Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1891-01-30
THE BIBLE.
History OF the TTanststIons or the Book
OF Books.

In tho year 2S5 b. 9. seventy Of the.
wise men of Alexandria engaged them
selves in compiling aud colaling the
Hebrew scriptures into their present
united form, SAYS the ST. Louis Globe
Denaocrdt. aud further simplify ing the
works by tran5Iating them into Greek
for the benefit of the Jews then in
Egypt. The results of their labors
hnve since been known collectively as
the Sepiuagint from tho fact that is
Was thc work of the seventy translat-
ors. About 400 years later, in the sec
ond century. A. d.. the books Gf the
new testament were added and the
whole translated into Latin. The
Italia or Latin version. soon became
the standard of the primitive Chris
tians, aud was used to the exclusion OF
both the Hebrew aud Greek versions
for two centuries. until the St. Jerome
revision of A. ID. 4J5. Alter St.
jerome had finished his browning
work, IA great deal of which he per-
formed in the village of Bethlehem.
almost in sight of tie birthplace of
Jesus. the Dalmatian and Pannonian
monks hid away their Old versions uf
the bible ana would use no other ex-
them nv their patron Jerome himself.
The Jerome revision was rs superior
TO the work OF the seventy rs their
work was TO the old scmi-barbario
work which existed prior to the trans
lation OF 28j Il. G. The most carefully
written copies of the bible obtanab Q
were consulted by the scholarly saint
and. compared with the Arabic, He
-. Ill .
which he made lamentations aud cor
rrctinns which have stood the test OF
all subsequent time.
The hcrcHIean task undertaken bv
St. Jerome will DO better understood
when the reader has been informed
that over 200 versions of tho evangel-
lists. each differing from the other in
many OF its essential details. were pre-
scented for the consideration of tho
sages ut the council OF Nice in 325 A
ID. For hundreds of years copy lists
have added to and taken from the
scriptures TO such an extent rs TO
make it extremely difficult for even
the most learned 10 decide what should
remain for the editication of future
generations, or what would be elimi-
mated from the sacred pages rs apo
crvphal. The word "bibic," meaning
book. or as applied by the early writers.
'tho book" was first used bv ChrvSoS-
tom as early as the fifth centnr, where
he speaks of the sacred writin - coll
leclively ms the Bibla or 1.-THE books"
The infinite variations which occurred
in the manuscripts written 10y tho
early Christian fathers have caused n
great deal of contention among church,
men. some admitting certain books as
canonical. which are rejected by others
as apocryphal. This YOU can find
illustrated by comparing Douay and
King James bible of to-day. TIE
former admits several books which the
King james translatOrs would not.
The books as arranged and accepted
at present are the results of wears of
labor and of countless councils aud re-
vision assrmhlages. For /. 200 wears
after the savior uf men ended his brief
career on the rugged heights Of Cal
vary, the touching details of which are
known to over 1O0,0O00J0 of peoue
aud in every land on the globe. each
! book of the bible was one continued
story. undivided into chapters. para
graphs or verses. Prior to the time Of
the Spanish rabbi the Jews employed
a system Of dividing the chapters into
verses in the old testament, n system
which had never been adopted by tho
Christians, and was discarded for that
of the learned Spaniard by the Jews
themselves.
The new testament was not divided
into verses until after the invention Of
the art of printing, and then first Ivy
the Robert Stevens Greek edition in
1jjl.
Of the early TRANSACTIONS Of the bible
the most important. aside from the
Septuagint aud the St. Jerome YER
sons. are the thrce-fold Egyptian
TRANSACTIONS OF the fourth cen,u.y (this
remarkable work of the copvist was in
three languages and WAS intended for
all parts Tf ErypD; the Nrsio Figu-
rata, collected bv jacob of Edessa i'm
the eighth century; that of Paul. bishop
OF Tela. in 6l7; aud the eighth. ninth
and tenth century transations. made
respectively bv Bede. Alfred and
E,lrc. Daring tho dark agrs and on
down TO tho time that Luther gave his
masterpiece to the world. several trans
lntions were nmde, including that of
Notk"r-Labeo. $50 A. D.; that pre-
IhIcu HH'''T MS SulVlNlSlon vi IPlTHt
WalduS, ll70; the important work of
Louis the Pious. 1897; that of Charles
the Wise, 1880; the Guyars version at
l2S6; the thirteenth century version in
Spanish during the reign of A.phonSo
". and tie two excellent works Of
WickiiiTc and lluss, the latter for tho
Bohcmians aud the former for the
En"Iish-Speakng people. With the
invention OF printing every person
wno had ever laid cain Ia literary
abilities seemed ia think that he hal
been specially commissioned from on
high To translate The word OF God, as
ono Would naturally infer from tho
fact that not less than seventeen Ger
man transactions alone were alven the
pubic between the time of Gutenberg
aud Faust aud that of Martin Luther.
The Wickiilrc (Somplimes spelled
NNclillr) version of 1884 was the Iirst
English translation. john WickliIrs.
the translator. was condemned To 10
lurneN for PRESENTING to ITO such a
"a A.