Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-08-29

the manuscripts. In the manuscripts
passage In verse 81 OF the second chapte
OF Esther runs thus: Gas Bigtban ant
Teresh. two OF the Kings chamberlain
| (eunuchs) OF those which kept the door
saw tbatshe (Esther) was late In returning
10 The woman's apartments (house), the,
sought to lay hand on the King" while IL
the hrftis reeepius this passage Is thus ren
| dered :" In those days. while Mordecai sal
| In The Kings gate, two OF the King
chambcrlains, Bigthan and Teresh, Of
! those which kept the door, were wroth. and
| sought TO lay hand on" DC. The Professor
| here goes into the question OF the cause o'
| the wrath Of the two euntchs mentioned in
the teJius rtceptuS. aud seeks 10 explain
the radical change in the verse made by the
writer Of this part OF the manuscript.
Again. in the Lamentations OF jeremiah
chapter H.. verses 3, 4, and 6, there are
various renderings different from the ac-
ccpted text. The Lamentations are followed
hy new biblical clegy on the Downfall OF
Jerusalem, written in another hand with
different ink. The authors name, Jacob
Ben Isaac, Is given in acroS,ics. Unfortu-
nately, the greater part 0i the poem Is quite
illCginle. The Professor has been able 10
decipher only nine lines at the end of col.
umn four OF the parchment.
As far as the Professor can learn this
elegy is not found in any known colIec.
tion, and therefore is quite new. The Ian
g,lago is pure Hebrew, and the expressions
are Tor the most part borrowed from the
preceding Lamentations. As IL is In rhyme
ana tho name Of the author Is acrosticlllv
given, manner OF signing which the Pro.
fesSOr states Is first found in the new He
brew poetry Of Jannai, the teacher Of Eli
cZer kalir, about the second half OF the
eighth or beginning OF the ninth century,
the author IN Ill probability lived some
what later. ID is 70 be regretted that the
attempt TO photograph tins part OF the man
Uscripi, which Is written with some very
pale fluid. has still further affected the text.
and the characters are now hardly discern
ihle.
The third chapter OF the treatise deals
with the question OF
THE GENUINENRss OF TIE MSS.
Although sufficient preliminary datn is
afforded by the facts presented in the pre-
cedIDg chapters and the five Photographic
plates TO enable the competent reader to
form an opinion on this question. DIR.
Ilarkavy does not wish 10 pass over this
part Of the subject without recording his
own views and opinions. lie does not con-
slider himself rs competent TO arrive at
definite decision in the matter, as a varied
technical knowledge is requisite for this
purpose in regard 10 the preparation
Of the parchment or leather, its preservation
in different circumstances, and the ink
and other writing material in use at
different epOchs in different countries.
The Professor Is desirous merely
Of placing the pro and con Of
the question impartially before his crit.
les, and he hopes that some eX-
planatiOn may thereby he found for a GER
tain amount of dOuot which still lIngers in
his own mind. He admits that with all the
facts at present TO hand there still remains
much that Is very doubtful. il not suspicious,
in the circumstances. His own experience in
detecting number OF falsihcations OF the
Kind made him al first Just as sceptical n
the public are still likely TO be after the
impression produced upon them by the
frauds Of FnkowitScha, Shapira, and
and others. lie therefore, in the first
place, points out what is strange and re-
marhable in the circumstances OF the dis
coverv, ard then cndeavors to find an
explanation for the inner difficulties Of the
The following considera-
tions then suggest themselves:
/. The sailors story of his father having
found the MSS. during a fire is rather ro-
martic, and incline; one TO suspect an In-
tontional design TO remove all control over
the facts.
.. 1t is incomprchcnsible why the sailor,
according 10 his own account. kept the
matter secret for nearly thirty years. and
only disclosed il last year, and that in South
Russia. and not i'm his own country.
3. The discovery OF the MSS. on the
island Of Rhodes, In the city Of the same
name, gives rise to the reflection that this
island is by no means remote out-of-the-
way retreat. 1t lies on the still much-tra-
yelled route between COnstantinOple and
ASA Minor, Palestine, and Egypt, and,
therefore. the existence there OF any hither-
10 unknown photographed art is very i'm
probable. Besides this, the Jews OF thi,
island. which has been known as a Jewish
colony from early down TO the most mod
1rn times do not belong to any exclusive
pr lost tribes or families who would be
likely to possess anything unforeseen by or
unknown to scholars.
TIE first book OF Maccabaus. |, Is. 90,
Informs Us that there were Jews on tho
sland Of Rhodes as early as $40 b. G. In
he information OF the Byzantine authors.
hat during the Arabian conquest Of the
sIand (G53 y a jew bought the remains OF
he celebrated Colossus and loaded them
N 900 camels, it is added that this jew
.ame from Emesa (lIems).