The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-05-30
From the Baltimore American.
The Revised Old Testament.

and the New Testaments, and their
published results are now before US.
Great and important is the influence
which the revised Bible is destined
to exert; conservative and careful the
method and spirit Of the revising
companies. The work itself certainly
testities to the consistent application
of the first general principle laid
down for the guidance of the COM
tions as possible into the text of
the authorized version, consistently
with faithfulness." There is evident
throughout determination to yield
as few points as possible to the opin-
ions of a rapidly increasing liberal
class, who regard the exact English
rendering of the Hebrew original of
more importance than the particular
Interpretation of any school or de-
nomination men who, having moth
ing to gain or to lose by false trans
latiOn, prefer to give the sense of the
text literally rather than in language
which interprets at the same time it
translates, for we must know that the
translator is compelled to be an in
terpreter in all those places in which
the accepted rendering is grammati-
caIly no more to be preferred than
many suggested and different render
ings. Thus, for instance, in the open
ing verses of Genesis-''In the begin
ming God created the heaven and the
EARTH" "And the earth was without
form and void /; and darkness was
upon the face of the deep"-the re-
Visers have translated: I'm the be-
ginning God created the heaven and
| the earth, "And the earth was waste
and void and darkness was upon the
face of the waters" Now, we are
fully aware that the correct transla-
ton of these verses has for centuries
been cause of bitter controversy,
| and we are also aware that the au-
thorized translation has been a seri-
Gus obstacle to belief in Revelation to
men like Herbert Spencer, Thomas
Huxley and others, who find no evil
dence in nature Of the so-called Gear
penter' theory Of creation. 1t can no
longer be disputed that a faithful and
accurate rendering of the Hebrew
would also allow "In beginning God
formed the heavens and the earth !;
for the earth had been desolation and
emptiness" This would avoid the
inference that the creative act was in
Simultaneous, would leaye the origin
of the earth's matter unrevealed, and
would deprive the argument a gainst
the reliability Of the account Of much
of its effectiveness, Nor does this
translation lack defenders. Professor
Taylor Lewis, the translator of Serb
ner'S edition of Lang's Commentary,
says that this is not only linguistic
cally possible, but that is is prefer
able to the other. Professor Sayre,
OfOxford University, England, makes
this Improvement on the accepted
version test of accurate knowledge
Of the Hebrew verb, He says: "What
fresh Yividness is given to the pic
ture! God hewed out the heaven
and the earth ; now the earth had
been waste and desolate." The He
brew of ''create" means originally to
heW trees, to clear forest and its
more abstract meaning, form"
"make," is a secondary and derived
meaning, just as the word for "re-
veal" primarily means "to uncover"
So, in all languages, the concrete and
material meanings of words are pri-
mary, and the abstract and fguratiVe
secondary. In Genesis l., 20, LET
the waters bring forth abundantly
the moving creature" has been re-
tanned by the revisers, and LET the
waters swarm with SWarms of living
creatures" introduced into the mar
gin. The latter reading is plainly
the correct one, and why its insertion
into the text was not found consist.
ent with faithfulness is not explained.
We are glad to notice the change
made in Genesis H., 5, mo plant of
the field was yet in the earth, and no
herb of the field had yet sprung up"
instead OF the authorized reading that
God made ''every plant of the field
before it was in the earth, and every
herb of the field before it grew"
This verse as revised enables US to see
in the English text some evidence Of
the documentary nature Of at least
this portion Of Genesis. A compari-
son with l., 2; "Let the earth put
forth grass, herb yielding seed" etc.,
will clearly show that there is some.
thing that seems to favor the theory
that more than one author composed
the book. In chapter ill.,, 10, "Be.
tween thy seed and her seed it shall
hrnisa thU hpod and thOu shalt hruiSa