The National tribune., 1895-09-26

y lamp. 10
3. A Light 105 100
c. Names from Other Portions Of Code Word.
/. Book OF the Covenant.
2. Sword OF the Spirit.
d. ColOquidl Names.
]. Chart.
9. Compass
3. Heavenly Pages. We often hear this ex-
preston. 1t suggests the orig gin Of the Bible
as from God in Heaven. We also think of the
object of the Bible. which is to guide us all to
Heaven. Then, the instructions within the
Bible are divine, and tend to make readers
Heaven y-minded even in this world. The
Book is not OF human make nor does it relate
merely to mundane affairs.
Anne Steele (1760l wrote the hymn
Father Of mercies! in thy Word
What endless glory shines
Forever be thy name adored
For these celestial lines.
"Here the Redeener's welcome voice
Spreads hedrenlp peace around;
And life and everlasting joys
Attend the blssful sound.
80, may these Heavenly pages be
My ever dear delight;
And still new beauties may see,
And still increasing light.
"Divine Instructor, gracious Lord,
Be thou forever near;
Teach me to love thy sacred Word,
And view my Saviour there"
The expression, celestial lines" used by
Anne Steele in stanza j, line a. is very ak in to
Heavenly Pages but il has not gained currency
in talk and print as has the latter phrase
4. Good Book. In ordinary conversation we
often hear the Bible called the Good Book, with
some emphasis generally on good The object
of the Book is to make as good. The Author of
the Book was God Good. The writers were
i IN. N
cient philosophers had much to say about The
Good and the Highest Good. At times refer.
enee is made to the Being who is the Good at
other times the discussion runs on rs to that
which is the greatest Good in life The Bible
acauaints US with the Good identifying the
Good with God. 1t also shows us how to be
good by being God-likc or good-wisc. As hu-
man quality, the Good is the truthful, virtuous;
and it implies morality, happiness, absence of
pain, enjoyment of the right, and ever makes
for divine approval. The Book is good as COM
ing from the Good and guiding toward the
Good
"of more esteem than golden mines,
Or gold refined with skill"
g. Foreign Names for the Old Testament.
l. Septuagint. This does not include the
New Testament, since it was written before
Christ. 1t does. however, include what is
known as the Apocrypha of the Old Testament.
- e
The Septuagint must be regarded as the Old
Testament of the Apostolical and of tho early
Catholic Church. 1t has at least the
value of the oldest Jewish tradition and CON-
mentary on the sacred text The 20 translat-
ors may well be ranked among the greatest
benefactors of Biblical literature"
Wordsworth, Hebrews c. ], wrote:
Happily for the Christian Church the Sep
tuagint version was made by Jews,
and was read in the Jewish synagogs." He
adds an important consideration: ats inter-
pretations may be regarded rs opponents of the |
sense of the most learned of the Jewish Nation |
before the coming Of Christ"
Wordsworth continues &c. 10) to show the |
value of the Septuagint. To render the quota |
ton plain we first state that the original Tar
gum was a translation or paraphrase of the |
sacred Scriptures %. IT, in the language or |
dialect of the Chaldean tongue.
So Wordsworth states:
"The Septuagnt was the Greek Targum of |
the Jews. 1t was purposely designed to xpIain |
the idoms of the Hebrew text often obscure to |
Greek readers"
verse will depend on ones thorough knowledge
Of the Greek in tho Septuagint Most of the !
O uotations in the n ew Testament from the Old |
are cited from the Septuagint. This is not the |
case, however, as to the Gospel of st. Matthew.
The word Septuagint, is simply an English |
of the Latin for 20, septuagiata the |
round number for az.
The exact history of the origin Of the Septna- |
gint is not fixed, but we are told that Pt0lemy |
Philadelphus. King Of Egypt, living at Alex /
andra, by suggestion probably of his librarian, |
Demetrius Phaereus. brought together ~ Jews |
well informed in Hebrew and Greek, and di. |
rected them to translate the Hebrew Scriptures /
into the Greek language, for the Alexandrian /
Jews
The story goes, according to Justin Martyr,
that each of the ~ translators was furnished q |
separate cell that each rendered the entire |
Hebrew Scriptures into Greek without any
that when the 72 copies were /
brought together and compared they were so /
similar that the impression gained the trans
Iators were all inspired of Heaven for their
work. Even Jerome, however, refused to ac-
cept this tradition. and well he might. for, in
fact there are great and serious discrepancies, /
absurdities and inequalities OF scholarship ap-
parent in the Greek rendering.
Webster, in definition of the word Septuagint
adds, referring TO the tradition, the translation
was done simultaneously by 72 scholars:
This is very doubtful, From internal evil
1ence it is clear that it was not oil the work Of
one man, nor of one company of men, for the
.ranslators of different books were Of very
different degrees of competency, and were gov
srned by very different rules OF Interpretation.
It probably not all tho work of one age"
Aristeas says that p. Phiadelphus sent word
10 the High Priest, Eeazer, at Jerusalem, ask
ing him to send TO Alexandria some learned
Jews for the purpose of rendering the Hebrew
Scriptures into Greek; that Eleazer sent six
elders from each of the IL tribes.
Some learned men claim the Septuagint was
10 named because, after the translation was
made, it was submitted to the Sanhedrim,
which consisted of 20 persons, for their ap-
,roval.
We notice the relative values Of the Septua-
,int rendsrings. The Pentateuch is an excel
ent translation. Then. next in rank of &C
.uracy we put Proverbs. Eccesiastes is rem |