian languages, it is the connecting link between the different sections of the ancient world. In it are found the records of the childhood of our race. Its manner of expression is simple. It rises from the natural to the spiritual. Its strong religious teachings are clothed in words which are at first used to describe material things. It is the language of the heart. It delights in giving expression to the emotions which surge and swell in the soul. It moulds the very form and sound of its words to the thought they are to express. Rich in grammatical forms, well calculated to express the most varied phases of thought, it does not hesitate to override all such formalities of language, when by so doing, it can more vividly express the thought which seeks expression. "The Greek," says Dr. Schaff, "Is the most beautiful and harmonious language ever spoken or written." What the statuary of Greece is to 1 that of other countries, wliat the poetry of Greece is when placed beside the poetry of other lands, that the language of Greece is when compared with other languages of the world For literary finish and capacity to express profound thought, it is without a peer. As an instrument for convey- ing the sublime conceptions of our Christian faith, it is more suitable than any other language. And to this natural fitness we must add its almost universal use when the time came for the rapid and wide proclamation of the Gospel. All through Southern Europe the Greek was the lan- guage of the educated and of the ofiicial classes. In Northern Africa it had almost superseded the native languages, where elegance and accuracy were required. In Asia, even in Palestine, the old home of the Hebrew, it was familiar to all classes, so that when the Apostles went forth to preach they used the Greek language ; when they wrote the books composing our New Testament they wrote in the Greek language ; and when the great preachers of the early Church did such grand ser- vice in extending the Gospel they preached in the Greek language. Here, then, we liave two great languages of tlie ancient world ; tlie one simple, as befits the child- hood of the race, the other rich and ornate in subtle distinctions of form necessary to express the most profound spiritual conceptions. Both represent the most finished product of the family of languages to which they belong, and when combined as we have them in our Bible, their very contrast gives to the book a wider scope. They unite to form a suitable vehicle for the expression of the many-sided, profound truths of revelation. They are the two massive pillars which support the truth, each having a beauty peculiar to itself, and at the same time, by its contrast, helping to set forth the beauty of its companion. Among all the languages in which men have clothed their thoughts, there are none which could become a more worthy and appropriate channel for the com- munication of the divine ideas. In simple majesty, in clearness and force of expression, they meet, as far as human languages can, the conditions neces- sary to bring the thoughts of God within the com- prehension of man. 9 II. But you will at once understand that these languages are valuable to us only because of the thoughts they contain. It would be of little benefit for the minister to master all these details of the grammar, if it were not for the great and divine truths hidden in them. Hence our General Synod says: "Teach the young men not only Biblical Languages but Biblical Literature." What does she mean by Biblical Literature ? Here, again, a wide and difficult field of study opens before us. The Bible is a book with a won- derful literary history, and it becomes necessary for the man who would fully understand its teach- ings to know its literary surroundings. While it is one book, having one thought run- ning through all its pages, it is yet a book having many different elements entering into its composi- tion. The writing of it began before Israel was settled in Canaan as a nation ; its last pages were written after Israel's national life had ceased. Some of its books contain records of the ordinary life of the nation ; others are made up of the pro- foundest utterances of the prophets whose spiritual ID vision is fixed on tlie deep mystery of the redemp- tion which is to come through a crucified Messiah. At one time we read grand orations, calculated to inspire patriotic pride, or quicken the gratitude of the heart for God ; then our thought is taxed to the utmost over some argument designed to estab- lish the foundations of our faith At one time our thought is centered upon a great king, engaged in the most gigantic enterprises, building great cities, erecting a magnificent temple for his God, and luxurious ivory^ palaces for himself, sending forth ships in search of gold and spices and rare gems, and spending his days in luxury and lust. Then the scene changes, and in that fourfold story which can never be forgotten, we read of him who was surrounded by all the glory of his Heavenly Father, but left his home in Heaven, that he might live and die here on earth, so poor that he had not where to lay his head, and thus open a way by which sinners might be restored to the bosom and the love of God. One writer tells us how the world and man sprang into being, unfolding that start- ling record of creation, that we may know how ti and wliy we live here on earth ; another, illumin- ated by the spirit of God, lifts his eye up toward Heaven, and tells us of the joy and the blessed- ness and the everlasting happiness of those who find a home with God, after all this created uni- verse shall have been rolled together like a scroll, and have passed forever away. Such a book cannot be understood without the most careful study. The man who reads it with- out taking account of these diverse elements will be a very poor interpreter of its divine teachings. Every truth has its divine setting and like the cut diamoud, will flash forth the light of God, if we hold it in its proper position. Nor is this all we need to know to understand properly the literature of the Bible. We must know of the thoughts and the books of men who were not inspired by those influences which gave rise to the Bible. Before Moses began to write our Bible, he and his people were familiar with the literature of Egypt. Before Abraham left his old home in the valley of the Euphrates, the Chal- deans were writing history and poetry and phil- 12 osopliy. Long before Israel settled in Palestine, the inhabitants of that land were engaged in great mercantile enterprises, sending out caravans and ships to collect the treasures of the world, and they have left their account books, and their gov- ernment records, and their thoughts, in such shape that we can read them to this day. Thus all around Israel were nations coming into contact with them in commerce and war, exerting influ- ences over them, which contributed very largely to make them what they were. You can not, therefore, pick up the writings of Israel and under- stand them, without taking account of these for- eign influences. You must know what the world around Israel was thinking and doing, how they worshipped, and what spiritual ideas they enter- tained, before you can fully appreciate the position which Israel occupied, or know the meaning of the books they wrote. All these rays of light must be concentrated on the one Book, before its sublime teachings are fully illuminated. Every clay tablet found among the ruins of Babylon or Ninevah, every papyrus scroll taken from the tombs of 13 Egypt's kings, every rude inscription cut into the rocks of Arabia, every rock hewn record like that of King Mesha, of Moab, the tablets of Tell el Amarna, on which are recorded the commercial and national relations existing between Palestine and Egypt and Babylon, before yet Moses was born, become important helps to the understand- ing of the divine record and bring more vividly and clearly before us the supreme majesty of the Word of God. So broad and comprehensive and helpful to the minister, is the study of Biblical Literature, with which our Church would have her ministers be- come familiar. III. But even this does not satisfy our Reformed Church in regard to the Biblical training of her ministry, for she says: "Teach the young men the Biblical Languages and Biblical Literature and Exegesis." By Exegesis we understand the science of inter- preting correctly the language found in the Bible. We have seen how varied that language is in dif- ferent parts of the Bible. If a man should under- 14 take to interpret its history by applying to it the rules we use when we study poetry, or if he should persist in treating prophecy as if it were simply a fancy born of men, he would make sad work of its teaching. There are well defined laws for determining the exact meaning of language. These laws apply to the language of the Bible, as well as to any other. If a passage is obscure, there are rules whose application throws light on its meaning. The man who understands these rules and applies them becomes an intelligent reader and he will appreciate and enter into the spirit of the author he reads. The Bible, on account of its peculiar origin and its unique design, needs even more care than other books in its interpretation. The vast range of its teachings and their bearing on the spiritual life, demand the most rigid care in gaining its exact thoughts. When you read history or poetry, you will be benefitted or injured in proportion to your knowl- edge of the laws for interpreting what you read, and your fidelity in applying them ; how much more when the deep mysteries of the Scripture are 15 investigated and we would know our condition and destiny. A wrong understanding of a word may land a soul in the dark regions of unbelief, from whick it can find no way of escape. There is no room here for speculation, for preconceived notions in regard to the divine will or human duty. We must come to the word equipped with all that is necessary to penetrate to its central thought ; we must have confidence to believe that our conclu- sions are true, because they rest upon recognized laws for interpreting language. To secure this, our Reformed Church says to every one who would enter her ministry : " You must learn the laws of thought and language, and you must know how to apply them to the Scripture, before you presume to stand before your fellow men to tell them what God has declared necessary to their salvation." A correct exegesis lies at the basis of all right knowledge of God and the soul. By it alone can we determine what is duty. It is the solid basis on which rests our hope for the future. It is the only way by which we can know the truth, which is able to make us wise unto salvation. And for i6 such an exegesis of the Bible the most extensive requirements are necessary. History and geog- raphy and antiquities ; social customs and religious beliefs ; civil and domestic conditions ; philosophy and literature, no less than grammar and diction- ary, must be brought into service. For influences spring from all these directions which color and mould the life of those who feel them. Biblical instruction which does not use all these can never be sure of its conclusions, since it does not fully know the conditions under which the Bible was written. Such, then, is the Biblical education which our Church demands that her ministry shall pos- sess. The question arises, " Is this a reasonable demand ? Has the Church a right to ask so much of those who would preach the Gospel ? There are many who tell us the Church has no right to expect her ministers to study such difficult questions. We need leaders, they tell us, men who can manage affairs and stir up emotions and lead the world to act. Or they tell us that such personal study is not 17 now necessary, because great scholars have gone through these fields of knowledge and recorded the results of their study in books, which furnish us a far better idea of the subject, than the average minister can ever reach by his own investigation. Above all, they tell us how faithfully and accu- rately the Bible has been translated, so that every one can read it and know its meaning. Why com- pel the minister to sit down with grammar and dictionary and logic and learning such as he has, to again spell out the record for himself. To this let me answer briefly : I. It does not seem an unreasonable demand that when a man is sent publicly to proclaim truth, he should himself be able to read the mes- sage he is to deliver to others. What would be thought of an Ambassador going from Washing- ton to the Court of St. James or Berlin, to bear important State papers, but who when questioned in regard to them, was compelled to say : " I can- not read them." And when a man goes out from the Court of Heaven to bear the message of salva- tion to men, does it seem right that he should be unable to tell tlie world what his message is, until some one else first reads it to him ? I do not of course mean to say, that no one can properly preach the Gospel who cannot read it in the origi- nal. Thank God ! the Gospel is not so helpless as that. From the unlearned God often chooses his most successful preachers. But I insist upon it that the preacher who can read intelligently that original Word which God has spoken, has a better equipment than those who cannot. It is safer to take the message directly from the King, than to trust even his most faithful minister. 2. But further, there is a positive gain in such study. The labor involved brings a rich reward to the laborer. The minister who sits down to such patient, laborious investigation of the truth, will arise from his task with a broader and more profound conviction of its value. It may be true that he cannot clothe his translation in such elegant language as that found in our great trans- lations of the Bible, but the rough form of his own rendering will have for him a value infinitely beyond what he would have secured if he had been 19 content, in a formal way, to read the results of another man's study. When we send our boys and girls to college, we do not put into their hands the famous translations of Homer and Vergil and Plato ; we give them the original words of these great thinkers, and tell them that with the help of grammar and dictionary they must make a trans- lation for themselves. And we know that when they have studied history and archaeology, and learned something of the social and civil life of those times, and plodded word by word through the dictionary and grammar, their mental disci- pline and their actual knowledge will be a thous- andfold greater than if we had given them the easier task of reading some fine translation. 3. Besides this, we know that any translation, however elegant and accurate, lacks sotnething of the force and beauty of the original. There are idioms which can never be fully translated, they must be felt in the intellect and the heart to be ap- preciated. There are \vords which have such a wealth of meaning, and whose use is so peculiar, that no other language can furnish words which 20 can fully express them. There is a spirit in lan- guage which will not be confined in foreign words, however significant and beautiful. 4. And then too, how soon does a translation lose its special fitness. Words grow old and die ; forms of expression become antiquated ; new inves- tigations threw new meaning into the thoughts which requires a new manner of expression. Every human language is daily changing its forms so that the thought must find new terms to convey it. That noble translation of the Bible made by Luther, so justly dear to the German heart, has had to submit to revision. So has our own English Bible. So, too, has that Staten Bijbel, of Holland, in some respects the grandest of all modern versions. As long as language remains imperfect, its expression must change, and the minister who would give to men the freshest, fittest expression of God's Word, must be continually on the watch for just the word which fits the idea before him. By his own reading and re-reading of the Sacred text, will he take in more and more of its divine 21 Spirit and be enabled with ever-increasing power and fullness to proclaim the unsearcbable Word of the everlasting God. There is then an excellent reason why onr Church establishes schools in which her minis- ters may be taught the " Biblical Languages and Literature and Exegesis." The Bible is the founda- tion on which we build our hopes. It is the rule by which we fashion our character. Well has our Reformed Church written, in her noble Con- fession of Faith : " We believe that these Holy Scriptures contain the will of God, and that what- soever man ought to believe unto salvation is suf&ciently taught therein." What the world needs is a correct knowledge of these teachings of the Scripture ; and the noble mission of the minister of the Gospel is to search out, by prayer and by study, what God's word does teach, and then to go out and throw the great search light of divine truth into the intellect and heart of men. That word, when correctly understood, is "quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to tHe dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." May our Reformed Church stand firm, as she always has stood firm in demanding that those who preach the Gospel shall be faithful and critical students of the Bible. Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 01092 2690 DATE DUE [ DEMCO 38- 297 raulorcl z= PAM PHIET BINDER ^^^ Syracuse, N. Y. ZZZZi Stockton, Calif. <'S^:- y. ■-^' / f^i f^ ^^. ^ X.