The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-08-02
THE REy1sEp OLD TEsrAMENT.
Character of the Changes Made in the Text of
the Old Scriptures.

Philadelphia Record.
Changes in the text Of the Old Testament win
be less marked than in the revised edition of the
New In the revision Of the latter the trans
lators were aided by comparison of authentic
manuscripts discovered since the translation in
1911 They were thus led to correct the Greek
text and consequently ito make alterations in
the text of the English revision. That they
might render the original with greater literal
ness they sometimes sacrificed beauties of
phrase, even when the meaning was not affected
In the work now in press there will be little or
no occasion for complaint in this regard. The
difference between Hebrew and English idiems
is such that it is possible to render with such
verbal accuracy from the Hebrew as can be
done from the Greek. Where, therefore, one
phrase expresses the true meaning no change
occurs. Then, too the public wish, especially
IN England has pronounced against all ayoda-
bic changes in the old version.
Another powerful reason why radical changes
were impossible is the fact that the original text
of the Old Testament remains substantially the
same as that used by King Jamess translators.
With the New Testament the case was different.
The mission of the revisers of the Old Tesla
ment has been not so much to ascertain the cor
rect text, but to find out the true meaning of the
old text, the origin of which is lost in antiquity.
In this work they have been assisted by the great
advance made in the knowledge of the Hebrew
language since King Jamess time. In many in
stances the old trRnslators wholly mistook the
meaning Of words, and they were ignorant of
much of Hebrew grammar that is now the COM
mon property of scholars. Thus the children of
Israel did not, as stated in Exodus, XII, q by
divine direction borrow of the Egyptians what
they never intended TO return, but they asked
for and received gifts. In other cases. the lenses
of verbs are confused, and the sequence Of
thought contained in the text is lost in the trans
lation. Possessive pronouns are sometimes mis-
placed Thus in Psalms, lix, III stfod of my
mercy should be my mereiful God.
Much light has also been shed on the meaning
of words in the text by the study of Arabic and
other Semitic languages, Since the excavations
at Nineveh the study Of these languages has
made great progress. Some improvements in
our TRANSACTIONS may be expected, Also says
President Chase, of Harvard, one of the revisers
of the New Testament. from the greatly in
creased knowledge in recent times of the ways
and customs of Oriental people and the geogra-
ply fora and fauna of the Bible lands. The myth
illogical satyrs should be yeritable goats; and
that fabulous beast, the unicorn, should no
longer exalt his horn in the Bible. though he
may continue to do so on the royal arms of
England but will doubtless give place to the
wild ox-the same Wilde OK, or urus, which Caesar
describes in Germany, and which has been pre-
served with great care even to our time on a
nobleman's estate in Great Britain
The parallelism in the poetical books will be
shown by printing in verse-form which will be
an immense gain in the clearness and force of
meaning. For example, the earliest specimen of
poetry extant Genesis iv 49, 24l illustrates itself
If arranged in some such way as this:
.'And Iamech said unto his wives,
Adah and Illah Hear my voice;
We wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech.
For have slain man to my woundng,
And young to mi hurt.
IL Cain shall be avenged sevenfold
Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.n
The completion of this work marks the third
great step IN the rendering Of the Scriptures in
the English language. The first translation
entire was the work of John Wycliffe, in the
last quarter of the forteenth century There
were different attempts to supply the want Of a
better translation until IN 1911 King James's
version was given to the world as the best prod
uct Of the ripest scholarship Of that day. That
version has stood till the present.