The Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1852-1853, 1853-12-28
History of the Bible.
DY REV. MARCUS SMITH.

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The first writings of which we have an ac-
cOuut. were performed by stylus or steel
pen, by which letters were engraved on
hard substances. Writing was first made
on bark Of trees leaves and parchment, and
thin plates of brass and iron, Even the
original meaning Of paper, papyrus is a
shrub ofwhose leaves were made clotees,
mats, ropes, sails and paper. The Bible
was writen on parchment. The parchment
was written on one side, and rolled up in
the form Of scroll This scroll was kept
as a most choice deposit, and one portion
after another was added by the sanction Of
the Jewish Sanhedrim; who cautiously ex-
amined the authority and truth of every
pretended prophet. This accounts for the
want Of order in thearrangemento Of books in
the Hebrew text; Chronicles, not Malachi,
is the last book in the Hebrew Bible. The
inspired Ezra discovered that there was an
important period in the History of the Jews
left out, and he supplied it. But he must
add 1t TO the scroll, without respec: TO the
order Of time. The translators discovered
this, and wisely put it back in its proper
place. The fathers called Chronicles tie
Book of Books, the Book of things left out
This form of the Jewish manuscripts shows
US the reason of their writings from the right
hand to the left, or as we should say Of
beginning It back where it should end, and
ending where it should begin. 1t was more
convenient to unroll the parchment as you
read. The sacred writings used in the
synagogue, and those used in private fAml-
lies, were not always in the same, FORM
antilles often used them in the form OF
sheets. ts ... ..... .....
The Sameritans who separated from the
Jews in the region Of Rehobam, in A. M.
1928. had only the Pentatuch-the FIVE
books of Moses. AS they were Seperated
from Israel, they were deprived of the wri-
tings of the prophets. The Savior probably
alluded to this limited or defective volume Of
theirs. when he said to the woman of Sama-
ria. Ye worship for salvation is Of the
Jews--or salvation in more clearly revealed
TO the Jews, in those books which have been
written siEce you separated form the Jews.
The Samaritan Pentateuch, though written
in different characters, is the same as that
of the Hebrews. The mode and materials
Of the ancient writings made them very
scarce and very expensive. .-......a
The language which God gave to Adam
in the garden was idoubtedly Hebrew
Though the word Hebrew was derived
from the word Heber, meaning "to pass
over" and was applied to Abraham because
he passed over the Euphrates to enter into
Canaan. yet it is probable that this is the
language God used with our first parents in
the garden, for this is the most ancient of
languages; it is Incorporated into almost all
languages, and from il many OF them are
formed Many of the Easterc languages
are defendants from The Hebrew, and are
therefore called kindred languages, or Ian
guages with corruption OF the Hebrew
From the age of Moses tothat Of David, has
been considered the golden age of the He.
brew language. The reign of Hezekiah,
which admitted someafOreign words, was
the silver age. But the commercial and
civil intercourse Of the Jews, their foreign
colonies and their cap!ives, corrupted their
language and created numerous idloms.--
# is probable that tho forms of the He.
brew letters have changed in many d;fent
periods. 9's' '' 5.'.' A' .'-
The old Testament was then written in
Hebrew; the New Testament was written in
Greek. the pure and popular languages of
the first INJURIES Of the Christian era
But if the writer's were Jews, they retained
the Hebrew style; and in some intrances
,,.nI . a III L.. II af,.,o
sometimes called the Helleuistic Greek and
sometimes called the Hebrew Greek, and 1t
was the Greek languare used by the Jews
AMI with Hebrew iniom.
The Greek manuscripts, like the Hebrew.
were written in different forms Of letters
some uncial and some cursive-somo in en-
tire capitals and others in ordinary letters.
They had on chapters. verses, stops or
marks, and no divisions to works. ought
here to remark that though writers Of man
uscrips were very cautious and very correct
in copying, yet there are occasionally mis-
takes in orthography. And yet they pass
down century after century without essen
tial pervision- while the works of the learn
ed Greeks, after two or three copied editions,
were pronounced unworthy Of their au-
thors, and consigned to oblivion. AS was
natural and almost inevitable, some M anu
scripts wsrd deemed more correct than
others, and were therefore regarded as
standard manuscripts. This gave two or
three great families, or as they called them.
Erevisions. The number Of Greek manu-
scripts is abont 500. In looking over these
manuscripts. we find some Of them have an
affinity to each other. In the third centu-
ry there were considered to be two families.
aud subsequently there was another added !,
These recensions are called the Alexandrine
or Egyptian; the Occidental or western re-
cision -or the one adopted by Italy, Spain,
&C., the Byzantine or Oriental, because it
was generally used at the East, or at Con
stantinople There has been the Edessene,
Tor Syriac family, added. Where all these
Witnesses. unite. the testimony is Of 'the
highest kind; where majority agree It is
good; and where they differ, respect mist
be had to the character of the witness, and
| to preference which one may claim o'er an
other.-E r. Eeea. 2# W tai. 's A.'3o2
Il.a'.a,s' . What I like to See. VA