The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-16

though where it has been deemed best
TO do so, passages have been taken out
of their place and transposed or printed
as appendices. Where changes have
been made or emendaitions have been
considered necessary, these are indfeat-
ed by special diacritical signs The lea-
sons for all such changes are briefly
and pointediy given in The notes, of
which, for the English edition, English
TRANSACTIONS have been made.
A PARTICULAR EXAMPLE
will make clear the general method that
has been followed. Thus the book of
Leviticus is now regarded by biblical
scholars as made up from three distinct
sources. The basis of the book they
call the Priestly Code, and this is
printed on the usual white background
This part of the book is supposed to
have been written about 800 years b. c.
Such additions as seem to have been
made later, appear upon a brown back
ground. The third source, used by the
final editor of Leviticus, was called the
Law of Holiness, since it embassies
the requirements of ceremonials. Pas
sages traceable in this source are print
ed upon yellow background. The ar
guments for these distinctions will be
4
translation. Thus at a glance, dia-
grained as it were, the reader has be-
fore his eyes the conclusions of the
highest authorities upon this particular
book.
1t would not be easy TO make clear
precisely the way in which these con-
illusions have been reached, nor the pc
culiar training and study that has led
up to them. Very briefly, compare
tive study of the literature of the people
will reveal that a certain style and
phraseology, and certain ideas and be-
liefs and certain forms of spelling will
be prevalent at one age, and that all
these will vary quite widely from an
other era. Anyone who knows any
thing of English literature is aware
that not only do the writings of the
days of Chaucer differ very widely
from those of the days of Shakespeare,
but that the latter period may be mark
off quite distinctly in its style and
phTaseology from the period of Queen
Anne. All this is equally true of He
brew literature, so that a student who
will make himself as familiar with the
literature of the different periods of
the Jews, as for example, Richard
Grant White was of English literature,
he may determine with really wonder
full gertrude TO just what day and age
a given book or even a given passage
probably belongs.
With the texts edited, corrected and
printed after the manner indicated, the
work of translation is enormously SIM
plif1ed Passages that before seemed
wholly devoid of meaning or were quite
beyond understanding, become suscep-
tible of
A PERFECTLY LUCID VERSION.
Still again, the translations are to be
made into modern English, or at least
all English words and phrases now OBJ
solete are abolished. so that so far as
the ripest scholarship may understand.
each passage and line viii be turned
into the clearest possible English, and
the translation stand for just what the
original meant.
In the English translation, likewise,
the same plan of publication as that of
the Hebrew text will be followed; that
is to say, the different portions of each
book will be printed in different colors.
Undoubtedly the changes that will be
made in familiar passages will be many
and not infrequently startling. One not
able instance is to be found in the
translation Of the Jewish symbol for
God, Jhvh. Throughout the Bible this
James version in many ways, "Jeho-
yah, God, Lord" etc. In the new
translation the Hebrew form will be
retained, the proper pronunciation be-
ing Jahve or Yahway. Singularly, the
Hebrew word generally translated
tabernacle" will appear in the new
version as tent of meeting" rendi-
ton more nearly correct.
The familiar division known as the
Pentateuch will be done away with,
since Biblical students nowadays re-
gard the book of Joshua as belonging
to the same compilation. Hence the
latter is now called the Hexateuch.
These books are regarded as a sort of
blend OF the Judaic documents, COM
posed in the southern kingdom, and the
Ephramitic. written in the northern
kingdom about century later, and
hence this blend will be indicated in
the printing by a purple background.
Where the source is plainly indicated,
the fact Will be disclosed by a back
ground of red or blue as the case re-
quires, and different strata of the doc
umentS Will be similarly indicated in
varying shades. In short, in the print
ing these books will appear as a sort
of a series of mosaics. which is ex-
actly the light in which they are now
regarded by biblical scholars.
THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH
offers a fair example of the treatment
of the other prophetical works. The
color device is not used here, for the
matter is arranged chronologically. The
discourses delivered during the first
twenty-three years Of the prophets
ministry appear In the first section,
while the second section contains the
discourses delivered later, and after the
destruction of Jerusalem, July $50. The
second part of the book contains chap
tiers concerning Jeremiah's life, written
after his death, and then come sections
writer by neither jeremiah nor his BIZ
ographer. Arranged in this order, the
book contains a degree of symmetry
and connection which in its present
form is Utterly lacking. The other books
of the prophets are handled in SINH
lar way. Much, especially, is expected
of Professor Cheyne's Isaiah, upon
which he has spent lifetime.
The ONLY translation which is at
present accessible is that of Ecclesi-
astes, by Professor Haupt himself. The |
later work, which is justly regarded
by all students of the Bible as one of
the most difficult of understanding. has
been reduced by Professor Haupt to |
a degree of clearness that robs it of
most, if not all of it's obscurity. Many
of the changes are more than novel.
The following passage will indicate |
how widely the new translation varies |