Part 9

The first chairman of the Old Testament Company was Bishop Thirlwall. Upon his resignation of the office in 1871 Dr. Harold Browne, then Bishop of Ely, now Bishop of Winchester, was appointed to succeed him, and has continued to hold the office until now. Dr. Ellicott, Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, has from the first presided over the New Testament Company.

The Old Testament Company appointed one of their own number, Mr. Aldis Wright, to act as their secretary, taking the minutes of their proceedings, and conducting all needful correspondence. The New Testament Company deemed it better to assign this office to one who was not himself burthened with the responsibilities of the revision, and they were happily able to secure the efficient services of the Rev. John Troutbeck, M.A., one of the Minor Canons of Westminster Abbey.

It will be seen that of the sixty-five English scholars who have taken part in this work forty-one have been members of the Church of England, and twenty-four members of other churches. Of the latter number two represent the Episcopal Church of Ireland, one the Episcopal Church of Scotland, four the Baptists, three the Congregationalists, five the Free Church of Scotland, five the Established Church of Scotland, one the United Presbyterians, one the Unitarians, and two the Wesleyan Methodists.

It is on many grounds a matter for thankfulness that they who took the initiative in the formation of the two Companies were able to secure so wide a representation of the various religious communities of our country, and men belonging to different schools of religious thought. For while no one can reasonably suppose that in the present day any body of Scholars would consciously allow themselves in the translation of the Scriptures to be swayed by any theological bias, there is, as all know, such a thing as unconscious bias; and it was greatly to be desired that no such suspicion should be raised against this Revision as for a long time obtained in reference to the Revision of 1611. It was also to be desired that no ground should exist that would give an excuse for any to say that through the bias of theological prepossessions the interpretations given by some to important passages of Scripture were unconsciously ignored, and that, had such interpretations been brought under the consideration of the Revisers, they must, as honest scholars, have accepted them. Such a ground of objection has happily been excluded by the constitution of the two Companies. The varieties of theological opinion found amongst the Revisers have been an efficient protection against any lapse of the kind referred to, and it may safely be affirmed that no interpretation of any important doctrinal passage for which any respectable amount of authority could be claimed has failed to come under notice, or to receive a careful examination.

The advantage resulting from this varied representation in the membership of the two Companies has been still further extended by the arrangements which have secured the co-operation of a considerable number of American Scholars. Shortly after the formation of the two Companies steps were taken for enlisting such co-operation; and after some correspondence with representative men in America, the Rev. Dr. Philip Schaff, of New York, was requested to act on behalf of the English Companies in selecting and inviting American Scholars. In October, 1871, it was reported to the New Testament Company that Dr. Schaff had verbally informed the secretary that the American Revisers were prepared to enter upon their work. Various causes of delay, however, intervened, and it was not until July 17th, 1872, that the communication was made that the American Companies were duly constituted. These Companies held their first meeting on the 4th of October in that year. The following is the list of their Members.

THE OLD TESTAMENT COMPANY.

Professor T. J. Conant, Baptist, Brooklyn, New York.

Professor G. E. Day, Congregationalist, New Haven, Conn.

Professor J. De Witt, Reformed Church, New Brunswick, N.J.

Professor W. H. Green, Presbyterian, Princeton, N.J.

Professor G. E. Hare, Episcopalian, Philadelphia, Pa.

Professor C. P. Krauth, Lutheran, Philadelphia, Pa.

Professor Joseph Packard, Episcopalian, Fairfax, Va.

Professor C. E. Stowe, Congregationalist, Cambridge, Mass.

Professor J. Strong, Methodist, Madison, N.J.

Professor C. V. Van Dyke,[128] Beirût, Syria.

Professor T. Lewis, Reformed Church, Schenectady, N.J.

In all eleven members.

THE NEW TESTAMENT COMPANY.

Professor Ezra Abbot, Unitarian, Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. G. R. Crooks, Methodist, New York.

Professor H. B. Hackett, Baptist, Rochester, N.Y.

Professor J. Hadley, Congregationalist, New Haven, Conn.

Professor C. Hodge, Presbyterian, Princeton, N.J.

Professor A. C. Kendrick, Baptist, Rochester, N.Y.

Dr. Alfred Lee, Bishop of Delaware.

Professor M. B. Riddle, Reformed Church, Hartford, Conn.

Professor Philip Schaff, Presbyterian, New York.

Professor C. Short, Episcopalian, New York.

Professor H. B. Smith, Presbyterian, New York.

Professor J. H. Thayer, Congregationalist, Andover, Mass.

Professor W. F. Warren, Methodist, Boston, Mass.

Dr. E. A. Washburn, Episcopalian, New York.

Dr. T. D. Woolsey, Congregationalist, New Haven, Conn.

In all fifteen members.

Four Members have since been added to the Old Testament Company; namely:

Professor C. A. Aiken, Presbyterian, Princeton, N.J.

Dr. T. W. Chambers, Reformed Church, New York.

Professor C. M. Mead, Congregationalist, Andover, Mass.

Professor H. Osgood, Baptist, Rochester, N.Y.

One Member, Professor T. Lewis, has been removed by death.

Four Members have been added to the New Testament Company:

Dr. J. K. Burr, Methodist, Trenton, N.Y.

Dr. T. Chase, Baptist, President of Haverford College, Pa.

Dr. H. Crosby, Baptist, Chancellor of New York University.

Professor Timothy Dwight, Congregationalist, New Haven, Conn.

Four also have been removed by death, Dr. Hackett, Dr. Hadley, Dr. C. Hodge, Dr. H. B. Smith; and two by resignation, Dr. Crooks and Dr. Warren.

* * * * *

It hence results that altogether ninety-nine Scholars have, to a greater or less extent, taken part in the work of this revision, forty-nine of whom have been members of the Episcopalian Churches of England, Scotland, Ireland, and America, and fifty members of other Christian Churches. This fact is in itself full of interest and significance. Upon no previous revision have so many Scholars been engaged. In no previous revision has the co-operation of those who were engaged upon it been so equally diffused over all the parts of the work. In no previous revision have those who took the lead in originating it, and carrying it forward, shown so large a measure of Christian confidence in Scholars who were outside of their own communion. In no previous revision have such effective precautions been created by the very composition of the body of Revisers, against accidental oversight, or against any lurking bias that might arise from natural tendencies or from ecclesiastical prepossessions. On these accounts alone, if on no other, this revision may be fairly said to possess peculiar claims upon the confidence of all thoughtful and devout readers of the Bible.

The New Testament Company assembled for the first time on Wednesday, June 22nd, 1870. They met in the Chapel of Henry VII., and there united in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. After this act of worship and holy communion they formally entered upon the task assigned to them. The Old Testament Company held their first meeting on June 30th.

By the kindness of the Dean of Westminster, the New Testament Company was permitted to hold its meetings in the Jerusalem Chamber. This room, originally the parlour of the Abbot’s Palace, is associated with many interesting events of English history. It was to this spot that Henry IV. was conveyed when seized with his last illness; and here, on March 20th, 1413, he died. It was here, in the days of the Long Parliament, that the celebrated Assembly of Divines, driven by the cold from Henry VII.’s Chapel, held its sixty-sixth session, on Monday, October 2nd, 1643; and here thenceforward it continued to meet until its closing session (the 1163rd), on February 22nd, 1649. Here were prepared the famed Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Longer and Shorter Catechisms so highly prized by the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland, and during many generations by the Independents of England. Here also, just fifty years later, assembled the memorable Commission appointed by William III., at the suggestion of the Dean of Canterbury (Dr. Tillotson), to devise a basis for a scheme of comprehension in a revision of the Prayer Book. In this room the New Testament Company have held the larger number of their sessions. Upon the few occasions on which it was not available the Company has most frequently met in the Dean of Westminster’s library. Twice it has held its monthly session in the College Hall, twice in the Chapter Library, and once in Queen Anne’s Bounty Office.

The Jerusalem Chamber is an oblong room, somewhat narrow for its length, measuring about forty feet from north to south, and about twenty from east to west. Down the centre of the room there extends a long table; and on this table, in the middle of its eastern side, is placed the desk of the Chairman, Bishop Ellicott. Facing the Chairman, and on the opposite side of the room, is a small table for the use of the Secretary. The members of the Company took their places round the table without any pre-arrangement, but just as each might find a seat most ready at hand. The force of habit, however, soon prevailed, and most of the members sat constantly in the place which accident or choice had assigned to them. On the Chairman’s right sat the Prolocutor, Dr. Bickersteth, and on his left, during the sixteen meetings he was spared to attend, sat the late Dean of Canterbury, Dr. Alford, who, to the great sorrow of the Company, was so early taken away from their midst. Between the Prolocutor and the northern end of the table were the places usually occupied by the Bishop of Salisbury, the Bishop of St. Andrews, Dean Blakesley, and Mr. Humphry. Between the Chairman and the southern end were the places of the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Brown, Dr. Vaughan, Dr. Eadie, and Canon Westcott. Between the Secretary’s table and the northern end of the long table were the seats of Canon Kennedy, Dr. Angus, Archdeacon Palmer, and Dr. Hort; and between the Secretary’s table and the southern end were those of Dr. Vance Smith, Dr. Scrivener, Dr. Lightfoot, Dean Scott, and Dr. Newth. At the northern end of the table were the places of Archdeacon Lee and Dean Stanley; and at the southern end those of Dr. Moulton and Dr. Milligan.

As the general rules under which the revision was to be carried out had been carefully prepared, no need existed for any lengthened discussion of preliminary arrangements, and the Company upon its first meeting was able to enter at once upon its work. The members of the Company had previously been supplied with sheets, each containing a column of the printed text of the Authorized Version, with a wide margin on either side for suggested emendations--the left hand margin being intended for changes in the Greek text, and the right hand margin for those which related to the English rendering. Upon these sheets each member had entered the result of his own private study of the prescribed portion, and thus came prepared with well-considered suggestions to submit for the judgment of the Company. The portion prescribed for the first session was Matt. i. to iv. This portion opening with the genealogy, the question of the spelling of proper names at once presented itself for decision. It was felt that, by the twofold forms so often given in the Authorized Version to the names of persons and places, a needless difficulty was set in the way of the simple reader of the Bible; and it was agreed that, while preserving in every case the familiar forms of names which had become thoroughly Englished, such as John, James, Timothy, Jacob, Solomon, &c., all Old Testament proper names quoted in the New should follow the Hebrew rather than the Greek or Latin, and so appear under the same form in both Testaments.

This question being thus settled, the Company proceeded to the actual details of the revision, and in a surprisingly short time settled down to an established method of procedure. So little need arose for any change in this respect that the account of any one ordinary meeting will serve as a description of all. The Company assembles at eleven a.m. The meeting is opened by prayer, the Chairman reading three collects from the Prayer Book, and closing with the Lord’s Prayer. The minutes of the last meeting are then read and confirmed. Any correspondence or other business that may require consideration is next dealt with. These matters being settled, the Chairman invites the Company to proceed with the revision, and reads a short passage as given in the Authorised Version. The question is then asked whether any _textual_ changes are proposed; that is, any readings that differ from the Greek text as presented in the edition published by Robert Stephen in 1550. If any change is proposed, the evidence for and against is briefly stated, and the proposal considered. The duty of stating this evidence is, by tacit consent, devolved upon two members of the Company, who, from their previous studies, are specially entitled to speak with authority upon such questions--Dr. Scrivener and Dr. Hort--and who come prepared to enumerate particularly the authorities on either side. Dr. Scrivener opens up the matter by stating the facts of the case, and by giving his judgment upon the bearing of the evidence. Dr. Hort follows, and mentions any additional matters that may call for notice, and if differing from Dr. Scrivener’s estimate of the weight of the evidence, gives his reasons, and states his own view. After discussion, the vote of the Company is taken, and the proposed reading accepted or rejected. The text being thus settled, the Chairman asks for proposals on the rendering. Any member who has any suggestion on his paper then mentions it, and this is taken into consideration, unless some other member state that he has a proposal which refers to an earlier clause of the passage, in which case his proposal is taken first. The reasons for the proposed emendation are then stated; briefly, if it be an obvious correction, and one which it is likely that many members have noted down; if it be one less obvious, or less likely to commend itself at first sight, the grounds upon which it is based are stated more at length. Free discussion then follows, and after this the vote of the Company is taken. Succeeding suggestions are similarly dealt with, and then the passage, as amended, is read by the Chairman, or by the Secretary. The meeting lasts until six p.m., an interval of half-an-hour having been allowed for luncheon. The Company meets every month, excepting only in the months of August and September, for a session of four consecutive days.

At a very early period of their labours it became clearly manifest to the Company that they could only do their work satisfactorily by doing it very thoroughly, and that no question in any way affecting the sense or the rendering could be passed over because of its seeming unimportance. Questions, whether of text or translation, which appeared, when regarded in relation only to the passage under review, to be too minute to be worthy of serious attention, became oftentimes invested with a grave importance when other, and especially parallel, passages were considered; and thus proposed changes, which might otherwise have been dismissed as unnecessary, claimed for themselves a careful examination. As a necessary result of this determination to make the revision as complete as might be in their power, the progress made in the work was but slow, and at the end of the ninth day of meeting not more than 153 verses had been revised, an average of only seventeen verses a day. Thereupon several members of the Company became alarmed at the probable length of time over which the revision would extend, and on the tenth day of meeting resolutions were submitted, that, “with a view to swifter progress, the Company be divided into two sections, of which one shall proceed with the Gospels and the other with the Epistles,” and “that on the last day of each monthly series of meetings the whole Company meet together to review the work done by the two separate sections.” To these resolutions a full consideration was given, and with the result of producing an almost unanimous conviction that such a division of the Company was undesirable. It was felt that the weight of authority attaching to this Revision, would, with many persons, be largely dependent upon the fact that it represented the united judgment of a considerable number of scholars, and that the proposed division of the Company would consequently tend to lessen the claims of the work to the confidence of the public. It was found, too, that it would not be possible to make any satisfactory division of the Company; and from the varied qualifications of the members, each felt that it would be a palpable loss to be deprived of the co-operation of any of the rest. It was also exceedingly doubtful whether any saving of time would be secured by the proposed arrangement. The review by the entire Company of the work done by the separate divisions would, in very many cases, reopen discussion; and questions which had been decided, perhaps unanimously, after lengthened debate, would be debated afresh, and that, too, by those who were less familiar with all the bearings of the question, and on whose account it would be necessary to give lengthened explanations, and sometimes to retrace other ground also. The resolutions were consequently withdrawn, and the conviction became general amongst the members of the Company that they had no other alternative than to face the probability of a much longer period of labour than any one amongst them had at first anticipated, and to accept the full responsibilities of the work which had been laid upon them.

After this the work steadily proceeded, and various general questions having been decided as they arose, the rate of progress became more rapid; but even then the average did not rise above thirty-five verses a day.

In accordance with the rules under which the Company was acting, all proposals made at the first revision were decided by simple majorities; but at the second revision no change from the Authorized Version could be accepted unless it were carried by a majority of two to one. Though here and there this rule stood in the way of a change which a decided majority of the Company were of opinion was right, its action upon the whole was very salutary.

At the second revision also the suggestions of the American Revisers came to the help of the Company. From time to time, as each successive portion of the first revision was completed, it had been forwarded to America. The American Revisers subjected this to a careful scrutiny, and in their turn forwarded to England their criticisms thereupon. Where they approved the changes provisionally made nothing was said; where they differed they indicated their dissent, and submitted their own suggestions. In like manner, in passages where no change had been made, they either signified their assent by silence, or expressed their judgment by independent proposals.

The first revision of the Gospel of Matthew was completed on the thirty-sixth day of meeting, May 24th, 1871; that of Mark on the fifty-third day, November 16th, 1871; that of Luke on the eighty-first day, June 22nd, 1872; and that of John on the one hundred and third day, February 19th, 1873. The first revision of the Acts and the Catholic Epistles was completed on the one hundred and fifty-second meeting, April 23rd, 1874. Before proceeding to the first revision of the remaining books it was deemed desirable to undertake the second revision of the Gospels, and this was completed on the one hundred and eighty-fourth meeting, February 25th, 1875. The first revision of the Pauline Epistles was then commenced, and was completed on the two hundred and sixty-second meeting, February 27th, 1877. The first revision of the Apocalypse was completed on the two hundred and seventy-third meeting, April 20th, 1877.

It will thus appear that the first revision engaged the Company during two hundred and forty-one meetings; that is to say, during sixty monthly sessions, or six years of labour. The attendance during this important period of the work maintained so high an average as 16·8.

It had not been originally intended that at the second revision fresh proposals should be entertained; but as it was obviously necessary to do this with regard to the American suggestions, it was felt that we ought not to preclude our own members from bringing forward any new proposal that might seem worthy of consideration, and that we ought not, for the sake of gaining time, to fetter ourselves by any rigid rule. The second revision thus became a far more serious business than had been originally contemplated, and demanded a large measure of time and toil. It was completed on December 13th, 1878, having occupied on the whole ninety-six meetings, or about two years and a half. By rule 5 the “second” revision was to be regarded as “final,” but the course of events rendered this an impossibility, and so far the rule had to be annulled.

In due course the results of the second revision were forwarded to America, and while it indicated the extent to which the English Company had been able to adopt the American suggestions--or what was equivalent to this, some third suggestion that approved itself alike to the judgment of both Companies--it also necessarily invited a reply upon those points about which there was still a difference of opinion, and this, as necessarily, involved what was to some extent a third revision. The work of a further revision had, however, been previously imposed upon the Company by a resolution of its own, in which it was agreed that the members should privately read over the version as now revised, with the view of marking any roughnesses or other blemishes in the English phraseology; and that if it should appear to them that, without doing any violence to the Greek, the English might be amended, the emendations they proposed should be forwarded to the Secretary, and by him be duly arranged and printed. To the consideration of the various suggestions so forwarded, and of those contained in the further communications from America, the Company devoted thirty-six meetings, extending from February 11th, 1879, to January 27th, 1880, with portions of one or two subsequent meetings, being finally completed on March 17th, 1880.