CHAPTER IV.

DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE.

The following is a brief description of the principal versions, translations, and manuscripts of the Bible:

Versions of the Jewish Scriptures.

Hebrew.--The greater portion of the Jewish Scriptures was written in the ancient Hebrew language, while a smaller portion was written in the Aramaic or Chaldaic dialect of this language. The written language of the Hebrew contained no vowels. The meaning of many words was mere conjecture. About one thousand years ago Jewish scholars developed a system of vowel points and made a revision of the Hebrew Scriptures in what is known as the Masoretic text. The early Christian versions of the Old Testament, including that of the Roman Catholic church, are based upon the earlier or consonantal text; the Protestant versions are based upon the later or Masoretic text. The accepted Hebrew versions generally omitted the Apocryphal books.

Samaritan.--The Samaritan Bible, the canonical Scriptures of the Samaritan Israelites, contained but six books--the Pentateuch and what is styled a corrupt version of Joshua. Some scholars believe that the Samaritan Pentateuch is the most correct version we have of this work.

Septuagint.--The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures, including the Apocryphal books. We are told that about 285 b. c. seventy scholars, each in a separate cell, translated all of these books. The translations, it is stated, were exactly alike, a proof of divine supervision. This story is a fiction. Instead of seventy translations of fifty books, there was one translation of five books. The Pentateuch alone was translated at this time. The Prophets, the Hagiographa, and the Apocrypha were translated at various times during the succeeding three hundred years. The Septuagint was the version used by the Hellenistic Jews and by the primitive Christians.

Ancient Christian Versions.

Peshito.--The Peshito is probably the oldest version of the Christian Bible. It is in Aramaic, and is the Bible of Syrian Christians. It omits Second Peter, Second and Third John, Jude, and Revelation.

Egyptian.--There were two versions of the Egyptian Bible, the Thebaic, written in the language of Upper Egypt, and the Memphitic or Coptic, written in the language of Lower Egypt. These versions included the Apocrypha and excluded Revelation.

Ethiopic.--This was the Bible of Ethiopian Christians. The Old Testament contained four divisions: 1. The Law; 2. Kings; 3. Solomon; 4. The Prophets. It also contained the Book of Enoch, a book found in no other version. The New Testament omitted Revelation and included the Apostolic Constitutions.

Gothic.--This version was made by a Gothic bishop in the fourth century. It omitted four of the principal books of the Old Testament, First and Second Samuel, and First and Second Kings.

Italic.--The Italic version was one of the earliest Latin versions of the Bible. The New Testament contained but twenty-four books. It omitted Hebrews, James, and Second Peter.

Vulgate.--The Vulgate, one of the most important versions of the Bible, is the Latin version made by Jerome about the beginning of the fifth century. It is the standard version of the Roman Catholic church. It has undergone many revisions and consequently many changes. It now includes the Apocryphal books which Jerome did not accept as canonical.

Ancient Manuscripts.

The three most important Greek manuscripts, those which are recognized as the highest authorities in determining the text of the Bible, are the Sinaitic, the Vatican, and the Alexandrian.

Sinaitic.--The Sinaitic Manuscript, now preserved in St. Petersburg, was discovered by Dr. Tischendorf at a convent near Mount Sinai. It is believed by many to be the oldest manuscript of the New Testament extant, dating back, it is supposed by some, to the fourth century. It contains twenty-nine books--the twenty-seven canonical books, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas.

Vatican.--This manuscript, now in the Vatican library at Rome, belongs, it is claimed, to the fourth century. The Old Testament contains the Apocrypha. The New Testament is a mutilated copy, containing only the Four Gospels, Acts, and a part of the Epistles.

Alexandrian.--The Alexandrian Manuscript, now in the British Museum, belongs, it is said, to the fifth or sixth century. The Old Testament includes the Apocryphal books. The New Testament includes the canonical books, and in addition to these the First and Second Epistles of Clement.

Modern Versions.

Luther's.--The principal German version of the Bible was made by the leader of the Protestant Reformation. On account of its superior literary merits and its large circulation it is, next to our Authorized Version, the most important of the Protestant versions. Luther placed the Apocryphal books in an appendix at the end of the Old Testament, and the books of the New Testament which he rejected in an appendix at the end of the New.

Wicliffe's.--The translation of Wicliffe, which appeared in the latter part of the fourteenth century, was the first English translation of the Bible.

Tyndale's.--Tyndale commenced his English translation of the Bible about the same time that Luther commenced his German translation. He did not live to complete it, and a portion of the Old Testament was translated by others.

King James.--The Authorized English Version, commonly called the King James Bible, was published in 1611. It was made by forty-seven English scholars, working in six companies--two at Oxford, two at Cambridge, and two at Westminster. The basis of this version is Tyndale's translation. The Apocryphal books, which were not accepted as canonical by the English church, were placed in an appendix. They are now generally omitted. The King James Bible is admittedly one of the most incorrect versions; but dressed in the strong, quaint English of Shakespeare's time it possesses considerable literary merit. It has been translated into nearly every tongue, and has had a larger circulation than all others combined.

New Version.--The new or Revised Version of the Bible is a revision of the King James version. The revision was made by a Committee of twenty-seven English scholars, whose work was revised by an American committee. It was begun in 1870 and finished in 1882. In this version the matter is divided into paragraphs instead of chapters and verses.

Douay.--The Douay Bible is an English translation of the Vulgate. It is the standard English version of the Roman Catholic church.

The foregoing are but a few of the numerous versions of the Bible, ancient and modern, that have appeared. Nearly every nation of Europe has from one to a score. Luther's version is nearly 400 years old, and yet Germany had seventeen translations, and consequently seventeen versions, before Luther's was published. England had many versions besides those named.