The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-05-18
DID TESTAMENT REVISION.
4 Further Insight Into the Changes
Made by the Board of Revisers.
important Gains in the Manner of Making
Up the Chapters and Verses-Poetical
Portions Given Proper Shape.
New York Special.

New 1ork Special
simultaneously with the issuing of the revised
version of the Old Testament in this country
will occur the publication of companion vol
ums from the pen of the Rev. DIR. Talbot w
Chambers, of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch
Church, of New York. DIR. Chambers is mem
Der Of the American committee on the revision
Of the Scriptures, and profound scholar. His
volume covers the reasons why the revision was
undertaken, presents very copiously the most
important changes made by the eminent theolo-
gians who have had the work in hand, with full
explanations of their bearing upon the
doctrinal points, and concludes with
sketches of the members of the Brit
ish and American committees, as far
as it was possible for the author to secure them.
in one sense this book is more important than
the Old Testament volume itself, in consequence
of its conveying at glance the changes which
have been made in the text, which is the one
point the public is chiefly interested in just now.
and also in that it presents succinctly the expla-
nation of the reasons for reaching the conclu-
sions as to the new rendering of various pas
cages. On this account the publication of the
companion volume has been almost as carefully
guarded as that of the Old Testament
itself at the Cambridge and Oxford
Universtys Presses It was intended that
no newspaper should have a copy of it
until o'clock Wednesday next, when it was to
be given out for the use of the press in making
public the changes in the translation. And even
after the premature publication of few of the
changes by the London newspapers of to day
which We're cabled and printed in this country
the chairman of the American revision commit
tee-the Rev. DR.. Philip Schaff-would not con-
sent to the giving out of the Rev. DIR. Chambers's
volume before the date originally decided upon,
30 that it would appear simultaneously with the
Old Testament itself.
1t might be remarked in this connection that
the London publication was complete surprise
TO the American committee, as it had been
previously agreed that nothing of the kind
should take place in England until the 10Th
inst at the earliest 1t is the belief of the Amer
lean revisers In this city that it had come
TO the knowledge of the British committee that
information concerning the work had leaked ont,
and SO, to shield themselves against anything
like an incorrect presentation of the matter, it
was determined to- make it public in an official
manner. While the publishers of DIR. Chambers's
book have stood watch and ward over it, l am,
nevertheless, enabled to send you the larger
portion of its chapters bearing upon the changes
in the text of the Old Testament 1t is authori-
tative in all particulars, and was prepared by
gentleman as familiar with the subject as any
one who had served on either one of the com
mlttees of revision, and one who has had every
facility for recording the subjoined statements.
he goes carefully oyer the ground from Genesis
20 Hab.kkuk, presenting the important readings
given to the old text in clear, concise, and at
Iractive form. In every particular this publica
hon is far more ineligible to the average reader
than anything that has hitherto appeared on the
subject, and it will prove source of great inter
Ast TO the clergy.
The chief changes in the revised Old Tesla
ment are:
!. The first and most noticeable is that which it
shares with the revised New Testament viz:
The removal of the revision into chapter and
verse, that the whole runs in continuous
course like other books, only broken into para
graphs as the sense requires This is q great
gain, because the old chapter division is well
known to have been in many cases unhappy,
and in others quite misleading; and the cutting
up of each chapter into verses, as il the whole
were book of apothegms was equally infe.,cit-
Dus as fostering the habit of taking up and con-
Sidering short sentences or parts of sentences
quite apart from their connection, and so misun-
Outstanding the word of God. The revisio n
shuns these errors, yet for convenience keeps
the notation in the margin
2 second change is the printing of the po-
etical portions in verse form. This is true of
Job, the Psalms, Proverbs and the Song of
Solomon, together with such matter of the same
sort as is found scattered throughout the vol
ume from Genesis to Habakkuk The advantage
Of this course IS not small. The poetical form
called the parallelism-that is the putting of the
thought in balanced sentences, each answering
to the other in the way of resemblance, or
antithess at or enlargement. Thus, the first
verse of the first Psalm describing the good
man, gives three traits of his course:
HE walketh not in the counsel of the wicked
Nor standeth in the way of sinners
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful"
In the same way the last verse sets forth in
one member the way of the righteous and in
- &t.c..x 10 xr1f4 Il IA
tant to represent this popularity in the method
of printing, not only to show that the subject is
POLITICALLY treated, but also to obtain help in the
matter of Interpretation, for very often the
sense of one member of parallelism throws
light on the meaning of the others. For ex-
ample: In Psalm xvii, 10, Tie last line: II
shall be satisfied when + awaL. with thy like
ness" does not mean that the speakers satsfsc-
ton is to come from his being made like God,
but from his beholding likeness or form, as is
clear from the former members of the paral.
leism: II shall behold thy face in righteous
mesa"
g. No change occurs in the way of dropping
out airy sentence or clause that is in the common
version or from the addition of anything to
what that version contains This occurred in a
number Of instances in the revised New Tesla
ment, owing 10 the number of new manuscripts
discovered and colated since 1601 But the
Hebrew text is definitely settled. All the exist
ing codices are substantially alike, and vary only
In the form OF letters or of single words. The
only existing means of gaining new light upon
the Hebrew text Is the of early versions
Greek Syriac, and old Latin But this is toe,
precarious to be relied upon and aceordingl,<
while the revision notes in the margin some
Eases where ancient authorities furnish a diff
Serent reading, in no case does it introduce such
reading into the text Accordingly The reader
finds here all the matter that he is accustomed
TO see in the English Bible. and nothing more.
4 IL is different in the case of obsolete words.
English being living language it is of course
subject 70 change; many words have dropped out
of use, and others have Suffered great change
in their Specification, that the unsearned
liable to frequent mistakes. Instances are
found in carriage (bageagel, chapman ltraderD,
charger tpiatterj car tplowl fenced Fortified J,
hne trsfne), habergeon (eoat of mail) leasing
(lyiDgl, mount tmoundl, nephews grand
ehidreul, prevent meet, rearward lrear
guard, see the lhoill. taehe tclash) turtle
Itnrtla-doyel wimnla Lshawn The reyisers