Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-31
DR.. MORRIS JASTRoW, JR.
On the Bible of Today

On tne DIpiC W 'ouoy
DEINTERPRETATION of the books OF
N the Bible to give them clearer. mes
sage for the present time is me ann OF
scholars of today. according to DR. Morris
.Jastrow Jr. distinguished biblical Scholar'
authority on Semitic languages and mem
Der of the University OF Pennsylvania
faculty. .
lie recently published q new Interpretation
and translation of the Book of Job. In TINS
as in his "A Gentle Cynic' lbcing the Book
of Ecclesiastes). published n year ago. Dr.
.Jastrow applies the methods OF modern
biblical scholarship to the intcrprstation OF
the great literary masterpieces OF the old
Testament. such as EcrlcsiastcS and the
Book of Job are universally acknowledged
to be.
.'The aim of what for the sake of con,
vcnicnce we may call the new piohea'
scholarship" says DIR. Jastrow, rs 10 re-
interpret the books of the Bible so as TO en-
able them to have message for the present
time The message of the Bible can appeal
to those stepped in modern thought only II
it is presented in the light of historlcai re-
search and with a full utilization OF critl'a'
Investigations regarding the origin, growth
and INTERPRETATION of the various books OF
which the Old and New Testament consist
1--WE cannot even if we would. approach
either the Old or the New Testament WIN
the simplc naive faith of our grandparents.
The general complaint of clergymen that the
Bible is not read as much as it was in former
days is undoubtedly justified; and the com,
plnint is echoed by distinguished students OF
English literature such as Sir Arthur 'luil-
lor Couch, who in his recent work ON the
Art of Reading hcvotes three chapters TO
pointing out the beauties of the authorized
version and to make an eloquent plea for the
greater use of the Bible in the study OF Eng
lish.
Not Surprising Bible Isn't Read
"All this must be admitted, and it is Ger
tainly n source of regret that the BlDle
should be falling into neglect. But on the
other hand. it is not surprising, Tor even
when we take up such classic as the Eng
liSh version of 1911 we do not read merely
for the literary enjoyment, but we are natur-
ally influenced by the traditional views re-
garding the contents OF oioIlcal pocKS' ,nov
that we are not expected TO take the fancy OF
the poet as historical truth, but unless we
are willing to approach the Bible in such
spirit the modern reader is necessarily be-
wildcrcd by many things he finds in the Bible
which are not in accord with the scientific
Thought of the day or with the ethical, social
and political ideas according to which we
regulate or are supposed to regulate our
lives.
"The first aim. therefore, of modern
biblical scholarship is to diffcrcntiutc in the
case of the Bible between fact and fancy, be-
tween a folk tale and Il historical narrative,
between myth and genuine occurrence, be-
tween mere tradition and utterances that
have II realistic background.
1.-THE Interpretation of myths, legends, folk
tales and tribal traditions in Genesis in
the light of modern research emphasizes their
heauty while at the same time frankly re-
jccting the literal Interpretation OF the
stories themselves. But il is particularly in
those books of the Old Testament which rep
resent the high water mark of literary pro
duction among the Hebrews, such as the
Psalms, the collections of the Prophets, Ec-
clesiastes. Job and the Song of Songs, that
modern scholarship has rendered invaluable
service in illuminating IN" historical back
ground of these masterpieces.
"In my Gentle CyniC ! have a chapter
entitled 1.-TWO Questions Concerning the
Bible in which | sum up the result in the
dictum that the modern point Of view affects
beliefs about the Bible but not belief in the
Riblr' The truths in the Bible remain the
same whether we accept the traditional or
modern point of view
Possibility OF Errors
"Another feature of modern scholarship
uuon which great stress must be laid is the
distinction between the text Of any book aS
il has been traditionaly handed down and
what. by way Of distinction, may be called Il
critical version Of the text. II YOU will bear
In mind TINT books in ancient times had to
hc hnnd- written, and that book may have
bcrn copied by fifty different Scribes before
tho text reached its present form. one can
readily see the possibility OF constant errors
occurring in such texts.
''Now, beautiful as the authorized version
is the final appeal for the correct inter
prrtation of any passage must be- made to
the original text and not to translation
Ono cannot proceed far in the study of the
text Of any biblical book without rccogni2
Ing that there are hundreds and hundreds of
messages which cannot possibly BE- correct in
| The form in which they have been handed
down.
| Writing, particularly in the ancient East
| was not done for the purpose Of circulating
| H.ok but either for the purpose OF presery.