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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/biblehandbookint00angu_4 THE lilRARY OF (HE UEUVEftSUTY flF tk in aiffra ')wi OiD t'JHRJHTI,VN ERA By Angus tiis Rrtermaim FKX*S. it TA o'Arrrc/oric- r cvu/J+inapa/ScUtom on/j&ftJtc « !&VS 7’/ic /armcr arc diadcd more or d&rJtcuwordirtyhrt/icjerapcni/Sf, afthcpofnxlcUt/m The Journeys of* tho Apostle liml Joj^ar/e tdRamo ■ l /mrjosrd/ictetni^ornfianicdjrcnip/JirroicfjiATibrifn Or fiasco, . ynppo.scd Trcn^c/s SrJo umcy toRoTne gfterJb-siympris^ranen/ lfoundfuy r a£h 'omanJtmpire , 4 ^ \$A r npna, MurrHyc J.VrritXJjJi Mvmteu w '■Aiftf/n. /bn y Mfurtcnv^f/tt Ma/or / ’*' beusair Wtu.*/ft2ict .■lltOfr/net /{ />p»y. niy • 7 - , FA R T II 1 A / (-■/’/..■fte.Mc, OoigJStv 1 V * 7 WAw YAU. tig/nm ; i .IcjmltVu yC/tt.vr/c \ilLuvme Jj^acloapfa Vrv\avfU$lAS ‘ Dio0coridi« I Au-ActC JAMES S. C L AX TON, PH I LA DE L P H I A , ,1 , f / / Or V> THE BIBLE HAND-BOOK: % AN INTRODUCTION ' w TO ©hq gtadjj of J&acrrd BY JOSEPH ANGUS, D.D. ' it * SECOND REVISED EDITION, ftcfctstons, 0otcs, anti an Entiex of Scripture Ecxts, BY KEY. F. S. HOYT, A.M. NEW YORK: CARLTON & LANA ff AN 200 MULBERRY STREET. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868 , by JAMES S. CLAXTON, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Stereotyped and Printed by Alfred Martien. J \ ' V PREFATORY NOTE TO THE THIRD AMERICAN EDITION. The Bible Hand-Book has met with so general favor and has been so largely introduced as a text-book into Theological Schools, that the publisher is encouraged to spare no pains to correct and improve it. In the present edition, an effort has been made not only to correct all known errors in typo- graphy, and in the Scripture references, but also such state- ments as criticism has proved to be unfounded, or to require modification. A few notes have also been appended, numeral references to which have been inserted in the text. Additional matter, and the emendations, where it was practicable to do so, have been included in brackets. These improvements, too numerous to mention here in detail, place this edition far in advance of the English, and of all previous American editions. Suggestions as to future emendations and improvements will be gratefully received from those using the book. They may be addressed to the publisher, or to the Rev. Professor F. S. Hoyt, of Delaware, Ohio, by whom most of the corrections in this edition have been made. Acknowledgments are due to Rev. M. B. Grier, D.D., editor of the Presbyterian , and to Pro- fessor F. D. Hemenway, A.M., of the Garret Biblical In- stitute, and others, for valuable criticisms and suggestions. N. B. — The corrections introduced into the text of the Hand-Book rendered the multiplication of Notes unneces- sary. The few, which are appended, are purposely limited to Part First. 59680.1 . ■ ■ ' * PREFACE The following pages are intended as an introduction to the study of Scripture, and are written with the view of being used by all classes of intelligent readers. On a first perusal by younger readers, it is suggested that the sections marked ( a ) in the table of contents, be omitted, together with such paragraphs as may be thought too abstruse. The attempt to adapt the work to both young and advanced students, renders such a selection at the outset desirable ; and the whole has been written so as to make the portions read, in the first in- stance, easily intelligible and complete in themselves. On the other hand, any who wish to consult the book on partic- ular subjects — as on the study of the Greek Testament, or on the proof of particular doctrines — -can easily do so by the help of the Index. If any wish to connect the study of these pages with the study of Theological Science generally, he will find the fol- lowing classification important. Theology is Exegetical, Historical, Systematic, and Pas- toral : — Under the head of Exegetical Theology are placed — Philology, or the study of the languages of Scripture, with their cognate dialects, see Ch. I. Secs. 2, 4; Ch. IV. Sec. 5. Criticism, which aims first to establish a correct text, and secondly, to explain the peculiarities of the style, etc., of the several books, see Ch. I. Secs. 1, 3, 5, 6 ; Ch. VI, Sec. 1, and Introductions to Pent., Gospels, Epistles, etc. Hermeneutics, or the theory and practice of Interpretation, Ch. I. Sec. 6 ; Ch. IV., and Ch. VI. €> IV PREFACE. Under the head of Historical Theology are placed — Archaeology, with its two divisions : Biblical Archaeology, which treats of ancient customs, etc., see Ch. IV. Sec. 6, and Ecclesiasti- cal ', which treats of the opinions of early Jewish and Christian sects and writers, see Ch. IV. Sec. 6 ; Part II. Ch. IV. Sec. 2 ; Ch. IV. Sec. 1; Ch. VII. Sec. 1. History of Doctrine, of which this volume does not treat. Under the head of Systematic Theology are placed — Dogmatic Theology, which treats of matters of faith, etc. Practical Theology, which treats of practice. See Chaps. III., V., VII., and Introduction to Cor., Romans, etc. Under the head of Pastoral Theology are placed — Homiletics, of which this volume treats but indirectly, see Ch. VII. The Pastoral Care and Ecclesiastical Law, of which nothing is said here. The Evidence of Christianity, and the External History of the Church of Christ, are distinct branches of inquiry. Of the first, the following pages treat at some length, Chap. I. Sec. 1 : Chap. II. Sec. 1-4, etc. To some of the subjects enumerated in this list, this volume is only an introduction intended to guide the advanced reader to larger works ; but on most it will be found sufficently full to enable earnest-minded inquirers to study and master the evidences, facts, and doctrines of Scripture for themselves. Its aim is to teach men to understand and appreciate The Bible, and, at the same time, to give such information on ancient literature and history as may aid the work of general education among all classes. CONTENTS. Pags. Preface • • • PART I. Introductory 11 CHAPTER I. On the Genuineness of Scripture : or the Bible as Inspired Men wrote it 15 Sec. 1. Genuineness defined and proved, \ 6-24. Sec. 2. a The original languages of Scripture. Hebrew and the Shemitish languages generally ; Hellenistic or Hebrew Greek of the New Testament and LXX, \ 25-41. Sec. 3. a The manuscripts of Scripture, § 42-64. Sec. 4. a The ancient versions of Scripture, $ 65-74. Sec. 5. a The various readings of Scripture : rules for determining the text, g 75-112. Sec. 6. The English version on the whole identical with the original text, $ 113-134. CHAPTER II. On the Authenticity and Authority of Scripture . . 83 Sec. 1. Scripture claims to be regarded as an inspired teacher, and as the only inspired teacher, $ 135-145. Sec. 2. Inspiration, $ 146-150. Sec. 3. The canon, § 151-166. Sec. 4. Authenticity. — Scripture evidence, $ 167 213. I* (v) VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. Pa m Peculiarities of the Bible as a Revelation from God . . 141 Sec. 1. A revelation of God, of Christ, and of human nature, £ 214-218. Sec. 2. A revelation of spiritual religious truth, $ 219-227. Sec. 3. A gradual and progressive revelation, § 228-238. Sec. 4. The unity of the Bible, \ 239-245. Sec. 5. Not a revelation of systematic truth or specific rules, l 246-253. CHAPTER IV On the Interpretation of Scripture 167 Sec. 1. Of the necessity for care in the study of Scripture, § 254-269. Sec. 2. Of the spirit in which the Bible should be studied, l 270-273. Sec. 3. Of rules of interpretation, § 274-309. Sec. 4. Of the utility and application of rules in interpretation, l 310, 311. Sec. 5. a Of the application of these rules to the study of the original Scriptures, g 312-338. Sec. 6. Of the use of external helps in interpretation ; Jewish and heathen opinions ; history, profane and ecclesi- astical ; chronology ; natural history ; manners and cus- toms ; geography, historical and physical, § 339-404. Sec. 7. Of the application of these rules to the interpretation of allegories, parables, types, and symbols, $ 405-433. Sec. 8. a Of the interpretation of prophecy, § 434-454. CHAPTER V. On the Systematic and Inferential Study of the Scrip- tures 352 Sec. 1. Of the study of the doctrines of Scripture, $ 455-464. Sec. 2. Of the study of the precepts of Scripture, $ 465-472. Sec. 3. Of the study of the promises of Scripture, § 473-480. Sec. 4. Of the study of the examples of Scripture, \ 481-487. CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER VI. Pag*. Principles and Rules illustrated in the Quotations of the New Testament from the Old, and applied to the So- lution of Scripture Difficulties .... 378 Sec. l.» Quotations classified and examined with reference to the state of the text, the truths and evidences of Scripture, and principles of interpretation, $ 489-500. Sec. 2. Scripture difficulties, § 501-523. CHAPTER VII. Oh the Inferential and Practical Reading of the Bible . 408 PART II. THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. Introductory •••••••••• 423 CHAPTER I. The Pentateuch and the Book of Job . . . • . 428 Sec. 1. Genuineness and authenticity of the Pentateuch, \ 7-13. Sec. 2. The Book of Job, ? 14-17. Sec. 3. Of Hebrew poetry and the Poetical Books, \ 18. Sec. 4. The Books of the Pentateuch, arranged and epitomized with occasional helps, g 19-24. Sec. 5. The design of the Law ; summary of its religious institu- tions, J 25-31. CHAPTER II. Historical and Poetical Books to the Death of Solomon . 473 Sec. 1. The Historical Books of Scripture generally, \ 32-35. Sec. 2. Brief Outline of these Historical Books, J 36. Sec. 3. The Books of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, § 37-42. Sec. 4. The Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, § 43-51 Sec. 5. The Poetical Books — 'Psalms, Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, $ 52-62. Vlll CONTENTS. Page. Sec. 6. The whole arranged and epitomized, with occasional helps, \ 63-68. CHAPTER III. Historical Books from the Death of Solomon to the Close of the Old Testament Canon 523 Sec. 1. Brief historical view of this period; the Prophets in con- nection with history, § 69-73. Sec. 2. The nature of Prophecy during this period ; Predictions arranged according to time and according to subjects, l 74-76. Sec. 3. The Books of Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, g 77-87. Sec. 4. The Books of Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Danie\ Ezekiel, and Obadiah. The Captivity, $ 88-94. Sec. 5. The Books of Ezra, Ilaggai, Zechariah, Esther, Nehemiah,, and Malachi, $ 95-102. Sec. 6. The whole arranged and epitomized, § 103-106. Sec. 7. ©hronology of Scripture and early profane history from the Deluge to the close of the Canon, J 107. CHAPTER IV. Civil and Moral History of the Jews from Malachi to John the Baptist 599 Sec. 1. Sketch of the Civil History of the Jews between the two Testaments \ 108-115. Sec. 2. Sketch of the Moral and Religious History of the Jews between the two Testaments, $ 116-128. CHAPTER V. The Gospels • • 613 Introductory, \ 129-134. Sec. 1. The Gospels in their mutual relations, \ 135, 136. Sec. 2. The genuineness of the Gospels, § 137. Sec. 3. Introduction to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, $ 138-141. Sec. 4. The Chronology of the Gospels, $ 142. Sec. 5. The Gospels Harmonized, \ 143-150. CONTENTS. IX Page. Sec. 6. Topics to be noticed in reading the Gospels. Lessons to be gathered from a comparison of passages, \ 151-152. CHAPTER VI. The Book of Acts . . 630 Sec. 1. The Gospel and the Gentiles, \ 153-161. Sec. 2. Introduction to the Book of Acts, $ 162, 163. Sec. 3. Chronology of the Acts and Epistles arranged, \ 164-166. CHAPTER VII. The Epistles and the Book of Revelation .... 647 Sec. 1. On the study of the Epistles, \ 167-169. Sec. 2. On the genuineness of the Epistles, § 170. Sec. 3. Helps to study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Romans, James, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, Hebrews, 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Peter, 2 Timothy, Jude, and precepts given in each, with epitome of Doctrines, $ 171-195. Sec. 4. Helps to the study of 1, 2, and 3 John, and to the Book of Revelation, \ 196-204. Notes 717 Index (of Contents) 727 Errata in Index of Texts 727 Index of Scripture Texts 738 ■ THE BIBLE HAND-BOOK. PART I. The Sestertius of Vespasian: A. D. 69. Actual Size. It commemorates the conquest of Judsea. The country is represented by the Palh Tree, beneath which is a sitting figure, the “ captive daughter of Zion,” in an attitude of dejection. The emperor stands by, holding a lance, and with his foot on a helmet. Judsea capta (Judaea taken): S. C. (by decree of the Senate). INTRODUCTORY. “ I use the Scriptures not as an arsenal to be resorted to only for arms and weapons . . .hut as a matchless temple, where I delight to contem- plate the beauty, the symmetry, and the magnificence of the structure; and to increase my awe and excite my devotion to the Deity there preached and adored.” — Boyle*. On the Style of Scripture , 3d obj. 8 . “ Scarcely can we fix our eyes upon a single passage in this wonderful book which has not afforded comfort or instruction to thousands, and been met with tears of penitential sorrow or grateful joy drawn frou eyes that will weep no more.” — Paysob : The Bible above all Price . “This lamp, from off the everlasting throne, Mercy took down, and in the night of time Stood, casting on the dark her gracious bow, And evermore beseeching men with tears And earnest sighs, to hear, believe, and live.” — Pollok. 1. Even as a literary composition, the sacred Scriptures form the most remarkable book the world has ever The Bible , They are of all writings the most ancient. its claims * seen. 12 THE BIBLE — HOW TO EE STUDIED. They contain a record of events of the deepest interest. The history of their influence is the history of civilization and happiness. The wisest and best of mankind have borne wit- ness to their power as an instrument of enlightenment and of holiness ; and having been prepared by “ men of God who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, ” a to reveal “ the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent,” b they have on this ground the strongest claims upon our attentive and reverential regard. The use of a hand-book of Scripture requires one or two cautions, which both writers and readers need to keep before them. 2. First. We are not to contemplate this glorious fabric of To be stud- Bivine truth as spectators only. It is not our busi- faUhand iness to stand before Scripture and admire it ; but obedience. stand within, that we may believe and obey it. In the v r ay of inward communion and obedience only shall we see the beauty of its treasures. It yields them to none but the loving and the humble. We must enter and unite ourselves with that which we would know, before we can know it more than in name. 0 3. Secondly. Nor must the study of a help to Scripture be ah helps of confounded with the study of Scripture itself. Such value onlyas they lend to helps may teach us to look at truth so as to see its itself. position and proportions, but it is the entrance of truth alone which gives light. The road we are about to travel may prove attractive and pleasing, but its great attrac- tion is its end. It leads to the “wells of salvation.” To suppose that the journey, or the sight of the living water— perhaps, even of the place whence it springs — will quench our thirst, is to betray most mournful self-deceit or the pro- foundest ignorance. Our aim — “ the sabbath and port of our labors” — is to make more clear and impressive the Book oi God, “ the god of books, ” d as one calls it, — the Bible itself. *2 Pet. i. 21. b John xvii. 3; Pr. xix. c Prov. ii. 2-5: John vii. 17. d The Synagogue, No. , THE BIBLE— ITS TITLES. 13 4. The names by which this volume is distinguished are not wanting to significance. It is called the Bible. t , or the book , from the Greek word /3*(3 ao?, book, a The Bible - name given originally (like liber in Latin) to the inner bark of the linden, or teil-tree, and afterwards to the bark of the papyrus, the materials of which early books were sometimes made. [ Bible 1 is directly from little books]. It is called the Old and New Testament (that is, covenant or appointment), the term by which God was pleased 0 ] dandNew to indicate the relation or settled arrangement be- Testament, tween himself and his people. The term was first applied to the relation itself, 8, and afterwards to the books in which the records of the relation are contained. Among the Jews, the Old Testament was called “The Law* the Prophets, and the Writings.” Sometimes the The Law Writings, or (as the Greek name is) the Hagiographa etsandSoiy were called, from the first book under the division, Writings, the Psalms. b What books were included in these divisions we gather from ancient Jewish authorities. 2 Josephus reckons two-and- twenty canonical books of the Old Testament, 0 and the whole may be thus divided : — (1.) Th> five books of Moses, [rnift Tor&h] : the Law. (2.) The Prophets, Nebiim]: — including (a.) The historical division Nebiim Kishoniin, namely — 6. Daniel. 7. Ezra and Nehemiah. 8. Esther. 9. Job. 1. Joshua. 2. Judges and Ruth. 3. Samuel, 1 and 2. 4. Kings, 1 and 2. 5. Chronicles, 1 and 2. •Ex. xxiv. 7: 2 Kings xxiii. 2: 2 Cor. iii. 6-14. S/*d»K», in classic Greek is disposition, or a will ; in Hellenistic Greek, it is often equiva- lent to ruvQn' jo), a covenant. Gen. xxi. 27-32 : xxvi. 28 : xxxi. 44 . b Luke xxiv. 44. c [See on the Canon §158]. 14 THE BIBI E ITS TITLES. (5.) The Prophets, properly so called, tnTftna Nebiirn Acharonim : 10. Isaiah, 11. Jeremiah and Lamentations. 12. Ezekiel. 13. The twelve minor Prophets. (3.) And the Hagiographa, tnaWS- Cethubim, namely— The Psalms, the Proverbs,' the Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. In modern copies the following are also placed among the Hagiographa:— Job, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehe- miah and Chronicles. And this is the arrangement now in use in the Hebrew Scrip- tures. The terms, “ the Scripture,” 1 “ the Scriptures, ” b “ The Holy other Scriptures,”* are also applied in the Bible itself to names. the sacred books ; as is the expression, “ the oracles of God;” d though this last is sometimes used to indicate the •place where, under the old dispensation, the will of God was revealed.® “The Law” f and “the Prophets” 8 are each em- ployed, and sometimes unitedly h by a common figure of speech, to designate the whole of the Old Testament. The sacred writings were sometimes called the canon of Canon of Scripture, from a Greek word signifying a straight Scripture, ro d, an( j pence a rule or law, Gal. vi. 16 : Phil. iii. 16. This term was employed in the early age of Christianity with some indefiniteness, though generally denoting a standard of opinion and practice. From the time of Origen, however, it has been applied to the books which are regarded by Chris- tians as of Divine authority. The Bible, therefore, is the canon, that is, the authoritative standard of religion and morality. 5. But of all titles, the “ word of God” is perhaps the most * John x. 35 : Jas. iv. 5. b Luke xxiv. 27. * Rom. i. 2; 2 Tim. iii. 15. d Acts vii. 38: Rom. iii. 2: Heb. v. 12 * 1 Kings viii. 6 : 2 Chron iv. 20 : Pr. xxviii. 2. f Mat. v. 18: John x. 34: 1 Cor. xiv. 21. f Mat. xxvi. 56 : Acts iii. 18-21 : xxviii. 23. h Mat. xi. 13 : xxii. 40. THE BIBLE — ITS GENUINENESS. 15 impressive and complete. It is sufficient to justify Theword the faith of the feeblest Christian, and it gathers up of God * all that the most earnest search can unfold. We may say more at large what this title involves, but more than this we cannot say. It teaches us to regard the Bible as the utterance of Divine wisdom and love. The earliest Jewish coined money (B. C. 125). On one side is "Aaron’s rod that budded,” on the other the “pot of manna.” The inscription, in Samaritan char- acters, is “Shekel of Israel,” and “Jerusalem the Holy.” The date (the “second year,” i. e. of Simon) is written over the pot of manna. CHAPTER I. ON THE GENUINENESS OF SCRIPTURE : OR THE BIBLE, AS INSPIRED MEN WROTE IT. “ The integrity of the records of the Christian faith is substantiated by evidence, in a tenfold proportion more various, copious and con- clusive than that which can be adduced in support of any other ancient writings.” — Isaac Taylor. Sec. 1. — Genuineness Defined And Proved. 6. If a MS. of each book of the Bible in the author’s hand- writing were still extant, and if the fact of its being A ~ enuine such could be proved, every copy that agreed with MS - what the MS. would be perfectly genuine. There are now, how- 16 GENUINENESS — PRINTED COPIES. ever, no such autographs of any ancient books; and yet there are circumstances attending the preservation and transmission of the MSS. of the Scriptures, which prove their genuineness with nearly as much certainty as if the first copies were still in existence. 7. [A MS., or book, whether anonymous or written by the person Genuine- whose name it bears, or by one using an assumed name ness defined or title, is genuine, (1.) If whatever it affirms in respect to the authorship of it is true; and (2.) If its text in all material points remains as it proceeded from the author. If the text has been materially changed, it is corrupt. If its statements in respect to authorship are false, the MS. or book is spurious, or forged.3] 8. The question of the genuineness of Scripture is much simplified by the invention of printing. That art shortens an fixes the dates of books, and by multiplying copies and editions secures the text from corruption. As printed books cannot be altered by the pen, any material change of the text becomes impossible or nugatory. The MSS. of printed books are now committed therefore without fear of falsification “to the immortal custody of the press.” 9. There are still extant, for example, printed copies of the vrmied Old Testament in Hebrew, dated Soncino, A. D. copies of 1488, and Brescia, A. D. 1494. A copy of the year tures, a. d. 1488 is in the library of Exeter College, Oxford, and in the Royal Library at Berlin is the identical copy (dated 1494) from which Luther made his German translation. There are extant also copies of the New Testament in Greek, dated Basle, 1516, edited by Erasmus, and in Greek and Latin, dated Alcala or Complutum (in Spain), 1514. On being com- pared with each other, and with modern editions, these copies are found to agree in the main. They, therefore, prove by a single step, the existence of the Scriptures in the 15th cen- tury. They prove, also, that the text of modern editions has not been materially impaired during the last 850 y_ears. 10. These two editions of the New Testament which are Textus founded upon a very partial examination of MSS. Receptus. form the basis of the Received Text. The first edition of that text was printed in 1624, by Elzevir. Besides GENUINENESS— MANUSCRIPTS. 17 the two editions just named, he had the advantage of consulting the editions of Stephens (Paris, 1546), and of Beza (Gen. 1565), but did not introduce from them many important readings. 11. At the time these volumes were printed, there were MS. copies of the Scriptures in most of the public „ ... . r . . MSS. of the libraries of Europe. Ihey form, with the writings Scripture^. of the Fathers, or of other ecclesiastical authors of 1457 to the* the middle ages, the bulk of most library catalogues 4t century * of the 15th century. Dr. Kennicott collated 630 of these MSS. for his critical edition of the Hebrew Bible. De Rossi collated 734 more. And upwards of 600A1SS. have been examined for recent editions of the Greek Testament. (§ § 59. 75.) 12. In the case of the Greek and Roman classics, twenty, or ten MSS. are deemed amply sufficient to form an x ^ Compared accurate text : fifteen MSS. of Herodotus are known as to num- . . . bers with to critics, of which the most ancient belongs to the mss. of 10th century: and this is a fair average of the an- cient MSS. of classic authors. It is obvious, therefore, that the advantage in this respect is greatly on the side of the Scriptures. The number of MSS. has afforded ample pro- vision for restoring the text to its original purity, and at the same time gives absolute security against extensive cor- ruptions. 13. The MSS. of the Hebrew Scriptures, now extant, were most of them written between the years A. D. 1000 AcreofHel% and A. D. 1457. 4 Some, however, belong to the 8th Mss.^andof and 9th centuries, among which are two of the MSS. (Nos. 634, 503), lately in the possession of M. de Rossi, by whom the various readings they contain were published. -• The MSS. of the New Testament, and of the Septuagint, or Greek translation of the Old, are earlier still. The Alexan- drian MS. 6 (Codex Alexandrinus, called A by Wetstein, Gries- bach, and other critics), now in the British Museum, compris- ing, in four volumes, small folio, both Old and New Testaments, must have been written in the first half of the 5th century. The V. atican MS. (called B), preserved in the library of tho 2 * 18 GENUINENESS— QUOTATIONS Vatican, 6 at Rome, belongs to the 4th, as does [also the Cod, Sinai ticus 7 (a), at St. Petersburg!! obtained by Tischendorf, from the convent of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai, 1859 ; doubt- less the best of the New Testament MSS]. The Codex Regius, or Ephrasmi (C), so called from the author whose works were written over it, the parchment being what is called a rescript (or “twice- written,” in Greek palimpsest, or “rubbed again,”) belongs to the 6th century. The Codex Bezse (D), given by the reformer Beza to the University of Cambridge, belongs (in the opinion of Wetstein) to the 5th century; critics who give it least antiquity assigning it to the 6th or 7th. 14. A Virgil in the Vatican claims an antiquity as high as Compared 4th century ; but generally the MSS. of the clas- with mss. sics belong to periods between the 10th and the 15th of Classics. ... centuries. In antiquity, therefore, as in numbers, they are greatly inferior to the MSS. of Scriptures. 15. As we reach the time of the earliest MSS. of the Scrip- _ J tures, another kind of evidence presents itself no Quotations . . x . . from scrip- less impressive : namely, the quotations of Scripture, ciesiastical and references to it, which are found m the writings Their * of the early Fathers, and in the Rabbinical para- phrases. The references of classic authors one to another, though sufficient" ~to '"establish the antiquity of the works quoted from, form a very inadequate provision for cor- recting the text of each. They are generally in the way of allusion only to some fact or passage. Even when the refer- ences are more pointed, they are generally so loosely tnade as to be of little critical value. In quotations from the Scrip- tures the case is entirely different. They are generally made with the utmost care, the very words of the Sacred writers being introduced, and forming the subject of lengthened dis- cussion, or of important practical teaching. 16. Looking first at quotations from the New Testament, we have in the 5th century the writings of Theodoret Quotations J ° in cent. of Cyprus, in Syria, on the Epistles of Paul, and on most of the Old Testament, Still earlier, Cyril of GENUINENESS— VERSIONS. 19 Alexandria wrote on the Prophets, and on John. In the 4th century, Chrysostom wrote commentaries on the whole of the New Testament. To the same century belong also the writ- ings of Gregory of Nyssa. In the 2d and 3d centuries, we have the writings of Origen and Theophilus, of Antioch: fragments of each remain (though the second, in Latin only), and are often quoted by later writers. In the 2d century, we have the writings also of Irenaaus, and of Clement of Alexan- dria. Not less important are the writings of Jerome, who wrote commentaries on Scripture in the 4th century. To the same century belong also the voluminous writings of Augus- tine. For a complete list, see page 107. These are a few only of the authors of the early age of the Christian Church. In not less than one hundred Number of and eighty ecclesiastical writers (whose works are quotations, still extant), are quotations from the New Testament intro- duced ; and so numerous are they, that from the works of those who flourished before the 7th century, the whole text of the New Testament (it has been justly said) might have been recovered, even if the originals had since perished. The experiment was tried by Dr. Bentley, and he confirms this statement. 17. A similar process of investigation into the Hebrew text carries us to the era of our Lord. The Targum, or Targums interpretation of Onkelos, translates the Pentateuch into Chal- daic Hebrew (though of the purest order), and was written [in the 1st century after Christ.] The Targum of Jonathan on the Prophets and historical books was written about the com- mencement of the Christian era. In the 4th century, Joseph the Blind wrote a Targum on the Hagiographa ; and a little later, various similar versions of other parts of Scripture were published. These Targums, ten in all, are of great value in determining the text of Scripture, being, for the most part, very literal paraphrases of the original Hebrew. 8 18. To corroborate this evidence of the correctness of the New Testament, and to carry st : T further back the evidence 20 GENUINENESS — VERSIONS. on the old, we have the ancient versions of the Scriptures. Versions ^he century, a version of the Bible into the SthTentiiry Slavonic, or old Russian language (of great critical to the ist value), was published. In the 6th century was com- pleted a version of the whole Bible into Georgian. In the 5th, a version into Armenian, under the care of Miesrob, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet: in the 4th one into Gothic, under Ulphilas. In the 3d and 4th centuries, all the New Testament, and part of the Old, were translated into the Copto-Memphitic, the language of Lower Egypt, — the Copts being Egyptian Christians : and also into Sahidic (or The- baic), the language of Upper Egypt. In the 4th century a translation was made into Ethiopic, the language spoken in Ethiopia, the country of Candace and the modern Abyssinia. Several of these versions were made from the Septuagint, some from the Syriac, and a few from the Latin Vulgate. The Peshito (or literal) Syriac version of the Hebrew and Peshito. Greek Scriptures belongs probably to the 2nd century. It was in general use among the Syrian churches in the year 378, and is then quoted by Ephrsemthe Syrian as the version generally received, and so ancient as to require frequent ex- planation. The true Philoxenian, or New Syrian, belongs to the 6th century, and the Haraclean (commonly called the Philoxenian) to the 7th. Both versions take their name from the persons under whose sanction they were made. The Peshito being, as its name implies, very literal , is of great value in determining the original text. (§ 71). Nor for this purpose is the Vulgate itself of small import- Vnigate. ance. The text it contains was made by Jerome [between 382 and 405]. Part of it, including the New Testa- ment, he took from an older Latin version, called the old Italic, which is quoted by Tertullian in the year 220; but the greater part he himself translated from the original of the Old Testament. This version was gradually adopted by the Latin Church, and was the first book ever printed. The pre- sent text is very corrupt. [See Bib. Die., Art. Vulgate.]* GENUINENESS — VERSIONS. 21 Still more ancient than most of these are the versions of the Old Testament by Symmachus, Aquila, Theo- Greek dotion, and the Seventy. The whole were in the versions * hands of Origen in the year 228 A. D., and were used by him in revising the text of the Septuagint. He afterwards pub- lished them all, with the Hebrew text in Hebrew and Greek letters, in what was hence called his Hexapla, or six-columned Bible. The version of Aquila was made about the year 160 for the use of Hellenistic Jews, and is quoted by Justin Martyr (A. D. 160) and Irenseus (A.D. 176). It is extremely literal, and was read by the Jews in their synagogues. The version of Theodotion appeared about the same time, and is quoted by the same authors. The version of Symmachus is of later date, and is expressed in plain, elegant language, without being a literal translation. These three texts are now lost, but their important variations are preserved in the Hexa- plarian text of the Seventy, published by Montfaucon at Paris, 1713. The version of the Seventy (so called, perhaps, from the num- ber of translators supposed to have been engaged Septuagint. in making it) is the most ancient of all. It has generally been received by both Jews and Christians; is more frequently quoted in the New Testament than the Hebrew ; and was in common use both in the Synagogues and in the early Chris- tian churches. The first reference to it is by Aristobulus, who lived in the 2d century before Christ. The most probable date of the beginning of the translation is about the year 285 B. C., when Ptolemy Lagus and Ptolemy Philadelphus were kings of Egypt, a [and completed by 150 B. C.] 19. Such is a sample of the evidence by which it is proved that in the 1st century of the Christian era (and in Result. * Hody (on the authority of Clement and Eusebius), Usher, Walton, Eichhorn, and’ others, do not materially differ in the date they assign to it. Some (De Wette and others) suppose that it was written by different authors and at different times - though it is agreed mat the whole was extant in the time of the sol of Sirach, B. C. 130. 22 GENUINENESS — SUMMARY. the case of the Old Testament, two centuries earlier), there existed and were known throughout the Roman wmrld books called the Sacred Scriptures, written by inspired men, and that the present text of the Bible is identical with the text which these books contained. 2G These remarks apply without exception to the books of the Old Testament, and to twenty out of the Ilomolc. goumena. twenty-seven oi the New. These twenty are the Antiiejo- four Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles of Paul (except that to the Hebrews), and the first Epistles of John and Peter. These twenty books were universally received as genuine, and were therefore called Homologoumena ( i . e. acknowledged). The other seven books were disputed for a time by particular churches, and were therefore styled Anti- legomena (or disputed). After a deliberate examination, however, they were at last received as genuine, the very delay proving the closeness of the scrutiny which their claims had undergone. 21. Decisive as these facts are, they give a very inadequate idea of the amount of proof of which the genuineness FRr*ts m ore * ^ decisive of the Scriptures is susceptible. The MSS. are in- numerable. They belong to all ages ; and many of them are very ancient. They have been kept for centuries in distant parts of the world, under the custody of opposing sects, and in circumstances that made extensive or important altera- tions impossible. The possessors of these MSS. deemed them of the highest value, and professed to live under the influence of the truths contained in them. Copyists preserved them with the utmost reverence, counting every letter of every book, and registering the very tittles of the law. How remarkable, how decisive as an evidence of Divine care, that while all the libraries of Europe and of the world containing copies of the Sacred Scriptures have been examined, all ancient versions extant compared, the MSS. of all countries from the 3d to the 16th century collated, the commentaries of all. the Fathers again and again investigated, nothing has been discovered, GENUINENESS — VAEIC US READINGS. 23 not even a single general reading which can set aside any im- portant passage hitherto received as genuine. This negative conclusion, that our Bible does not essentially differ from the Bible of the Primitive Church, is indeed an ample recompense for all the labor and time which have been devoted to these pursuits. 22. To give the reader a just conception of the expression that our Bible does not differ essentially from the Effect of Bible of the Primitive Church, we may notice what readings, the various readings of the New Testament involve. In the Epistle to the Romans, for example, which contains 433 verses, there are at most four passages, the mean- Epistle to ing of which is modified bv readings which Griesbach Romans, deems of weight:— In ch. vii. 6, for “ that being dead in which we were held,” he reads “ We being dead [ to that in which we were held a difference in the original between o and e. So some editions of the tex. rec. In ch. xi. 6, he omits the latter half of the verse. In ch xii. 11, he reads “time” for “Lord;” cup for vpt. In ch. xvi. 5, he reads the first fruits of Asia for Achaia. These are the only corrections that affect the sense, and they are all unimportant. To make them he examined all the prin- cipal MSS. already named, 110 others, and 30 from Mount Atkos collated by Mattha3i, who travelled over a great part of Russia and Asia for this purpose. In Galatians the important corrections are three Epistle to only: Galatians. In ch. iv. 17, for you in the second clause he reads us: a change in the original of one letter. In ch. iv. 26, he omits the word “ all. 19 In ch. v. 19, he omits the word “ adultery 19 Corrections which make no difference in the sense. In the 7959 verses of the New Testament there are not more than ten or twelve various readings of great impor- New tance, and these affect not the doctrines of Scripture, Testamen *» GENUINENESS — VARIOUS READINGS. 24 but only the number of proof passages in which the doctrines are revealed. The important various readings sanctioned by Griesbach are the following: — In Acts viii. 37, he omits the verse. In Acts ix. 6, he omits the first part of the verse. In Acts xx. 28, for “the church of God” he reads “the church of the Lord,” a change depending on one letter K for ©. In Phil. iv. 13, for “through Christ” he reads “ through Him.” In 1 Tim. iii. 16, for “ God manifest,” he reads “who was:” a differ- ence arising from the supposed omission of a mark in one of the two letters of the word — O for 0. In Jas. ii. 18, for “by thy works,” he reads “without thy works,” as do many copies of the English version. In 1 John v. 7, 8, he omits from “in heaven” to “in earth.” In Jude 4, he omits “ God” In Eev. viii. 13, for “angel,” he reads “eagle.” These corrections are all sanctioned, except Acts xx. 28, and 1 Tim. iii. 16, by Scholz and Hahn. In these two passages fcolh writers agree with the common text, as they do much more frequently than Griesbach in other unimportant readings. Several of the readings of Griesbach, though not theologically important, removed difficulties from the present text. 23. Of the Old Testament, a careful examiner has noted 0M 1314 various readings of value. Of these, 566 are Testament adopted in the English version ; 147 of the whole affect the sense, but none can be regarded as theologically im- portant : generally they correct a date or complete the sense. See Hamilton’s Codex Criticus, Lond. 1821. 24. The writings of Terence (six pieces only) contain 30,000 R ^ variations, and they have been copied many times less frequently than the New Testament. We may well acquiesce, therefore, in the language of Bengel, who, after laborious research into these topics, wrote to his scholar, Reuss, “ Eat the Scripture bread in simplicity, just as you have it, and do not be disturbed if here and there you find a grain of sand which the mill-stone may have suffered to pass. If the Holy LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE — HEBREW. 25 Scriptures, which have been so often copied, were absolutely without variations, this would be so great a miracle that faith in them would be no longer faith. I am astonished, on the contrary, that from all these transcriptions there has not resulted a greater number of various readings.”* But many expressions have already been employed which need to be explained. If their meaning be clear, yet is there much to be said in relation to them before the reader is thor- oughly prepared to understand all they involve. The general conclusion that our Bible is, on the whole, as inspired writers left it, is undoubted ; but the Bible-student often requires ma- terials for closer inquiry. We proceed, therefore, to give a brief account of the original languages of the sacred volume — Hebrew and Hellenistic Greek — of the manuscripts, versions, and various readings of the sacred text. Hebiew. Name. b SEC. 2. — The Original Languages of Scripture. — He- brew AND THE SHEMITIC LANGUAGES GENERALLY. 25. The Hebrew language, in which nearly all the Old Tes- tament is written, was the language of the Hebrews or Israelites during their independence. The people themselves were known among other nations by the name of Hebrews and Jews, not by the name of Israelites. The epithet of Hebrew, however, was not applied to their language till the days of the son of Sirach, (B. C. 130.) It occurs first in the Apocrypha, where it means, not the old Hebrew, but the Aramaean, or Syro-Aramaean. This is also the meaning of the term in the New Testament. Josephus seems to have been the first who applied the name Hebrew language (r \ooa-(7u ruv to the old Hebrew, and this is the uniform meaning of the phrase in his writings. The Targums call the Hebrew “the holy tongue,” and in the Old Testament it is Quoted by Gaussen in liis “ Theopneustia.” b See Prefaca. 3 26 LANGUAGE OP THE BIBLE — HEBREW. called u the language of Canaan,” or “ the Jews’ language *\ Isa. xix. 18 : xxxvi. 13. 26. That the Hebrew language was the common tongue of Reaiiy Canaan and Phoenicia is generally admitted : a con- Phoenician, elusion supported by several facts. (1.) The Canaanitish names of persons and places mentioned in Scrip- ture are genuine Hebrew, as Abimelech, Melchizedek, Salem, &c. (2.) Fragments of the Phoenician and Carthaginian tongues which still remain on coins and in inscriptions preserved in Roman and Greek writers, are Hebrew. Augustine and Jerome both testify, moreover, that the Carthaginian spoken in their time was made up chiefly of Hebrew words, while there is evidence that Carthage was founded by Phoenicians, who left Canaan before the Jews could have resided long in their country. (3.) The silence of Scripture respecting any difference between the language of Canaanites and Hebrews is also remarkable. They both dwelt in the land, and yet no difference of speech is noticed, though the difference between the language of Hebrew and Egyptian (Psa. lxxxi. 5 : cxiv. 1) is noticed, and even between the Hebrew and cognate lan- guages, as in the case of the Aramaean used by the Assyrians (Isa. xxxvi. 11); and of the Eastern Aramaean used by the Chaldees (Jer. v. 15). It may be added that the Hebrew of Abraham’s day was probably closely allied to the original tongue, if it were not itself identical with it. This conclusion is based chiefly on the proper names of the early chapters of Genesis. These names are all significant in Hebrew , and the meaning in that tongue always explains the reasons why they were given. See Havernick’s Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 134 : see also Gesenius’s Monum. Phoenicia. 27. The Hebrew, or modern Phoenician, as we may call it, belongs to the Shemitic family of languages; and it is most closely connected with the other members of that family, both in matter and in form. The other members are the following: 28. The Aramaean. Of the old Aramaean, as spoken while the Hebrew was a living tongue, we have no remains. Aramaean. R u t there have been discovered, near Palmyra, some inscriptions in this language, which were written about the commencement of the Christian era. The language was spoken in Syria and Mesopotamia. See Gen. xxxi. 47. LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE- -DIALECTS. 27 29. From this common root sprang the Chaldee or Eastern Aramaean, spoken in Chaldea and Babylon, and the Chaldeeand Syriac, or Western Aramaean, spoken in Northern Syriac. Mesopotamia and Syria, and perhaps the Hebrew itself. The Chaldee is known only from Jewish memorials — the Scriptures and the Targums. The purer style of Onkelos is called the Babylonian dialect, to distinguish it from the language of the later Targums, which has been called the J erusalem or Pales- tine dialect, and which is really a mixture of Hebrew and Aramsean or Syriac. What is now called Syriac is new Ara- maean, as formed or spoken by the Christians of Emesa and its neighborhood. This tongue early produced a literature rich in ecclesiastical history and theology, and is still the ecclesi- astical language of Syrian Christians. Chaldee is the language of part of Ezra and Daniel, a as Syriac was the language of the Jews in the days of our Lord. 30. The Samaritan is a mixture of the Hebrew and Western Aramsean. All the ecclesiastical matter in this tongue . ° Samaritan. is m the Samaritan Pentateuch, and m some poems edited by Gesenius (Leipsic, 1824), from MSS. in the British Museum. b 31. Of all the languages yet named, the Arabic has by far the richest modern literature : and next to the Hebrew it is the most important of the Shemitic tongues. It is still spoken in a large portion of Asia, and in part of Africa. The two chief dialects of it are the Himyaritic, for- merly spoken in Yemen, and now extinct, and the Co- reitic spoken in the north-west of Arabia, end especially at Mecca. This was a spoken language long before the c ^ time of Mahomet, and is still the popular dialect. The old Arabic differs from this language in its forms, which are more various, and in its matter, which is more copious. »Ezra iv. 8: vi. 18: vii. 12-26: Dan. ii. 4-vii. 28: Jer. x. 11. b At Oxford there is a Liturgia Damascena in Samaritan : whence Gesenius has given a complete view of Samaritan theology. De Sam. Theol., Halle. 1822. Arabic. Himyaritic. 28 HEBREW — ITS PROGRESS. 32. A colony of Arabians, speaking the Himyaritic, early . settled on the opposite side of the Red Sea in Ethi- opia, and introduced their language into that country. This language, modified by time and circumstances, is the ancient Ethiopic, which is closely related to the Arabic. The district where it was spoken, is the modern Abyssinia, and Amharic, or Geez, is the present language of the people. 33. All these languages are of value in guiding the student utility of ^he Testament, to an accurate knowledge of lectfin in- ^he original tongue, and no Hebrew lexicon can be terpretation regarded as a satisfactory authority, unless compiled with a constant reference to the meaning of the roots of Hebrew words in the cognate tongues. It is upon the knowledge and use of these tongues that the superiority of modern lexicogra- phers chiefly depends. The history of the Hebrew language may be be divided into History of three periods, each of which has its peculiarities of the Hebrew. , i j • v style and idiom. 34. (1.) The first includes the language as spoken in the days _ . of Moses, and as used in the Pentateuch. In those of Moses, books are forms of construction and phraseology not found elsewhere. Words are introduced, which seem soon afterwards to have become obsolete ; or they are used in senses which early became unintelligible. Sometimes a knowledge of this peculiar usage is important only as supplying evidence of the antiquity of the books : sometimes it affords access to the meaning of particular passages. (2.) In the post-Mosaic period there is a marked change. The golden ^ ew wor d s are introduced ; old ones seem forgotten, period. New forms of expression become common, and some found in the Pentateuch are gradually discontinued ; a process which goes on till the days of David, who writes the language in great purity and elegance. To this period belong the writ- ings of Solomon and the books of Judges, of Samuel, and of Ruth. The older prophets, Jonah, Amos, Hosea, write in a HEBREW — ITS PROGRESS. 29 Btyle of simplicity and harshness not found in their immediate successors : but still their language is pure. Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Obadiah are remarkable for the beauty of their style ; and the Hebrew is generally pure, though in some of them, as in Micah and in part of Isaiah, there are forms of speech (chiefly Aramaean), that bespeak the admixture of a foreign element. All these writers belong, however, to the golden period of the Hebrew tongue. (3. ) Zephaniah (the contemporary of Josiah) J eremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel belong to the third period, and all exhibit , . . ° . _ r The period the influence of intercourse with foreigners, as do the of the de- writings that appeared during or immediately after the exile — Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah : all these writers employ words and phrases, which in the early purer state of the He- brew were not known. The later prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, a*nd Malachi, again write in purer idiom, chiefly in consequence of the Hebrew having become, during the captivity, a written, rather than a spoken tongue. As they wrote their predictions, it was less necessary to use forms of expression which were familiar chiefly in conversation. Their predictions it was probably the part of the prophets to explain.® » A few examples will explain these statements: “ To be added to his people” is a phrase peculiar to the Pentateuch, meaning “ to die.” “ To sleep with his fathers” is the common phrase in later books. The word “people” is always applied in the Pentateuch to the Jews. In the prophets the meaning is more extended, Hos. ix. 1 ; Isa. xi. 10. The expression “ Arise, 0 Lord,” was at first used in lifting up and carrying the ark, as a prayer soliciting the Divine presence. In the Psalms it often means, Assist and help. In the Pentateuch there are many words and forms peculiar, which, however, are translated as ordinary words — ■qhft for species, jjHp for 2p: to curse, for property, eJe j fine linen, for ytjja, the later word, Ex. xxvi. 1 : 1 Chron. xv. 27. See also Gen. xv. 9 : Dent, xxxii. 11 (bTlU for ya)» Ex. ii. 20, iv. 12; xxvi, 14 (whisper), iv. 18 (hearer), v 26; xxx. 2 (age), v. 2; xvii. 7 (indignation). Jerome observed, and Schultens proved, that the language of Job is peculiarly rich in Syraic expressions, and also in Aramaisms, iv. 2; xxxix. 9; xvi. 19. For words and phrases peculiar to later writers, see 1 Chron. xxi. 23 Vifa) : 1 Chron, ii. 13 (*vj 3“'&) : Esther iv. 11 1 Chron. xviii. 5, 6; 1 Chron. x. 12 (nSIU for ; 2 Chron. xi. 21 (jto& T T * I t> _ T • T T for ^ en * iv* 19)* Eor Persian words see Nahum, iii. 17, captain, - T Or satrap. Esther iii. 9i Ezra v. 17, treasures — gaz, hence Gaza. For Assyrian words, see proper names, Nebu — planet Mercury; Merodach • — planet Mars. Chaldaisms need not be enumerated. See Havernick’s Introduction, \\ 31-35. LANGUAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 31 long controversy springing out of these assertions, the respect- ive parties were called Purists and Hellenists, or Hebraists. The topic was deemed important on several grounds ; 1. It involved questions of theology ; for, if the writers of the Bible he inspired, ought they not to Write, it was asked, in pure Greek? Could inspired men do anything, as such, that Was imperfect ? 2. On the other side it Was deemed important as a question of evi- dence; for if the Greek of the New Testament is Hebraistic, this fact is a proof that it Was written by Jews, and probably in Judea. 3. By all it is admitted to involve an important canon of interpreta- tion ; for if the dialect of the New Testament is peculiar, the study of the common tongue (« is not sufficient for the interpretation of Scrip- ture. The Greek of the New Testament and of the LXX. is likely, it was held, to have rules and principles Of its own. 38. Both parties seem to have forgotten, in the heat of con- troversy, that the question was purely one of facts, and was not to be settled, in the first instance, by any such considera- tions. The truth is, that the Greek of the New Testament is Hellenistic ; a truth, which once ascertained, suggests Really Hel . important lessons. The perfection of inspired com- lenistlc * position is clearly not so much classic purity as intelligibleness and adaptation to its proper end. The Greek of Scripture was evidently written by Hellenists, i>e., by Jews who spoke Greek, and whose modes of thought were formed on Hebrew originals. Hence, important evidence of the truth of their record. Hence, also, an instructive rule of interpretation. The prime source of biblical interpretation is clearly the Bible itself; and we must gather thence, as far as possible, the meaning and illustrations of its terms. These are all important lessons, but the fact on which they are founded must first be established, before we can safely apply them ; least of all can they be taken as proof of the fact itself. 39. The Greek tongue is itself a mixture of dialects. The Hellenians, or Greeks, consisted origin ally of several Classic .. Greek: its tribes, of whom two, the Dorians and Ionians, were elements, chief. 1 . GREEK— ITS DIALECTS. Doric. Ionic. The Doric dialect is first in time and in influence : it is rough and broad-sounding. Among its chief writers are Pindar, Sappho, Theocritus, and Biom The Ionic is second in time. It is soft and smooth ; was spoken at first in Attica, and then, as the Ionians migrated to Asia Minor, in that district. Among its authors are Herodotus and Anacreon. The Attic was formed after the Ionians left Attica, and oc- A cupies, in quality, a middle place between the Ionic and Doric. The chief Greek authors wrote in this dialect : Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, Demosthenes, JSschy- lus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. After the freedom of Greece was destroyed by Philip of Hellenic, or Macedon, these dialects were blended, and the Hel-- * lenic or common dialect was formed, of w T hich the base was Attic. On the death of Alexander, the people of Macedon and Alexandria occupied the first place in literature, as in power, Alexan- and from their influence, Macedonian and Alexan- dmn. drian idioms became common in Greece, and especi- ally in Egypt and the East. At Alexandria many Jews resided. There the Septuagint was written ; and as the writers were Jews, the Alexandrian Greek which they spoke was modified so as to embody the Hebrew thoughts and idioms of the Hebrew. And this is the language of the New Testament. It is Hel- lenistic, or more properly, Hebrew-Greek : the later Greek, that is, chiefly Attic, with a mixture of other dialects, and the whole modified by Jews who had resided in Alexandria, and in Palestine. Hence words and phrases from foreign sources, Aramaean, Latin, Persian, Egyptian : hence words peculiar in their ortho- graphy or form, in their inflexion or gender: hence words common to the ancient dialects, but not usual in the Hel- lenic; and hence, also, words and phrases in senses peculiarly Jewish or Christian . 9 Elements enume- rated. CRITICISM — ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS. 33 Aramaean expressions may be seen, Mark xiv. 36 (abba) : Acts i. 19 (field of blood): Mark iii. 17 (sons of thunder): Matt. y. 22 (vain, foolish). Latin words, Matt. x. 29 ; xviii. 28 ; v. 26 ; xvii. 25 ; xxvii. 27, 65; xxvi. 53; Mark xv. 39: Luke xix. 20: John ii. 15: Acts xix. 12 : and nhrases, Matt. xii. 14 : Mark xy. 15 • Luke xii. 58 : Acts xvii. 9. Persian expressions, Matt, xxvii. 32: Acts viii. 27: Matt. ii. 1: Mark v. : 11 : Luke xxiii. 43 (paradise, a garden of beautiful trees). Egyptian expressions, Matt, xxvii. 59 : Luke xxiv. 12. For a full account of grammatical and other peculiarities, see Planck’s Treatise on the nature and character of the Greek style of the New Testament, Bib. Repository, 1831, p. 638. See also a brief account in M. Stuart’s Syntax of the New Testament. 40. The grand lesson taught by these facts, is that while we need a knowledge of Greek generally, in order -9 & / 1 Lessonu to read the New Testament, we need, m order to understand it, a knowledge of New Testament Greek, and of the Old Testament version. So essential is this knowledge, that a merely English reader, with only his English Bible, may understand the New Testament better than the scholar who brings to the investigation of a particular passage only classical acquisitions. 41. For aid in studying Hebrew, see the ordinary gram- mars and dictionaries of that language. In studying Hellenistic Greek, see Winer’s Idioms ; any good ^tudyof the grammar of the New Testament ; and Thiersch de ment^ esta " Pentateuchi Versione Alexandrina. The “English- man’s Hebrew and English,” and “ Greek and English” Con- cordances, are of great value to all classes of students. The careful study of the LXX. compared with the Hebrew and the New Testament, is of course the best aid. a Sec. 3. — The Manuscripts of Scripture. 42. In speaking of the MSS. of Scripture, we have mentioned their age, and their comparative value. It is now ^ , _ i-iT . Questions necessary to state the facts on which these distmc- lions rest. How, it may be asked, is it possible to a See Preface. 34 ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS — AGE. ascertain the age of a MS., often fragmentary, and generally How ascer- exposed to influences which cannot have failed to ob- temed ‘ scure or modify the evidence of its date and character ? 43. In answering this question, it. may be observed that in some MSS. the date is inscribed upon them ; and fronf dates when this inscription is by the first hand, and other itseLff MS * evidence is confirmatory, it is regarded as pretty decisive. Such inscriptions, however, are never found on MSS. earlier than the 10th century. 44. Sometimes the traditional or known history of a MS. affords important aid. The Cod. Alex. (A), for ex- Orfrom 1 . . v ' its known ample, was given by the patriarch of Constantinople (Cyril Lucar), to Charles I., with the tradition in- scribed upon it in Arabic, that it was written by Thecla, an Egyptian princess, who lived not long after the first council of Nice, A. D. 325. [See § 13 and Note V.] 45. In most cases, however, the question of date is more intricate, and can be settled only after a careful in- Generally . . J byexamina- vestigation of somewhat abstruse evidence, supplied tion Of diffi- . . ° .. i • i i n toi • • . 1 cuitevi- by the material on which the MS. is written, the form dence. of the letters, and the general style of the writing. 46. Some parts of the ancient Scriptures were written on skins tanned, or dyed red or yellow. In use, these rnateT^ai°on skins were generally connected, so as to contain on nuscriptsf" one ro or volume, a an entire portion of the Bible, Skins ritten * as P en t a t euc h> or Prophets. Some of the most ancient MSS. in the world are copies of the Pentateuch in this form. Next in durability was the parchment of the ancients, so p j t called from Pergamos, the town where it was first ’ made. Most MSS. which have come down to us, earlier than the 6th century, are on this material. Sometimes tables of wood b or of stone, called caudices a Isa. viii. 1: Jer. xxxvi. 2: Zech. v. 1. b Ex. xxxii. 15: Deut. vi. 9: Isa. xxx. 8; Jlab. ii. 2: Luke i. 63: 2 Cor. iii. 3. ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS — AGE. 85 Code. Style. Papyrus. or codices, were employed : hence the term codex ■ 1 jl •/ (Jaudices came to be applied to a MS. on any material. For legal purposes, where durability was important, the use of such tables was very frequent ; and from this circumstance a system of laws was called a code. These tables were written on in their natural state (or when used for tem- porary purposes, covered with wax), with an iron needle called a stylus. From the name of this in- strument our term style is taken. For many ages the article most in use was made from the papyrus, or flag of Egypt. By the Komans espe- cially this manufacture was carried to great per- fection. Towards the end of the 9th century, however, the papyrus was very much superseded by paper made from the cotton plant (not unlike the present paper of India and China); and a little later, in the 10th and 11th centuries, old Paper, linen was substituted in the manufacture for the raw material. Notices of these different materials occur occasionally in aiflient profane writers. Herodotus mentions the JL I16S0 skins of goats and sheep, roughly dressed, as being materials^ used by the Ionians (v. 58). Pausanias says that by ^ancient he saw in Boeotia the works of Hesiod engraved on lead (ix. 81). Homan laws were often written on tables of brass, and Pliny states that papyrus was in use long before the Trojan war (B. C. 1184), Nat. His. xii. 21-29. “Libros linteos,” books of cotton cloth, are also mentioned by Livy. 47. MSS. on all these materials are known to the The mate- antiquarians, and from the material an inquirer is ascertam t0 aided in ascertaining their age and origin. the ase * 48. The earliest specimens of Greek writing, the dates of which are known, are books found among the ruins of Her- culaneum and Pompeii. These cities were destroyed A. D. 79. The books recently found there are, at latest, of Kind of that date, and consist of sheets of the papyrus, form^of and connected together with gum and rolled. The writ- mss! of ing runs across the volume, is in capital or uncial Pom P e,i * 86 ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS — AGE. letters, without any division of words or sentences, without accents or ornaments, and with but very few pause marks. These books give . evidence of the most ancient style of writing, and are older than any MS. of the New Testament Scriptures. In the Imperial library of Vienna there is a copy of an an- ms. of Dio- c ^ en ^ work by Dioscorides, the copy written for the scorides. daughter of one of the early emperors of Constanti- nople, and certainly belonging to the 5th century. It agrees in the shape of its letters, and in the absence of all 1 OSt 01 y ornaments and marks, with the MSS. of Hercula- neum. These peculiarities suggest important tests of age. 49. In the earliest time the New Testament was divided Division of ^ W0 P arts : (1) the Gospels (to ivxyyey$op) ; (2) the books and Epistles and Acts (to’ah'octtoPukoj'), and the Eevelation test of age. a 7ro)C ci\v J/*?). 10 In the 3d century the Gospels were divided into two kinds of chapters, the longer called t*tAo», or breves; the shorter or capitula. The latter were originally introduced by Ammonius, and were thence cailed Ammonian sections. In the 4th century they were in com- mon use in the Gospels, and to these sections Eusebius adapted his tables of references, called fiom him the Eusebian Canons (A.D. 315-340). 50. In the latter part of the same century (4th), Chrysostom speaks of the practice of writing biblical MSS. on the finest parchment and in letters of gold and silver, as already introduced. 51. In the year 458 Euthalius published an edition of the Epistles of Paul, in which he gave, for the first description time, the contents of the chapters. In 490 he di- * vided the Acts and the Epistles into sections. He accents, Himself states also that he introduced accents into MSS. copied under his supervision, — a custom, however, which „ , . did not become common till the 8th century. He Subscrip- * tionstova- also added to the books of the New Testament the rious books- ’ subscriptions which are still found in the English Illumina- tion a test of age. Various other tests. ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS — AGE. 37 dots; version. To make MSS. more legible, Euthalius further di- vided them into lines, called o-riv®*, consisting in i t sticho- eome instates of as many letters as could be placed metric in the width of a page, and in others of as many words as could be read uninterruptedly. This style of writing soon became common. In the 8th century, however, the lines ceased to be written separately, and were indicated only by dots. In the same century other marks of punctuation were introduced, and later still the stichometrical dots were omitted. In the 7th century lectionaries, that is, MSS. of Scripture lessons for use in public service, were multiplied, and form of about the same time the letters in which MSS. were letters; written began to be compressed and slightly inclined, ^^nary In the 8th century these changes were still more of gospels; marked; in the 9th the note of interrogation and stops; the comma were introduced ; in the 10th the cursive cursive style of writing had begun to supersede the uncial ; chapter and in the 13th the present division of chapters was aru^ls 56 ’ introduced by Hugo de Sancto Caro. . ot a ^ e * 52. From these facts various rules are deduced : — A MS. with the present division of chapters is Necrativa not earlier than the 13th century : results. A MS. on cotton is not earlier than the 10th century : A MS. in cursive character than the 10th century : A MS. with compressed or inclined uncials than the 8th; or with notes of interrogation or commas, than the 9th century : A MS. systematically punctuated, or marking the <7T»%o i with points or with ornamented initials, than the 8th century : A MS. in uncial letters, divided into lines or accented, or with the Euthalian division or titles or subscriptions, than the last half of the 5th century : A MS. with Ensebian canons, than the 4th century. 53. These rules lead, it will be observed, to negative conclu- sions only. When the facts are applied to ascertain positive results, much minute inquiry and skilful 4 Positive. 38 CRITICISM — HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT. criticism is necessary. Full information may be obtained in the books mentioned below. On the whole subject see Montfau son’s Palseographia Grseca. Hug’s Introduction to the New Testament, ch. vi. Scott Porter’s Lectures on Bib. Crit., and Michaelis’s Introduction, (4th edit.), vol. ii. 54. These results and the facts on which they are founded History of were reac ^ed at a comparatively recent period, and and S of teStS a ^ er P r °bracted inquiry. In the meantime progress biblical was made in other processes of investigation, which criticism x ° generally— led to results no less important. These results will 1. As to New Testament, be best understood it our remarks be thrown into the narrative form. 55. The received text of the Greek Testament is founded, as we have seen (par. 10), on the texts of Erasmus and X flG l6XtUS receptus. 0 f the Complutensian editors. Both these texts were printed from modern MSS., and therefore, comparatively speaking, the authority of the “received text” is not high. The examination of early MSS. was the work of many years. London ^ began with the London Polyglot (1657), which Polyglot. added to previous editions the readings of sixteen MSS., and supplied the renderings of ancient versions. Cur- cellseus also examined several MSS. for an edition of the New Testament which Elzevir printed in 1658. Dr. Fell. In 1675 Dr. Fell published an edition with the read- ings of forty more, and selected Dr. Mill to complete a more thorough revision of MSS. and versions. To this work Dr. Dr Mill Mill devoted thirty years, and gave in his edition the readings of a large number of MSS. not pre- viously examined, and also the readings of the early Fathers. In 1734 these readings were further augmented by the labors of Bengel. Forty years after Mill, the edition of Wetstein was published (1751), in 2 vols. fol. His text is the Received ; but he applies the results of his inquiry to the correction in notes of the text wherever he deemed it faulty. Upwards of forty years later still, Gries- Curcellseus. Bengel. Wetstein. CRITICISM — HISTORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT. 39 Griesbach. Mattlisei. Alter, &c. bach applied the rules and investigation of Wetstein to a correction of the text itself (1796-1806), and added many various readings which his own inquiries had discovered. In the meantime other important additions to our knowledge had been made. In 1782-8 Mattheei, of Moscow, published an edition, remarkable chiefly for contain- ing the readings sanctioned by what was afterwards called the Constantinopolitan recension ; while Alter, at Vienna (1786-7), Birch and Adler, in Italy, Moldenhauer and Tychsen, in Spain, and others elsewhere, were busy com- pleting inquiries which were to supply Griesbach with the materials of his critical apparatus. The results were embodied in the edition of the New Testament, published by Birch, at Copenhagen. 11 56. On comparing the evidence which these investigations disclosed, Griesbach found (as his predecessors had Griesbach?3 intimated) that characteristic readings distinguished of certain MS. Fathers and versions, and that they readings, were all divisible into three classes : MSS., &c., having one set of readings, being said by him to belong to the Alexan- drian family or recension ; those with another set to the Con- stantinopolitan ; and those with another set to the Western. This conclusion, supposing it well founded, was a most im- portant discovery. It changed the whole science. Itg Hitherto the reading favored by most MSS. had importance, been regarded as having the best evidence on its side ; but from this time not the number of individual MSS. in favor of a reading, but the number of families, became the great question. In later times Scholz, who devoted many years to this work, divided Greek MSS. of the New Testament first into 0 . , , five, and then finally into two families, — the Alex- division, ami rian (which includes the Western of Griesbach), and the Constantinopolitan. Of the three classes Griesbach himself attached most importance to the Alexandrian and Western 40 CRITICISM — HISTORY OP THE NEW TESTAMENT TEXT. families ; Scholz, on the contrary, preferred the readings of the Constantinopolitan ; Hahn and Lachmann, it may he added agree in substance with Scholz, but attach importance, the first to internal evidence, and the second to the antiquity of MSS. 57. It must be added that though later inquiries have not set aside this principle of classification, they have thrown doubt upon it. It is now a question whether Griesbach’s con- clusions be not an instance of those hasty generalizations which impede almost as much as they aid the progress of true science. This suspicion is strengthened by the inquiries of Dr. Lawrence of Dublin. Proposals have been for some time before the world for the publication of a text founded not on families of MSS. , but on the readings sanctioned by the most ancient authorities. Dr. Bently first suggested this principle. Lachmann has practically acted upon it to a large extent ; and Dr. Tregelles now proposes to adhere to it strictly in his intended edition of the New Testament. Whether antiquity alone , however, is a satisfactory test, may be gravely ques- tioned. The earliest transcribers were subject to local influ- ences as well as the later. Cursive manuscripts, of late date, may be accurate copies of very early ones, which are now lost, and their testimony is not to be disregarded ; and, more- over, if there be any ground for the division of MSS. into families, mere antiquity may be like mere numbers, a J.elu- cion and snare. 12 58. Uncial MSS. of the New Testament, their dates, contents, where preserved, when and by whom collected and published. [For Codex Sinaiticus, see § 13 and Note VII.] TJNCIAL MANUSCRIPTS, 41 Uncial MSS. of tlie New Testament, &c. — Continued . 42 UNCIAL MANUSCRIPTS. MANUSCRIPTS — NEW AND OLD TESTAMENT TEXTS. 43 50. In addition to these uncial MSS. Griesbach has given the numbers, contents, and dates of 236 cursive T 0tal MSS., 1 to 236 ; Matthsei of 23 more, 237 to 259 ; SfMss! Scholz of 270, which he for the first time collated exammed - either in whole or in part, 260 to 469. Particulars may be seen in the introductory explanations of the editions of the New Testament by Griesbach, Matthaei, Scholz, and Tischen- dorf; also in Horne ii., Parti, ch. iii., § 2. [See Scrivener’s Introd. to the Orit. of the New Testament.] Of Lectionaries, Scholz enumerates 176 Gospels, and 48 from the Acts and Epistles (Praxapostoli). Of the former, one (No. 135) is referred by him to the 6th century, and most to periods between the 10th and 15th. [Scrivener enumerates in all, exclusive of 66 duplicates, Of Gospels Uncials. 34 Cursives, 601 Total. 635 Acts, and Catholic Epistles 10 229 239 Paul’s Epistles . 14 279 293 Revelation 4 102 106 Evangelisteria 68 180 238 Apostolos . . . 7 65 72 127 1456 1583] 60. The history of the Hebrew text is much briefer. The process of inquiry which was undertaken in the case Bibi. crit. of the Greek text within the last two centuries ti Uie P He? was undertaken for the Old Testament a thousand of the'oid years earlier at Tiberias. There, existing MSS. Testament - were revised and compared, and a text was formed, on the whole very fair and accurate. This text is called the Masoretic Masoretic, and nearly all recent investigations have j£f^ n and ended in sustaining generally its readings. On the accurac y* dispersion of the Jews through the influence of Mohammedan- ism, their learned men moved westward into Spain, Italy, and Central Europe, carrying with them the Masoretic text of 44 HISTOUY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT TEXT. Scripture, and in process of time multiplying the editio is (a? they may be called) to meet the wants of their nation. The value of these editions differed, according to the care with which they were written. As a matter of fact, the Spanish MSS. are generally most accurate ; next in accuracy are the Italian, and last the German. 61. It is an instance of the slow progress of truth, that The com- Buxtorf, one of the greatest Hebrew scholars, main- pl cv e M?c-“ tamed, in the 17th century, the absolute uniformity tioncd. 0 f oil MSS. of the Hebrew Text. Cappellus (1650) was among the first to combat this view, and Bishop Walton, Critical the editor of the London Polyglot, having sided with tlis com- Cappellus, commenced the work of forming a critical London* apparatus. From this time, the collation of Hebrew Polyglot. MSS. was made with vigor, and the results soon appeared in the publication of an improved text. In 1667, Athias, a rabbi and printer of Amsterdam, pub- lished a Hebrew Bible, the text of which was founded on MSS. and printed editions. In 1690, Jablonski published, Jabionski. a t Berlin, a critical edition, and in 1705, the very accurate edition of Van der Hooght was printed at Amsterdam. His text is formed on that of Athias, with Masoretic readings in the margin, and a collection of various readings at the end. In 1709 Opitz, at Kiel, and in 1720 I. H. Michaelis, at Halle, also published editions of criti- cal value ; and in 1746-53 Houbigant published, at Paris, a splendid edition in 4 vols. folio, though its value is much diminished by the number of conjectural emen- dations embodied in the notes and translation. In the same year Kennicott published his first Dissertat'on on the state of the printed Hebrew text, and in 1776-80 his Hebrew Bible was printed at Oxford. The text is that of Van der Hooght, with the various readings of 692 different authori- ties, including MSS., printed editions, and rabbinical writings. R ( In 1784-8, De Rossi, of Parma, published 5 vols. of extracts from Hebrew MSS., and in 1793 the most Athias. Van der Hooght. Houbigant. Kennicott. HISTORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT TEXT. 45 important readings of Kennicott and De Rossi were published in an edition issued at Leipzig, 1793, by Doederlein and Meisner, and at Vienna by Jahn, 1806, as they were Jahn also in the English edition of the Hebrew Scriptures published in 1810-16 by Boothroyd. Boothrojd. 62. The result of all these inquiries is that we have but one class of MSS., the Masoretic, and that the variations Result: but of reading in them do not exceed those of one family of Mssfand of MSS. of the Greek Testament. An edition of the readin s s * Hebrew Bible which shall give the readings sanctioned by ancient versions is still needed ; but so far as the accuracy of the present text is concerned, such a work is rather curious than important. 63. The general uniformity of Hebrew MSS. makes a classi- fication of them less important than in the case of Number of Greek MSS. Kennicott mentions 630, of which 258 Heb * ^ ss * were collated by him throughout, the remainder only in part. De Rossi collated 751, of which all but 17 were collated for the first time. Many others remain uncollated. (See Jahn’s He- brew Bible, vol. iv. App.) Though, as already stated, there is but one recension, the Masoretic, it seems that in the 10th century the Jews at Baby- lon had one set of readings, and those at Tiberias another. Hence arose the distinction of Eastern and Western # &ncl families. Bishop Walton, in his Polyglot, has given Western • ••••• families the differences on which this distinction is founded. They are differences in the letters, and are about 220 in all, none of which, however, materially affects the sense ; and in the vowel points these amounting to about 860. In reference to the first, our printed editions vary from the Eastern read- ings in 55 places ; in reference to the second, they follow the Masoretic text, as fixed at Tiberias. Particular copies were long celebrated for accuracy, but only their traditional fame has descended to our times. • See Preface. 46 CRITICISM — ANCIENT VERSIONS. 64. It is a summary proof of the general accuracy of the present text, that the Jew agrees with the Christian Conclusion. . in the letter of the Old testament, and the Roman- ist with the Protestant in the letter of the New. On this subject see Horne, vol. ii. part i. ch. ii. \ 1 : Scott Porter, p. 73 ; Bishop Marsh’s Lectures on the Criticism and Interpretation of the Bible; and Davidson’s Bib. Cr., vol. i. Sec. 4. — The Ancient Versions of Scripture. 65. The origin and history of the LXX were long matters The i xx controvers y> though now the questions connected with it may be regarded as settled. The story of Aristeas, a writer who pretends to be a Gentile and favorite at the court of Ptolemy Philadelphus, is, that this version was made by seventy-two Jews (six from each tribe) sent to Alex- andria by Eleazar at the request of Demetreus Phalareus, and that the whole was completed in seventy -two days. To this story various additions were made, claiming miraculous inter- position for the work, and infallibility for the translators. Dr. Ilody first proved that the narrative could not be authentic ; though nothing has been discovered that materially affects either the value or tie date of the version. Regarding the work critically, it may be observed that it contains many Graeco-Egyptian words, and that the Pentateuch is translated with much more accuracy than the other books. The Book of Job, the Psalms, and the prophets, are all inferior, and espe- cially Isaiah and Daniel. The historical books are often inaccu- rately translated. In the early Christian church the version was deemed of great value, though writers often appealed against it to the Qri(Ten , g Hebrew. With the view of correcting it, Origen Hexapia. formed his Hexapla. This work, which made alto- gether fifty volumes, perished probably at the sacking of Caesa- rea by the Saracens, 653, A. D. ; but happily the text of the LXX (which formed one of the columns) had been copied by CRITICISM — ANCIENT VERSIONS. 47 Eusebius, together with the corrections or additions which Origen had inserted from the other translators. This Hexa- plarian text, as it is called, was published by Montfaucon at Paris, in 1714. Of the two celebrated MSS. of the LXX, the Vatican (B) follows the original version, while the Alexandrian (A) exhibits many of the readings embodied in the Hexapla, and conforms more generally to the present Hebrew. The four chief printed editions of the LXX are — the Aldine, exhibiting many of the readings of B ; the Complutensian, which often follows the Masoretic Hebrew and Origen’s Hexa- pla; the Pmman or Vatican; and the Grabian, which is taken chiefly from A. The version is rather free than literal, and frequently misses the sense of the original. It is often valuable in interpretation, though less so in settling the text. 13 66. Among the earliest versions founded on the LXX waa the Italic . In the days of Augustine (died 430) there visions were several Latin versions of the Bible, of which the Lxx. the old Italic was the best. Jerome bears the same testi- 1 ‘ TheItalic * mony to its general excellence. It w'as made, as may be gath- ered from fragments which still remain,® from the Alexandrian MS., and is ascribed by Eichhorn to the 1st century. 67. The diversities and imperfections of this version induced Jerome (A. D. 382) to revise the text, as Origen had previously revised the version of the LXX. He employed for this pur- pose the Hexapla of Origen, and carefully corrected the whole of the Old Testament, though portions only of his revision remain. As these labors of Jerome were drawing to a close, the LXX, though long favorably received by the Jews, began to fall into disrepute, on the ground, probably, that it was ap- pealed to by Christians. To meet this feeling Jerome undertook to prepare a translation into Latin direct from the Hebrew. He devoted the larger portion of twenty years to this work, and it was completed in 405. A superstitious reverence for the LXX led many to oppose this version, but it gradually gained influ- ‘ Job, Psalms, some of the Apocrypha, and parts of other books 48 CRITICISM— ANCIENT VERSIONS. 2. The Vulgate in part. ence, and in the time of Gregory the Great (604) it had at least a co-ordinate authority, and was dignified with the name of the Vulgate . The text was made up in part from the old Italic, in part from Jerome’s improved edition of that version, and is in part a new version formed im- mediately from the Hebrew. Jerome was acquainted with Hebrew expositors, and many of their interpretations are em- bodied in the Vulgate, but generally it follows the LXX, even when that version differs from the Hebrew. It is more useful for interpretation than for criticism, though for both it is of value. The version of the Psalms was made from Origen’s Hexapla, and is called the Psalterium Gallicanum. The text was early corrupted, and various learned men have undertaken to revise it, among whom are Alcuin and Lanfranc. The two chief editions are those of Sixtus V. and Clement V^I. , which, however, though both sanctioned by papal authority, contain some most remarkable errors. a (See § 76). 68. Ecclesiastical history places the conversion of Ethiopia about A. D. 330, and to the same century belongs the translation of the Scriptures into Gheez , the sacred language of Ethiopia. Its author is not known. Perfect copies of the Old Testament are not common, though Bruce states that he found several ; and there are MSS. of this version in some of the libraries of Europe. Only fragments have been printed. The text follows the read- ings of A, and is founded entirely on the LXX. The New Testament has all been printed. The text seems to be founded on the Peshito and the old Italic. — See Ludolf, Gieseler, and the Travels of Bruce. The greater part of the Old Testament is also extant in the 4 5 Coptic, Coptic and Thebaic , dialects of Egypt, though only a Thebaic. portion has been printed. The most probable date of their origin is the 3d and 4th century, though some suppose them to have been made as early as the 1st and 2d. Both are a Of the Vulgate, as prepared by Jerome, the most important MS. is the C. Amiatinus, now at Florence, and written about the year 541. Other versions from the LXX continued 3. The Ethiopic. CRITICISM — ANCIENT VERSIONS. 49 founded on the LXX, and generally follow the readings of A. The translators are not known. The Gothic version of the Bible was made by Ulphilas, a bishop of the Mceso-Goths, who assisted at the Council of Constantinople in 359. The version was made from the Greek, and is of considerable critical value, though unhap- pily only fragments of it remain. The most celebrated MS. - is the Codex Argenteus, written in silver letters, which is now preserved in the library of Upsal, in Sweden. This MS. con- tains only the four Gospels, and is imperfect. Of the Armenian version little more is known than is stated in another paragraph. The date is 410, and the . Tv/r- i i _ ■ 7.Armenian. translator Miesrob, who seems to have used the LXX and the Alexandrian recension as the basis of his version. The Georgian version was made in the following century, from copies of the Armenian translation. The Armenian version has been repeatedly printed (Bible, Amst. 1666, New Testament, 1668-1698), and the whole Bible, in Georgian, was printed at Moscow in 1743, parts of it having been previously printed at Tifiis. To the 9th century belongs the Slavic or Slavonic version, supposed to have been made by the sons of Leo, a giavic Greek nobleman, who first preached the gospel to the Slavonians. It is generally regarded as a descendant of the LXX, though ancient testimony states that it was made, in great part, from the Italic, a statement which recent collation has confirmed. The text was early corrected from Greek MSS. and it is hence deemed of considerable critical value. The whole was printed in 1576, and several editions have sincQ been issued from Moscow. 69. From the Vulgate were formed the various Anglo-Saxon versions of parts of Scripture. About the year 706, Adhelm, the first bishop of Sherborn, translated the Psalms into Saxon, as did Egbert, the bishop of Holy Island, the four Gospels. About the same time Bede (A. D. 735) translated parts of the Bible. 5 Versions from the Vulgate. King Alfred undertook to 50 CRITICISM — ANCIENT VERSIONS. translate the Psalms, but died (900) when bis work was about half finished. iElfric of Canterbury translated the Pentateuch and some of the historical books. To the same version we may ascribe the various translations of the Old Testament into French, Italian and Spanish, executed before the 16th century, and even Luther availed himself largely of its renderings in making his German translation of the Bible. 70. The Samaritan Pentateuch is rather a recension than a Samaritan translation of the Hebrew text. Copies are referred Pentateuch. ^ py E use ]q us and Cyril, but it was long thought that the whole had perished. In the early part of the 17th century, however, a copy was transmitted from Constantinople to Paris. Usher afterwards procured six copies, and Kennicott collated sixteen. The most probable account of this recension is, that it was taken from the copies of the Pentateuch which were in the hands of the Israelites in the days of Pehoboam, when the kingdom was divided. The Psalms and the writings of Solomon, which were known to pious Jews of that age, were rejected for obvious reasons. The critical value of the readings of this recension was over- Criticai estimated at first, but now they are held to be not at Value * all superior to the Hebrew. The LXX seem to have followed it more frequently than the present Hebrew text; from which, however, it does not materially differ. Gesenius deems' its readings preferable to the Hebrew in Gen. iv. 8, where it supplies the words, “Let us go into the field;” in Gen. xiv. 14, where it reads, “ he numbered,” instead of “ he armed;” in Gen. xxii. 13, where it omits the words “behind him and in Gen.xlix. 14, where the difference is in expres- sion only and not in sense. The Samaritan is of great value in determing the history of the Hebrew vowels, and in con- firming the general accuracy of the present text, but it is not a source of valuable independent emendation. The characters in which it is written are probably the older forms of the Hebrew. The ancient Samaritan Pentateuch must not be confounded CRITICISM — ANCIENT VERSIONS. 51 with the more modern Samaritan version which is printed with the other in the Polyglots. This is a very literal trans- lation into modern Samaritan. 71. [The Peshito version (§ 18) was probably executed by Christians during the second century. The tradition gyriac that it was made by translators “ sent to Palestine Hora3 by the apostle Jude and Abgarus, King of Edessa,” Synaca0 ' clearly shows that it was believed to belong to the early times of Syrian Christianity. It contains all the canonical books of the Old Testament, and all those of the New, except 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and the Revelation. It is of great critical value. The Old Testament portion was the first version for Christian use, made from the original Hebrew. The New Testament was made directly from the Greek, with great skill and ability; and, as it precedes by two centuries any Greek MS. we now have, and has been exempt from changes at the hand of Western critics, it is, as Stuart says, a witness above all exception, as to its general testimony, for the fidelity and accuracy with which the Greek text of the New Testament has, in the main, been preserved. See Bib. Die. Kvl. Versions; Hug’s Introd. §§ 62-69 ; Stuart in same, Note8.] 14 The Philoxenian (New Testament only) version was made from the Greek, by the hand, or under the care, or Philo _ in the days of Philoxenus, Bishop of Mabug, in xeman * Syria, about the year 508. No MS. of it remains, but various readings taken from it are given in a MS. in the Vatican (153). Early in the following century Thomas of Harkel, or Heraclea, the successor of Philoxenus, began to revise the w r ork of his predecessor, and published another ver- „ 1 1 Heraelean. sion in 616. It contains the whole of the New Tes- tament except the Apocalypse. The most complete MS. of it is one which formerly belonged to Ridley, and is now pre- served in New College, Oxford. The style is extremely lite- ral, and in consequence frequently violates the Syriac idiom. There is also a fourth Syriac version of Lessons from the Gospels (Vat. MS. 19). The date of the MS. is 1031, but the 52 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. version seems to belong to the 5th or 7th century. The language is a mixture of Chaldee and Syriac. The readings generally favor the Western recension; and the MS. is some- times called the Palestino-Syriac or Jerusalem version. 72. The Arabic versions of several of the books of Scripture, Arabic as gi yen i n Paris and London Polyglots, were versions, made from the LXX by different authors between the 10th and 12th centuries; and of Job, Chron., Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and parts of other books from the Peshito Syriac. 73. From the same version was made the Persian version, Persian °f the Gospels, published with Le Clerc’s Latin version. translation in the London Polyglot; it abounds with Arabic expressions, and must have been later than the time of Mahomet. Another version of the same part of Scripture was published by Wheelock in 1652 ; but these, with the more recent version made under the care of Nadir Shah 1740-1, are of little critical value. 74. From these facts it is clear that the Samaritan Penta- teuch, the LXX, part of the Vulgate, and the Pe- Conclnsion. . V & ’ shito Syriac, are all more or less valuable for ascer- taining the text of the original Hebrew; but that other versions of the Old Testament being made from these, and not from the original, are of little or no critical value, except for ascertaining the text of those versions from which they were made. In the case of the New Testament, all the ear- lier versions from the Greek are of value, proportioned, of course, to the general condition of their texts, and to the obvious acouracy with which they have been made. Modern versions (and to a great extent the ancient) are of value only as helps to interpretation. Full accounts of ancient versions may be seen in Le Long’s Biblio* theca Sacra (Masch’s edition), or in Horne’s Introduction, vol. ii. CRITICISM-VARIOUS READINGS. 63 6 Sec. 5. The Various Readings oe Scripture Rules eor [Determining the Text. 75. Of Hebrew MSS. upwards of 1,300 have been collated, and of Greek upwards of 600. These numbers, it ^ umber 0 f will be observed, do not represent copies of complete MSS * Scriptures, but of parts only. Each of the three divisions of the Old Testament (par. 4) forms in Hebrew one roll, and each of the New Testament divisions (par. 49) generally forms one MS. in Greek. 76. These MSS. have been exposed, in transcription, to many errors. Nor will this fact excite surprise if it ^r?ous° f is remembered that carefully-printed books often readings, contain numerous inaccuracies. In writing, the risk is of course much greater than in printing. Revision and correction are less practicable in the first than the second. The slowness of the process increases the probability that let- ters, syllables, and words will be added, omitted, changed, or transposed. Sometimes the writer transcribed from a MS. before him; sometimes from dictation. In the latter case his ear frequently deceived him, and in the former, his eye. Different words having often the same final syllable, or differ- ent sentences having the same final word, made mistakes the more easy. A misunderstanding of the MS. from which he copied would sometimes lead to the same result. He might either misinterpret its abbreviations, or inaccurately divide the words where they were written (as in most ancient MSS.) without pause marks ; or the MS. might be wholly or partially effaced. Independently, therefore, of design, these causes of error were always at work. The results, however, seldom affect the meaning of the text materially (though they do so in some cases), and are similar to the mistakes produced in an English version by such errors of the press as escaped the eye of even a careful reader. Differences more serious may be Been in the Bibles printed “by authority” of the Popes 5 * * See Preface, 54 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READING Sextus and Clement. Hody lias given a large number of these discrepancies. Compare them in Prov. xxv. 24: Matt, xxvii. 35: Judg. xvii. 2, 3; which are left out in the Sextine , edition ; and in 1 Sam. xxiv. 8 : 2 Sam. viii. 8 ; which are left * out in the Clementine edition. They contradict one another, moreover, in Josh. ii. 18; ix. 19: Exod. xxxii. 28: Gen. xxiv. 24 : 1 Kings ii. 28. For example:— 77. (1) There are many cases in which, from the similarity Similarity soun( l or °f form, the transcriber would natu- form. und ° r ra ^7 a false reading. In Gen. xiv. 5, the Heb., Sam., and LXX read “with them” (fcj-fr), Beham. The English, and seven Sam. MSS. read “in Ham” Be- cham. In Judges viii. 16, some Hebrew MSS., and the English read “he taught” (ip-p), Yodah: but many MSS., the LXX, Chald., Arab., Syr., and Vulg,, read “he tore” Yadash, which is clearly the true reading. So in Numbers xxii. 5, where many read Ammon instead of “Ammo” (his people). In 1 Kings i. 18, “And now ” is our English version Veatta; but 200 MSS., and the Chald. read “And thou" (nti&l), Veatta. So ver. 20. In Jonah i. 9, “I am a Hebrew” Ivri, is the reading of most MSS. and of the English; but the LXX, and some MSS. read Hl v^p, Abdi,“the servant of Jehovah.” lo (not) is put for Yi lo (to him) fifteen times in the Old Testament, and the reverse twice. Though there is this change, the text which the Jews use, and which our Version translates, is in these places the cor- lect one, except, perhaps, in one passage, 2 Kings viii. 10, where for “Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover,” we ought to read, as the present Hebrew MSS., “Go, say Thou shalt not recover, for — ” In Eph. iv. 19, some MSS. read “past hope” instead of “past feeling (a7ni\7Tlx.o ’ ’ changes. with other dialects ; and thence arose great diversity in the orthography, even where the readings are substantially the same. 81. (5) Ancient MSS. are often without stops and stops and without even the division of the words : hence occa- words!” ° eional mistakes, though fewer than might be supposed* 56 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. Id Psa. xlviii. 14, for “unto death.” some MSS. and the LXX read, by connecting the two words, “for ever.” And Psa. xxv. 17 may be read through a similar mistake, “Enlarge the troubles of my heart, and bring,” etc.; comp, also LXX and Heb. of Psa. iv. 3. 82. (6) Sometimes abbreviations are wrongly interpreted: Abbrevia Heb. abbreviation for “ Jehovah,” and it means also my; hence an occasional mistake. In the LXX of Jer. vi. 11, “ the fury of J ” is translated “my fury.” So in 1 Pet. ii. 3, for “ gracious,” which is some- times written X£ (%p % some of the Fathers (Clem- Alex., Greg. Naz., Theoph.) read “Christ” (x9 l<7T °S’) which is also written X£. 83. (7) In the Old Testament MSS. the copyists never di- Mistakes vided a word, nor did they leave at the end of “Custodes li nes any vacant space ; and hence they often filled linearum.” £b e }{ ne w ith some favorite letter, or with the initial of the next word, which of course was repeated in the following line. “For them,” in Isa. xxxv. 1, is an example. And, on the other hand, ignorant copyists have mistaken final letters for mere custodes linearum , as they are called, and have omitted them. 84. (8.) Sometimes marginal readings have been inserted in Marginal ^e body °f MSS., corrective or explanatory of Glosses. the original text. The repetition “ Surely the people is grass,” (Isa. xl. 7) is supposed to belong to this class, and is not found in the LXX. The number 50,000 mentioned in 1 Sam. vi. 19, is supposed by Jahn to be another instance. In Mark i. 16, the word 11 his" seemed ambiguous; and many MSS. (54, besides all Stephens’s) read “this same Simon.” In Luke vii. 16, “God has visited his people for good ” (us ayotQov) add eleven MSS., Arm. and Pers., in explanation of a phrase which seemed scarcely clear. So in Luke v. 7, a few MSS. add “ a little” (^raga t/). 85. All the sources of various readings noticed thus far may Various be regarded as accidental. Other readings, however, £riginating were intentionally made, either from good motives or nous misap- prehended. CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 5? from bad. A Greek copyist, for example, accustomed to hear his own . language spoken without an admix- tions. ture of oriental idioms, and regarding a Hebraism as a violation of grammar, would correct it, forgetting that such idioms go to prove the genuineness of the inspired writings. He would sometimes substitute for the original, Greek words which he deemed more clear and easy. Sometimes he would correct one Evangelist by another, or fill up the shorter account from the longer one, or adapt the quotations from the Old Testament to the text of his own copy, whether it were Hebrew, or Greek, or Latin. In other instances motives less honorable may account for deviations from the original text. 86. (9.) Sometimes, for example, in particular Mistakes v 7 . . , . , retained in copies of the Scriptures, a mistake m the spelling order not to of a word, once made, is retained throughout the M'L\ ie 10 book. It has been erroneously supposed that the following are examples of this : The Hebrew for a boy is put twenty-one times in the Pentateuch for a girl for na-ar, na-ara), which letter is found but once (Deut. xxii. 19.) All the versions and the Masora direct us to read it as a feminine noun. And in Ezek. xl. there is another peculiarity caused by the omission of the ordinary sign of the plural (before the suffix ^ viz. h) in thirty-four words, though the Keri direct us to read it. But the first of these variations is an archaism : and the second is an abbre- viated form of the plural with a suffix — a peculiarity not infrequent. 87. (10.) Sometimes attempts were made to im- Attempts to , roir : i , , , improve the prove MbS., by making the language more clear and style, easy. Many passages of the Chronicles, for example, when compared with Samuel, will be found to give more modern words, in place of the obse- lete ones of the earlier writer. These passages, when compared by copyists, gave rise to various readings. See Hebrew of 1 Sam. xxxi. 12 : 1 Chron. x. 12 : 2 Sam. vii. 23 : 1 Chron. xvii. 21 : 2 Sam. vi. 16 : 1 Chron. xv. 29. So, in Luke, xvi. 9, for “ the mammon of unrighteousness,” which is a Hebraism, some read (MS. Bezas) “ the unrighteous mammon.” 53 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. In Luke i. 64, “was loosed” is added in some MSS. (Bez. and CompL text). In Exod. xv. 3, it is said “The Lord is a man of war.” The word seemed to the Sam. copyists objectionable, and they have put “mighty one of war.” In Gen. ii. 2, it is said that God finished his work on the seventh day The Sam. and Syr. seem to have read “on the sixth day.” In the Pentateuch the word for God is plural (Elohim); and is some- times joined with a singular verb, and sometimes with a plural verb. In all the latter cases there is a variety of readings ; most of them, (as in the Sam.) in favor of a singular noun (as the Holy One), retaining, however, the plural verb: the object being, probably, to prevent a supposition that the Scriptures favored polytheism. See Gen. xx. 13 ; xxxv. 7. MSS. of the Alexandrian family, it may be observed, often alter words to make what was deemed better grammar ; as MSS. of the Western alter them to make the meaning more clear. 88. (11.) Sometimes alterations were made to suit the par- ParciUei P assa g e > or to make the text agree with the passages, passage from which it is quoted. See Schulz’s edition of Griesbach (Ber. 1827), for a view of the influence, in this respect, of the LXX on the text of the New Testament. Luke iv. 18, “to heal the broken-hearted,” is wanting in several MSS. It is probably taken from the LXX of Isa. lxi. 1. Matt. xii. 35 “of the heart” is omitted in many MSS., and in th eVulg., Syr., Copt., Pers., Arab. It is probably from Luke vi. 45. Matt. xx. 22, 23, “the baptism I am baptized with can ye be baptized with?” is wanting in several MSS., and in the Vulg., Ethiop. and Copt. ; probably from Mark x. 38, 39. Matt, xxvii. 35, “ That it might be fulfilled,” etc., is wanting in A B D E F G H K L M, and many other MSS., the Syr., Copt., Ethiop. and Arab. It is probably from John xix. 24. Acts ix.; xxii.; xxvi. and Acts x. ; xi. have been peculiarly liable to various readings on this ground. 1 Cor. xv. 5, “the twelve” being not strictly accurate (for Thomas was absent), some MSS. read “the eleven.” So, in Mark viii. 31, some MSS. read “after three days,” and others, “ on the third day.” 89. (12.) Sometimes a passage has been altered wilfully to Alterations serve the purposes of a party, or to favor what was purposes, deemed the cause of truth. CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 59 In Deut. xxvii. 4, the Heb. reads “Ebal,” and the Sam . “Gerizim,” which was in the Samaritan territory; and the passage is used as a reason for erecting^here a Samaritan temple. In Judg. xviii. 30, “Ma- nasseh” is written in many MSS. for Moses, to save the honor of his family. So R. Solomon Jarchi acknowledges. Isa. lxiy. 4, has been altered, and is now unintelligible. It is quoted in 1 Cor. ii. 9. Isa. lii. 14, for “at thee” some MSS., the Chald., Syr., and Vulg. read “ at him” Such intentional alterations, however, are very rare in the Old Testa- ment, nor are there many in the New Testament Greek. In Matt. i. 18, “before they came together,” and the word “first-born,” are omitted in some MSS. and Versions, in favor of the perpetual virginity. In Mark xiii. 32, “neither the Son” is omitted in several MSS. and Fathers, as seeming to favor Arianism. Luke xxii. 43 is omitted in A B, and some other MSS., because supposed to detract from our Lord’s Divinity. 90. (13.) There are also various readings, which can be ex- plained only on the supposition of carelessness on careless- the part of transcribers, and which are not referable ness * to any of the causes just enumerated. In 1 Chron. vi. 28, there is an omission of the name Joel (see ver. 33 1 1 Sam. viii. 2). The verse really reads “And the sons of Samuel, the first-born Joel, and the second (now translated Vashni), Abiah.” Bishop Lowth has noticed that in Isaiah there are as many as fifty slight omis- sions, none of them, however, affecting the sense. A singular instance may be seen in 2 Sam. xxi. 19, which ought to be read in the same w T ay as 1 Chron. xx. 5. Read in Samuel for ln‘‘Oi(eth,beth)and)-ja for (ach,eth) The word (weavers), has come up improperly from the end of the verse. The 430 years mentioned in Exod. xii. 40, as the time of the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt, is not correct; it was only 215 years, and the text as it stands is hardly consistent with Gal. iii. 17: Gen. xii. 4; xvii. 1, 21; xxv. 26. The Sam. Alex. LXX, and some MSS. read “and of their fathers who dwelt in the land of Egypt, and in Canaan.” Perhaps, however, there is here a latitude of expression easily understood by Jewish readers. 91. The readings which have originated in these and similar causes amount to many thousands, but in nearly all, J . _ ’ . J ' Result of any various reading may be adopted without mate- suchvanoua rially affecting the sense. The most inaccurate text readmgs * ever written, it has been justly said, leaves the truths of Scrip- ture substantially unchanged. 60 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 92. It is, nevertheless, a question of much interest, how is the comparative value of various readings to be de- ll ow com- x . . - 0 parative vai- cided? The following principles ^e recognised by mgs is all competent scholars in this branch of inquiry, ascertained, are -k a k en substantially from Griesbach, Wet- stein and other critics. Griesbach’ s rules may be seen at length in his Prolegomena, or abridged in Planck’s Sacred Philology, p. 235, etc., and Wetstein’s in his introduction to the Greek Testament. Rules approved by Eichhorn and De Wette, with special reference to the Old Testament, may be seen in De Wette, i. 319. 93. (1.) When MSS., versions, and quotations agree in a External reading, the external evidence in its favor is com- and internal pfote, and when the reading thus fixed agrees with evidence, 1 0 ° what. the nature of the language, the sense, the connection of historical facts and parallel passages, the internal evi- dence is complete. Where these concur, the reading is undoubtedly genuine ; and this is the evidence found in the case of the great bulk of the Scriptures, as contained in the common editions. 94. (2.) Generally the value of a reading is in proportion General a 8 e ^-SS., because the older it is, the rules as to less likely is it to be a transcript of many previous external ev- J 1 . r idence. transcripts, (though a recent MS., certainly copied from a very early one, may be of greater authority than one less recent) ; to the number of MSS. in which it is found : to the family to which it belongs (some preferring, with Gries- bach, the Alexandrian; and others, with Scholz, the Constan- tinopolitan) ; and to the obvious care with which the MS. is written. In the case of Hebrew MSS., we speak rather of the coun- tries where they were written than of families formed on any other principle : Spanish, Italian, German, representing their origin, and the order of their critical value. The following rules may be laid down for guiding the in- quirer in determining the correct reading : CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 61 95. (1.) When the external and internal evidence are op- posed, the former ought generally to be preferred, External because the “ genuine reading” is an expression that morekn- refers rather to external than to internal evidence. It is the sum, not of reasons, so much as of autho- mternal - rities. 96. (2.) Yet the internal evidence may be so strong as to counterbalance a greater degree of external (as in «• the case of most of the Masoretic readings of the Old Testament) : wherever, in fact, the readings are clearly false, or where the introduction of a particular reading can be easily explained. 97. (3.) Readings are certainly right when they are sup- ported by the most ancient MSS., by most of the v ar i 0 us ancient versions, by quotations, by parallel places, headings and by the sense, though such readings are not pj-fbabie or found in all MSS., nor in the common version. certain. Isa. lx. 21, “my planting” ; 1 Kings, i. 18. 98. (4.) Readings are most probably right, when they are supported by a few ancient MSS., the ancient versions, quo- tations, parallel places, and the sense, though not found in MOST MSS. 2 Chron. xi. 18, “Rehoboam took the son (p ben, ^ batb), of Jeri- motli to wife;” so most MSS.: tbe E. y. says rightly, “the daughter .” In Psalm xxii. 16, most MSS. read, “ like a lion my hands and my feet,” (^^5 Kaari.) Three MSS., two printed editions, the LXX, Syr., and Vulg., read, “they pierced;” as does the English version or Kore or Kaaru). Others, however, regard the present Masoretic - IT . text as defensible (Vitringa, Stuart). Ezek. xi. 7, most MSS. read, 11 he will bring forth” hotsi). A few MSS., all the versions, and the English, read, “7 will bring forth” °t s b)- Eph. v. 9, most MSS. read, “of the Spirit;” but A, and nine others, with the Syr., Copt., Ethiop., and Vulg., read, “of the light.” 99. (5.) Readings in the Pentateuch, supported by the Skim., a few Heb. MSS., the ancient versions, parallel places, 6 62 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. and the sense, are certainly right, though not found in most MSS. Gen. xlvii. 3, “Thy servants are a shepherd” (sing.): read with 30 MSS. and the Sam. “shepherds.” Even if the reading is not found in any Heb. MSS., it may be true. Gen. ii. 24, “ They two shall be one flesh.” So /Sam., LXX, Ital. , /Syr., Arab., Vulg.; Matt. xix. 5. So Exod. xii. 40 [See § 90]. 100. (6.) The concurrence of the most ancient MSS., and the sense, is sometimes sufficient to show that a reading, though not general, is right. Isa. lvii. 13, “ Let thy companies deliver thee.” Most MSS. have a f ingular verb ; but ten read in the plural. This rule is especially applicable to the New Testament. 101. (7.) The concurrence of the most ancient versions, and the sense, or a parallel passage, will sometimes show the pro- priety of a reading, especially in the Old Testament. Psa. lxviii. 18, “ Thou hast received gifts for men.” Eph. iv. 8, says, “He gave gifts unto men.” So Targ ., Syr., Ethiop., Arab., and some of the Fathers. The present Heb. is innpb lakachta : the transposition of the letters explains the difference; mpbn chalakta. Isa. lix. 20, “unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob” is the present reading. But the Versions, and Rom. xi. 26, read “that turn trans- gression from Jacob.” In both these passages, however, the New Testament may be intended to give rather the general meaning than the words. [See Alford on Rom. xi. 26.] 102. (8.) When a text is very corrupt, a parallel passage may suggest the true reading. 2 Kings xxv. 3, for “on the ninth day of the month” read “of the fourth month,” as in Jer. lii. 6. 1 Chron. i. 17, for “The sons of Shem Aram and Uz,” read “The sons of Shem, and the sons of Aram,” &c., Gen. x. 23. Isa. xxx. 17, for “At the rebuke of five shall ye flee,” read “At the rebuke of five shall ten thousand flee”; Lev. xxvi. 8. 103. When we come to consider readings which are but vj CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 63 probable, being equally, or more or less nearly equally Doubtful supported by external evidence, the rules of criticism readings ' become more difficult, and the application of them must be made with less rigidity. 104. (1.) Of two readings, equally supported by external evidence, that is the most probable v r hich best suits various the sense, or which could not, so easily as the other, rules * have been written by mistake. 2 Cor. v. 14, “(If) one died for all,” el is omitted in many MSS., but the sense requires it, and it is easily omitted before etg. Acts xi. 20, “unto the Grecians ” is the reading of many MSS.; but, probably, it ought to be, as many read, “to the Greeks .” The fact seems noticed because of its remarkableness, and justly so, if it be the second case of the success of the gospel among the heathen; see chap. x. 44, 45, for the first. Grecians were Jews who resided out of Palestine. 2 Cor. v. 3, “ If so be that being clothed” (tvJurdjutvoi ) : so very many MSS. Others read wJua-djuit iv&/ 7 “If we be even unclothed, yet shall we not be found naked, for we have a glorious body,” etc. It may be noticed as a general rule, that readings no better than the received text should not be placed in it ; but if as good, or nearly so, they may be placed in the margin. 105. (2.) Of two readings, equally probable, the fuller reading is more likely to be genuine ; unless there is reason to suspect an interpolation, or there is something in the text to suggest an addition ; and then the rule is reversed. In 1 Chron. xi. 32, we have “ Abiel;” but in 2 Sam. xxiii. 31, “Abi-albon.” The last syllable might easily be omitted. So in Matt. ii. 1, “in the days of Herod” is omitted in several MSS.; but it is genuine. Yet, if there is reason to suppose an interpolation, or if there is something in the text to suggest an addition, the rule is reversed; as copiers were more likely, from intention, to add than to omit ; though they were more likely, from acci- dent, to omit than to add. 64 CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. Acts viii. 37, is wanting in A, and sixty other MSS.; also in the Syr . JEthiop. and Copt. It is perhaps added from Rom. x. 9. 10G. (3.) Of two readings, the one classical and the other oriental, the latter is the more probable. 107. (4.) Of two readings, the one easy and the other diffi- cult, the latter is generally to be preferred. All the emi- nent critics, Wetstein, Griesbach, Bengel, and others, have admitted and maintained this rule, which they deem of essential value. 15 108. (5.) Of two readings (equally probable), that is to be preferred which best agrees with the style of the writer, or with his design, or with the context. Jnde 1, “ sanctified by God the Father” ( iyAcr/Hivcis ), is more probable than “ beloved ” (yiyetTru/umn), because more common in the commence- ment of Epistles. Acts xvii. 26, “of one blood” is more probable. than “of one” (as in Rom. ix. 10), because it is a good Hebraism. John vi. 69, “ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (woe), is preferable to Griesbach’s reading, “the Holy One of God” ( ayiog ), because this last is nowhere applied to Christ, except in the confession of the demoniac. Mark i. 2, “in the prophets” is preferable to “in the prophet Isaiah,” which is the reading of Griesbach and Mill, because two prophets are quoted (Isa. xl. 3 : Mai. iii. 1). 109. (6.) Conjectural readings, supported by the sense, or similar texts, may be probable ; but must not be received true, unless they are confirmed by evidence. In Gen. i. 8, “God saw that it was good” is wanting at the end of the second day’s creation, but is found in ver. 10, in the middle of the third day’s work. There has, therefore, probably been a transposition of the clause, especially as the LXX reads the phrase in ver. 8. Josh, xxiv. 19, “Ye cannot serve the Lord” (hi^fi ao), seems strange at the end of an exhortation to serve him. “Cease not to serve him” (TD7fl is probably the true reading, but it wants confirmation. Isa. Iii. 15, “So shall he sjrinkle many nations” («-^ yazze) is generally inter- preted “he shall purify or make expiation for them;” but this sense does not agree w'.th the parallel, and the verb has everywhere else a preposition after it (^). The LXX reads “Many nations shall admire CRITICISM — VARIOUS READINGS. 65 him.” They probably road (*uj-p yechezu), as in Psa. xi. 7 ; xxvii. 4. The lexicographers give this meaning to the present word. Isa. xvii. 2, “the cities of Aroer” Aroer) are broken : but to say that the cities of a city are broken is unmeaning ; and, besides, this has nothing to do with Damascus. Perhaps (^212 adadi), is the true reading. The LXX reads “for ever,” as this last reading means; and the Chald . reads “are laid waste.” 110. In the New Testament (as MSS. are nume- . . . Conjectural rous and varied) conjectural emendations are not emenda- admissible, and but very rarely in the Old. 111. In a few cases passages have two or more various readings, all of which are suitable to the sense, and are sup- ported by MSS., versions, and quotations ; and in these cases the probabilities vary with the evidence ; and the work of determining the true reading is one that requires much dis- crimination and care. It is highly satisfactory to know that in the Bible, generally, the text is clear and certain beyond doubt. 112. To aid the reader to apply these rules, we take Rules ap- as an instance, 1 John v. 7. John v?r. The passage is printed in the Clementine editions of the Vulgate, in the Complutensian of the Greek, in the third edition of Erasmus ; and so thence found its way into the common texts of Stephens, Beza and Flzevir. [See $ 10 on Textus Receptus .] Against its genuineness it may be said, 1. That no Greek MSS. of certainly earlier date than the 15th cen- tury contains it. It is omitted in 174 Cursive MSS., and in A, B, G, H. 2. It is wanting in all the ancient versions, except the Latin, nor is it found in the most ancient MS. of the Vulgate, the C. Amiatinus, or in any earlier than the 9th century. It is wanting, for example, in the two Syr., Arab., Copt., Ethiop., Armen., Slavonic, though some printed editions of the two latter, and of the Peshito insert it. [See Note, § 71]. 3. Ancient Greek fathers have never quoted it. Ver. 6, 8, 9, are quoted more than once, but ver. 7 never. 4. The best critical editions of the Greek Testament omit it; the first and second of Erasmus, Aldus ) Harwood , Matthod, Griesbach , Lachman t, 6 * 66 CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. Scholz , Tisch ., Hahn; though, on the other hand, Mill and Bengal re- tain it. In favor of its genuineness it may be said, 1. That it is inserted in some Greek MSS., the Codex Bavianus, at Berlin, Cod . Guelph , and three others, concerning which, however, it is remarked that the first is a forgery ; the second has the passage written, not in the text, but in the margin ; and that the others belong to the 15th century or later, and are, therefore, modern authorities.- 2. It is found in the old Latin versions, except in copies made in Africa. This is another form of part of the statement above, No. 2. 3. It is supposed to he quoted by some of the Latin Fathers, as Ter - tullian, Cyprian and Fulgentius . It is not clear, however, whether the quotations are from the 7th or from the 6th and 8th verses. 4. It is quoted in a Confession of Faith, given in the history of the Vandalic persecution in Africa, and which Confession is said to have been presented by a body of Christians in the year 484. This alleged fact, however, is thought not sufficient to weaken the positive evidence, and is, moreover, itself doubtful. 5. It is said to he required by the construction and connection of the passage, an argument of which the English reader can himself judge. —Porter’s “Biblical Criticism.” On the whole, it is better not to rely upon this passage when we are quoting proofs of Scripture doctrine. 16 Sec. 6. — The English Version on the whole Identical with the Original Text. 113. A question of much interest remains: Is the English ^ , version of the Bible accurate, and may the reader English , version. regard it as, on the whole, expressive of the mind Opinions 0n „ 1O( .. n/ >, n ^ . its.accu- of the Spirit of God? And again the answer is at hand. The English Bible is essentially the Bible of the Primitive Church. The Committee appointed in the days of the Commonwealth to inquire into the possibility of improving it, reported that while it contained some mistakes, it was, in their judgment, “the best of any translation in the world.” A later witness, Dr. Geddes, admits “that if accm* CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. 6 ? racy, fidelity, and the strictest attention to the letter of the text be supposed to constitute the qualities of an excellent version, this, of all versions, must in general be accounted the most excellent.” “Of all the European translations,” says Dr. A. Clarke, “ this is the most accurate and faithful ; nor is this its only praise. The translators have seized the very spirit and the soul of the original, and expressed it almost everywhere with pathos and energy.”* Dr. Doddridge bears the same testimony, and adds that his “corrections affect not the fundamentals of religion ; they seldom reach any further than the beauty of a figure, or at most, the connexion of an argument. ” b 114. But while this is the unanimous testimony of compe- tent authorities, there are points, it is admitted, in Mavbe which the translation might be improved ; and these improved improvements, though not of vital importance as affecting the doctrines of Scripture, would, if made, often serve to remove objections which are now urged against it. 115. (1.) In some cases the English version has ; v . Examples given a wrong meaning to the words or expressions ofmacc u- « . i • • 4 irig trolls* ^ oi the original. lation. In Exod. iii. 22, the Israelites are said to have “ borrowed ” of the Egyptians things which they never intended to return. The original says simply, that they asked for them. In 2 Sam. xii. 31, a preposition is translated under instead of to. David cruelly tortured his captives is the meaning of the English version. He put them to ignominious em- ployments is the meaning of the original. So Esa. lxxiii. 4, for “ no bands in their death,” read, no bands or difficulties till their death (^). Bosenm. It may be observed, generally, that the use of prepositions and par- ticles is often indeterminate in our version. For sometimes means because , 2 Cor. v. 1 ; sometimes instead of Isa. lx. 17 ; sometimes in order to , Rom. iv. 3.® So, of means from , as in John viii, 40, 42; and by, as in 1 Cor. xv. 5. These ambiguities are not in the. original. In the narrative of Elisha, 2 Kings ii. 23, the word translated “children” ‘Preface to Commentary on Old Testament, p. 19, b Works, ii. p. 329* c [E>etter as see Heb. ofGen.xv. 6,] 60 CRITICISM — EN JLISH VERSION. is translated elsewhere, “young men;” and is applied to Isaac when he was twenty-eight years old, and to Joseph when he was thirty. In 1 Chron. xix. 7, a word is translated “chariots” instead of “riders,” and the passage is made to contradict 2 Sam. x. 6. This correction makes the passages consistent, 32,000 men (cavalry and foot-soldiers) being the entire number. In 2 Kings vi. 25, the article sold for five shekels of silver was a kind of pulse or vetch, as Bochart thinks ($ 360) ; the fourth part of a cab being about a pint. Gen. iv. 15 ; for “set a mark upon,” read “ gave a sign or assurance to.” Lev. vii. 10; for “mingled with oil and dry,” read, or dry (i. e., whichever it be). Deut. xxxiii. 25 ; for “shoes,” iron and brass, read bars , alluding to the chain of mountains which pro- tected Asher from the inroads of the Gentiles. Judges xv. 8, 11 ; for “top,” read “cleft.” Josh. xxiv. 14, 15; for “flood,” read “river.” 1 Kings i. 45; for “in Gihon” (a river), read “at Gihon.” 1 Kings iv. 31 ; for “sons of Mahol,” read “players on the timbrel”: compare 1 Chron. ii, 6. 1 Kings xviii. 42, for “he cast himself down upon,” read “he bowed down to.” 1 Kings xviii. 43, for “he said go again seven times,” read “he said seven times, go again.” 2 Chron. viii. 2, for “had restored,” read “had given.” 2 Chron. xxi. 11, for “compelled,” read “sent him astray,” as in Deut. xxx. 17; iv. 19. Neh. vi. 11, for “ to save his life,” read “ and live.” Not being a priest, Nehemiah was not allowed to enter the holy place. Psa. lxxxvi. 2, for “I am holy,” read “ I am a devout man, or the object of thy favor.” In John x. 28, 29, for “no man, any man,” read “none, any.” In Acts vii. 45, for, “that came after,” read “having received.” In Acts xvii. 23, for “ignorantly,” read “without knowing him.” In Acts xxii. 23, for “cast off,” read “threw up.” In Acts xxvii. 12, for “lieth,” read “looketh.” In verse 15, for “into the wind,” read “against the wind.” In Acts xxvi. 18, for “to turn them,” read “that they may turn.” In 2 Cor. iii. 6, for “who hath made us able ministers,” read “who hath fitted us to be ministers.” In Gal. iv. 24, the history of the sons of Hagar and Sarah is said to be an “allegory,” or a fictitious nar- rative. The apostle merely says that it represents important spiritual truth; the Jews of the apostles’ day, “Jerusalem that now is,” answer- ing to Ishmael; and true believers — the Church — to Isaac, the heir of the promise. In 2 Pet. i. 5, for “and beside this,” read “and for this very reason.” Miletus (not wm), Euodia (not as), Urbanus (not e), are the correct renderings ; and Joshua is less liable to mistake than Jesus, in Acts vii. 45 : Heb. iv. 8. Examples U6. (2.) In some cases the full force of the origi- ofinade- x J " * quato trans- na J f s no t expressed, iauon. x CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. 69 In John i. 14, the word is said “to have dwelt among ns the origi- nal connects his appearance with the ancient tabernacle as the dwelling- place of the Divine glory. In 1 Cor. iv. 13, the apostles are said to have been made as “the filth of the earth:” literally “the sweepings” (classical usage), or “appeasing offerings” (LXX and classical usage.) “Rid of us, the world will deem itself comparatively clean:” or “it offers us in expiation to its gods” ; John xvi. 2. In Heb. xii. 2, Chris- tians are described as “looking to Jesus;” the original implies, looking up to him and away from every other object of trust. In 2 Tim. ii. 5, read “if a man contend in the games.” So in 1 Cor. ix. 25. In 1 Thess. iv. 6, read “ in that [the] matter.” In 1 Pet. ii. 13, read “ Submit yourselves therefore .” In several passages the sense of the original is weakened by a mis- translation of the Greek article. In 2 Thess. i. 12, e. g., we read “ac- cording to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ;” the original reads “according to the grace of our God and Lord , Jesus Christ:” and so in 2 Pet. i. 1. In Titus, ii. I 3, the original reads “ the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.” In 1 Thess. iv. 13, read for “even as others,” “even as the rest of the world.” In 2 Thess. ii. 15, read “whether by our word.” In 1 Cor. iv. 5, read “and then shall every man have of God the praise that is his.” In 1 Cor. v. 9, read “in my epistle,” and for “I wrote,” read “I have writ- ten,” referring probably to the same epistle. The Hebrew article, though less definite than the Greek, is often im- portant. In Exod. xvii. 14, read, “in the book (viz. of the law);” in Psa. lxxxix. 37, read, “ and the witness” (the moon) “ in heaven is sure.” In Isa. vii. 14, Bp. Lowth reads, following the Hebrew, “ Be- hold the virgin conceiveth,” etc. 117. (3.) In some cases the peculiar idiom of the original has been overlooked. Examples .. . of neglect In 1 Kings n. 8, 9, where David says concerning Shimei, 9 f peculiar “ Hold him not guiltless but his hoary head bring ldlom ' down with blood to the grave,” the word not ought (in Dr. Kennicott’s opinion) to be repeated in the second clause, as it is in Psa. i. 5 ; ix. 18; xxxviii. 1 ; lxxv. 5 : Isa. xxiii. 4 (orig.), etc. The event shows that So^mon understood David’s language in this sense. He immediately put Joab to death ; but Shimei, though he held him not guiltless, he merely bound to remain in Jerusalem, as a person who might not be trusted elsewhere. Kennicott’s Remarks, p. 131. In 1 Cor. iv. 4, “ I know nothing by myself,” is, “I am not conscious of anything” (viz., wrong). In Gal. v. 17, the expression is ambiguous, and should be, “ So that ye 70 CRITICISM- -ENGLISH VERSION. do not the things that ye woc’.d.” In Acts xvii. 23, for " devotions,’* read, “objects of devotion.” An 1 Cor. i. 21, for “the foolishness of preaching " read, “ the foolishness of the preaching ,” t.e., with special reference to the doctrine preached. So Luke xi.32. In 2 Pet. ii. 5, read, “ Aoali, with seven others .” In Heb. xii. 18, read, “ the mountain that could be touched.” Both in the Old and New Testament again, verbs are some- times translated in the wrong tenses. Many of the imprecations in the Psalms are really predictions, and express the rule of the Divine government rather than the prayer of the author. In 2 Kings xxiii. 30, read, “ in a chariot dying." See 2 Chron. xxxv. 21. The present translation of John xiii. 2, “supper being ended,” contradicts ver. 26-28. The original is, “supper being come.” So in Acts ii. 47, for “such as should be saved,” read, “such as were being saved.” So 1 Cor. i. 18; 2 Cor. ii. 15, 16: iv. 3. In Luke v. 6, read, “began to break,” or “ was breaking” (see ver. 7). So Matt. viii. 21: Luke viii. 23: Mark iv. 37: 1 Cor. xi. 23. In 2 Cor. v. 14, read, “ then are all dead,” or “ have all died.” a In 2 Cor xii. 2, 3, for “I knew,” read, “I know.” In Luke xxiii. 46, read, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying.” In Philern. xxi. for “ I wrote,” read, “ I have written,” as in ver. 19. See also Jas. ii. 21: 1 Tiies. i. 10: Acts vii. 36. a [“ Therefore (then) all died.” — Al ford.] In some parts of the Old Testament the numbers men' tioned seem enormously large, and may be corrected by the idiom. It is said, for example, that at Bethshemesh (a small town) the Lord 6mote 50,070 men, 1 Sam. vi. 19: and in Judges xii. 6, there are said to have fallen of the Ephraimites 42,000; while a short time before the tribe contained only 32,500 persons. Both passages are corrected by a mode of notation still common among the Arabians. They say, in the year 12 and 300 for 312. Translating literally, we have for the first passage, “ the Lord smote seventy men, fifties and a thousand,” or 1170. And for the second, “there fell of the Ephraimites 40 and 2000,” or 2040. — Taylor in Calmet. ^ It deserves to be noticed generally that numerical state- ments in Oriental languages are peculiarly liable to error in transcription. In the Hebrew, for example, ^ is 1 ; ^ is 1000; ^ is 2 ; 5 is 20 ; f stands for 7000; ^ stands for 700; and the one letter being inadvertently writ- CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. 71 ten in very early copies for the other has given rise to some apparent contradictions, 2 Sam. viii. 4 : 1 Chron. xviii. 4. There is a similar error in 2 Sain. x. 18, 700 (p) ; see 1 Chron. xix. 18, 7000 ( y ). 1 Kings iv. 26, 40,000 (j* probably); see 2 Chron. ix. 25, 4000 (& 1 Kings ix. 23, 550 (|]4); see 2 Chron. viii. 10, 250 (3^). 1 1 Kings ix. 28, 420 (*p) ; see 2 Chron. viii. 18, 450 (^). 2 Kings viii. 26, 22 (^4) ; see 2 Chron. xxii. 2, 42 (^*q). The numerals in Josephus are similarly corrupt. 118. (4.) In some cases, the same word in the original is rendered by different words in the English. same words In Isa. xxxvii, 3, an accurate translation would suggest that the insult Rabshakeh had offered to Judah was to recoil ones, upon himself. He reproved Judah, and God reproved him. In Psa. cxxxii. 6, “the fields of the wood " is the translation of what is really a proper name, “ of Jearim,” as it is given in 1 Chron. xiii. 5, “ Kirjath ( i . e. the city of) Jearim.” In Lev. xix. 5, “ at your own will,” should rather be, “ that it may be accepted of you,” as in ver. 7, and so xxii. 20 , 21 . In Matt. xxv. 46, the eternal life of the righteous and the everlasting punishment of the wicked are expressed by the same word. To “ ap- prehend” may be translated to lay hold of or obtain , in Phil. iii. 12, as in 1 Cor. ix. 24. The same word is translated “ imputed,” “ counted,” and “ accounted” in Rom. iv. 3 : Gal. iii. 6 : James ii. 23. “Attendance” is everywhere translated “heed” or “ attention,” except in 1 Tim. iv. 13. “ Comforter,” (John xiv. 16; xv. 26; xvi. 7) is the word translated “ advocate” in 1 John ii. 1, and the idea is, given in the word “ consola- tion” in Luke ii. 25, and elsewhere. In 2 Cor. iii. and Ileb. viii. “cov- enant” and “testament” represent the same words. In Acts xix. 2, a word is translated “if there be" a Ploly Ghost, which is rendered more accurately in John vii. 39, “the Holy Ghost was not yet given" The following should be translated uniformly : 1 Cor. xv. 24, 26 (put down): Rom. v. 2, 3, 11 (rejoice, glory , joy): Rom. viii. 19, 22 (creature, creation): Matt. xx. 31: Mark x. 48 ( charged , rebuked): Mark viii. 35, 36 (life, soul): 1 Cor. i. 4, 5 : Eph. i. 3 (in, by): 1 Cor. vii. 12, 13 (leave, put away). See also Heb. ix. 23 (ver. 14); i. 3; x. 2: Tit. ii. 14: John xv. 2, 3: also Rom. xv. 4, and 5. 119. (5.) On the other hand, different words in the original are often rendered by the same word in English. Different In the Old Testament the word “ vanity” represents three J^te^by^tlie Hebrew words at least, one meaning “ breath” 01 nothing- same word. 72 CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. ness, as in Ps. lxii. 9 ; another meaning wicked profitless deception, as the heathen idols, Isa. xli. 29 ; and a third meaning falsehood, as in Ps. xli. 6 j Job xxxi. 5. All these terms convey sometimes the ideas of profitless- ness and of sin ; but the first especially is used to indicate mere insig- nificancy. In Ps. lxxxix. 47, the sense is, How vain (fleeting, insignifi- cant) are the sons of men, whom thou hast created. Lord in capitals is the translation of Jehovah, and Lord in small letters, of another word. See Ps. cx. 1. This distinction is important. The word “ repentance” is used to translate a word denoting that change of disposition (^67-avc/x) to which the term is properly applied : and this is the common meaning. But it is also used to translate another w r ord, denoting merely regret or a change of plans (/uirct/uth ax), without implying any change of disposition. This is the meaning in Matt. xxi. 29, 32 ; xxvii. 3 : 2 Cor. vii. 8, 10 : Heb. vii. 21. Elsewhere the former word is used. “ Conversation ” again is the translation of two words ; and means (1) citizenship , Phil. i. 27; or country, Phil. iii. 20; hut (2) elsewhere in the New Testament, course of life , or behavior . The Greek word for conversation , in the modern sense, is translated in our version “communication,” Matt. v. 37: Luke xxiv. 17: Eph. iv. 29. In 1 Cor. xv. 33, however, communications is the rendering of a word which signifies intercourse. “Hell” includes both (1) the invisible state, the place of departed spirits, without reference to their condition of happiness or misery, as in Matt. xi. 23 ; xvi. 18 : Luke x. 15 ; xvi. 23 : Acts ii. 27, 31 : 1 Cor. xv. 55 : Rev. i. 18 ; vi. 8 ; xx. 13, 14 ; and (2) the place of eternal punishment, as in Matt. v. 22, 29, 30 ; x. 28 ; xviii. 9 ; xxiii. 15, 33 : Mark ix. 43, 45, 47: Luke xii. 5: James iii. 6. These two meanings are represented in the original by different words. The word “ temple” is the translation of two words; and means either the whole consecrated precinct (ispoV), or the portion appropriated as the local abode of God’s presence (vxk). In the first sense (including the outer or unroofed court) markets were held in it (Matt. xxi. 12), and the rabbis met their pupils there. It is to the second that our Lord refers when he said, “ Destroy this temple” (alluding to the indwelling of the Divine nature in his person). So is it applied to Christians in 1 Cor. iii, 16 ; vi. 19. “ Ordain” is the translation of several words ; and means determined in Acts x. 42; xvii. 31 ; and Predetermined in 1 Cor. ii. 7. The word used in the following passages is different ; and means ordained , with the idea of setting in order , Acts xiii. 48: Rom. xiii. 1 : Gal. iii. 19: 1 Cor. ix. 14. In Acts xvi. 4 it represents a word that means to decide. CRITICISM — ENGLISH VERSION. 73 In Eph. ii. 10, to prepare (as in Rom. ix. 23). In 1 Tim. ii. 7, to ap- point (as in 2 Tim. i. 11 : Acts xiii. 47 ; xx. 28). In Heb. y. 1 ; viii. 3, to constitute or establish. In Jude, ver. 4, to write up in the face of men , or denounce , or to write concerning a thing beforehand. In Acts i. 22, and Rom. vii. 10, there is no corresponding word in the original. The word “ devils” (pi.) should always be translated demons or evil spirits ; and the word devil should be translated demon in the following passages : Matt. ix. 32 ; xi. 18 ; xii. 22 ; xv. 22 ; xvii. 18 : Mark, wher- j ever found. Luke iv. 33, 35; vii. 33; xi. 14: John vii. 20; viii. 48, 49, 52. In all other passages the word is rightly translated the devil, as in Matt. iv. 1 : Rev. xx. 2. “ Wiir is sometimes the translation of the future ; but sometimes of an independent verb, as in John v. 40; vii. 17; viii. 44: Matt. xi. 14, 27 ; xvi. 24, 25 ; xix. 17, 21 : Luke ix. 24 ; xiii. 31 : 1 Pet. iii. 10 ; Rev. xi. 5, In two passages “i* would ' expresses a duty in addition to a wish (o that our safety lies not in the acknowl- gi^ionof edgment of these principles, but in the application save. 0 f them ; and in the consequent belief of the doc- trines and precepts which the Bible reveals. * See for these passages in detail Morren’s Biblical Theology, Parti., On the Rule of Faith. INSPIRATION, 91 Sec. 2— Inspiration, 146. The general truth that the books of Scripture are of Divine origin and authority is sometimes expressed T . . ° J x . Inspiration. in another form, and they are said to be inspired. Holy men spoke or wrote them as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 147. Whatever refers to the explanation of this truth — ^as, how men were inspired, and whether the same kind m1 1 . Theories. of inspiration was needed m each case— is theory, and is concerned with questions rather curious than useful. The truth itself is all that is fully revealed. Among the heathen and uninspired Jews it was generally held that while inspired men were under the Divine Ancjent impulse, all voluntary action was suspended. Among vievv3 * the early Christians the doctrine of inspiration was held rather practically than speculatively, though they generally main- tained that the writers of the Bible, when inspired, exercised their ordinary mental powers. On the mode or kinds of inspiration they said little. When the authority of the Papacy, however, began in modern times to be questioned, the whole doctrine of inspiration was more closely examined. The facts were generally admitted, but the theory or compre- hensive statement which best embodied and accounted for them, was a topic regarded as open to discussion. See the chief opinions of the Fathers, in Westcott’s Introd. to Gospels. Some held that the Holy Spirit dictated the sacred books word for word, a as we have them in the original Modern languages : others, however, holding that this theory views, went beyond the facts, and was inconsistent with the diversi- ties of style, the varying quotations, and the very professions of the writers themselves. A few taught that the fundamental truths of the Bible , * Advocates of verbal dictation , are Calamy, Haldane, and others. m insp: ration. were given by inspiration, wlile the arguments and illustra- tions were of human origin ; a to which it is a sufficient reply, that unless we are told what truths are fundamental, this theory throws the whole of Scripture into disrepute, and is inconsistent with those texts which represent it as an authority in religious matters. Others, again, held that those parts of the Bible whose moral tendency is obviously good are Divine, but not the rest ; a theory which strips the Bible of all authority, and supposes man to have right notions of what is morally good before he can use the Bible Another and much more rational theory is one which Dr. * Various Doddridge and many modern theologians® have kinds of. sanctioned. In this theory there are supposed to be different kinds of inspiration ; the first and highest pro- viding for the revelation of things not previously known to the sacred writers ; the second providing for the security of the writers against error in exhibiting doctrines and facts with which they were already acquainted; and the third, conferring Divine authority by the approbation of inspired men, on parts of writings originally composed without inspi- ration. This theory does not materially differ in its results from statement an °fber which many have preferred. They main- without tain holy men wrote in obedience to Divine command, and that in writing they were kept free, we know not how, from all error, whether they taught truths previously unknown to them, or published truths and facts already familiar. In this theory, which is indeed rather a statement of the fact than a theory in relation to it, i nspira - iion is ascribed to the whole of Scripture, while revelation is confined to those acts of the Spirit by which truths pre- viously unknown were communicated to men. All Scripture is inspired, and the new truths of Scripture are revealed ; or f a Priestley and even Burnet: see on the Articles, Art. & b Kant. c Bishop D. Wilson, etc. INSPIRATION. 93 as Thomas Scott expressed it, inspiration discovers neiv truth (this we call revelation), and superintends the communication of the old. This distinction it is convenient to retain. 18 148. These (except the last) are theories of inspiration, The fact which they have to embody and explain Scr] - pture is that Scripture is everywhere the utterance — the claims, word — of Divine* wisdom, and that it expresses the very ideas which the Holy Spirit intended. It is this gift which the inspired writers profess to have received. Their writings are God-inspired, or, to use the words of one not prejudiced in favor of sound views on this question, “animated through and through by the Spirit .” — De Wette. 149. Old Testament writers, for example, claim it for them- selves. Scripture Exod. iv. 15, 16; xix. 9: Lev. passim: Deut. iv. 2: Num. the°fact. xxiii. 12: 2 Sam. xxiii. 2: Jer. i. 7-9: Ezek. iii. 4-10: Mic. iii. 8, etc. New Testament writers claim it for the Old, and also for themselves. 2 Pet. i. 20, 21 : Lukei. 20: 1 Pet. i. 11 : Acts i. 16; xxviii 25: Heb. iii. 7. John xiv. 26 ; xvi. 13, 14: 1 Cor. ii. 13 ; xiv. 37 : 1 Thess. ii. 13 ; iv. 8 : 2 Pet. iii. 1, 2, etc. 150. The gift, however, admitted, in the sacred writers, of diligent and faithful research ; a of the expression WhatirHpjr of the same thought in different words ; b of such ation allows, differences (not discrepancies) between the accounts of in- spired men as would be likely to arise from the different a Luke i. 1-4. b Compare Matt. xxvi. 26, 27: Luke xxii. 19 20, and 1 Cor. xi. 24, 25 : and Matt. iii. 17 : Mark i. 11, and Luke iii. 22. To this class be- long quotations from the Old Testament. These are taken either from the LXX, without giving the exact words, and even when that version is not verbally accurate, or sometimes (when the original differs from the Greek), from the Hebrew direct. The quotations are rather sub- stantially than literally accurate ; see Chap. VI. 94 SCRIPTURE CANON. stand-points of each; 1 of quotations from other inspired au- thorities ; b of the employment of uninspired documents and of peculiarities of style and manner arising from diversities of intellectual structure and from educational or other influ- ences, such as may be observed on a comparison of Ezekiel and Isaiah, of -John and Paul. Add to these facts that the inspired writers were sometimes uncertain of the precise mean- ing or application of their message, d and that this message was delivered in language which the spirit of God approved,® and we have the Scripture facts on this doctrine. These facts it is the business of theory, if a theory must be framed, to embody and explain. Sec. 3. — The Canon. 151. The question of the authority of the books of Scrip- ^ ture is sometimes put in another form, and it is of scripture asked whether the whole belong to the Canon; a question settled, if it is once proved that they are the production of inspired men. It is sometimes said, indeed, that we prove the inspiration of the books by first proving their canonicity; the church has received them, and therefore they are Divine. The reverse, however, is the accurate order. They are Divine, and therefore the church has received them. 4 See Introduction to the Gospels, Part II. b Psa. cviii. and Psa. lvii. 7-11; lx. 5-12: Gen. chaps, x., xi. and 1 Chron. i. 17, etc. : 2 Kings xviii. 13-37, and Isa. xxxvi. 1-22 : Mic. iv. : Isa. ii. : also Chron., with Kings and Sam. Eichhorn has given a list of such quotations. c Josh. x. 13: Numb. xxi. 14: Jude 9, 14, 15. d l Pet. i. 10, 11 : Dan. xii. 8 ; so, also, the facts mentioned in the fol- lowing passages are not recorded in the Old Testament Scripture: Acta vii. 22: 2 Tim. iii. 8: Heb. ix. 4, that the pot was golden: Heb. xii. 21, the words of Moses: facts in xi. 37, etc.; so the burial of the patri- archs in Sychem, Acts vii. 15. e l Pet. i. 10, 11; Dan. xii. 8: 2 Tim. iii. 16: Heb. i. 1; 1 Cor. ii. 12, 13. See l 144. CANON — NEW TESTAMENT. 95 The boohs are now received as canonical because we have satisfactory evidence of their inspiration ; and if there had been other books not recognized in the present canon, but de- monstrably of Divine origin, we should be bound to give them a place among the rest. 152. The question, therefore, of the canonicity of the books of Scripture is three-fold. Is each book the pro- A three-fold duction of its professed author? is it authentic? < i uestlon - and was the writer in composing it under the special guidance of the Spirit ? Genuineness and authenticity are both in- volved ; and though the present section is placed between the sections on those subjects, the argument needs the facts of both. 153. We begin with the New Testament. In the early church many writings were extant, professing to give an account of the life and character of our The Lord ; but four only were received as authoritative. Gospels * It was admitted on all hands that these were the productions of the Evangelists whose names they bear: the Gospels of Mark and Luke being respectively penned under the care of Peter and Paul. The apostle John, moreover, is recorded to have acknowledged publicly the authority of the first three Gospels, and added his own to complete them. These books, therefore, were written by apostles to whom our Saviour specially promised his Spirit, that He might guide them into all truth, bring to their remembrance whatever He himself had told them, and qualify them to give his gospel to the world. In the same way, though less directly, John is supposed to have attested the book of Acts.® , So of the Epistles of Paul. There are thirteen of them which bear his name. Other disciples were ues^oT pS i. witnesses of his having written them. b Generally he wrote by an amanuensis, who also became a witness of the * See the evidence in Wordsworth on the Canon, pp. 156-160. b 1 These, i. 1 : 2 Thess. i. 1 . 96 CANON — NEW TESTAMENT. genuineness of his writings in these instances he added his subscription and salutation. b His Epistles were sent by pri- vate messengers. 0 Nine of them, moreover, were addressed to public bodies. The earliest of them he commanded to be read in the public assembly; the second, and indeed all the rest, were read in public too ; d and we know from Ignatius, Poly- carp, and Clement, and especially from Peter, that his Epis- tles were regarded as inspired Scripture, and read with the Law and Prophets of the Old Testament and the Gospels of the New.® To complete this evidence, it should be added that the language of Peter was used by him after all the Epistles of Paul to the churches had been written/ and that he applies to them a name (“Scripture”) which, though occurring fifty times in the New Testament, is never applied to any other than the present canonical books. The conclusion, therefore, is that these Epistles are Paul’s, and that they have what Paul claimed for them (§ 189), and what the early church and a chief apostle ascribed to them — inspired, and therefore can- onical, authority. They are not the words which man teaches : they are the words of the Holy Ghost. All the parts of the New Testament mentioned thus far Antilego were deemed, as soon as published, to be Divine, as Deutero* were 1 Peter and 1 John. The remaining books Canonical. 0 f the New Testament were called, as we have seen (§ 20), Antilegomena, or, from their forming a part of the Canon only after a second revision, the Deutero-Canoni- cal. That position in the Canon they gained gradually; at the beginning of the fourth century they were received by * Rom. xvi. 22. b Col. iv. 18 : 1 Cor. xvi. 21. c Rom. xvi. 1: Appendix: Col. iv. 7, 8: Appendix: Eph. vi. 21: Philip, ii. 25. d 1 These, v. 27 : 2 Thess. ii. 15; iii. 6, 14: 2 Cor. i. 13: Col. iv. 16. e Ign. to Eph. chap, xii.: Polyc. to Phil. iii. 11, 12: Clem, to Cor. i. c. 47 : 2 Pet. iii. 15, 16. f Shortly before the death of Peter, who suffered martyrdom tha same year as Paul, 2 Pet. i. 14. CANON — NEW TESTAMENT. 97 most of the churches, and at the end of that century they were received by all. The special evidence of each book it is not necessary to • give now. The point to be noticed is that the doubts ^ Their can* which existed had reference not to the canonicity onicity,why of the writings of James, Cephas, John, and Jude, questl0nec1, but to the question whether the writings bearing their names were really written by them. Nor can these doubts excite surprise. The subject was one of deep interest. Many spu- rious compositions were abroad under the names of these very apostles. a Apostolic teaching might be quoted in de- fence of caution. b The internal evidence of the authorship of these Epistles is peculiar; the Epistle to the Hebrews, for example, is without the author’s name, and differs in style from most of the Epistles of Paul. The style of 2 Peter differs in the same way from the style of the first Epistle. In James and Jude the authors are described not as apostles, but as “servants” of Christ, while in 2 and 3 John the writer describes himself as a presbyter or elder, not as an apostle. Jude also refers to stories which were supposed to be con- tained in apocryphal writings. All these Epistles, moreover, were addressed either to Christians generally or to private persons, not to particular churches. No oody of men, there- fore, were interested in preserving them, and external evi- dence in their favor was necessarily scanty. All these causes of doubt did operate, as we know. In the end there was uni- versal conviction ; and the very doubts which deferred the reception of a small portion of Scripture in certain parts of the early church now serve to confirm our faith in the rest. 154. These facts sufficiently indicate the course of argu- ment by which the canonicity of the New Testament Nature is proved. Let it be shown that they were written of proof ‘ by the men whose names they bear, and that there is reason for believing that their authors wrote under the guidance of a Jones on the Canon, i. 37-45. b 2 Thess. ii. 1, 2: 1 John iv. 1. 9 98 CANON — NEW TESTAMENT. the Spirit, and the evidence of the canonicity of the books is complete. As part of the evidence (in some sense a subordinate part, Evidence of f° r c ^ a i ms an d character of the books themselves councils 801 * supply the chief evidence), it may be added that how im- the "books which now form the Canon were read portant. from the first in Christian assemblies as of Divine authority,® that ecclesiastical authors quote largely from them* and that they constituted the canonical books of the early church. 155. Between the years 200 A. D. and 400 A. D. fifteen Ancient catalogues of such books were published. Of these, lists. six — those of Athanasius, Epiphanius, Baffin, Aus- tin, the third council of Carthage, and of the anonymous author of the works of Dionysius the Areopagite — agree with the present canon : three — those of Cyril, the Council of Lao- dicea, and Gregory Nazianzen — omit the Book of Revelation only: one — that of Caius, probably 196 — omits James, 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews: another — that of Origen — omits James and Jude, though he elsewhere owns them. The catalogue of Eusebius marks James and Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Revelation, as doubted by some. Philastrius omits Hebrews and Revelation. Amphilochius inserts all, but marks the Antilegomena, he himself deeming the Hebrews genuine ; and Jerome speaks of the Hebrews only as doubtful, and that Epistle he elsewhere receives. 0 Add to this evidence the authority of the Peshito and of the early Latin versions. The former contains all our present books, except 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, and revelation; and the latter included probably all the books afterwards inserted in Jerome’s version. * Lardner, ii. 132, 526. b Lardner, ii. 52, 72, 93, 109. c These authorities may he seen in the original in Woidsworth on the Canon, Appendix A. Thirteen out of the fifteen are referred to in Jones on the Canon, i. 73-76. CANON — OLD TESTAMENT. 99 156. Though the opinion of the early church is called sub- ordinate or indirect evidence, that opinion has often x , . Proves been regarded as sufficient to decide the canonicity canonidty of the books of Scripture. The reception of these nopitsei/’ books by the churches was taken as proof of their inspiration ; just as the decision of a competent legal tribunal would be deemed conclusive evidence of any fact proved be- fore it, or as the opinion of an eminent mathematician might be taken as proof of the soundness of some demonstration. This practice, however, must not turn our attention from the real nature of the proof. The question is not one of authority, but of evidence. To reckon a book canonical, because a coun- cil or a church has pronounced it so, is neither logical nor scriptural. Our wisdom is to use such a decision (according to its intrinsic worth) for the purpose of ascertaining the claims of the book itself. The canonicity of each book — its right, that is, to a place in the Canon — is a question as large as the question of its Divine authority, and involves a conside- ration of the same evidence. Of that evidence early opinion is only part; an important part, doubtless, for the utmost care was taken from the first in discriminating the genuine from the spurious; but it is only part. It may aid, it must not control our decisions. 157. The canonicity of the Old Testament is best established by the New. Our Lord received as Scripture what -i t -it 1 „ Canonicity the Jews delivered to him as Scripture, and the of oicLTes- apostle speaks of the advantage of the Jew as con- proved sisting chiefly in his possession of the “ oracles of God.” As an evidence of the close connection of the two dispensations, and of the sanction given in the New Testament to the Old, it may be noticed that the former has not less than 263 direct quotations from the latter, and that these quotations areTaken ^^i^almostDevery^ book. The obvious allusions to the Old Testament are even more numerous, amounting to up- wards of 350. See Chap. VI. § 1. 158. That at the time of our Lord the Canon was fixed as 100 CANON — OLD TESTAMENT. at present is established by decisive evidence. In addition Philo and d uo ^ a ^ ons in bhe New Testament from particular Josephus, books, Josephus and Philo both testify to the books themselves, and to the reverence with which the Jews regarded them ; the former expressly stating that the Canon he was set- ting down was received by all Jews, that they all would ‘con- tend for it to the death, and that none had ever dared to add to, or take from, or change anything in the sacred books. 19 159. Testimonies no less decisive will be found in the next Ancient paragraph. In examining this list it must be remem- iists. bered that when certain books are omitted from pro- fessed catalogues of the Old Testament Scriptures, there is the greatest probability that each of those books was included in the preceding book: Esther, for example, in Nehemiah; Ruth in Judges; and Lamentations in Jeremiah. The fact that some books are not quoted in the New Testament is accounted for on the simple principle that the writers had no occasion to quote them. That all our present books were included at the time of our Lord in the Old Testament Canon is undoubted, and as such they are quoted under the usual Jewish division. 160. The authorities referred to in the preceding paragraph, may be classed as follows : — The New Testament , which is really authoritative , refers to all Scrip- A ' t Old ^ Ure un( ^ er threefold division of Law, Prophets, and Testament Writings. It also appeals to each of the hooks, except Ruth, lists. Ezra, Nehemiah, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and perhaps La- mentations. The version of the LXX, which is evidence , includes them all. The son of Sirach , B.C. 130, mentions the threefold division; as does Philo , A. C. 41, quoting from all except Ruth, Chronicles, Nche- miah, Esther, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Josephus , b. A. D. 37, enumerates them according to their classes, in- cluding all the present books. Melito , 177, mentions all except Esther Nehem. and Lam. Origen , 230, mentions all, without exception. Athanasius , 326, mentions all except Esther. Cyril (Jerusalem), 348, mentions all, as also the Council of Laodicea , 363; Hpiphanius, 368; and Hilary , of Poictiers, 370. Gregory of Nazianzen, 370, mentions all except T sther ; as does Amphilocfius t 370. The Apostolic Canons , CANONICAL BOOKS— HOW PHESEEVED. 101 of uncertain date, but not later than the end of this century, mentions all ; as also the Apostolic Constitutions . These are Greek authorities. Of Latin authorities, the chief are Jerome , 392; Rufin , 397 ; 3d Council of Carthage , 397 ; and Augustin e, 395 ; and all agree in enumerating the whole. 161. Sow the books of the Old Testament were preserved, is a question of some difficulty, and we can but give the most probable solution. The books of the law were placed in the Tabernacle with the ark of the covenant, and were kept there during the iourneyings in the wilderness, and afterwards in Testament d o preserved Jerusalem. a To the same sanctuary were succes- sively consigned the various historical and prophetic books, from the time of Joshua to that of David. On the erection of the temple, Solomon deposited in it the earliest books, b and enriched the collection with the inspired productions of his own pen. After his days, a succession of prophets arose, Jonah, Amos, Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jere- miah, Obadiah, and Habakkuk. They all flourished before the destruction of the temple, and enlarged the volume of inspi- ration by valuable additions. About 420 years after the tem- ple was built, it was burnt by Nebuchadnezzar. What became of the MSS. of the Sacred Scriptures is not known. In Babylon, however, Daniel speaks of the book of the law” as familiar to him, and also of Jeremiah, and of other prophets. 6 Shortly after the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, the Jews were released from captivity, rebuilt the temple, and restored Divine worship, being encouraged to persevere by the exhortations of Haggai and Zechariah. About 50 years after the temple was rebuilt, Ezra is recorded by tradition to have made a collection of the sacred writings, as he certainly took great pains to expound and enforce the a Deut. xxxi. 9, 26: Josh. xxiv. 26: 1 Sam. x. 25. b 2 Kings xxii. 8 : Isa. xxxiv. 16. t Dan. ix. 2, 11. In these passages the wordbook or a book is more properly “ the bock.” 9 * 102 CANON— -THE APOCRYPHA. ancient law (see Neh. viii. 1, 3, 9). To this collection were added (probably by Simon the Just) the writings of Ezra him- self, with those of Nehemiah and Malachi, and thus was com- pleted the canon of the Old Testament ; for, from the days of Malachi, no prophet arose till John the Baptist, who connected the two covenants, and of whom it was foretold that he should precede the great day of the Lord. Mai. iii. 1. The collection of the canonical books is generally said to have been the work of the Great Synagogue, a body which included Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and afterwards, Simon the Just. The existence and labors of this body are distinctly referred to in the most ancient Jewish writings. After the captivity, synagogues were established in Judea, and throughout the world, and copies of the inspired Scrip- tures were so greatly multiplied as to make the preservation of particular MSS. rather a question of curiosity than of his- torical importance. 4 The early existence and history of the LXX., have been noticed in a previous chapter. 162. If we examine by these tests the books called Apocry- The Apo- ph- a l> we shall be constrained to reject their authority crypha. as Divine. 163. Externally the evidence is conclusive : External They are not found in any catalogue of canonical evidence, writings made during the first four centuries after Christ ; nor were they regarded as part of the rule of faith till the decision of the council of Trent, 1545. Philo never quotes them as he does the. Sacred Scriptures, and Josephus expressly excludes them. b The Jewish church never received them as part of the Canon, and they are never quoted either by our Lord or by his apostles, a fact the more striking, as Paul thrice quotes heathen poets. It is remarkable, too, that a See Stuart on the Canon, and Havernick’s Introduction to the Old Testament, Edin., pp. 18-22. b Contr. Apion. i. 8. APOCRYPHA— EVIDENCE AGAINST. 103 the last inspired prophet closes his predictions by recommend- ing to his countrymen the books of Moses, and intimates that no other messenger is to be expected by them till the coming of the second Elijah, a Against this decisive external evidence must be placed the fact, that particular books have been quoted as canonical by one or more of the Fathers. 20 Baruch alone is quoted as canonical by Origen, Athanasius, Cyril, and Epiphanius. Of the Latin church, Augustine alone quotes as canonical, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Eccle- siasticus, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. By other writers of the 3d and 4th centuries, the books are not cited, or their canon- icity is denied. 164. Internal evidence, moreover, is against their inspira- tion. Divine authority is claimed by none of the Intermil writers, and by some it is virtually disowned. b evidence. The books contain statements at variance with history,® self- contradictory , d and opposed to the doctrines 6 and precepts of Scripture/ 165. For historical purposes, and for “ instruction of man- ners,” so far as they exemplify the spirit and pre- H f cepts of the Gospel, the books are of value. But useful, they are without authority, and form no part of the rule of faith. a Mal. iv. 4-6. b 2 Mac. ii. 23; xv. 38 : Prol. of Eccles. c Baruch i. 2, compared with Jer. xliii. 6, 7. The story of Bel and the Dragon contradicts the account of Daniel’s being cast into the lions’ den. f d Comp. 1 Mac. vi. 4-16: 2 Mac. i. 13-16: 2 Mac. ix. 28, as to the place where Antiochus Epiphanes died. The writer of the Book of Wisdom pretends that it was composed by Solomon, and quotes Isa. xiii. 11-18. e Prayers for the dead sanctioned, 2 Mac. xii. 43-45. Justification by works involved, Tob. xii. 8, 9 : 2 Esd. viii 33. f Lying sanctioned, Tob. v. 12; xii. 15. Suicide is spoken of as a manful act, 2 Mac. xiv. 42; assassination is commended, Judith ix. 2-9, comp. Gen. xlix. 7 ; and magical incantations sanctioned, Tob. vi. 16 , 17 . 104 APOCRYPHA — EVIDENCE AGAINST. 166. The utility and relative importance of these books Relative 311 a y fibber explained. The whole illustrate oTthese* 106 P ro g ress °f knowledge among the Jews, their books. taste, their religious character, and their govern- ment; while some of the books explain ancient prophecies, and prove the fulfilment of them, and others exhibit the most exalted sentiments and principles of uninspired men. Of least value are 1st and 2d Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Esther, Susanna, and the Idol Bel and the Dragon. These books contain indications of childish credulity, or of wilful disregard of truth. An intermediate place is due to the book of Baruch, the Song of the Three Children, and the prayer of Manasseh. The authorship of these books is uncertain, and they contain several mistakes ; but they were probably written with sincere intentions, and they show the views which, in that age, were entertained of personal religion. The remaining books claim a higher place. The Wisdom of Solomon, though not written by the Preacher, was probably intended as an imitation of his writings, and contains many striking counsels. Ecclesiasticus, avowedly uninspired, is often excellent. To the student it is also useful, as showing how the Jews expounded their law, what hopes had originated in the Divine promises, and by what motives the practice of godliness was enforced. The 1st book of the Maccabees gives the his- tory of the deliverance of the J ews, under the illustrious family from whom its name is taken. It contains many examples of heroic faith, and may be perused with the same design as any other portion of authentic history. The 2d book is less accu- rate than the 1st, historically and morally, but it illustrates the firm confidence of the Jews in a future life, and records sev- eral instances of devotedness to the religion and institutes of the law. For an account of other Apocryphal Books see Fahricii Codex Pseu- digr. V. T 1713-41, and Codex Ps. N. T. 1713-22, with Birch’s Aucta- rium, 1804, or Jones on the Canon. EVIDENCES — HISTORICAL. 105 Sec. 4. — Authenticity — Scripture Evidences. 167. All that has been advanced thus far on the authority of Scripture is taken from Scripture itself. We have only arranged and given expression to its claims. The evidence by which those claims are sustained is among the most interesting subjects of inquiry. W"e can but touch upon it here, and must be content to refer to various authors for ampler infor- mation. 168. We have already seen that Scripture is genuine, and that from the earliest times, its various books were Wh fc received as written by the men whose names they ?s bear. Ordinarily, nothing more would have been involved m J 1 ° t genume- proved by this process; but in this case the evi- ness - dence of genuineness is also evidence of authenticity. The truth of the general narrative, its authenticity, is involved in the very proofs of the genuineness of the record. The books are quoted and copied as history , and were received as such, while witnesses of most of the transactions they describe were living. That Palestine was under the Roman yoke; that during the reign of Herod Christ was born ; that he professed 106 EVIDENCES — HISTORICAL. to be a teacber sent from God ; that he claimed the power of working miracles ; that these miracles were always beneficent ; that they sustained a morality altogether unknown to the Gentiles, and novel even to the J ews ; that he had several fol- lowers ; that he was put to death under Pontius Pilate ; that many hundreds, believing him to have risen from the dead, became his disciples ; that, in the course of a few years, his disciples were scattered over the whole Eoman world ; that, in short, all the main statements of the Gospel history are facts, is involved (whatever be thought of their spiritual significancy) in the very genuineness of the record. The whole was deemed historically true ; so that, while many rejected the gospel , the facts, on which in one sense it was founded, were acknowledged by all. 169. An explanation of previous evidence (§ 16,) will make 0 this statement clear. In the first four centuries of eviden- we h ave upwards of fifty authors who testify to uineness. facts told or implied in the Gospel narrative. The whole or fragments of the writings of these authors remain. The writings of about fifty others referred to by J erome (392) have perished. These authors belong to all parts of the world, from the Euphrates to the Pyrenees; from Northern Germany to the African Sahara. They speak the Syrian, the Greek, and the Latin tongues. They represent the belief of large bodies of professed Christians, and no less the admissions of multitudes who were not Christians. They agree in quoting Scripture as genuine and true. They refer to it as a distinct volume, universally received. They comment upon it and expound it. They refer to it as Divine. Heretics who sepa- rated from the great body of the faithful received the narrative of the facts, and differed only on the doctrines which they supposed those facts to embody ; and even infidels who denied the faith, founded their denial upon the very facts which our present record contains. So general had a belief of the facts of the Gospel become, that we find Justin Martyr (165) observing that in every nation prayers and thanksgivings were offered to EVIDENCES — HISTORICAL. 107 the Father by the name of J esus ; while only fifty years later Tertullian states that in almost every city Christians formed the majority. Heathen and Jewish writers, without speaking of the New Testament, and without giving any evidence, there- Heathen fore, of its genuineness, confirm in a general way testimonies, the narratives of the life of our Lord and of his disciples, or incidentally illustrate them. Josephus in his Annals (A. D. 37-93), Tacitus in his History (A. D. 100), Suetonius in hi3 Biographical Sketches (A. D. 117), Juvenal in his Satires (A. D. 128), and Pliny in his Letters (A. D. 103), all confirm the his- torical statements of the sacred story. Indeed there is no transaction of ancient history that can exhibit more than a fraction of the evidence by which the narrative of the Gospels is sustained. See the passages quoted in Paley, P. i. ch. ii. 170. The following are the principal ecclesiastical writers who prove at once the genuineness and gen- eral truthfulness of the New Testament : Ecclesiasti- cal writers of first four centuries. FIRST CENTURY. Scriptures quoted as genuine and authentic, and as a dis- tinct volume. Quoted as of peculiar authority, or as divine : expounded and com- mented upon. Appealed to by various sects, and by adversa- ries. Barnabas, Epistle belongs to the 2d cent. Barnabas. Hermas, Shepherd, do. Hermas. Clement, Rome, died 100. Clement. Ignatius, flour. 70, died 116. Ignatius. Poly carp, died 166. Polycarp. SECOND CENTURY. Quadratus, 122. Basilides, Alex. 122. Papias, flour. 119, died, 163. Justin Martyr, flour. 148, died Justin Martyr. Valentinians, Rome, 14(X Sethites, Egypt, 140. 165. Dionysius (Cor.), 163. Ch. at Lyons, 170. Melito, flour. 170. Hegesippus, flour. 175. Iremeus, flour. 176, died 202. Tatian, flour. 158, died 176. Dionysius. Carpocratians, Alex. 145. Marcion, 150. Montanists, 157. Eneratites, 165. Irenseus. Athenagoras, 176. Celsus. Theophilus (Aut.), 178. Theophilus. S Theodotus, } 1Q o { Artemon, j 19d * 108 EVIDENCES — HISTORICAL. THIRD CENTURY. Scriptures quoted as genuine and authentic, and as a dis- tinct volume. Quoted as of peculiar authority, or as divine : expounded and com- mented upon. Appealed to by various sects, and by adverse ries. Origen, flour. 185-213. Tertullian, flour. 198, d. 220. Minucius Felix, died 220. Clement, Alex, died 217. Dionysius, Alex, flour. 232. Cyprian, Carthage, 200-258. Commodian, flour. 270. Victor in (Germany). Arnobius, flour. 307. Lactantius, died 325. Eusebius, 270-340. Origen. Tertullian. Ammonius, Alex. 200-235. Hippoiytus, 220, died 250. Clement. Dionysius Cyprian. Novatian, Rome, 250. Victorin. Lucian, died 312. Hermogenes, Carthage, 203. Novatians, Rome, 251. Sabellians, Egypt, 258. Porphyry, Rome, 262. Paul of Samosata, Anti- och, 265. Manicheeans, Persia, 274. FOURTH CENTURY. Hilary, Poictiers, died 368. Apollinarus. Laodic. flou. 362. Damasus, Rome, 366. Gregory, Nyssa, 331-396. Theodore, Tarsus, flour. 376. Eusebius, Nico. flour. 335. Ambrose, Milan, 374-397. Didymus, Alex. 375-396. Amphilochius, Iconium. flou. 380. Jerome, 329-420. Chrysostom, 344-407. Gregory Nazi an. 328-359. Athanasius, died 373. Ephraem, Syrus. died 378. Basil (Caesarea), died 378. Cyril (Jerus.), 315-386. Ambrose. Epiphanius, Cyprus, 368, d. 403. Palladius, flour. 407. Jerome. Arians, 318. Donatists, 328. Julian, Emp. died, 365. Priscillianists, 378. Apollinarians, 378, Pelagians, 410. This evidence is sometimes called the historical, and it forms Historical evidence ; effect of, the subject of the first part of Paley’s volume. If its truth be acknowledged, it places an inquirer in the position of a contemporary of our Lord, leaving the claims of his religion to be established by other evidence. 171. Admitting the existence of a Being of infinite power and goodness, there are strong probabilities that Evidence; b b . ■» how cias- He would not leave his creatures m ignorance and misery ; and probabilities no less strong that any communication from him would contain a distinct reference to their condition, and would present analogies to other works of the Creator. These probabilities form the presumptive evi- EVIDENCES CLASSIFIED. 109 dence of revelation, and are discussed by such writers as Ellis, Leland, and Butler. Evidence founded on revelation itself is called positive . In God are attributes of power and of knowledge, of holi- ness and love. Sometimes the evidences of Scripture are ranged under corresponding divisions, and we speak of the miraculous , th q prophetic, and the moral. A message from another, again, is susceptible of a two-fold evidence of truth; viz., credentials supplied by the messenger, and peculiarities or marks in the message itself. The cre- dentials are external , and the marks are internal . In this arrangement prophecy often belongs to both : the prediction is in the message, and the fulfilment either in the Bible or in profane history. The internal evidence, again, is two-fold ; according as it is founded (1), on the precepts of the Bible, the character of inspired men, or on the influence of truth in promoting holi- ness, which is the moral evidence, as it may be called ; and (2), on its internal harmony — literary, doctrinal, and ana- logical — on the adaptation of the message to human wants, or on its consistency with all our holiest conceptions of the Divine character and purpose, which may be called the spiritual evi- dence ; and this is the division to which it is intended to adhere. 172. It is instructive to notice that each kind of evidence abounds in directly spiritual instruction. Miracles The yery prove, at least, that physical nature is not fate, nor |^^ t n u c r e e of a merely material constitution of things. Prophecy instructive, proves that things material and moral (both nature and man), are governed by a free and Almighty hand. What were once grave questions of natural religion, are thus settled in the very evidences of the revealed. The spiritual truth wrapped up, both in prophecy and miracles, and the obviously holy ten- dency of the moral evidence of the Bible, will be noticed elsewhere. Contrary to what is sometimes affirmed, the devout 10 110 EXTERNAL EVIDENCE — MIRACLES. study of Christian evidence may become the means of spiritual improvement. _ ., 173. The different evidences, then, of the truth Evidence arranged. 0 f Scripture, may be arranged as follows : — o2 C5 Vi Jer. xlviii. c Ezek. xxv. 2-10: Zaph. ii. 9, etc. d Ezek. xxv. e Deut. xxviii. 64, 65 : Lev. xxvi. 32, 33. * Neh. i. 8. 120 EVIDENCES — PROPHECY. The priority of the prophecy, therefore, to the fulfilment, is in this case undoubted. 187. When the promise was first given to Abraham he was The Jews childless:* and nearly 200 years afterwards, during which time the promise was often renewed, the family had increased to only seventy souls. b Their preserva- tion and greatness was foretold by Balaam 0 and Moses, when such a result was highly improbable ; when the whole nation was under the Divine displeasure, and nations mightier than themselves, and whom they were commanded to exterminate, had combined to destroy them. Isaiah foretold the captivity in the days of a pious king and a prosperous government, Jeremiah’s predictions of deliverance were given when utter destruction threatened them in Babylon, and when ten of the tribes had already disappeared. d After the overthrow of Jerusalem, their land became “trod- den down of the Gentiles,”® and they were driven from their country. For nearly 2000 years they have been without dis- tinction of tribes, without a prince, without government, or temple, or priesthood, or sacrifice ; dispersed, and yet pre- served ; scattered, and yet kept from mixture ; and they are a proverb and a bye-word still. These are events without a parallel, and opposed to all our experience. Man could not have foreseen them, as certainly man has not, of his own pur- pose, accomplished them. To make the lesson morally com- plete, the law remains, and the Jews guard the very prophecies which their history fulfils ; so that they have become not only “a reproach and a taunt,” but an “instruction” unto the na- tions that are round about them (Ezek. v. 15). 188. Their history becomes the more impressive when com- The Edom- P are ^ that of the Edomites. Both were des- nes. cended from Isaac. The latter rose earlier into power, were never scattered by captivities, and when Jeru- salem was destroyed, they formed a flourishing community. a Gen. xv. 2. b Gen. xlvi. 27. c Numb, xxiii. 9. 4 Jer. xxx. 10, 11 ; xxxiii. 25, 26 ; xlvi. 27, 28. * Luke xxi. 24. EVIDENCES — PROPHECY — BABYLON. 121 Thirty ruined towns, within three days’ journey of the Red Sea, attest their former greatness. Utter desolation, both of the country and of the family of Esau, was foretold, Jer. xlix. 17, 10 : Obad. 8, and utter deso- lation is now their condition. They were distinguished for wisdom ; now, the wanderers in Edom are sunk in the grossest folly, and regard the ruins around them as the work of spirits, Obad. 8. Edom lies in the directest route to India: but none “shall pass through it for ever and ever,” and “even the Arabs/' says Keith, “are afraid to enter it, or conduct any within its borders,” Isa. xxxiv. 10. The people who visit it are described as a most savage and treacherous race, and so the prophet foretold, Mai. i. 4. Its desolation is said to be perpetual, Jer. xlix. 7-22, and travellers state that the whole country is a vast expanse of sand, drifted up from the Red Sea. What human foresight could have foretold destinies so distinct ? We may add one or two examples more : — 189. One hundred and sixty years before Babylon was overthrown, Isaiah delivered his prophecy. Judea Baby , on . was then a powerful kingdom. Persia, the native prophecies, country of Cyrus, was yet in barbarism, and Babylon itself was only rising into notice, its existence being scarcely known to the Hebrews. One hundred years later than Isaiah, Jeremiah prophesied: and at that time Babylon was “ the glory of kingdoms,” “ the praise of the whole earth.” Nebuchadnezzar had enlarged and beautified the city, and through all that region his au- thority was supreme. Isaiah begins these predictions, foretells the overthrow of the city, calls its conqueror Cyrus by name/ intimating that this was his surname, and not given him at his birth/ He a Isa. xliv. 28 : xlv. 1. b Isa. xlv. 4. 11 122 EVIDENCES — PROPHECY — NINEVEH. summons people from Elam (Persia,) and Media, 4 tells how the city will be entered, the river dried up, the two-leaved gates left open, and the place taken by surprise during a night of revelry and drunkenness.* Both prophets add, that the place is to be for ever uninhabited, a lair of wild beasts, and a place of stagnant waters. 0 A century after the first of these prophecies was delivered, they began to be fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judea, and in two independent historians, Herodotus and Xenophon, (the former of whom lived 250 years after Isaiah, and the latter 350,) we have historical proof of the minute accuracy of all the predictions. Herodotus states that Cyrus assumed that name on his accession to the throne, Bk. i. 114. Xeno- phon notes the miscellaneous character of his army, but spe- cially mentions the Persians and Medes, Cyrop. v. ciii. 38. Both writers have left a careful account of the siege, of the diversion of the river, of the capture of the city, and of the death of the king. Strabo says that in his time the city was a vast solitude. Lucian affirms, that “Babylon will soon be sought for and not found, as is already the case with Nineveh,” c. 16. Pausanias states that nothing was left but the walls, c. viii. § 33 ; Jerome, that in his time it was a receptacle for beasts ; and modern travellers (including Sir R. K. Porter), testify to the universal desolation. “It is little better than a swamp, and I could not help reflecting (says one,) how faithfully the various prophecies have been fulfilled.” 190. A still larger city, and no less signal as a monument of Divine power was Nineveh, a place as ancient as Nineveh# ^ 1 Asshur, the son of Shem, and at one time nearly sixty miles round. This city abounded in wealth and pride. “I am,” said she, “and there is none beside me,” Zeph. ii. 15. Jonah was therefore sent to foretell her ruin ; and though a Isa. xxi. 2 ; xiii. 4, 5 : Jer. li. 27, 28. b Isa. xliv. 27; xlv. 1: Jer. li. 39, 57 ; 1. 38. c Isa. xiii. 20—22 ; xiv. 23: Jer. li. 37, 38. EVIDENCES — MORALITY. 123 she repented, yet, within a few vears, Nahum was commis- sioned to repeat the message ; a hundred years later still, but fifty years before the city fell, Zephaniah again foretold its overthrow, with the utmost literalness, the account of the prophet, when compared with the narrative of the historian (Diodorus Siculus), reading more like history than prediction. Lucian, who flourished in the second century after Christ, and was himself a native of that region, affirms that it had utterly perished, and that there was no footstep of it remaining. Such is “the utter end” of all its greatness. 191. It is to such facts God appeals. “ Who hath declared this from ancient times ? Have not I, the Lord ? . . ^ Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the a( ^apted his state. He is guilty, and needs par- don. He is corrupt, and needs holiness. He is surrounded by temptation, and needs strength. He is living in a world of vexation and change, and he needs some more satisfying portion than it can supply. He is dying, and he shrinks from death, and longs for a clear revelation of an- other life. And the gospel meets all these wants. It is a message of pardon to the guilty, of holiness to the aspiring, of peace to the tried, and of life to them that sit in the shadow of death. 209. And whilst there is perfect adaptation to human Harmony of wair k 110 less striking is the agreement between the and the ex description given in the gospel of its results, and perience of the Christian’s experience. The effects of the be- tian. lief of the truth are repeatedly portrayed in Scrip- ture. Each promise is a prediction, receiving daily fulfil- ment. Penitence and its fruits, the obedience of faith and the increasing light and peace which it supplies, the power of , prayer, the influence of Christian truth on the intellect, and the heart, and the character, the struggles, and victories, and defeats even of the new life, all are described, and constitute an evidence in the highest degree experimental; an evidence which grows with our growth, and multiplies with every step of our progress in the knowledge and love of the truth. Such insight into our moral being, and such knowledge of the EVIDENCES— EXPERIMENTAL, 137 changes which religious truth is adapted to produce, could never emanate from human wisdom, and they prove that God himself is the author of the book in which such quali- ties are disclosed. 210. We repeat the caution, however, that this evidence is chiefly of value for the confirmation of the faith of . J . . Useful for a Christian, because none else will appreciate or confirma- . . tion of understand it. To such, however, this evidence is so strong as often to supersede every other. To the Chris- tian, the old controversy between Christianity and infidelity has but little interest ; he already feels the truth which evi- dences seek only to prove ; it seems needless to discuss the reality of what he already enjoys; he has the “witness in himself.” 211. It may be added, too, that the evidence depends not so much on Christianity, as adapted to our wants, Christianity as on Christianity adapted to promote our holi- mot^our 0 " ness. When Christ appeared, the Jews felt their holiness - want of an earthly deliverer. A Messiah who should make the Gentiles fellow heirs, they did not want at all. The system of Mohammed, again, is adapted with great skill to the desires of a sensual, gross-minded, and ambitious people. The Hindoos adhere to a religion that is without evidence, because they find it suited to their tastes. All these cases, however, are very different from the case of Christianity; it came to us not conformed to our natural inclinations, but seeking to conform them to itself ; and when this process is begun, then only is its adaptation revealed. Heathen na- tions sought a religion conformed to their own corrupt pro- pensities ; and, on finding such a religion, they embraced and * believed it. Pagan systems are adapted to man as he is, and as he desires to be, while yet in love with sin : the gospel is adapted to man as he is and ought to be. Paganism is the adaptation of a corrupt system to a corrupt nature ; the gospel is the adaptation of a life-giving system to a nature that needs to be renewed. The first seeks to conform its 138 EVIDENCES — SUMMARY. teaching to onr tastes; the second to conform our tastes to its teaching. And it is while this latter conformation is proceed- ing that the believer has the evidence of the truth. When he believes, he has the hope of faith; then comes the hope of experience— experience founded on the sanctifying influence of the love of God, Eom. v. 2-5. To the physician who is intrusted with the cure of some Analogous mortal disease two courses are open. He may treat the symptoms, or he may treat the disease itself. If in fever he is anxious only to quench the thirst of his patient, or in apoplexy to excite the system, his treatment may be said to be adapted to the wants of the sufferer ; but it is not likely to restore him. A sounder system treats the disease ; and that medicine is the true specific which is adapted ultimately to remove it. The evidence of the virtue of such a specific is, not its palatableness, nor its power of exhilaration, but the steady continued improvement of the health of the patient; an evidence founded on experience, and strongly confirming the proofs which had originally induced him to make the trial. And so of the gospel. It may exhilarate, and it may please the taste ; but the evidence of its truth and of its being truly received is its tendency to promote our holiness. 212. What, then, is the reason of our hope ? is a question Summary every inquirer may ask and answer. All intelligible answers of which the question admits, no one to ail. can be expected to give, for a full investigation of Christian evidences would occupy a life-time ; but it is easy to give such an answer as shall justify our faith. Christianity and the Christian books exist, and have existed for the last eighteen hundred years. Christian and profane writers agree in this admission. The great Founder of our faith professedly wrought miracles in confirmation of his message, and gave the same power to his apostles. They all underwent severe suffer- ing, and most of them died in testimony of their belief of the truths and facts they delivered. These facts, and the truths EVIDENCES. 139 founded on them, the apostles and first Christians ei ibraced in spite of the opposing influences of the religious systems in which they had been trained. The character and history of the Founder of the Faith were foretold many hundreds of years before in the Jewish Scriptures. He taught the purest morality. He himself gave many predictions, and these pre- dictions were fulfilled. His doctrines changed the character of those who received them, softened and civilized ancient na- tions, and have been everywhere among the mightiest influen- ces in the history of the human race. They claim to be from God, support their claim by innumerable evidences, and we must either admit them to be from God, or ascribe them to a spirit of most miraculous and benevolent imposition. Add to all this, that he who receives them has in himself additional evidence of their origin and holiness, and can say from expe- rience, “I know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true. We are in him, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life,” 1 John v. 20. These facts are not abstruse, but accessible to all, and in- telligible to the feeblest. For the candid inquirer, any one department of this evidence will often prove sufficient: no other religious system being founded on miracles and pro- phecy, or exhibiting such holiness and love. The whole evi- dence combined is overwhelmingly conclusive. 213. And yet there is, in relation to these evidences, much unbelief both among inquirers and professed Chris- Evidence tians. Among inquirers there is unbelief, for want classes^ 0 of candor and teachableness : a fact which is itself doubt an evidence of the truth of Scripture, and in har- candid 1 " mony with the general dealings of God. In common in< t uirer * life, levity, or prejudice, or carelessness will often ead men astray, and even make them incapable of ascertaining what is really wise and true. And Scripture has expressly declared that those who will not love truth shall not understand it. So deeply did Grotius feel this consideration, that he regarded 140 EVIDENCES. the evidence of Christianity as itself an evidence of the Divine origin of the gospel, being divinely adapted to test mens cha- racter and hearts. De Verit, ii, \ 19. See, also, Dan. xii. 10: Isa. xxix. 13, 14: Matt, vi. 23; xi. 25; xiii. 11, 12: John iii. 19: 1 Cor. ii. 14: 2 Cor. iv. 4* 2 Tim. iii. 13. Among professed Christians , too, there is want of confidence And the * n ^ u ^ ness °f ^he Christian evidence, and con- HniHAn sequent want of inquiry. Baxter has acknowledged that while in his younger days he was exercised chiefly about his own sincerity, in later life he was tried with doubts about the truth of Scripture. Further inquiry, how- ever, removed them. The evidence which he found most con- clusive was the internal ; such as sprang from the witness of the Spirit of God with his own. “ The spirit of prophecy,” says he, “was the first witness; the spirit of miraculous power the second: and now,” he adds, “we have the spirit of renovation and holiness.” “Let Christians, there- fore,” he concludes, “tell their doubts, and investigate the evidence of Divine truth, for there is ample provision for the Remedy. removal of them all.” Most of the doubts which good men feel may be thus dis- pelled. Others, chiefly speculative, may in some cases remain, and are not to be dispelled by the best proofs. Even for these, however, there is a cure. Philosophy cannot solve them ; but prayer and healthy exercise in departments of Christian life to which doubting does not extend can; or, failing to solve them, these remedies will teach us to think less of their importance, and to wait patiently for stronger light. Ours is a complex n^Jure, and the morbid excitability of one part of our frame may often be cured by the increased activity of another. An irritable faith is a symptom of defi- cient action elsewhere, and is best cured by a more constant attention to practical duty. Difficulties which no inquiry can remove will often melt away amidst the warmth and vigor produced by active life. THE BIBLE A REVELATION FROM GOD. 141 CHAPTER III. PECULIARITIES C‘F THE BIBLE AS A REVELATION FROM GOD. “A man’s love of Scripture at the beginning of a religious course, is such as makes the praise, which older Christians give 'to the Bible, seem exaggerated: but after twenty or thirty years of a religious life, such praise always sounds inadequate. Its glories seem so much more full than they seemed at first.” — Be. Arnold. “ To seek Divinity in Philosophy is to seek the living among the dead: so to seek Philosophy in Divinity is to seek the dead among the living.” — Bacon, Advancement of Learning. “The Old and New Testaments contain but one scheme of religion. Neither part can be undarstood without the other They are like the rolls on which the}' were anciently written It is but one subject from beginning to end ; but the view which we obtain of it grows clearer and clearer as we unwind the roll that contains it.” — Cecil. Sec. 1. — A Revelation of God, and of Human Nature. 214. There are various aspects in which Scripture may bo regarded. The most important is that which represents it as a revelation of God and man : of God in relation to man, of man in relation to God : and of both in relation to the work and office of our Lord. 215. Scripture is a revelation of God, of his character and will. That will is indeed written on the works of Scripture ft his hands, and more clearly on the constitution of of V Q^ io ” nd man : but in the Bible alone is the transcript com- of man * plete, and there alone is it preserved from decay. 216. Or with equal accuracy, the whole may be described as the exhibition of human nature, in individuals and in na- tions under every form of development; holy, tempted, fallen, degenerate, redeemed, believing, rejecting the faith, struggling, victorious, and complete. The Bible begins with man in the garden of Eden, his Maker as his friend ; and after a wondrous THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 1 10 history, it exhibits him again in the same fellowship, though no longer on earth, or in paradise, but in heaven: the whole of his forfeited blessedness won back by the incarnation and suffering of the Son of God 217. More generally still, the Bible may be described as A store- the great storehouse $f facts and duties, and of all Bpjrituaf spiritual truth. It gives authentic information on tlL> h * the history of the world, from the remotest times on which all human writings are silent, or filled with fables ; the occasion and immediate consequences of the first sin ; the origin of nations, and of diversity of language. We thus trace the progress, and mark the uniformity of those principles on which men have been governed from the beginning, all bearing their testimony to the wisdom and holiness of God, and the mercy of the Divine administration. We trace the progress and development of human nature, and of the plan of redemp- tion : the first, shown in every possible diversity of position, and the second, influencing all the Divine procedure, perfected in Christ, and exhibited in the gospel. In a word, we find all the great questions (whether of fact or duty), which have occupied the attention of the wisest men, settled by authority and on principles which neither need nor admit of appeal. We have given to us the decisions of the infinitely wise God as the ground of our opinions and practices, and his imomise as the foundation of our hope. 218. In no part of the Bible, therefore, are these questions inappropriate : — Appropriate AA _ . . . n questions in What does it teach concerning man c or concern- reading it q 0( j ? or concern i n g the grand scheme of redemp- tion ? or concerning the restoration of human nature to its primeval dignity and blessedness ? Sec. 2. — The Bible a Revelation of Spiritual • Religious Truth. 219. If this view of the subject of the Bible be kept in THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 143 mind, — God in relation to man, and man in relation _ . ’ 7 Script urea to God, and God and man in relation to the work revelation and office of our Lord, — one peculiarity of Scripture *™th, ^on (as to its fulness and brevity), will be explained. and saiva- It gives the history of the world, as “God’s world,” and as destined to become the kingdom of his Son. It tells us of its origin, that we may know by what God has done, the reverence due to him : what is his power whose law this book has revealed : whose creatures we are, that we may distinguish him from the idols of the heathen, who are either imaginary beings, or parts of his creation. All the subsequent narrative of the Bible, seems written on the same principle. It is an inspired history of religion (of man in relation to God), and of other things, as it is affected by them. Idolatrous nations are introduced, not as independ- ently important, but as influencing the church, or as influenced by it : and thus narrative and prophecy continue from the first transgression, through the whole interval of man’s misery and guilt, to a period, spoken of in a great diversity of expres- sions and under both economies, when the “ God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.” That these historical disclosures supply ample materials for inquiry, and (had the narrative been false), for refutation, and that, as they have never been refuted, their antiquity and extent are strong presumptive evidence of the truth of Scrip- ture is obvious : a but it is the principle of selection, and the clear scope of the whole which are now noticed. To convey religious truth is clearly the author’s design. Whatever is revealed must be studied with this fact in view, and whatever is withheld may be regarded as not essential to the accomplish- ment of this purpose. 220. Let it be remembered, too, that it is God as holy in relation to a man as a sinner, and God and man in a revda- relation to Christ as the Redeemer, who form the as'hoiy? 0 ^ See these remarks illustrated in Bishop Butler’s Analogy, 2d Part. 144 THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. great theme of Scripture ; and that what is told us has refer* ence to the relation of such Beings. Take, for example, the history of the first sin. The object of th* narrative of the fall is clearly moral. It shows the progress of temp- tation, and directs our thoughts to the Saviour. We mark the convic- tion of duty, the contemplation of the pleasure which sin may produce, the consequent obtuseness of conscience, and the hope that desire may be indulged and yet punishment be averted; desire becoming intenser, passion stronger, conscience feebler, till at length the will consents and the act is done. Such is all transgression. The moral lesson of the fall is thus complete, though much is concealed. Subsequent portions of Scripture are written on this same principle. In the history of Cain, and in the rapid progress of wickedness, we notice the consequences of sin, and from the Deluge learn how deeply man had fallen. And yet each expression of God’s displeasure is so tempered with mercy, as to prepare us for the double truth, that God had provided a Redeemer to restore us to Divine favor, and a Sanctifier to renew us to holiness, and that man needed them both. Hence it is, that amidst all this wickedness, facts are recorded which hold out the prospect of recovery, and even foreshadow the means of securing it. In Abel and Seth, and Enoch and Noah, we find faith in the Divine promise, and consequent holiness. They “ called upon the name of the Lord.” They “offered a more excellent sacrifice” than their ungodly neighbors, expressive at once of their obligation and their guilt ; they 44 walked with God.” As the world was repeopled, human sinfulness is seen in other forms. Men are scattered over the earth, and ultimately the plan of the Divine procedure is changed. A particular family is made the depository of the Divine will, and its history is given. Of that family, the son of the promise is chosen ; and of his sons, not the elder and favorite, but the younger. The history of his descendants is then given with a double reference, first to their own faith and obedience, and then to the coming of the Messiah. There is both an ultimate and an immediate purpose, and both are moral. The institutes of this people illustrate the doctrines of the cross , and we have, moreover, the record of their sins, for our warning, and of their repentance , for our imitation and encouragement. Concerning all these narratives, much might have been told Ail written us, which is withheld. Difficulties might have been cipie . 19 prm solved ; important physical, or historical, or ethical THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 145 questions might have been answered. But we have to seek the solution of these questions elsewhere. Of Assyria, for example, we read in a single passage of the book of Genesis (Gen. x. 11, 12), but not again for 1500 years, till the time of Menahem (2 Kings xy. 19) ; and of Egypt we have no mention, between the days of Moses and those of Solomon. The early history of both nations is exceedingly obscure, perhaps impenetrably so. But the knowledge is essential neither to our salvation nor to the history of the church, and it is not revealed. So of pro- phecy. So of Christ. In the prophetic Scriptures this peculiarity is equally obvi- ous. They are all either intensely moral, or evan- gelical, or both. It might have been otherwise, without injury to prophecy as an outward evidence of Scrip- ture. The gifts of prediction and of moral teaching, might have been disjoined: but in fact they are not. What might have ministered to the gratification of natural curiosity only, is enlisted on the side of practical holiness. The prophet is the teacher, and the history of the future (which prophecy is), becomes like the history of the past, the handmaid of evan- gelical truth and of spiritual improvement. So is it in all that is revealed in relation to Christ. We read of the dignity of his person, but it is with a constant reference to “us men, and to our salvation.” If he is set forth as the Light of the world, it is to guide us into the way of peace ; if, as the Lamb of God, it is that he may redeem us by his blood ; if, as entering into heaven, it is as our pro- pitiation and intercessor. We call him justly the “Son of God:” he loved to call himself as his apostles never called him, and with a peculiar reference to his sympathy and work, the “Son of man.” Scripture, then, is the revelation of religious truth, and of truth adapted to our nature as fallen and guilty. We use it rightly, therefore, only as it ministers to our holiness and con- solation. It might have revealed other truth, or the truth it does reveal may be regarded by us only as sublime and glo- rious. But this is not Gods purpose. 13 He has gi\ en it for our 146 THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. instruction, our conviction, our rectification (or correction), and our establishment in righteousness. All knowledge may be useful, but this knowledge is necessary. “Let it not go, keep it, for it is thy life,” Prov. iv. 13. 221. Two practical rules are suggested by these remarks. First. We must not expect to learn anything from Scripture, except what it is, in a religious point of view, important for us to know. Some seek “the dead among the living,” (as Lord Bacon phrased it), and look into the Bible for natural philoso- phy and human science; others inquire in it for the “secret things” which “belong only to God and both are rebuked by the very character and design of the Bible. It is the record of necessary and saving truth, or of truth in its religious aspects and bearings, and of nothing besides: its histories being brief or full, as brevity or fulness may best secure these ends. 222. Secondly. It becomes the Christian to make a practical application of every truth which Scripture reveals. He must believe and apply the whole. To reject truth is wrong: to deny morality is wrong: and it is equally wrong to disjoin them. It is only as virtue is moulded on truth that it becomes genuine and complete. 223. But though the Bible is not a revelation of science, it Scripture ma y ex P ec I e( l f° be f ree f rom error, and to con- sistentwUh ^ n > un( ler reserved and simple language, much science. concealed wisdom, and turns of expression which harmonize with natural facts, known perfectly to God, but not known to those for whom at first the revelation was designed. This expectation is just; and in both respects, the Bible presents a striking contrast to the sacred books of heathen nations. 224. All ancient systems of religion, and all eminent phi- Anciont and l° so ph er s °f antiquity, so far as they are known, Scripture maintained notions on science no less absurd than ccmmogo ni€K their theology. THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTH. 147 In Greek and Latin philosophy, the heavens were a solid vault over the earth, a a sphere studded with stars, as Aristotle called them. The sages of Egypt held that the world was formed by the motion of air and the upward course of flame : Plato, that it was an intelligent being: Empedocles held that there were two suns : Zeucippus, that the stars were kindled by their motions, and that they nourished the sun by their fires. All Eastern nations believed that the heavenly bodies exercised pow- erful influence over human affairs, often of a disastrous b kind, and that alL nature was composed of four elements, fire, air, earth, and water: substances certainly not elementary. In the Hindoo philosophy, the globe is represented as flat and trian- gular, composed of seven stories ; the whole mass being sustained upon the heads of elephants, who, when they shake themselves, cause earth- quakes. Mohammed taught that the mountains were created to prevent the earth from moving, and to hold it as by anchors and chains. The “ Fathers of the church” themselves teach doctrines scarcely less ab- surd. “ The rotundity of the earth is a theory,” says Lactantius, “which no one is ignorant enough to believe.” How instructive, that while every ancient system of idolatry may he overthrown by its false physics, not one of the forty writers of the Bible, most of w T hom lived in the vicinity of one or other of the nations who held these views, has written a single line that favors them. This silence is consolatory, and furnishes a striking confirmation of the truth of their message. 225. The exactness of Scripture statements, and its agree- ment with modern discovery, is also remarkable. The Scriptures, for example, sjeak of the earth as a globe , and as suspended upon nothing , Isa. xl. 22 : Job xxvi. 7-10 : Prov. viii. 27. In treating of its age, they distinguish between the creation of unor- ganized matter, and of the heavens and the earth, Gen. i. 1, 2. They give to man a very recent origin, and their accuracy in this respect ia attested by the ascertained state of the earth’s surface, and by the monuments of antiquity. They describe the heavens as boundless space , not as a solid sphere ; and light as an element independent of the sun, and as anterior to it, anticipating the generally received theory * Firmamentum, cmpm/AA, b “ ill-starred.” 148 THE BIBLE A REVELATION OF RELIGIOUS TRUTTJ. of modern inquirers. When they speak of air, they say that God gave it weight , as Galileo proved ; and of the seas, that he gave them their measure; a proportion of land and sea, such as now obtains, being essential to the health and safety of both animal and vegetable life. The waters above “the expanse” have an importance attached to them in Scripture which modern science alone can appreciate ; many millions of tons being raised from the surface of England alone, by evaporation, every day. (See Whewell’s “Bridgewater Treatise.”) When they speak of the human race they give it one origin, and of human language they indicate original identity and subsequent division, not into endless diversities of dialect such as now exist, but rather into two or three primeval tongues ; facts which, though long questioned, ethnography and philosophy have confirmed, Gen. xi. 1 ; x. 32. When they arrest the course of the sun, that is, of the earth’s rota- tion, they stay the moon, too : a precaution which could not have been supposed necessary but on the supposition of the diurnal motion of the earth. When they speak of the stars, instead of supposing a thousand, as ancient astronomers did (Hipparchus says 1022, Ptolemy, 1026), they declare that they are innumerable ; a declaration which modern tele- scopes discover to be not even a figure of speech. “God,” says Sir John Herschel, after surveying the groups of stars and nebulae in the heavens, “has scattered them like dust through the immensity of space.’* And when the Scriptures speak of their hosts, it is as dependent, ma- terial, obedient things, Isa. xl. 26, 27. 226. Generally, however, it may be added, Scripture speaks Apparent * n re ^ a ti° n 1° physical facts in the language of com- exception. mon lif e? and sometimes that language is not strictly accurate; as in Job xxxviii. 6; ix. 6: Psa. civ. 3: Prov. iii. 20. And the reason is plain. If strictly philosophical language had been employed, Scripture must have been less intelligible; and besides, such language describing natural facts, not as they appear, but as they really are , would have made all such facts matters of revelation. It must have excited doubts among the ignorant, and prejudice (from the necessary incompleteness of Scripture teaching on such questions,) among the philo- sophic ; destroying, among all, the unity of impression which the Bible seeks to produce. The Bible would have become, in that case, a Divine, though incomplete, hand-book of science : THE BIBLE CONSISTENT WITH ETHICAL SCIENCE. 149 an arrangement as little conducive to the cultivation of a truly philosophical spirit as to the interests of religion itself. 227. Nor less remarkable is the way in which the Bible has noticed abstract questions, or great principles of Scriptural ethical science. The laws of our moral nature are evidently known to the author of Scripture, but experience, they are not formally announced. They are rather involved by implication in the truths or precepts which are revealed. Independent investigation long ago discovered that the heart of man takes much of its complexion from his thoughts, and that what interests the mind influences the char- acter. In harmony with this law is the doctrine of Scripture, that habitual and believing attention to the truths of Christi- anity is the great instrument of bringing the mind into holy states. 1 John iv. 10, 16, 19: Gal. ii. 20: 1 Cor. xv. 2: 2 Cor. iii. 18: 1 Tim. iv. 16 : Psa. cxix. 9-11 : Psa. xix. : 1 Pet. i. 22. “ How can man regulate his belief?” is a question which long occupied the attention of thoughtful men. “By attend- ing to evidence, and then by contemplating truth,” is the reply of philosophy. And Scripture is in direct harmony with her decision. Faith and affection are both influenced, not by ana- lyzing them, or by violently attempting to strengthen or purify them, but by examining truth and holding communion with the objects that deserve and claim our love. The Bible bids us consider and give heed, assuring us that earnest, humble consideration will end in faith, and faith be followed by holy and appropriate feeling. Men believe by “giving heed” to truth, Acts viii. 6, 8 : Heb. ii. 1; Prov. iv. 1-4; ii. 1-9: Mark iv. 24, 25: Acts xvii. 11, 12. Their im- penitence is a consequence of their neglect, and their neglect, of a wrong state of heart, 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12: Mark viii. 18: John iii. 19, 20; v. 38, 39 : 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4 : Hos. iv. 10. Holy affection is influenced by atten- tion and faith, Gal. v. 6: 2 Cor. v. 11: Heb. xi. 7: 1 John iv. 16 - 18 : Bom. vi. 6: Col. i. 22, 23; Josh. xxii. 5. 13 * 150 THE BIBLE A PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. Scripture embodies these laws and acts upon them ; adding, however, the significant fact, that where holiness and salvation follow in the train of attention and thoughtfulness, this result is to be ascribed throughout every part to the grace and bless- ing of the Divine Spirit. Attention is the gift of the Spirit, Acts xvi. 14: Zech. xii. 10. Faith which follows attention, is his gift, Acts x. 44 (see xi. 17, 18); xi. 21. The clearer understanding of truth, which follows the believing study of it, is his gift, Isa. xlii. 7 : Psa. cxix. 18 : Luke xxiv. 45 : 1 Cor. ii. 14: 2 Cor. iii. 16: Eph. i. 17, 18. The holy feeling that follows an attentive and believing study of truth, is his gift, Ez. xxxvi. 27 : 2 Thess. ii. 13 : 2 Pet. i. 2, 3 ; Gal. v. 22. Sec. 3. — The Bible a Gradual and Progressive , Revelation. 228. Another peculiarity of Scripture is, that it is a gradual and progressive revelation. 229. The truths and purpose of God are in themselves in- ln what capable of progress ; but not the revelation of those sense. truths. In nature, the rising sun scatters the mists of the morning, and brings out into light first one prominency and then another, till every hill and valley is clothed in splen- dor. The landscape was there before, but it was not seen. So in revelation, the progress is not in the truth, but in the clearness and impressiveness with which Scripture reveals it. 230. In the beginning, for example, God taught the unity „ ^ of his nature ; while the truth that there is a plu- ^tion c-f God ra ]ity in the Godhead was taught but indistinctly, ly Spirit. Several expressions in the earliest books imply it, and are evidently calculated to suggest it. a In the later proph- * Such expressions, for example, as, Let us make man in our image (see Gen. i. 26; iii. 22); and the use of the plural noun, to indicate the true God, with a singular verb, Gen. i. 1 ; Psa. lviii. 11 (Heb.): Prov. ix. 10 (Heb.), and several hundred times. The expressions in Numb. vi. 22-27, compared with the New Testa- THE BIBLE A PROGRESSIVE REVET V.TION. 151 ets, the truth comes out with greater distinctness ; ft and in the New Testament it is fully revealed. In the same way, the work of the Holy Spirit is recognised in the Old Testament, and with increasing clearness as we approach the times of the gospel. It is in the New alone, however, that we have a dis- tinct view of his personality and work. 1 * 231. This gradual disclosure of the Divine will is yet more remarkable in the case of our Lord. The first ... . 1 . So of Christ. promise (Gen. in. 15) contained a prophetic declara- tion of mercy, and foretold his coming and work, though in mysterious terms. The first recorded act of acceptable wor- ship (Gen. iv. 4 : Heb. xi. 4) was a type, expressing by an action the faith of the offerer in the fulfilment of the first prediction. There was to be triumph through suffering, and there was to be the substitution of the innocent for the guilty. These promises and types w'ere multiplied with the lapse of time. In the person or worship of Enoch,® of patriarchal Noah, d of Melchizedek,® and of Job/ there was much penod * ment benediction, Isa. vi. 3, 8; xlviii. 16: Jer. xxiii \ 6, are very remarkable. The “ angel of the Lord” probably refers in most passages to the Messiah, as the Jewish writers generally maintain, regarding him as an object of Divine worship. See Gen. xvi. 7 and 13, where the incommu- nicable name of Jehovah is given to him: see, also, Gen. xxii. 11-18; xxxi. 11-13; xxxii. 28-30: Hos. xii. 4, 5: Gen. xlviii. 15, 16: Ex. iii. 2-15; xix. 19, 20; xx. 1; xxiii. 20, 21, compared with Acts vii. 38: Josh. v. 13-15; vi. 2: Judg. xiii. 3-23: Isa. lxiii. 8, 9: Mai. iii. 1. a Isa. ix. 6 : Mic. v. 2 : Zech. xiii. 7. b Ger.. i. 2; vi. 3: Psa. li. 11, 12: Isa. xlviii. 16; Ixi. 1: Ezek. iii, 24, 27 c Jude 14. * 1 Pet. iii. 20: Gen. viii. 20. Heb. v. 6. Job xix. 25; i.; xiii, 7. 8* 152 THE BIBLE A PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. that was typical and predictive : still more in the history of Abraham 3, and his immediate descendants. Under the Mosaic dispensation, other typical acts or per- sons, and places and things, were instituted, and Mosaic. 1 . . . ° ’ the design of the institution was most distinctly ex- plained. 1 * Prophecies, also, became more clear and frequent. 0 Between the days of Samuel and Malachi — a period of more Prophetic ^han s ^ x hundred years, a succession of prophets ap- pear, who gradually set forth the person and work of the Messiah : they foretell, too, the outpouring of the Spirit, and the general prevalence of the truth, d — points on which the earlier revelation is silent. In the extent of their predictions, the prophets have not gone beyond the first promise which was intended to give hope of complete redemption ; but in their clearness^ in the detailed account they give of what redemption involved, and what it cost, the difference is most marked ; while in the same qualities, the Gospels have gone at least as far beyond the prophets as the prophets have gone beyond the law. 232. It is noticeable, too, that the predictions of the old Practical economy and its practical doctrines go hand in doctrines. p an( p The revelation spreads on each point. The light that illuminates the living spring, or the harvest- field of truth, shows with equal clearness the path that leads to them. The law gives Divine precept with more fullness than previous dispensations, and the prophets go beyond the law, occupying a middle place between it and the gospel. They insist more fully on the principles of personal holiness as distinguished from rational and ceremonial purity, and their sanctions have less reference to temporal promises. The precepts of the law are in the law stern and brief : its penalties denounced with unmitigated severity. In the pro- a Gen. xii. 3 ; xxvi. 4 ; xlix. 10, etc. b Lev. i. 4; vi. 2-7 ; xvii. 11. c NumL. xxiv. 17 : Deut. xviii. 15: Acts iii. 22, 23 d 1 Pet i. 11: Psa. lxviii. 18: Joel ii. 28: Isa. liii.; lxi. 11: Zech. xiv. 9. TH2 BIBLE A PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. 153 pliets the whole is presented in colors softer and more at- tractive ; hues from some distant glory, itself concealed, have fallen upon their gloomy features and illumined them into its own likeness. The law had said, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy strength ; ’ ’ and the extent of this command nothing could exceed. The prophets, however, expound and enforce, and animate it with a new spirit, and direct its application to greater holiness. The rule of life thus becomes in their hands increasingly luminous and practical. 233. The Psalms, again, are a great instrument of piety, and are so far additions to the institutes of legal worship, which contain no specific provision for devotion. 234. If the reader will compare the precepts of the Penta- teuch on repentance with those of the prophets on , . , . „ . i Illustrated, the same duty, a or the statements of both on the relation between the Jews, or of the world generally, and Him who came to enlighten the Gentiles as well as his people Israel, b or will mark the increasing spirituality and clearness^ of the whole horizon of spiritual truth as the dawn of the gospel day drew on, he will not fail to understand the con- sistency and progressive development of revelation. In both he will see evidence of the presence of that God who (as Butler expressed it) “ appears deliberate in all his operations,” and who accomplishes his ends by slow and successive stages, whether they refer to the changes of the seasons, the move- ments of Providence, or the more formal disclosures of his will. 235. This peculiarity of Scripture makes it important that the various parts of the Bible should be read in T x . Importance the order in which the Spirit revealed them. A ofchrono- r . logical ar- chronological arrangement of sacred histoiy, .he rangement. * Dent. xxx. 1-6 : Ezek. xviii. : Isa. lvii. 15, 16 : Psa. xl. 6-8 ; li. 16, 17. b Isa. lxvi. 21. e See especially Jer. xxxi, 31-34. 154 SUCCESSIVE DISPENSATIONS. Psalms, and the Prophets, is essential to the complete expla- nation of the several parts : nor is it less so to a clear and consistent view of the progressive unveiling of the Divine character and plans.* 236. It deserves to be remembered, too, that even when we On other are not contemplating the gradual unfolding of grounds. truth, the study of Scripture chronologically is often essential to a just appreciation of truth. Compare, for example, Paul’s first two Epistles with the last, 1 and 2 Thess. with 1 and 2 Tim., as they lie side by side in the English ver- sion ; and we shall see what changes several years of labor had pro- duced in the apostle’s feelings, and in the state of the church. Touching as is the enumeration of the apostle’s sufferings, given in ii. Cor. 11, chronological arrangement reminds us that that chapter supplies comparatively little of the evidence we have of his sincerity. It was written before his imprisoment in Judea and at Rome. Two years of imprisonment, shipwreck, another imprisonment, and finally, martyrdom, are to be added to the account. Voltaire ridicules the force of the language in which are predicted (as he thinks) the fortunes of a people whose narrow strip of country did not exceed 200 miles in length. Chronological arrangement wonH have made his remark the more striking, but it might also have sug- gested the solution of the difficulty. The prophecy grows most confi- dent and comprehensive when the nation is all but annihilated. Is it likely, therefore, to have had its origin in national vanity, or to have its accomplishment in national revival and success ? 237. Sometimes this gradual development of the Divine Various dis- will is spoken of as successive dispensations : — the pensations. Adamic, the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the Gospel: Dispensation meaning the way in which God deals with men, or (in this connection) the truth revealed, the ordinances and subsequent conduct which are enjoined. The Adamic dispensation continued only during man’s innocency. The Patriarchal lasted more than 2500 years, and the history of it is given in Gen. iii. — Exod. xx. It is 51 For a chronological arrangement of the whole of the Bible, see Part II. SUCCESSIVE DISPENSATIONS. 155 so called from the fact, that the heads of families were the governors and teachers of men — (Patriarchs), such as Adam, Seth, Enoch, and Noah, before the flood, and Job, Melchizedek, Abraham, and his immediate descendants after it. They were the depositaries of the Divine will, the guardians of prophecy, and some of them furnished in their history types of our Lord. There were, during this period, but few predictions, though there are distinct intimations of preparation for the coming of the Messiah, as in the distinction between clean and unclean animals, in reference to sacrifice, Gen. viii. 20, in sacrifice itself, and in the covenant with Abraham, Gen. xv. 20. In the Patriarchal dispensation, too, may be traced many of the first principles of the Mosaic. The covenant made with the Jews through Moses — the Mo- saic dispensation — lasted for about 1,500 years, and abounds with typical persons, places, and things. The Jewish people were in truth a type, both in their institutions and history. See Lev. vi. 2-9 ; xvi. 21 ; xvii. 11 : Eph., Heb., and 1 Cor. 10. The Gospel dispensation, the great principles of which may be traced in the previous economies, is founded on the facts given in the Gospels , the life and death of our Lord. In the Acts we see truth in action, both among individual believers and in the church ; in the Epistles , the doctrines founded on these facts are developed and enforced; and in the Revelation we have in prophetic visions, the history of truth in its strug- gles with error, and of the church till the end of time. 238. These books constitute the dispensation of the gospel, and with them, the development of evangelical truth Deveiop- (so far as the present state is concerned), ends, walfscrfp- There may be passages in the Bible, whose full ture * meaning is not yet discovered, and which are perhaps “ re- served,” as Boyle expressed it, “to quell some future heresy, or resolve some yet unformed doubt, or confound some error that hath not yet a name,” or prove by fresh prophetic evi- dence that it came from God. Scripture, moreover, is like 156 THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. the deep sea ; beautifully clear, but immeasurably profound. There is, therefore, no definable limit to our insight into its meaning. But we are to look for no further revelation : nor are we to regard as developments of Scripture doctrine, the additions of men. Examples of the abuses of this truth it is not necessary to The devei- multiply. Popery is the standing illustration. It pleads for the development of truth out of Scrip- ture, and in the church. The '•blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord, for example, is said on its theory to be the natural germ of saint worship. Christ’s presence in the supper is, in the same way, the germ of the adoration of the host, and the salutation of the angel, of the deification of the virgin. But all this is abuse. The gradual develop- ment of truth in Scripture , is one thing. An accretion which overlays the truth, is another ; and it is for the former only we contend. opment ends in Scripture. Sec. 4. — The Unity of the Bible. 239. Nor less instructive is the unity of the sacred volume. It has the first requisite of a great book — a single purpose, and that purpose kept in view throughout every page. 240. This unity is not owing (it will be observed) to the circumstance, that the volume is the work of one Not of style, but of doc- author, or of one age. As many as forty different writers (including the authors of smaller portions,) composed it. The style is now history, now song, now argu- ments or dialogue, now biography, or prophecy, or letters. Deeper than these causes of diversity and sufficiently strong to counteract their influence, must be the secret of this mar- vellous harmony. It is found, in fact, in the superhuman care of One who is infinite in power and wisdom. The entire building which was 4,000 years in rearing, is symmetrical throughout, and must have had a Divine founder, who first planned and then superintended the whole. THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 157 241. Look again, for example, at the uniformly moral pur- pose of the volume. It is the story of human beings ^ ^ in relation to God : first of man, as man : then of moral pur- families: then of a nation: then of the wider society of the church. In all other professed revelations, the writers dwell at length on the origin of the universe (as in the shas- tras of the Hindoos), or on the physical theory of another life (as in the pretended revelations of Mohammed), or on topics which cannot even be imagined, to be of any practical impor- tance (as in the fables of the Talmud, the legends of the Romish church, and the visions of Swedenborg). All that the Bible teaches, on the other hand, refers to God as connected with man, singly or socially, or to man as connected with God : and is moral and practical. It contains no Cosmogony, no mythology, no metaphysics, no marvels which are not moral : no ideal which is not also a reality. In its histories, biographies, prophecies and psalmody, it has but one aim, to knit together the broken relations between God and man, and between man and man — to redeem and sanctify our race. 242. If we look at the doctrines which were believed and taught, we find a unity no less remarkable. Under every dispensation, the great principles of Chris- tianity have been recognized by all holy men. Religion, “subjectively” regarded, has ever been faith and obedience. And as a system of truth (“ objective religion”), it has never changed. From the earliest times we find a belief in the unity of God ; in the creation and preservation of all things by Divine power ; in a general and particular providence ; in a Divine law, fixing distinctions between right and wrong ; in the fall and corruption of man ; in the doctrine of atonement through vicarious suffering ; in the obligation and efficacy of prayer ; in direct Divine influence ; in human responsibility ; and in the necessity of practical holiness. Of the law The Law y as given by Moses, abounds in ceremony, Gospel, and was evidently adapted to the peculiar circum- man nature, stances of one people. The Gospel has but few ceremonies* 14 158 THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. remarkable for their simplicity, and the whole is of uni- versal application. But though at first sight so dissimilar; the two systems are essentially one. They present the same views of God and of man, suggest or plainly teach the same truths, and are adapted to excite the same feelings. One example more : we have in Scripture several successive portraits of human nature ; one taken before the deluge, an- other soon after it : one probably 800 years later, and pre- served in the book of Job; another 500 years later still, by David ; a fifth, 500 years later, by Jeremiah ; and a sixth, 500 years later still, by Paul. Let the reader compare these pic- tures with one another and with experience, and he will feel that each description had really the same origin, and that the inspired writers had one purpose — the elevation of our nature by humiliation, and penitence and faith. Gen. vi. 5; viii. 21: Job xv. 16: Psa. xiv. 2, 3: Bom. i. 19; iii. 243. This unity comprehends doctrines entirely beyond its doc human knowledge. The Bible reveals everywhere trines be- the same God, holy, wise, and good : it speaks of man know- hfs designs in governing the world, and of the final issue of the present struggle between good and evil * It treats of human nature and of true happiness ; b analyzes with matchless skill the secret motives of human action, and points out the grand source of human misery : subjects which have engaged the thoughts of the wisest men, whose views are as remarkable for their vagueness and variety as are those of the Bible for their consistency and clearness. 244. Two remarks are suggested by these facts — First. The Bible must be regarded, not as a series of dis- tinct revelations, but as one and indivisible. Doctrines which are clearly revealed in the New Testament depend for many of their evidences, and yet more for their illustrations, on the Old. The one dispensation is the completion of the other. *Gen. iii. 15: Dan. vii. 14: 1 John iii. 8. *>Gen. i. 26: Bom. iii. 23: Eccl. xii. 13: Matt. v. iii, &c. THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE. 159 The first ; s the type, or earthly figure ; the second, the hea- venly reality. The nature of the “good things to come” may be gathered from “ the shadow,” as well as from the things themselves. The ancient record, moreover, has many his- torical and precious associations. It fostered in the ancient church the same graces as are required now. It exhibits holy men struggling with our temptations. Above all, it must be remembered, that in the history of individuals and of nations, as of the race, there is a time when the delivery of truth, in forms as elementary and, comparatively, rude as those found in the Old Testament, seems to be essential to the spiritual training of character. To this day, it is known that some of the narratives and practices of tbe old economy give to heathen nations a clearer idea of the Divine holiness, and of human duty, than even the more full disclosures of \ the new. * 245. Secondly. Hence an important test of truth, and of the relative value of truth. If it be said, for example, that the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ are not revealed in the Gospel, or are subordinate truths, we look to the law, or to earlier dispensations; and if it be maintained that in the Gospel there is no priesthood or sacrifice, we have then in the law a series of shadowy observances, without reference or meaning. The blood, the altar, the holy place, the propitia- tory intercession, are all types of nothing, and the previous economy is robbed of its significance. If it had significance, but is now abolished, the substitution of the Gospel in its place implies a change in the very principles of the Divine government. Under that dispensation, law was inexorable; now it is yielding and remiss. Then repentance alone was powerless to save, now it is mighty and efficacious. At first, man was pardoned through an atonement, at least, by prero- gative. As it is, the mystery is solved. Revelation is a con- sistent whole. The doctrines of the later manifestation unfold their meaning, and instruct with increased impressive- 160 THE BIBLE HOT A SYSTEM. ness and consistency, wlien studied amidst the patterns of the earlier. Seg. 5 — Not a Revelation of Systematic Truth or of Specific Rules. 246. Another of the peculiarities of Scripture, no less strik- ing than those named, is the absence of all systematic form in the truths revealed. There is no compend of Christian doc- trine, nor are there specific rules on the duties of the Chris- tian life : an omission the more marked, as in the books of most false religions (the Koran and Shastras, for example) the description of the “faith” is most precise, and the minutest directions are given concerning fasts, ablutions, and other points of religious service. 247. This peculiarity is both natural and instructive. In This fact na- Old Testament, the earlier part (and much of turai and in- the later) is purely historical. Moral truth tran- spires exclusively through narrative, and the narra- tive is fragmentary and concise. God had been in communi- cation with man for more than 2,000 years before he gave “the law.” What he had revealed, or how he revealed it, cannot be fully gathered from the record. The very object, indeed, of a large portion of the Bible, seems to be not so much the disclosure of truth, as the embodiment of truth already disclosed. The New Testament, again, was written for those who had received instruction in the Christian faith, and had embraced it. It can hardly be expected, therefore, to contain regular elementary instruction, or an enumeration of articles of faith. When the Epistles were written, the churches had been formed under Divine teaching and on a Divine model; while the Gos- pels are clearly historical, and rather imply or suggest religious truth, than systematically reveal it. 248. Religion is objective,' or subjective; a system of holy THE BIBLE NOT A SYSTEM. 161 doctrine, or of active holy principles. The first is h ow truth truth, and the second is piety. In Scripture both lsrevealed * are revealed ; but it is rather in the form of examples, or of incidental illustrations, than of systematic teaching. Let us notice, for example, how the Bible speahs of the character of God, as a moral governor, and of man, illustrated both as sinful and as holy. man? d and By the character of God is meant his power, his wisdom, his holi- ness; and by his moral government, his superintendence of the concerns of the universe on fixed and holy principles. Everywhere, throughout the Bible, his perfections are revealed ; but they are revealed in his works. They are never defined or mentioned even, without reference to some practical end. When Abraham, through Sarah’s impatience or unbelief, had taken Hagar, hoping to see an early fulfilment of the Divine promise, Jehovah rebuked him, and for the first time spoke of himself as the “Almighty God,” Gen. xvii. 1. When Israel exclaimed, “My way is hid from the Lord,” the answer was given, “Hast thou not known . . . that the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is wear y: there is no searching of his understanding,” Isa. xl. 28. Considering his government, we find its principles embodied in facts, or in practical precepts, exclusively. His dispensations are unchangeable like himself. In every nation and age, he that worketh righteousness is approved. He judges according to every man’s work. a He controls what seems most accidental. b He brings about his ends by means apparently trifling or contradictory.® He makes even the wicked the instruments of his will. d He forgives, and is ready to forgive.® He hears and answers prayerJ He marks the motives of men, as in the case of Lot’s wife, and of Joash.s He chastises those whom he most loves, as in the case of Moses, of David, and of Hezekiah. h He a Deut. x. 17 : 2 Chron. xix. 7 : Horn. ii. 11 : Gal. ii. 6; Eph. vi. 9: Col. iii. 25: 1 Pet. i. 17. h Jer. xxxviii. 7-13 : Acts xvi. 23. c 1 Sam, ix. 3, 15, 16: Judges vii. 13-15. d Neh. xiii. 2 : Acts ii. 23. e Dan. ix. 24 : 2 Chron. vii. 14. f 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13: Gen. xxiv. 12. g Gen. xix. 26: 2 Kings xiii. 9. h Numb. xx. 12 : 2 Sam, xxiv 11, 15: 2 Chron. xxxii. 25 . 14* 162 THE BIBLE HOT A SYSTEM. preserveth the righteous, and .lone that trusteth in Him shall be desolate. 1 Man is set before us in lights equally instructive. If we would ana- lyze and describe our sinfulness, we may find scoffing infidelity in the antediluvians ; b envy in the brethren of Joseph, and in Cain; c malice in Saul ; d slander in Doeg and Ziba;° contempt for Divine teaching in Korah and Ahab; f covetousness in Achan and Balaam, in Gehazi, and Judas ;s ambition in Abimelech and the sons of Zebedee,' b pride in Hezekiah and Nebuchadnezzar.* To set forth the inconsistencies of human nature, it shows us, in Ahithophel, the friend and the traitor ;i in Joab, the brave soldier and faithful servant, k yet “a doer of evil,” and one who opposed God’s appointment and sided with Adonijah in Jehoram, a destroyer of the images of Baal, who yet cleaved to the sin of Jeroboam; 1 ” in Herod, reverence for John, and a spirit of hardened disobedience;” in Agrippa, belief of the prophets, and a rejection of the gospel;® in many of the chief rulers, a faith in Christ, combined with a readiness to join in the sentence of the Sanhedrim, that he was “guilty of death. ”p We see the power of self-deceit in David and Balaam ;q of prejudice , in Naaman, in Nicodemus, in the people of Athens and of Ephesus ; r of habit , in Ahab, who humbled himself before Elijah, and yet re- turned to his idols; 3 and in Felix, of whom we read that he trembled once, though we never read that he trembled again.* The danger of ungodly connections is seen in the antediluvians and Esau, who married with those who were under the curse of God ; u in Solomon ; v in Jehoshaphat’s connection with Ahab (through Athaliah);" and in Ahab’s connection with Jezebel; 1 of worldly prosperity in Be- hoboamy and Uzziah.* a 1 Sam. xvii. 37 : Phil. iv. 12, 18. c Gen. iv. 5; xxxvii. 11. e 1 Sam. xxii. 9 : 2 Sam. xvi. 1. e Josh. vi. 19, etc. * 2 Kings xx. 13 : Dan. iv. 30. k 2 Sam. xii. 28 ; xxiv. 3. m 2 Kings iii. 1-3. o Acts xxvi. 27, 28. q 2 Sam. xii. 5-7 : Numb, xxxii. r 2 Kings v. 11, 12: John iii.: 1 • 1 Kings xxi. 27 ; xxii. 6. » Gen. vi. 1-3 ; xxvi. 34. w 2 Kings viii. 18-26. y 2 Chron. xii. 1. b Jude 14, 15. d 1 Sam. xviii. 28, 29. f Numb. xvi. 3: 1 Kings, xx; xxii. h Jud. ix. 1-5: Mark x. 35. i Psa. Iv. 13 : 2 Sam. xvi. 15. * 2 Sam. iii. 27-39. n Mark vi. 16-20. p John xii. 42: Matt, xxvi 66. :ts xvii. 18 ; xix. 28. * Acts xxiv. ▼ Neh. xiii. 25, 26. * 1 Kings xxi. * 2 Chron. xxvi. 16, THE BII jE NOT A SYSTEM. 163 If we seek for the exhibitions of Christian excellence, again, we have it not defined, but illustrated: faith in Abraham;* patience in Job; b meekness in Moses ; c decision in Joshua ; d patriotism in Nebemiah;® friendship in Jonathan/ In Hannah, we have a pattern to mothers ;* in Samuel, and Josiah, and Timothy, to children; 11 in Joseph, and Daniel, to young men; 1 in Barzillai, to the aged;i in Eliezer, to ser- vants ; k in David, to those under authority ; ! in our Divine Lord, to all of every age and in every condition, whether of duty or of suffering. To make the truth taught in these examples (except in the last) com- plete, we must trace the evidence of their weakness. They failed in the very parts of their character which were strongest. Abraham through fear, 111 Job through impatience, 11 Moses through irritability ar/d presumption. 0 If we attempt, again, to ascertain from Scripture what Paley has called the “devotional virtues” of religion, veneration towards God, a habitual sense of his providence, faith in his wisdom and dealings, a disposition to resort on all occasions to his mercy for help and pardon, we shall find them rather illustrated than defined, embodied, that is, in character and example, and not in propositions ;P the whole adapted with admirable skill, and by the very form they assume, to our wants. It is this presence in Scripture of men like ourselves, that brings it home to our business and bosoms. There is felt to be something Human in it, as well as Divine. It meets us at every turn. We feel, as we look, that it has a power, which, like the eye of a good portrait, is fixed upon us, turn where we will. q See Miller’s Bampton Lectures, p. 128. * Gal. iii. 7-9. b James v. 11. c Numb. xii. 3. d Josh. xxiv. 15. * Neh. i. 4 ; v. 14. f 1 Sam. xix. 2-4, etc. h 1 Sam. iii.: 2 Ghron. xxxiv. 9: 2 s 1 Sam. i. 27, 28, Tim. iii. 15. j 2 Sam. xix. 34, 35. 1 1 Sam. xxiv. 6-10, etc. n Job. iii. 1. i Gen. xxxix. 9, k Gen. xxiv. m Gen. xx. 2. ° Dent, xxxii. 51. p Paley has some admirable remarks, applying these principles to the character (given in Scripture) of our Lord. “ Evidences,” p. 231, Beligious Tract Society’s ed. s Besides answering this moral purpose, it is worthy of remark that the style of Scripture, consisting of figures and specific examples, or 164 THE BIBLE HOT A SYSTEM. 249. What an essential quality in a volum designed for all s< ripture countries and for every age ! If articles of faith, adapted to or r ules of practice had been given, they ail coun- must have been retained for ever, and with them the heresies and errors which they were intended to condemn. Either they must have been very general, and therefore useless for their avowed purpose, or they must have been so minute as not to be practicable in all countries, and comprehensible by all Christians. The Koran, for example, places the utmost importance on the offering of prayer at sun- rise and sunset: a rule which proves that the religion of the false prophet was never designed for Greenland or Labrador, where for several months the sun never sets. A summary of doctrine, too, perfectly intelligible to a matured Christian, might be nearly all mysterious to the converted Hottentot. 250. And even if such a summary could have been made Comparison g enera ^y intelligible, its effects upon the minds of and refiec- Christians would have been disastrous. They would tion impor- t # J taut. have stored their memory with the very words of the Creed, without searching the rest of Scripture. There would have been no room for thought, no call for investigation, and no excitement of the feelings or improvement of the heart. The creed being, not that from which the faith is to be learned, but the faith itself, would be regarded with indolent and use- less veneration. It is only when our energies are roused and our attention awake, when we are acquiring or correcting, or improving our knowledge, that knowledge makes the requisite impression upon us. God has not made Scripture like a gar- den, “ where the fruits are ripe and the flowers bloom, and all things are fully exposed to view ; but like a field, where we have the ground and seeds of all precious things, but where nothing can be brought to maturity without our industry ; "• •‘singular terms,” is the kind of diction least impaired by translation* Sdb Whateley’s Rhet., part. iii. chap. ii. \ 2, * More’s Mystery of Godliness. THE BIBLE NOT A SYSTEM. 165 nor then, without the dews of heavenly grace. “I find in the Bible,” says Cecil, “a grand peculiarity, that seems to say to all who attempt to systematize it, I am not of your mind .... I stand alone. The great and the wise shall never exhaust my treasures : by figures and parables I will come down to the feelings and understandings of the ignorant. Leave me as I am, but study me incessantly.” 251. Even good men, too, have undue preferences. If all truth of the same order were placed together in Scripture, men would read most what they most and duties loved, to the neglect of what may be as important though less welcome. But as truth is scattered throughout the Bible, we learn to think of doctrine in connection with duty, and of duty in connection with the principles by which it is enforced. 252. These facts rebuke the system of the Romish church ; she condemns the study of the Bible, fostering Not Theolo> man’s aversion to the investigation of truth, and f^tetobe his indolent acquiescence in what is ready prepared studied. to his hand : a propensity against which the very structure of the Christian Scriptures seems designed to guard. They suggest, too, a lesson to those who regard the Bible as influential only when made a treasury of intellectual truth. Systematic Divinity, founded upon the Bible, is perhaps the last perfection of knowledge, but not necessarily of character. A man may be drawn to the sacred page by its pictures of Divine goodness, and may love it with a return of affection for all its mercy, or of hope for its promises, or may feed his soul with its provisions, or direct his life by its counsel, and yet do nothing to systematize its doctrines, or at all under- stand the technical phrases of theological truth. This life of devotion, with its acknowledgment of Providence, and imita- tion of Christ, is the chief thing : combined with systematic thinking, it makes a man profoundly holy and profoundly wise ; but without the systematic thinking there may be both holiness and wisdom. 166 THE BIBLE NOT A SYSTEM. 253. They suggest a third lesson. Systematic catechetical treatises on doctrine are of use, chiefly in defining Scripture . . « £ , \ . . , 8 the book for or preserving unity of faith ; but must not be re- ie young. g ar( j e( j ag instruments of religious training, or as the store-houses of effective knowledge. They address the intellect only, and that, too, in logical forms, without narrative, or example, or feeling, or power. They contain no patterns of holiness ; no touches of nature. Use them, therefore, in their right place ; but remember that the Divine instrument of man’s improvement is that book which abounds in examples of tenderness, of pity, of remonstrance ; which gives forth tones and looks, and words, at once human and Divine, ever the same, and yet ever new — thfc Bible. [On the subjects of this section, see “Errors of Romanism traced to their Origin in Human Nature,” and “ Essays on some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion,” by Arch- bishop Whately.j INTERPRETATION — STUDY, 167 CHAPTER IV. ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. *' Man can weary himself in any secular affair, but diligently to search the Scripture is to him tedious and burdensome. Few covet to be mighty in the Scriptures, though convinced their great concern is enveloped in them.” — Locke, Commonplace Booh , Pref. “The generality of Scripture hath such a contexture and coherence, one part with another, that small insight into it will be gained by read- ing it confusedly. Therefore, read the whole in order.” — Dr. Frakcts Roberts. “The tropical sense is no other than the figurative sense. As we say in language derived from the Greek, that a trope is turned from its lit- eral or grammatical sense, so we say in language derived from the Latin, that a figure is then used, because in such cases the meaning of the word assumes a new form. The same opposition, therefore, which is expressed by the terms literal sense and figurative sense, is expressed also by the terms grammatical sense and tropical sense.” — Marsh, Lectures , Part iii. Sec. 1. — On the Necessity of Care in the Study of Scripture. 254. The importance of carefully studying the Bible with every accessible help may be gathered from the cir- Scriptllre3 cumstances connected with the preparation of the ? r e 0 e ^becir- sacred books. cumstances m which They were written by different writers, of everv they were J J ' * written. degree of cultivation, and of different orders — P Writers of priests as Ezra, poets as Solomon, prophets as different Isaiah, warriors as David, herdsmen as Amos, statesmen as Daniel, scholars as Moses and Paul, fishermen, “ unlearned and ignorant men,” as Peter and John. The first author, Moses, lived 400 years before the siege of Troy, and 900 before the most ancient sages of Datesand Greece and Asia, Thales, Pythagoras, and Confucius ; places, and the last, John, 1,500 years later than Moses. The books were written in different places ; in the centre of Asia, on the sands of Arabia, in the deserts of Judaea, in 168 CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN. the porches of the temple, in the schools of the prophets at Bethel and Jericho, in the palaces of Babylon, on the idolatrous banks of Chebar, and in the midst of the western civilization ; the allusions, and figures, and expressions, being taken from customs, scenery, and habits, very different from each other, and from those of modern Europe. Some of the writers, as Moses, frame laws; others sketch Have differ- history, as J oshua ; some compose psalms, as David ; e^and^d^" or P rover bs, as Solomon. Isaiah writes prophecies; ent S charae’ evan g e ^ s ^ s » a biography; several of the apos- ters. ties, letters. Whole books, and parts of books, refer to the heathen, as in Isaiah and Nahum ; while parts are addressed to the Jews only : one Gospel was intended for Hebrew converts and another for Gentiles. The Epistles to the Corinthians are addressed to men who had little respect for authority, and were unwilling to be bound, except by the fewest possible ties. The Epistle to the Galatians is addressed to those who wished to bring their converts under the bondage of the law. That to the Romans addresses (in part,) the pharisaically self- righteous; the Epistle of James, the nominal and careless professor. The time, the place, the employment and previous history, the character and aim of the various writers, and even the position of those they addressed, all need to be considered; as these circumstances must have exercised an influence, if not upon the thoughts embodied in the language of Scripture, yet upon the language itself. 255. The importance of a careful study of Scripture will Scripture y e ^ more appear, when we consider the difficulty of ?r?m S imper- communicating to men, and in human language, any lection of ideas of religious or spiritual truth. language. ° x , 256. Most of the language which men employ in Use of anal- . . ° . r ^ ogy in men- reference to spiritual things, is founded on analogy or resemblance. This is true of all language which tspeaks of the mind or of its acts ; and especially of the lan- ANALOGICAL LANGUAGE OF SCRIPTURE. 169 guage of early times. In the infancy of races, language is nearly all figure, and describes even common facts by the aid of natural symbols. The very word “ spirit,” means in its derivation, “ breath.” The mind is said to see truth, because the act of the mind by which it is perceived, bears some resemblance to the act of the eye. To “reflect,” is literally to bend or throw back, and so to look round our thoughts. ; “Attention” is a mental exercise, analogous to the stretching of the eye in the examination of some outward object. It is the necessity of man’s state, that scarcely any fact connected with the mind, or with spiritual truth, can be described, but in language borrowed from material things. To words exclu- sively spiritual or abstract, we can attach no definite conception. 257. And God is pleased to condescend to our necessity. He leads us to new knowledge by means of what is already known. He reveals himself in terms pre- Inielli=10n * viously familiar. If he speak of himself, it must be in words originally suggested by the operations of the senses. If he speak of heaven, it is in figures taken from the scenes of the earth. We say that God “condescends to our necessity.” This is true : but it might be said with as much truth, that God having stamped his own image upon natural things, employs them to describe and illustrate himself. “ The visible world is the dial- plate of the invisible.” Spiritual thoughts were first embo- died in natural symbols; and those symbols are now employed to give ideas of spiritual truth. To the devout man, espe- cially, the seen and the unseen world are so closely blended, that he finds it difficult to separate them. The world of na- ture is to him an emblem, and a witness of the world of spirits. They proceed from the same hand. In his view, Earth Is but the shadow of heaven, and things therein, Are each to other like. It is impossible to avoid the conviction, that many of the 15 170 EXPRESSIONS TAKEN FROM MAN. figures of the Bible have originated in such a h abit, and are the offspring of exquisite taste and devout piety. Nor is it only from the nature of spiritual truth, or from the marvellous connection which subsists between material and spiritual things, that the inspired writers employ the lan- guage of figure. Such language is often most appropriate, because of its impressiveness and beauty. It conveys ideas to the mind with more vividness than prosaic description. It charms the imagination, while instructing the judgment, and it impresses the memory, by interesting the heart. 258. (1.) Sometimes, for example, common things are asso- ciated in Scripture with what is spiritual. Common tilings sug- gest reli- God dwells in “light.” He sets up his “kingdom” gious terms. jj eaven * s ^ “throne.” The Christian’s faith is described in the same order of terms. He “ handles” the word of life. He “sees” him who is invisible. He “comes” to Christ, and he “leans” upon him. 259. (2.) Sometimes the Bible, borrowing comparisons from ourselves, speaks of God as having human affections, and performing human actions. Hands, eyes, and feet are ascribed to God ; and the meaning is, that he has power to execute all such acts, as those organs in us are instru- mental in effecting. He is called “the Father,” because he is the creator and supporter of man, and especially because he is the author of spir- itual life. He “ lifts up the light of his countenance” when he mani- fests his presence and love (Psa. iv. 6), and “ he hides his face ” (Psa. x. 1) when these blessings are withheld. In Gen. vi. 6, it is said, “ It repented the Lord that he had made man,” i.e., he had no longer pleasure in his work, so unpleasing and unprofit- able had man become by transgression. In Gen. xviii. 21, he says, “ I will go and see,” to imply that he should examine the doings of men before he condemned them. In Jer. vii. 13, he says, “I spake unto you, rising up early and speak- ing,” to imply the interest he felt in their welfare, and the care he had taken to instruct them. In Dan. iv. 35, it is said “he doeth according to his will,” i.e., not capriciously, but independently of men, and so as justly to require our entire submission. EXPRESSIONS TAKEN FROM JE flSH RITES. 171 It may be observed generally, that though there is some analogy between the love and wisdom, the knowledge and holiness, which we ascribe to God, and those same faculties in men, there is a great differ- ence between them. The faculties in God are infinitely more noble, though there is enough of resemblance in the expressions of each, to justify the application of the same terms. Two remarks, in reference to the employment of this ana- logical language, are important. 260. (1.) The figures which are used in speaking of spiritual truth are not used, as in common description, to give such terms an unnatural greatness or dignity to the objects they aggerate*" describe. The things represented have much more tmth ’ of reality and perfection in them, than the things by which we represent them. It is so in all such language. The mind weighs arguments, and that action is more noble than the me- chanical habit from which the expression is taken. God sees much more perfectly than the eye : and the light in which he dwells is very feebly represented by the material element to which that name is applied. When it is said that the church is the bride of Christ, the earthly relation is but a lower form of the heavenly ; in the same way as earthly kingdoms and earthly majesty are but figures and faint shadows of the true. The figurative language, then, which we are compelled to em- ploy when speaking of spiritual things, is much within the truth, and never beyond it. 261. (2.) It is a necessary result of the employment of such language, that figurative expressions are sometimes often used used in different senses. in diff erent S6I1S6S. If God is said, for example, to repent, and to turn from the evil which he had threatened against sinners, and in other places it is said that God is “not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent” (Numb, xxiii. 19), in the first it is meant that God changes his dealings with sinners when they change : and in the second, that there is no fickleness or untruthfulness in him. In Psa. xviii. 11, God is said to mi*ke “darkness his secret place,” and in 1 Tim. vi. 16, he is said to dwell in light. In the first case, darkness means inscrutableness, and in the second, light means purity, intelli- 172 EXPRESSIONS TAKEN FROM JEWISH RITI S. gence, or honor. In Exod. xxxiii. 11, it is said that God “spake nnto Moses face to face,” and in ver. 20 he declares that no man can see his face and live. In the first passage, the expression means to have inter- course without the intervention of another; in the second, to have a full and familiar sight of the Divine glory. The same word (it has been remarked) expresses in Hebrew “to bless” and “to curse,” and this dissimilarity of meaning has excited surprise. The word originally means “to bend the knee,” and that act was equally appropriate in asking a favor for others and in denouncing them. 262. (3.) It may be remarked, further, that the Bible often speaks of spiritual truth in terms suggested by the Jewish his- facts of Jewish history, or by rites of Divine insti- tory ‘ tution. The idea of holiness, e.g ., for which in its Christian sense the heathen have no word, was suggested to the Jews by means of a special institu- tion. All animals, common to Palestine, were divided into clean and unclean. From the clean, one was chosen without spot or blemish: a peculiar tribe, selected from the other tribes, was appointed to present it; the offering being first washed with clean water, and the priest him- self undergoing a similar ablution. Neither the priest, nor any of the people, nor the victim, however, was deemed sufficiently holy to come into the Divine presence, but the offering was made without the lioly place. The idea of the infinite purity of God was thus suggested to the mind of observers, and holiness in things created came to mean, under the law, “ purification for sacred uses;” and under the Gospel, freedom from sin, and the possession, by spiritual intelligences, of a “ Divine nature.” The demerit of sin and the doctrine of an atonement were taught in words taken from equally significant rites. The victim was slain, and its blood (which was the life) was sprinkled upon the mercy seat, and towards the holy place; and while the people prayed in the outer court, they beheld the dark volume of smoke ascending from the sacrifice, which was burning in their stead. How plainly did this suggest that God’s justice was a consuming fire, and that the souls of the people escaped only through a vicarious atonement! The ideas thus suggested were intended to continue through all time, and we find them often ex- pressed in terms borrowed from these ancient institutions. Under the law, again, the priests were clothed in white linen, and dressed in splendid apparel. Expressions taken from these customs are hence employed to indicate the purity and dignity of the redeemed. FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS. 173 The whole of Jewish history is in the same way suggestive of spiritual truth and of analogous expressions. Men are the “slaves” of sin. Their road is through the “desert.” They cross the “ Jordan ” of death. They enter the “ rest ” that remains for the people of God. They have their “forerunner:” their prophet: their priest, who is also called in prophecy after the days of Saul, their king. 263. (4.) It may be remarked again, that many of the ex- pressions of the New Testament are employed in Manytormg senses entirely unknown to the common writers of used in new J senses. the Greek tongue. The New Testament term for humility meant, in classic Greek, iaean- epiritedness, and though Plato has used the word once or twice, to indi- cate an humble spirit, this is confessedly an unusual meaning, De Leg, iv. The Greeks had no virtue under that name, and even Cicero remarks, that meekness is merely a blemish. De Off. iii. 32. Grace in the sense of Divine unmerited favor: Justification as an evangelical blessing: God as a holy, self-existent merciful Being : Faith as an instrument of holi- ness, and essential to pardon: all these terms are used in Greek, and in all versions of the New Testament, with peculiar meaning. To us all, they are old words in a new sense. All language exhibits similar changes: “calamity” meant originally, in the language from which it is taken, the loss of standing corn (calamus): “sycophant” meant fig- informer, and “sincerity,” without wax, alluding to the practice of the potter in concealing the flaws of his vessels: but in Scripture, such changes are unusually numerous. Happily, however, there need be no misapprehension concerning the terms which are thus employed, as Scripture itself has defined the ideas they convey, sometimes by a refer- ence to the old dispensation, sometimes by a formal or indirect explana- tion of the terms themselves. 264. It may aid the reader in interpreting Scripture, to know how the various figures which our condition Figures compels us to use in speaking of spiritual truth, are classifie