COMPANION

Revised Old Testament

BY
TALBOT W. CHAMBERS

FUNK & WAGKALLS
NEW YORK 1885 LONDON
10 and 12 Dbt Stbeet 41 Fleet Street
AU Eights Reserved,

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by
FUNK & WAGNALLS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C.

PEEFACE.

The design of this book is expressed in the title.
It is intended to furnish a convenient manual to
those readers of the Kevised Old Testament who
wish to inform themselves of its origin and aim, and
of the principles upon which it has been made.
It was no part of the author's purpose to defend
or advocate the work of the revisers. Even if such
a thing were required, he is not the person to under
take it. But it is not required. A revision of the
English Bible for popular use must stand or fall by
its own merits, and no efforts, whether of friends or
foes, can prevent this result. If the book is worthy
— that is, if it accomplish the object for which it was
undertaken, no amount of opposition can overthrow
it. However learned or skilful or acute its assailants
may be, they will only beat the air. The Christian
public will slowly but surely find out the truth, and
act accordingly. They will accept and adopt that
form of the Bible which best answers the purposes
for which the Bible was given. If, on the other
hand, the work is a failure, if it is no advance upon
its predecessor, if its gains in one direction are out
weighed by shortcomings in another, it will pass into

iy PEEFACE.
neglect and oblivion. No amount of argument can
save it. All the resources of scholarship, wit and
dialectic skill will utterly fail to reverse the popular
verdict. There is reason, however, to believe that the labor
bestowed upon the work will not prove to be in vain.
It scarcely admits of a doubt that the Revised Bible
is a more accurate representation of the original than
the common version, since its authors are acknowl
edged to be among the most accomplished scholars
of our day. It is true the edge of this statement was
neatly turned by some of those who criticised un
favorably the New Testament on its appearance in
1881. They said that the revisers were excellent in
Greek, but poor in English. This meant that they
strained the resources of our noble English tongue,
and sometimes sacrificed the vernacular idiom to an
ideal exactness of translation. But surely the fault,
if it existed, was one of those that " lean to virtue's
side," and besides can hardly have occurred very
often. But even admitting its existence to the full
extent that is claimed, the question then arises
whether the Christian community will prefer elegance
to faithfulness, and choose rather to have a fine old
English classic than a studiously correct English
Bible. It was in view of this fact that, in a public
discussion of the subject two or three years ago, an
eminent clergyman * of Boston remarked that it was
not so much the book as the church that was on trial.
* The Rev. Phillips Brooks, D.D.

PREFACE. V
The writer is one of those who believe that the
church will stand the trial, and that in the end it
will be willing to surrender life-long attachments and
very sacred associations for the sake of learning more
exactly the terms and meaning of the Revelation
God has been graciously pleased to make of Himself.
Of course this will not be done at once. The
present adult generation, even the revisers them
selves, the most of whom are on the descending
scale of years, will find it hard to abandon the book
endeared to them from infancy. But the coming
generation will grow up with the knowledge that
there are two revisions of the English Bible, that of
1611 and that of 1885, and that they are at liberty
to choose between them. Nor will this be because
of any special efforts made by the authors of the
later revision. It will follow in the natural course
of events, Writers on subjects connected with the
theory or practice of religion will find incessant
occasion to quote and comment upon the revised
text. And the discussions will bring out clearly the
fact that that text represents the results of more than
two and a half centuries of study bestowed by the
scholars of all Christian nations upon the original
Scriptures. It has a right, therefore, to claim a can
did and dispassionate consideration. Moreover, the
immense numbers of children and youth in Sunday-
schools and Bible classes will see in the aids provided
for the prosecution of their studies a continual refer
ence to this revision, and for the most part a frank
-acknowledgment of its superior accuracy. This cir-

VI PREFACE.
cumstance will keep the book from being overlooked
or forgotten. It cannot possibly be shelved. If
therefore the book be what it is claimed to be, it will
gradually work its way to general acceptance, just as
its predecessor did in the first half of the seventeeth
century. That book at first was received with cold
indifference by some and with violent opposition by
others, yet it survived both. Although universally
known as "the Authorized Version," no trace of
such authorization has ever been found in any records
of the time, whether civil or ecclesiastical. Neither
the crown nor Parliament nor the privy council nor
the convocation appear to have given it any public
sanction. Yet without the aid of legal enactments,
and entirely upon its own merits, it quietly supersed
ed all its predecessors and rivals. It is therefore not
unreasonable to expect that the present revision will
in time noiselessly accomplish the same result, and
at length come to be generally recognized as the
Bible of English-speaking peoples.
In the mean time, while the verdict of the people
is forming, there is need of such works as the pres
ent. For it is a fact that, notwithstanding all that
has been said on the subject during the last ten or
fifteen years, there are multitudes of persons, well-
informed in other respects, who do not know why
the revision has been attempted, or how it has been
carried on, or what it was expected to accomplish.
There are others who, while aware of the leading
facts in the case, yet would be embarrassed in judg
ing particular instances. An example may be taken

PREFACE. Vll
from the experience of the Revised New Testament
Soon after that volume appeared, two clergymen
took it up from a bookseller's table, and casually
opened it at the close of the fifteenth chapter of
Mark. Here they observed that the 43d verse spoke
of the body of Jesus, while the 45th called it the
corpse, the Authorized Yersion having body in both
places. Desirous to see the reason of the change,
they turned to the nearest Greek Testament, where
they were surprised to find that the original had the
same word in both verses. The case then seemed
inexplicable, and was so until one of the two con
sulted a critical edition, where it appeared that the
correct text had one word {soma) in the 43d verse
and another (ptoma) in the 45th. Consequently
the revision reproduced exactly the form as well as
the meaning of the original.
It is with the design of meeting cases like this
that the present volume has been prepared — not in
deed by any means with the view of explaining all
the points wherein alteration has been made, but
simply to state the circumstances that led to the work,
and the means and method used to accomplish it,
After a brief statement concerning the text of the
Old Testament, a series of chapters takes up instances
of the various changes made, and suggests in a short
and general way the reasons for these changes. This
is only a selection of passages, and possibly not the
most judicious that could, have been made. Yet
these examples, however ill-chosen, will doubtless
illustrate all or nearly all the principles involved,

Vlll PREFACE.
and represent with sufficient accuracy the general
character of the book. Of course in a work no
larger than this there cannot be anything like a
complete statement of the grounds upon which the
committee acted ; often only a hint is given. But
it is supposed that persons who have no acquaintance
with the original languages of Scripture would be
glad to learn, in a general way, the objects of the
revisers and their method of reaching them. The
book is not written for scholars, to whom it would
be of little or no use, but for ordinary English read
ers, who may find even such light as is given in these
pages helpful in enabling them to form a candid
judgment of the merits of the revision. This ques
tion is not one of theoretical importance merely, but
touches vital issues. The "Word of God is the great
means for the building up of the religious character
and life. The sacred writings of the Old Testament
are expressly declared by the Apostle Paul (II. Tim,
iii. 16, 17) to be " profitable for teaching, for re
proof, for correction, for instruction which is in
righteousness : that the man of God may be com
plete, furnished completely to every good work."
It is therefore not only the privilege but the duty of
every man to become as fully acquainted as possible
with these writings in their exact sense and meaning.
He is not at liberty to indulge likes and dislikes in
a matter of this kind. It is not the revision that
most pleases aesthetic taste, or which is most fluent
and rhythmical, or which has about it the richest
archaic flavor that he is to choose, but that one which

PREFACE. IX
he has reason to think best conveys the meaning of
its divine author.
The author of this book having been a member of
the American Old Testament Company for the last
ten years can speak with some degree of authority
on the subjects here treated.' But it is to be dis
tinctly understood that he alone is responsible for
what is said. His colleagues in the company ap
proved of his undertaking, and all have kindly lent
him more or less assistance in prosecuting it ; but
whatever errors or shortcomings may be found are to
be attributed only to himself. It may not be amiss
to make a remark concerning the interior workings
of this branch of the Committee. The writer was
the only pastor in the company. All the others
were professors in theological seminaries, and they
represented seven different denominations and nine
different institutions. The meetings were held
monthly, save in midsummer, and extended over two
and sometimes three days. The discussions were
earnest and animated, and there was the freest ex
pression of opinion. Yet never even once did the
odium theologicum appear. Nothing was said at any
time that required retraction or apology. And so
far from there being any clashing among those con
nected with institutions which are in a sense rival
competitors for public favor, courtesy, kindness,
and the heartiest Christian fellowship prevailed from
beginning to end. Whatever becomes of the re
vision, each of those who took part in it on this side

X PREFACE.
of the water feels humble gratitude to God for the
blessed communion of devout scholars into which it
introduced him, and the many, many happy days
that were spent in accomplishing it. Each of them
can adopt for himself the words in which the good
Bishop Home, a century ago, spoke of his labors upon
the psalms : ' ' Happier hours than those which have
been spent in these meditations he never expects to
see in this world. Yery pleasantly did they pass,
and moved smoothly and swiftly along ; for when
thus engaged, he counted no time. They are gone,
but have left a relish and a fragrance upon the mind,
and the remembrance of them is sweet.' '

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I. PAGE
The Need of a Revision  13

CHAPTER II.
The Method of the Revision  37
CHAPTER III.
The Text of the Old Testament  61
CHAPTER TV.
Changes in the Pentateuch  78
CHAPTER V.
Changes in the Histobical Books  97
CHAPTER VI.
Changes in the Poetical Books  110
CHAPTER Vn.
Changes in the Peophetical Books  135

Xll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER VLH.
The Ameeican Appendix  168
CHAPTER IX.
The Impobtance of the Old Testament  217
CHAPTER X.
The Names of the Revisees, Bbitish and Ameeican  245

OLD TESTAMENT EEYISION.

CHAPTER I.
THE NEED OF A REVISION.
No testimony to the inexhaustible interest of the
Bible is more striking than that which is furnished
by the prevalent desire and effort to secure better
versions of its contents in modern tongues. The
book is continually attacked by all sorts of foes and
upon all sorts of grounds, and not infrequently is
contemptuously shelved as if its claims had been
utterly exploded. And yet in no less than seven
countries of Europe serious endeavors are, or recently
have been, made to amend the popular versions of
the Scriptures.
In Holland a revised translation of the New Tes
tament was issued in 1868 by direction of the Gen-
eral Synod, a large company of scholars having been
engaged on the work since the date of their appoint
ment in 1854. In Denmark the New Testament
having been revised in the year 1819, the revision of
the Old was undertaken by such scholars as Kolkar
and Rothe, with whom Bishop Martensen acted as

14 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION^
an adviser, and the result of their labors appeared in
1871. In Norway a laborious revision of the Old
Testament is now in progress, and is understood to
have reached completion save as to the prophetical
books. In Sweden the work has been in hand for
a century. Last May the New Testament was issued.
Its authors accepted no variation from the Textus
Receptus, unless it was sustained by at least two of
the most ancient authorities. The use of this re
vision is allowed in the schools, but not yet in the
churches. It has met with considerable opposition
from some Swedish scholars because of its too close
adherence to the Received Text.* The Bible in
common use in France is that known as Ostervald's
(issued in Amsterdam in 1724), which was based
upon that issued in 1588 by certain Geneva pastors,
among whom was Beza, which itself was a revision
of the translation made by Olivetan in 1535, and
corrected by Calvin, his cousin. A revision of
Ostervald's version was completed by M. Frossard
in 1869, and was approved by a conference of
pastors in Paris, who recommended the Socie'te Bi-
blique de France to publish it. In 1868 a revision
of the Old Testament was undertaken by a commit
tee of four, afterward increased to thirteen, who
completed their work and gave it to the press in 1879.
It is understood that the British and Foreign Bible
Society, and likewise the American Bible Society,
* For this authentic information in respect to Scandinavian
countries, the author is indebted to the Rev. Prof. G. E. Day,
D.D., who visited Denmark and Sweden last year.

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 15
have adopted this revision of both Testaments as
the French Bible which they will circulate. In
1874 the Rev. Dr. Louis Segond published at Ge
neva a new translation of the Old Testament (2d ed. ,
1877, at Nancy ; 3d ed., 1879, at Geneva), and 1879
a new translation of the New Testament. His work
has been accepted by the University Press, Oxford,
and has met with great favor from professors and
other scholars in Switzerland. In Germany a com
pany of learned men have been for years engaged in
a revision of Luther's version. Tentative copies
(Probe- Bibel) of their work have been widely circu
lated with the view of eliciting criticism before a final
determination. The auspices under which the enter
prise has been carried on are such as to give good
hope of success. It is understood that attention has
been paid rather to the matter of improving and mod
ernizing the language used than to the making of a
new version. But even in this latter point of view
the work is a significant indication of the general
movement in Christian lands in favor of making the
vernacular version of the Scriptures an adequate rep
resentation of the original, or at least such as to put
the rank and file of the people in possession of the
mind and will of God as revealed for human salva
tion. As for Britain and America, the present year
will see the conclusion of a work of revision carried
on ever since 1870.
It -remains for those who condemn the Bible
as obsolete or effete to explain the reason of this
earnest and widespread interest in the matter of

16 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
securing a faithful rendering of its words into the
living languages of our day. No such explanation
is possible, and the facts must be taken as evidence
that the system of religion taught in the Scriptures,
so far from having relaxed its hold upon the reason,
the conscience, and the heart of men, has increased
its power. Among English-speaking peoples these
facts are strengthened by the amazing sales made of
the Revised New Testament issued in England and
America in May, 1881. The demand for the book
was something wholly unprecedented in the entire
history of the trade. A deeper feeling than mere
curiosity is required to account for this fact.
In setting forth the grounds upon which the work
of revision in England was commenced and carried
on, it is requisite to set aside some mistaken appre
hensions on the subject. No disparagement of the
general merits of the Authorized Yersion was in
tended. That version is one of very great excellence.
It is better than any of the ancient versions, and is
surpassed by only one of the modern — the Staaten-
Bybel of Holland. The reason of the latter's superi
ority is that it was made a score of years after Kino-
James's translators had finished their labors, and of
course had the benefit of their experience. The
friends and advocates of the Revision can in all good
conscience join in circulating the common English
Bible, while yet they think it capable of improve
ment. Nor is it true, as has sometimes been said,
that these parties are insensible to the charms of the
old Bible as "a well of English undefyled," and

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 17
have no regard for its exquisite rhythm and melody.
They feel these things as much as anybody, and if
the Scriptures were simply a great English classic,
they would as soon think of amending Chaucer or
Shakespeare as of touching the book which is such a
noble expression of our language in its best estate.
But the literary claims of the Bible are and must be
subordinate to its character as a record of the revela
tion which God has been pleased to make of Himself.
Taste must yield to conscience. Every reader is
entitled to the most exact and faithful expression of
the divine word that is attainable. An incorrect or
inadequate version is poorly compensated by grace of
utterance. Pure water out of an earthen vessel is
better than water not so pure out of a golden cup
rimmed with jewels. Nor is it love of change for
its own sake that induced the plan of revision. Of
course there may be among the friends of that plan
some justly liable to this charge, but if so, these are
exceptions. The revisers have felt the power of old
association in endearing to them the common ver
sion with all its shortcomings, and they therefore put
their hands to any alteration with great reluctance,
and only under an imperative sense of duty. Faith
fulness is the first law of translation, and no ques
tions, whether of taste, or of long use, or of sacred
memories, can be allowed to stand in the way of a
correct representation of " the mind of the Spirit,"
as recorded in the Scriptures. But of course so
long as substantial correctness is secured minor in
felicities or inadequate renderings may be left un-

18 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
touched. And this has been the constant aim of the
revisers — viz., not to make a new version, but to
revise the old one where such revision was called for.
How far they have accomplished their aim it is not
for them to say. But it is their right to insist upon
the earnestness and sincerity of their endeavors in
this direction.
The reasons for the work may be assigned as fol
lows :
1. The Progress of the Language. — Dead lan
guages do not change, and it is their fixed and invari
able character which renders the study of them such
a valuable aid in sharpening and disciplining the
faculties. But living languages are always subject
to change with the changes in the numbers, manners,
laws, institutions, and social development of the
peoples who speak them. All that a reasonable con
servative can ask is that variations shall not be vio
lent, or precipitate, or against analogy, or in general
for the worse. In this respect the Authorized Yersion
has been a great blessing as a standard of speech.
Its intrinsic excellence as well as its sacred origin
gave it an acceptance among the people such as no
other book ever secured. Hence it brought all
classes of men into familiar acquaintance with its
idioms and its vocabulary, and so proved a constant
breakwater against rash and needless innovations.
Still, while this is true and gratefully acknowledged
by every lover of his mother tongue, it is also true
that the end was not perfectly gained. There are
some grammatical forms which have become wholly

THE NEED OF A REVISION.

1?

antiquated, and there is a considerable number of
words which are now obsolete and therefore unintel
ligible to the great body of readers. Other words
have undergone an entire change of meaning so as
seriously to mislead the unlearned. There are more
of these than persons who have not had their atten
tion called to the subject are apt to suppose. Some
specimens are here given, all taken from the Old
Testament.

Ancient, (Is. xlvii. 6),
Artillery, (I. Sam. xx. 40),
Assay, (Deut. iv. 34),
Bakemeats, (Gen. xl. 17),
Besom, (Is. xiv. 32),
Bewray, (Is. xvi.. 3),
Bonnet, (Ex. xxviii. 40),
Boss, (Job xv. 26),
Botch, (Deut. xxviii. 27),
Bravery, (Is. iii. 18),
Brigandine, (Jer. xlvi. 4),
Bunches, (Is. xxx. 6),
Cabins, (Jer. xxxvii. 18),
Cankerworm, (Ps. cv. 34),
Carriage, (Judges xviii. 21),
Champaign, (Deut. xi.30),
Chapiter, (Ex. xxxvi. 38),
Chapman, (I. Kings x. 15),
Charger, (Num. vii. 13),
Coast, (Ex. x. 4),
Comely, (Ps. xxxiii. 1),
Cracknel, (I. Kings xiv. 3),
Conversation, (Ps. xxxvii. 14),
Cunning, (Gen. xxv. 27),

Elder or aged.
Missile weapons.
Attempt, try.
Some kind of bread.
Broom. Betray.
Mitre.
Knob. Boil. Splendor, finery.
Scale armor.
Humps (of camels).
Cellars, vaults.
Caterpillar.

Plain. Capital.Trader.Platter.Border.Becoming.
Cake. Manner of life.
Knowing, skilful (not implying
artifice).

20

OLD TFSTAMENT REVISION.

Daysman, (Job ix. 33),
Despite, (Ezek. xxv. 6),
Discipline, (Job xxxvi. 10),
Discover, (Ps. xxix. 9),
Ear, (Deut. xxi. 4),
Ensue, (Ps. xxxiv. 14),
Entreat, (Gen. xii. 16),
Eschew, (Job i. 1, 8),
Fats, (Joel ii. 24),
Fenced, (Num. xxxii. 17),
Fine, (Job xxviii. 1),
Flag, (Ex. ii. 3, 5),
Fray, (Deut. xxviii. 26),
Fretting, (Lev. xiv. 44),
Gallant, (Is. xxxiii. 21),
Goodman, (Prov. vii. 19),
Gracious, (Prov. xi. 16),
Habergeon, (Ex. xxviii. 32),
Harness, (I. Kings xxii. 34),
Handywork, (Ps. xix. 1),
Knop, (Ex. xxv. 31),
Kerchief, (Ezek. xiii. 18, 21),
Lace, (Ex. xxviii. 28),
Leasing, (Ps. iv. 2),
Let, (Ex. v. 4),
Lover, (Ps. xxxviii. 11),
Man of war, (Ex. xv. 3),
Manner, with the, (Num. v. 13),
Mean, (Is. ii. 9),
Meat, (Gen. i. 29, 30),
Minish, (Ex. v. 19),
Mount, (Jer. vi. 6),

Umpire or arbiter.
Reproachful contempt.
Instruction.
Uncover or lay bare.
Plough.
Follow after and overtake.
Treat.
F1 je from, avoid.
Vats. Fortified, defended.
Refine. Reed-grass. Frighten.
Devouring, corroding.
Splendid, stately.
Master of the house.
Filled with grace.
Coat of mail for the head and
shoulders.
Armor. Workmanship.
Bud or bud-shaped protuber
ance.
Covering for the head.
Band.
Lying, falsehood.
Hinder.
Intimate friend, not necessarily
of the opposite sex.
Warrior.
In the act.
Common, lowly (not base).
Food in general.
Diminish. Mound.

THE NEED OF A REVISION.

21

Neesing, (Job xli. 18),
Nephews, (Judges xii. 14),
Noisome, (Ps. xci. 3),
Occupy, (Ez. xxvii. 16),
Ointment, (Cant. i. 3), •
Offend, (Ps. cxix. 165),
Ouches,* (Ex. xxviii. 11),

Sneezing.
Grandchildren.Hurtful.
Use, trade with, trade.
Unguent, perfume.
Make to stumble.
Sockets for setting precious
stones.

Paddle, (Deut. xxiii. 13),

Small spade.

Palestina, (Ex. xv. 14),

Philistia.

Painful, (Ps. lxxiii. 16),

Toilsome.

Poll, (Num. i. 2),

Head.

Prevent, (Ps. xviii. 5),

Meet, anticipate.

Purtenance, (Ex. xii. 9),

Intestines or inwards.

Quick, (Lev. xiii. 10),

Living.

Rereward, (I. Sam. xxix. 2),

Rearguard.

Road, (I. Sam. xxvii. 10),

Raid.

Saving health, (Ps. lxvii. 2),

Salvation.

Scall, (Lev. xiii. 30),

Eruption of the skin, tetter.

Scrabble, (I. Sam. xxi. 13),

Scrawl.

Scrip, (I. Sam. xvii. 40),

Wallet or small bag.

Seethe, (Ex. xvi. 23),

Boil.

Several, (H. Kings xv. 5),

Separate.

Sherd, (Is. xxx. 14),

Shred or fragment.

Shroud, (Ezek. xxxi. 3),

Cover, shelter.

Silverling, (Is. vii. 23),

Piece of silver.

Slime, (Gen. xi. 3),

Bitumen.

Stay upon, (Is. x. 20),

Lean upon.

Spoil, (Gen. xxxiv. 27),

Plunder.

Straitly, (Gen. xliii. 7),

Strictly.

* This word is retained in the Revision, doubtless because socket was used
to denote the openiugs made in the silver bases or pediments in which were
inserted the two tenons of each of the boards used to make the sides and end
of the Tent of Meeting. It seemed better to preserve an obsolete word than
to use the same term to denote the setting of a precious gem and the recep
tacle of a board ten cubits high.

22 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.

Tabernacle, (Num. xxiv. 5),

Tent.

Table, (Is. xxx. 8),

Tablet.

Tablet, (Ex. xxxv. 22),

Armlet, locket.

Tache, (Ex. xxvi. 6),

Clasp.

Thought, (I. Sam. ix. 5),

Anxiety.

Tired, (II. Kings ix. 30),

Attired.

Turtle, (Cant. ii. 12),

Turtle-dove.

Undersetters, (I. Kings vii. 30),

Props.

Vagabond, (Gen. iv. 12),

Wanderer.

Vex, (Ex. xxii. 21),

Harass, oppress.

Wench, (H. Sam. xvii. 17),

Maidservant.

Well, (Cant. iv. 15),

Spring.

Wimple, (Is. iii. 22),

Neck-covering, shawl,

Witty, (Prov. viii. 12),

Ingenious, clever.

2. Infelicities in the Form of the Common Ver
sion. — The most obvious of these is the division 'of
the whole book into chapters and verses. While this
is a great convenience for the purposes of a concord
ance, enabling one to turn in a moment to any de
sired passage, it must be confessed that the conven
ience is dearly bought. The chapter division is not
always made with proper regard to the connection,
frequently uniting what ought to be separated and
separating what ought to be united. The first chap
ter of Genesis should have included the first three
verses of the second chapter, which evidently belong
to the general account of the creation, as distinguished
by the phrase, " Theie are the generations of the
heavens and the earth, ' ' from the following narrative
of man's trial in Eden. In Isaiah no one doubts that
the extraordinary prediction of the servant of the

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 23
Lord as a vicarious sufferer contained in the well-
known 53d chapter really begins at the thirteenth
verse of the 52d, and the rude dislocation is a
serious injury to the sense. The third chapter of
the same prophet should have included the first
verse of the one that follows as completing the pict
ure of Judea's distress, after which a new strain
begins. So in the Book of Job the close of Chap
ter xxxvf. announces a storm the further prog
ress of which is given in the next chapter, and
the needless division makes a disturbing break in
the midst of a sublime and thrilling description.
The versicular division is still more annoying. It
turns the Scripture into what looks like a book of
apothegms. It forms or at least fosters the habit
in the unlearned, and sometimes even in others, of
taking a single clause apart from its connection and
thus attaching to it an unjustifiable sense. It leads
the ignorant to think that this is an essential part of
the literary form of the original, and not a mere
printer's device. The degree to which italic letters
are used is unfortunate and misleading. They are
intended to mark such words as are supplied by the
translators, but oftentimes they are inserted need
lessly, as, for example, in the use of the copula where
this, although not expressed in the original, is con
fessedly implied in it. Thus in the first, second,
and fourth verses of the first Psalm the italic letters
are wholly superfluous. So, again, poetry and prose
are printed in one uniform way. This is unfortu
nate, not only in that many readers fail to see that

24 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the Scriptures are in part poetical, but also in that
the parallelisms, which are so important a part of
Hebrew verse arid which often do so much to fa
cilitate the understanding of difficult passages, are
greatly obscured. It is true that there are not un-
frequently divided opinions as to the precise deter
mination of hemistichs, but even an unhappy metrical
division is better than none at all, for the reader,
having his attention called to the subject, may of
himself make the necessary correction. An eminent
scholar of our own country once objected to the
metrical arrangement on the ground that it led the
reader to expect rhyme and rhythm, and not finding
these, he was disappointed and confused. But this
would be only a temporary embarrassment, while the
gain from a knowledge of the parallelism is real and
permanent. 3. The Progress of Sacred Learning. — The men
who made the Authorized Yersion were beyond doubt
learned men, quite abreast of their time and fully
equal to any scholars in Europe. But having their
work as a basis, their successors, though inferior,
may yet improve it, just as, according to the old say
ing, a dwarf perched upon the shoulders of a giant
sees further than the giant. But apart from this
consideration, real advances have been made in every
department of Biblical Literature during the last two
centuries and a half. Helps of all kinds have been
multiplied in an astonishing degree. Take, for ex
ample, the matter of versions. King James's trans
lators had only a single text of the Septuagint, the

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 25
earliest and most valuable of the ancient transla
tions, and that an imperfect one, whereas the mod
ern scholar has also that of the Alexandrian MS.
in the British Museum, and that of the Sinaitic
discovered by Tischendorf, and these aided by the
critical labors of a number of eminent scholars. The
fragments remaining of other Greek versions, made
by individuals (Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, and
others), have also been brought forth and put at
the service of students since 1611. Next in im
portance after the Greek comes the Latin version.
Here, too, the superiority of the later period is ob
vious. The earlier scholars had only the ordinary
edition of the Yulgate, disfigured by many changes
and corruptions, which had in the course of time
crept in, whereas now access is easy to the Codex
Amiatinus (a.d. 541), which represents Jerome's
final and matured judgment. The next most impor
tant early version, the Syriac, was unknown to the
authors of the common Bible, for it was not printed
until the Paris Polyglot of Le Jay, in 1645. This
Peshitto Codex is of great value, as being made in a
cognate dialect and with marked fidelity. In like
manner the Samaritan Pentateuch, the later Syriac
versions, the Ethiopic, the Persian and the Gothic,
were not published until years after the appearance
of the issue of the English Bible of 1611, and could
therefore have rendered no aid to its authors.
The same thing may be said as to philological
helps. The larger Hebrew grammar of Buxtorf ap
peared in 1609 ; but though its merits were great for

26 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
its day, it bears no comparison with the elaborate
treatises of this century in point of fulness, acute-
ness, and accuracy. Gesenius and Ewald and their '
successors have wrought a complete revolution in the
treatment of the forms and accidence of the lan
guage. This is true also of the lexicons. Buxtorf 's
was at command in 1611, giving students the help to
be derived from the Rabbins and the Yulgate. But
the great development of comparative philology
took place afterward. The eminent scholars who
made Walton's Polyglot did not come forward till
the following generation, and it was in the next cen
tury that Schultens brought out the benefits to be
derived from seeking the roots of Hebrew in the
Arabic. The success of the great Hollandish scholar
gave a lasting impulse to the study of all the cognate
Semitic languages, and thus largely increased the re
sources of the lexicographers, emancipating them
from the dominion of Rabbinic tradition and giving
them the choice of varied interpretations. But the
modern dictionaries surpass Buxtorf not only in
materials but in methods. They have assumed a
form rigidly scientific, and beginning with the root
meaning, trace all subsequent modifications and ap
plications in a way which vastly facilitates the efforts
of the student, giving him in a convenient form the
results of the labors of all Hebrew scholars for two
centuries and a half. Similar is the case with com
mentaries. All the aid of this kind enjoyed by
King James's translators was limited to the church
fathers, few of whom were acquainted with Hebrew,

THE NEED OF A REVISION. %1
and to the writers of the Reformation period. The
latter in some cases were men of keen insight, of
exegetical tact and of large views of truth, and are
therefore of value even to day. But in the nature .
of things they could not construct a critical commen
tary of the kind which abounds in our time. They
did not have the necessary materials or training for
minute analysis of the text and thorough discussion
of its possible meanings, whereas now the press
teems from year to year with the results of the labors
of specialists by whom every new source of knowl
edge is carefully explored. Their efforts are greatly
aided by the progress made in archaeology, geog
raphy, natural history, and monumental theology.
The old cartography of Palestine was mainly mere
conjecture, and often ludicrously wrong, while to-day
the whole area of Bible lands has been triangulated,
so that the maps made are more accurate than many
of those of our own country. The manners and cus
toms have been accurately recorded, and as Oriental
life suffers no change in these respects, a flood of
light is thrown upon numerous points which before
were involved in deep obscurity. Natural science
has also contributed to the better understanding of
the nature of the animals, plants, minerals, and
heavenly bodies mentioned in the Bible, while all
articles of food, domestic utensils, military appli
ances, etc., are clearly explained by the books of an
tiquities. In addition to this are the contributions
made by the discoveries of the present century in the
language, history, religion, and habits of the ancient

28 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Egyptians, and also by the deciphering of cuneiform
characters, and the consequent revelation of the early
history of Assyria and Babylon. It is hardly pos
sible to exaggerate the aid to the interpretation of
the Scriptures to be derived from Egyptology and
Assyriology, whose treasures were not even dreamed
of in the days of James I. The question, then, is
whether the benefit to be derived from these varied
sources of knowledge shall be confined to the learned
or shall be made the common property of the people
by being incorporated in the version of the Script
ures which they have in daily use.
4. The Correction of Acknowledged Errors. —
There are numerous renderings which are declared
to be incorrect by all lexicons and commentaries of a
critical character. Some of these are cases in which
the word occurs singly or in only a few instances,
but others are often repeated. For example, the
word hypocrite is found eight times in the Book of
Job, yet in not one of them does the original term
have that meaning, and the reader therefore is mis
led. So one of the oblations mentioned over and
over in the Pentateuch and elsewhere is styled a
"meat offering," which inevitably leads the reader
to suppose that it is an animal sacrifice, whereas the
Hebrew really means an unbloody oblation, and is
appropriately rendered "meal offering." In the
following list the incorrect Word is placed first, with
a reference to one of the places where it occurs, and
then the true meaning as generally accepted among
scholars :

THE NEED OF A REVISION.

29

Apothecary, (Ex. xxx. 25),

Perfumer.

Avenging, (Judges v. 2),

Leaders.

Bittern, (Is. xiv. 23),

Porcupine

Borrow, (Ex. xi. 2),

Ask.'

Breaches, (Judges v. 17),

Creeks or harbors

Candle, (Job xviii. 6),

Lamp.

Caldron, (Jer. lii. 18),

Pot.

College, (II. Kings xxii. 14),

Second ward.

Coast, (Jer. xxv. 32),

Uttermost part.

Crooked, (Job xxvi. 13),

Fleet, or fleeing.

Dead things, (Job xxvi. 5),

The shades.

Diet, (Jer. lii. 34),

Allowance.

Dragons, (Ps. Ixxiv. 13),

Monsters.

" (Job xxx. 29),

Jackals.

Dregs, (Is. Ii. 17),

Bowl.

Flagons of wine, (Hos. iii. 1),

Pressed grapes.

Fires, (Is. xxiv. 15),

The East.

Flood, (Joshua xxiv. 14),

The river.

Foxes, (Judges xv. 4),

Jackals.

Groves, (Ex. xxxiv. 13),

Pillars.

Galleries, (Cant. vii. 5),

Curls of hair.

Grow up, (Mai. iv. 2),

Leap.

Hats, (Dan. iii. 2),

Mantles.

Hearth, (Jer. xxxvi. 22),

Brasier

Hell, (Ps. xvi. 10),

Sheol, Hades, the underworld,

House of God, (Judges xx. 18),

Bethel.

Hypocrite, (Job viii. 13),

Ungodly.

Island of the innocent, (Job xxii
30),
Images, (Lev. xxvi. 30),
" (Gen. xxxi. 19),
Jasher, (II. Sam. i. 18),
Jaw, (Judges xv. 19),

The not innocent.
Sun-images.
Teraphim, household gods.
The upright.
Lehi (a proper name).

30 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Kid of the goats, (Gen. xxxvii. 31), He-goat.
Lamps, (Ezek. i. 13), Torches.
Linen yarn, (I. Kings x. 28), Droves of horses.
Mount Ephraim, (Josh. xxiv. 23), Hill country of Ephraim.
Multitude of No, (Jer. xlvi. 25), Amon of No.
Mules, (Gen. xxxvi. 24), Warm springs.
Nitre, (Jer. ii. 22), Lye.
Owl, (Lev. xi. 16), Ostrich.
Plain of Mamre, (Gen. X7iii. 1), Oaks of Mamre.
People, (Gen. xxv. 23), Peoples (nations).
Paper reeds, (Is. xix. 7), Meadows.
Populous No, (Nah. iii. 8), No Amon.
Pots, (Jer. xxxv. 5), Bowls.
River of Egypt, (Num. xxxiv. 5), Brook of Egypt (not the Nile).
Reward, (Jer. xl. 5), Present.
Satyrs, (Is. xiii. 2), Goats.
Scapegoat, (Lev. xvi. 8), Removal.
Screech owl, (Is. xxxiv. 14), Night monster.
Scum, (Ezek. xxiv. 6), Rust.
Shameful spewing, (Hab. ii. 16), Ignominy.
South, (Gen. xii. 9), The South, a definite region
so-called.
Spider, (Prov. xxxviii. 31), Lizard.
Sweet influences, (Jobxxxviii. 31), Cluster, or chain.

Thick clay, (Hab. ii. (

5),

Pledges.

Table, (Is. xxx. 8),

Tablet.

Tablet, (Is. iii. 20),

Perfume box.

Torches, (Nah. ii. 3),

Steel.

Troop, (Amos ix. 6),

Vault.
Valley, (Josh. xi. 16),
Lowland.
Veil, (Ruth iii. 15),
Mantle.
Unicorn, (Num. xxiii.
22),
Wild ox.
Wounds, (Prov. xviii.
8),
Dainty morsels.
THE NEED OF A REVISION. 31
But besides mistakes as to the meaning of particu
lar words, there are numerous inaccuracies of render
ing, as when in Ps. xvi. 2 " My goodness extendeth
not to thee" is given instead of the far richer as well
as more correct version, "I have no good beyond
thee ;" or when the sublime theophany in Hab. iii.
has the grotesque utterance, " he had horns coming
out of his hand," the true sense being," Rays stream
forth from his hand ;" or when in Job xxvi. 5 we
read, ' ' Dead things are formed from under the
waters," a senseless statement, whereas the true sense
is, " The dead tremble^beneath the waters ;" or
when the conjectural clause " all that make sluices
and ponds for fish," stands in Isa. xix. 10 for the
pertinent utterance, " All that work for hire are sad
at heart." Misapprehension of the tense forms of
the Hebrew verb occurs very frequently. This re
mark does not refer to the modern theory that the
so-called tenses in Hebrew do not, as in other lan
guages, express relations of time, but are rather moods
— i.e., express the character of an action as incipient
or continuous or completed. Quite apart from this
view, which seems now to have won general accept
ance, there are many instances in which the Author
ized Yersion conceals or misstates the order of events as
stated in the original. Psalm lxvii. 6 we read, "27ien
shall the earth yield her increase," whereas the poet
really says, "The land hath yielded her increase, "
referring doubtless to a recent harvest, the theme of
the praise given before, and of the confident hope
expressed afterward. In Habakkuk iii. 3 it is said,

32 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
" God came from Teman," as if the splendid the-
ophany that follows were something in the past,
whereas the prophet is foretelling what is to come,
and the true rendering is either " cometh " or " will
come." So the definite article is sometimes omitted
where it occurs in the original, and again is inserted
where it does not. Thus the divine announcement
of Samson's birth (Judges xiii. 3) was made not by
the, but by an, angel of the Lord, whose character is
left to be seen from what followed. The statement
(Judges xv. 19), " God clave an hollow place that was
in the jaw," should be, " God clave the hollow place
that was in Lehi."
Hebraisms which mislead the common reader are
not resolved into English idiom. Thus, " God of
my righteousness" (Ps. iv. 1) ought, to express
the sense, to be "my righteous God," and "the
throne of His holiness" in Ps. xlvii. 8 should be
" His holy throne." In Is. xiii. 3 " them that re
joice in my highness, " which is unmeaning in the
connection, should be " my proudly exulting ones."
In the same book (vii. 16) " the land that thou ab-
horrest shall be forsaken of both her kings," properly
rendered is, "the land shall be forsaken of whose
two kings thou art sore afraid. ' ' A similar miscon
struction of the relative pronoun is found in Ps. Iv.
19, " God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that
abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no
changes, therefore they fear not God." The true
sense is, " God shall hear and afflict them, . . .
who have no changes and who fear not God " — i.e.,

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 33
as Dr. H. W. Green expounds, as God heard the
Psalmist in mercy (v, 17), so He will hear these in
wrath, answering not their prayers, for they do not
pray, but the voice of their malignant slanders. In
Ps. xix. 3 the insertion of the italic word where en
tirely deranges the relation of the verse to what pre
cedes, and introduces a thought quite different from
that which David intended. The translators make
the passage assert the universality of God's self-
revelation in nature, whereas the true sense is that
all nature has a voice, though i it is not addressed to
man's outward ear :
There is no speech nor language ;
Their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, etc.
An equally striking instance is found in Ps. x. 4,
" God is not in all his thoughts." Instead of this
tame and commonplace utterance, the correct render
ing gives the fine and piercing conception, " All
his thoughts are, There is no God." All his plans
and schemes are a practical denial of the divine
existence. It would seem, then, that the need of a revision of
the Old Testament has been made plain. It is not a
mere fancy of men hunting for novelties, but a cer
tain and solid reality. The English Bible should
conform to the present state of the language and rep
resent the present stage of critical and exegetical
investigation. The ordinary reader should be placed
as far as possible on a level with the scholar in con
sulting its pages, at least so far as that end can be

34 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
reached by accurate and idiomatic translation. He
has a right to claim that no pains be spared to give
him access to the whole counsel of God as contained
in His blessed Word, so that he may be furnished
completely unto every good work, and this the more,
since in regard to very many cases there is a sub
stantial agreement among the learned, both as to the
incorrectness of the common version and as to the
way in which the proper correction should be made.
Nor is there any force in the objection frequently
raised that any attempt at revision, however carefully
pursued, must inevitably do harm by unsettling peo
ple's minds, and weakening if not destroying their
confidence in what they have always been taught to
regard as the Word of God. For the evil, if it be
such, has already been wrought. The Christian
public is familiar with the fact that the English Bible
is only a human translation of the living oracles, and
that its correctness has at times and in places been
severely questioned. And a tranquillity which rests
upon a false or inadequate basis ought to be dis
turbed. We repudiate the maxim that ignorance is
the mother of devotion, and maintain that real wor
shippers should " worship the Father in spirit and in
truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him."
True believers are acceptable and useful, generally,
in proportion to their knowledge of divine revela
tion. The simplest elements of the Gospel, such as
are found in even the most imperfect versions, are
indeed enough for the salvation of the soul. Bat
something more is needed if the disciple is to grow

THE NEED OF A REVISION. 35
in character, in strength and in completeness.
There must be a larger and better acquaintance with
the riches of the divine word, and the more accu
rately this is understood and appreciated the more
thoroughly is the Christian fitted to serve and enjoy
his Lord. The Word is the sword of the Spirit, and
just so far as that Word is imperfectly rendered in
any language, the sword is veiled or its edge dulled.
A correct rendering strips off the veil and restores
the sharpness and point. Such an advantage is
cheaply gained at the cost of disturbing an unreason
ing and slothful acquiescence in the terms of a tra
ditional version. One who recognizes the fact that
even the best translation is, after all, only an approxi
mation to the original, and yet sees in that approx
imation the traces of a divine hand, the utterances
of a wisdom that cometh from above, is for that
reason more firmly grounded in the truth and more
stable in his adherence to the record of God's re
vealed will.
It is not to be supposed, however, that the work
of revision will remove all obscurities from the Script
ure. Sometimes unwarrantable anticipations have
been cherished in this respect. Not to speak of the
sea captain impatient of the restraints of the Lord's
day, who said that of course the revisers would leave
the Fourth Commandment out of the Decalogue,
there are not a few more reverent and thoughtful
persons who have overestimated what is possible in
the matter. There are some terms used in describ
ing Solomon's temple which were not understood by

36 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the Greek translators of the third century before our
era, and of course cannot be understood by scholars
of this day, however profound or acute. The same
is true of many of the words found in the superscrip
tions of the Psalms. No one can pretend to do more
than conjecture the precise meaning. So again there
are passages where it seems necessary to suppose that
some corruption of the text has in the course of time
crept in. And there are places in several of the
prophets where the utterance is so brief and con
densed, and the connection so obscure, that candid
students must content themselves with an approxima
tion to the sense ; and only rash and hasty expositors
are willing to assert that they have certainly ascer
tained the prophet's meaning. There will therefore
be hard places in the revision just as there were in
the authorized. They will be such, however, not
from lack of pains and care on the part of the re
visers, but because of the inherent difficulties of the
subject.

CHAPTER II.
THE METHOD OF THE REVISION.
It is one thing to detect a fault, but quite another
to amend it. The imperfections of the English Bible
have been distinctly seen for more than a century,
and there have been numerous attempts at removing
them both in Great Britain and in this country. In
some cases the attempt was confined to a single book,
in others it extended to the whole volume. Some
times the translators or revisers were elegant and pro
found scholars, at others they were mere sciolists
destitute of every qualification for the work. As an
illustration of the latter may be cited a verse from a
translation of the Book of Job issued ten years ago
by a layman (O. S. Halstead, of New Jersey), who
had acquired eminence at the bar of his own State.
He rendered the first verse of the first chapter thus :
" Man was in land TJz, Job name of him, and was
that man which be upright and just, and feared God,
and turned aside from evil." Such wretched abor
tions of course only provoked laughter and ridicule.
But even when scholarly men, like Bishop Lowth,
Archbishop Newcome, or the American professor,
Dr. George R. E oyes, took the matter in hand, they
never reached more than partial or temporary sue-

38 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
cess. Students of Scripture were glad to have these
versions for comparison, but no serious thought of
substituting them for the authorized was ever enter
tained. The failure of so many varied enterprises
led to a general conviction that the object in view
was simply unattainable, that nothing could ever
displace the common Bible, and that the agitation of
the subject could work only injury, in unsettling
people's minds in respect to the authority of Script
ure. But about thirty years ago the matter was
taken up, not by mere surface students, or foolish
fanatics, or acknowledged errorists, but by men both
learned and devout, who had no private ends to seek
and no peculiar or pet notions to establish, and whose
position in the community entitled them to a hear
ing. Among the earliest of these were Bishop Elli-
cott, Archbishop Trench, and Dean Alford. Their
arguments and some tentative efforts put forth under
their direction produced a considerable effect among
men of liberal culture, and there began to be a wide
spread conviction that the time was ripe for a re
vision. Yet there were voices in the opposite direc
tion, amorfg which were those of the learned Dr.
Scrivener, Dr. McCaul, and the Rev. S. C. Malan.
To these must be added the high authority of one of
our own most, eminent scholars, the Hon. George P.
Marsh, late Minister to Italy, who, in a valuable
chapter of his " Lectures on the English Language,''
deprecated a revision as "not merely unnecessary
but wholly premature." It was well that such op
position existed. It led to extreme caution both in

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 39
the work that was attempted and the way in which
it was set about. It induced men to seek not a new
translation of the Scriptures, but a revision of the ex
isting one, and to do this under such auspices as
would give it a catholic or undenominational char
acter. To this end the matter was brought before
the Lower House of Convocation of the province of
Canterbury ; but though it was urged with much elo
quence and ability no success was attained. Corre
sponding efforts were made from time to time in the
House of Commons to get a royal commission ap
pointed on the subject, but these were all fruitless.
At last, in the year 1870, the Upper House of the
Canterbury Convocation, on motion of Bishop Wil-
berforce, took the subject in hand, and instituted the
proceedings which finally secured the accomplish
ment of the work. It is not necessary here to cite
the text of its resolutions or give the details of its
action, except so far as they will appear in stating
the general characteristics of the revision which is
now completed.
1. The Auspices of the Work. — It is not a private
enterprise undertaken for the sake of either fame or
gain. It is not a publisher's job, nor is it the work
of a self-appointed scholar or set of scholars, but
owes its existence to the deliberate action of a body
which challenges, not to say commands, universal
respect. This is the larger of the two provinces of
the Church of England, the eldest daughter of the
Anglican Reformation and the lineal descendant of
the devout and learned scholars who came together

40 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
at the call of King James. No one supposes that all
wisdom on this subject is confined to the Convoca
tion of Canterbury. But it is undeniable that of all
religious bodies in English-speaking Christendom this
one was best fitted to set on foot a work of so much
difficulty, delicacy, and importance. Its position, its
relation to the English crown and people, its history,
its long line of illustrious scholars and divines, its,
wealth of ancestral traditions, gave it the right to
take the lead.* Every suggestion of local, petty,
selfish aims is at once precluded, and assurance is
given to all men that whatever comes forth under
such direction must be of such a nature as to merit
the most candid and careful consideration. And
whenever the revisers, whether British or American,
are asked by what authority they assumed the duty
they have taken upon themselves, they are able to
give a. very prompt and satisfactory answer. It was
the authority of a grave, dignified, and representative
body, acting not in haste but at leisure, not rashly
but in the exercise of great deliberation. Nothing
like this has been seen in any other attempt at re
vision during the two centuries and three quarters
which have elapsed since the Authorized Yersion
was issued.

* " The Church of England still represents the largest member
ship, the strongest institutions, the richest literature, among
those ecclesiastical organizations which have sprung from the
Anglo-Saxon stock. ... No royal decree, no act of Parliament,
could nowadays inaugurate such a work of Christian scholar
ship."— Rev. Dr. Sckaff.

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 41
2. Its Catholic Character. — But while the re
vision owes its existence to the Church of England,
it was not made solely by members of that body.
The committee appointed by the convocation was ex
pressly authorized to " invite the co-operation of any
eminent for scholarship, to whatever nation or re
ligious body they may belong." Accordingly some
of the ablest and best-known Biblical scholars, not
only from all schools and parties of the English
Church, but also from the other religious bodies of
Britain, were invited to join in the work, and the
invitation was accepted. In the American Commit
tee a yet wider range was taken in constituting its
membership, and in consequence members of all the
leading denominations of Protestant Christendom
were found cordially and actively engaged in the
work. Prelatist and Presbyterian, Independent and
Methodist, Baptist and PEedobaptist, the Lutheran
and the Reformed, and the Friends ; they who em
phasize divine sovereignty and they who put the
stress on human freedom ; they who see only unity
in the Godhead and they who recognize plurality as
well as unity, appear alike in the lists of the re
visers. However widely differing in other matters,
they agreed in regarding the Bible as God's most
holy word, the one rule of religious faith, the one
nonn of human duty ; and they could conscien
tiously unite in the endeavor to make the version the
most exact reflection possible of the thought, the
spirit, and the expression of the original. Their
work, therefore, cannot bear the stamp of a sect or a

42 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
party, nor is it colored by the views of any particular
school. In its freedom from scholastic or denomina- ,
tional prejudices it resembles, or even excels, the .
noble simplicity of the Authorized Yersion. I say,
excels, for even that great work was tinged, no doubt
unconsciously on their part, by the familiarity of its
authors with the Latin Yulgate, which was constantly
in their hands for all purposes, much as the common
Bible is with men of our day.* In the present case
the concurrent action of so many revisers of different
names is a security that even accidental error of this
kind has been guarded against, and that whatever
other faults may be found there will be none due to
sectarian bias. The book retains what has long been
the glory of the Authorized Yersion — that it was an
acknowledged bond of union among all Protestaut
Christians and the common standard of their faith.
It is quite true that there will be some disappoint
ment. Corrections of the text or of the rendering
will occasionally be found to deprive a controver
sialist of some passages to which he has been accus
tomed to appeal in support of his particular views,
and he will feel like a man whose supporting staff
has been suddenly wrenched from his hand. But it
is likely that what is lost in one direction will be
regained iii another ; or even if this be not so, the
evil will not be confined to any one class, but ex-
* The false rendering of a phrase in Acts ii. 47, " such as
should be saved, " has been ascribed to a predestinarian bias in
the translators, yet it was derived from Tyndale, who no doubt
got it from the Vulgate qui salvijkrent.

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 43
tended to all ; so that in the general result each reader
will find himself as well able to estabhsh his own
views from the revision as he was from the Author
ized Yersion. In any event it is certain that what
ever disadvantage he may suffer, it is not due to any
intentional obliquity on the part of the revisers.
Their work is as nearly a colorless-medium for the
divine light to shine through as is possible. Nothing
is refracted or distorted.
3. Its International Feature. — The enterprise was
begun beyond sea in 1870, but in the next year an
American committee of co-operation was organized ;
and from 1872 onward the two committees were at
work in constant correspondence with each other,
having the same principles and pursuing the same
objects. The advantage of this arrangement is ob
vious. It gives the American people a direct partici
pation in the authorship, so that the work does not
come burdened with any prejudice ' as the product
solely of a foreign land, but may be welcomed as
one in which cis-Atlantic scholars have borne an
honorable and useful part. For it cannot be in vain
that from twenty to thirty additional laborers have
been engaged, and the less so, as the joint conclu
sions of one committee have been constantly com
pared with those of the other. In this way the
workings of different minds and repeated revisions of
the results obtained have greatly diminished the
chances of error. Indeed, the larger the number of
persons employed, provided they have opportunity
to meet and compare their results, the less likely is

44 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
their work to be disfigured by one-sided viewsor in
dividual caprice. It is true that this advantage of
personal conference has been purchased on our side
of the water at the cost of limiting the selection of
revisers to those persons whose residence was with
in easy reach of New York, where the sessions of the
committee were held, thus excluding not a few
scholars whose co-operation would have been very
desirable. Still the gain has been worth its cost.
The international character of the work has had its
effect upon the language employed. There are found
in Britain and America certain differences of usage
which obtain among all classes, even the most culti
vated. For example, the word com here always de
notes maize, but in Great Britain it is used as pre
cisely equivalent to what we call grain. In all such
cases it was the duty of the American committee to
bring forward the fact of the variant usage so that
ambiguities might be avoided, and a version secured
which would express the same thing to the British
reader and the American. The solution of the ques
tion was difficult, for on one hand the interests of
more than fifty millions on this side of the Atlantic
were not to be lightly disregarded, and on the other
the heirlooms of the language as preserved in the
country of its birth were not to be surrendered with
out reason. The reader will find that in most cases'
the English usage as enshrined in the Authorized
Yersion was retained in the text, and the American
noted in the margin or given in the appendix.
4. Freedom from Restrictions. — King James's

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 45
translators were restricted by his authority in regard
to certain terms which had been consecrated by long
usage. No such restriction was laid upon the authors
of the present work, the only rules of this kind
being that the Authorized Yersion should be altered
only as required by faithfulness, and that as decided
by a two-thirds vote, and that the expressions of such
alteration should be limited as far as possible to the
language of the authorized and earlier versions.
These rules are so clearly wise and proper that they
doubtless would have been observed even if there
had been no injunction to that effect. In all else the
revisers were left to the exercise of their own judg
ment, alike as to the text, the division of the parts
and the marginal readings. They were expected to
study, and they did study, the versions, ancient and
modern, and especially the various English transla
tions, but ultimately the inspired original was the
guide. The revisers felt themselves responsible to
God, and not to any man or set of men, nor had they
any concern as to the way in which the changes pro
posed to be made might affect any church or party.
Their duty was to put the reader in possession of the
truest, fairest, most idiomatic expression of the living
oracles. Thus they worked in no fetters of any
kind, and were dependent only on that good Spirit
without whose influence no permanent service can
be rendered to the cause of truth. This fact entitles
the revised Bible to the attention of any thoughtful
person, since it represents the conclusion of various
minds working independently on the same great

46 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
theme, and at last by free conference coming to a
harmonious agreement. This indeed is no guarantee
against the occurrence of error, but it does cut off
what in all previous translations and revisions has
been a fruitful source of imperfection, and some
times an impassable barrier against any improvement.
The two restrictions that have been mentioned were,
as has been intimated, eminently judicious. An en
tirely new translation was not called for, and if
made, would have had no chance of success. The
old book is so dear to the hearts of the people, so
enshrined in precious memories, so associated with
all that men cherish or revere, that it never can be
displaced. As Faber has well said, " The memory
of the dead passes into it. The potent traditions of
childhood are stereotyped in its verses. The power
of all the griefs and trials of a "man are hid beneath
its words. It is the representative of his best mo
ments, and all that there has been about him of soft
and gentle and pure and penitent and good, speaks
to him forever out of his Protestant Bible. It is his
sacred thing, which doubt has never dimmed and
controversy never soiled." No folly could be equal
to that of undertaking to supplant such a book. It
must be retained, and whatever emendations are in
troduced require to be couched as far as possible in
the language of the period when the book was first
made, for that language represents English at its
best. The common Bible has long been a standard
of grave and reverend speech, compelling the admi
ration even of those who have no sympathy with its

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 47
contents or aim. Mr. Huxley, surely no prejudiced
critic, said of the book: "It is written in the no
blest and purest English, and abounds in exquisite
beauties of mere literary form." The revisers will
hardly maintain that they have always succeeded in
preserving the simplicity and strength, the union of
Saxon force and Latin dignity, the idiomatic ease and
rhythmic flow of the pages under their hands, but cer
tain it is that this has always been their endeavor.
4. Uniformity. — In this respect the authorized is
sadly deficient. In many cases the same Hebrew
word is variously rendered when there is no reason,
rhetorical or logical, for the variation, and sometimes
w'len the force or elegance of the passage depends
upon the preserving of uniformity. For example,
in Numb. xxxv. the same Hebrew word is translated
in v. 11, the slayer, in v. 12, the- man-flayer, and
in v. 16, the murderer. So in Gen. i. 20 the Author
ized Yersion reads, " Ye thought evil against me,
but God meant it unto good," but in the orig
inal it is the same verb in both clauses, and. it should
have been rendered by the same English word, so as
to bring out the strong contrast between God's thought
and man's thought in reference to the matter. Vari
ations of this kind are owing partly to the fact
that King James's revision was executed by a
number of different companies sitting in different
places, whose results were not carefully co-ordinated ;
partly to the feeling of the translators that identity
of words would " savor more of curiosity than of
wisdom ;" and somewhat also to their habit of fol-

48 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
lowing the preceding versions from Tyndale and
Coverdale down to the authors of the Bishop's Bible,
in regard to certain phrases and ecclesiastical terms.
All this is changed in the present work. The aim
of its authors was so to conduct their proceedings as
neither to confound things that differ nor to create
differences where they do not exist in the original.
They therefore sought in all cases where anything
depended upon the matter, to render a Hebrew word
by the same English terra, and, if possible, not to
employ one English word to render two different
words of the original. They have been more likely
to accomplish this end because, instead of being
divided into three companies, as was the case with
King James's translators of the Old Testament, -they
all constituted one company. Thus the same men
critically examined the entire Hebrew text, and were
enabled continually to watch the progress of the
work and see that uniformity of phrasing was main
tained unless in cases where there was good reason
for a contrary course. And as they had before them
the Authorized Yersion and the long train of criti
cisms to which it has been subjected on this ground,
they were the better able to guard against a similar
error in their own work. And while they have
hardly attained perfect exactness, they have beyond
doubt made a near approach to it, and thus have
greatly facilitated the efforts of the mere English
reader in ascertaining the mind of the Spirit. Any
concordance of the revision will be far more trust
worthy than one of the old concordances could be, for

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 49
it will enable the unlearned to trace the history and
use of a word with a great degree of certainty.
5. Mature Deliberation. — King James's Bible
occupied between six and seven years in its prepara
tion. For the revision ten years were originally
allowed, and this sufficed for the New Testament,
which was issued from the press in May, 1881. But
the Old Testament being of much larger bulk re
quired an extension of the time, and has actually
taken five years more. Some have complained of
the delay," and consider it a great trial of public
patience ; but reflecting people will hardly join in
this opinion. In a matter of so great importance, so
far-reaching in its influence, not only in English-
speaking Christendom, but beyond it,* the least ex
cusable of all faults would be hasty and superficial
treatment. There must be large research, thorough
study, patient thought and careful comparisor of
views. The work must not only be based t.pon
sound principles and governed by judicious rules,
but also be carried out with conscientious diligence
and painstaking care. Less than this could not be
endured for a moment. To supplant a book which
has been venerated by high and low for nearly three
centuries, and has entered into the heart and life of
the people as no other volume has ever done, is not
* To the author's personal knowledge missionaries in differ
ent parts of the heathen world, engaged in translating the Bible,
have looked with great solicitude for the appearance of this
revision, which they thought would be a great help to them in
their\ labors.

50 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
a thing to be effected on short notice or by a sudden
burst of enthusiasm. So grave a procedure requires
the utmost caution that no source of information be
neglected, that no error fail to be guarded against,
and that in every case the best rendering be adopted.
Things which in the translation of another book
would be of small importance here assume very great
magnitude, because the matter in hand is the Word
of God — that word through which we are saved and
by which we are to be judged. The great artist
laboring for immortality, excused himself on that
ground for giving attention to what to others seemed
trifles. Much more must they who are engaged on
what is the revelation of the Infinite I AM, spare no
pains to give to their rendering of its words the ut
most possible accuracy.
This has been the case with the present work. No
other revision has had anything like the amount of
time and labor expended upon it which has been lav
ished upon this one on either side of the Atlantic,
both in the private studies of its authors and in their
joint meetings for conference. The method pursued
was this : The English company made a first re
vision of a given portion, which was printed and sent
to the American company, who, after taking time for
study and consultation, transmitted their criticisms.
Thereupon a second revision was made in England,
printed copies of which were, as before, sent across the
sea, and the revisers on this side again transmitted
such criticisms as occurred to them. After due con
sideration of these a conclusion was reached and the

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 51
present text substantially adopted. I say substan
tially, because after the work on the separate portions
had been finished there was a third revision of the
work as a whole, touching various suggestions, both
new and old, as to particular portions of difficulty or
importance. This being submitted to the American
company, they proceeded to draw up a list of the
passages in which they preferred a text or margin
different from what had been adopted by the Eng
lish brethren. This list by no means includes all the
points of difference between the two companies, but
is limited to those which were deemed of .sufficient
magnitude to be included in an Appendix, for the
American revisers were anxious to make this Appen
dix as small as possible. Its existence is no mean tes
timony to the earnestness and care with which the
revision has been carried on. Nothing' was neg
lected, nothing slighted.
This fact disposes of the suggestion which has
sometimes been made of a re-revision by the same
parties. Nothing of value could be anticipated from
such an effort, for no criticisms could be brought
before the committees, if reassembled, which had not
been previously considered by them. This is proven
by experience in relation to the Revised New Testa
ment. It is the unanimous testimony of the com
panies who made this revision that amid all the nu
merous and searching investigations of its contents,
whether by friendly or unfriendly critics, not a single
point has been brought forward which was not pre
viously under consideration by the revisers. They

52 _ OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
weighed all the matters with great deliberation and
care, and reached a conclusion which for them is per
manent and final. There is no likelihood that another
consideration would lead to any different result.
The book is a finality for this generation, and no
doubt for a century to come. At least that period
must elapse before any similar body of men under
similar auspices could be gathered together to under
take a fresh revision. It is true exegetical theology
may make vast advances in the future, and Christian
scholarship may add very largely to the materials
now in hand for the exact understanding and trans
lation of the Bible, and when that occurs there will
be a call for some means of putting the people at
large in possession of the additional knowledge thus
acquired in God's providence and grace. But until
that period arrives, the present work will maintain its
position and character as a satisfactory exponent of
the learning, judgment and faith of our own day,
and a fair expression of God's revelation of Himself
as recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.
6. Reverence. — It has long been a recognized canon
of criticism that in order properly to expound any
book, a man must be in sympathy with its design and
spirit ; for if not, he will go hopelessly astray, how
ever well qualified he may be in other respects. * And
* The Ilev. Dr. A. P. Peabody, of Cambridge, Mass., in speak
ing of the late Ezra Abbot's qualifications for a Biblical critic,
used this just and incisive language : *' In the preparation for
the work, I include not merely the scholarly aptitude, the linguis
tic training, the conversance with the Hebrew language and

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 53
this is equally true in the matter of translation. The
cold or indifferent translator will insensibly transfuse
his own feelings into his work, while, on the contrary,
he who is profoundly impressed with the dignity and
preciousness of his task, and whose soul is responsive
to the matter with which he deals, becomes alive
even to its minutest peculiarities, catches almost
without effort its dominant tone, and reproduces the
foreign original in a faithful counterpart. It is this
more than any other one trait that gave to Luther
and Tyndale their matchless skill and enduring pre
eminence as translators of the Bible. They toiled
not for fame or pelf- or any party interest, but for
God's glory and the souls of men. The book upon
which they wrought was to them the living oracle
of God, the guide of their lives, the arbiter of their
differences, the charter of their hope for eternity.
They prized it with reverence, they loved it with
passion. Their grave purpose, their intense con
victions, lifted them above -all puerilities and affecta-
Scriptures, and with cognate dialects, the lack of which would,
of course, denote utter and absolute unfitness, but equally a
profound sense of the transcendent worth of these sacred rec
ords as the world's manual of truth and duty. This last
requisite has its intellectual no less than its spiritual signifi
cance. No man is a fit critic of that with which he is not in
full sympathy. Bentley was the most learned man of his time ;
but he made a fool of himself by his attempted emendations of
the 'Paradise Lost,' simply because he had no poetry in his soul,
*nd no knowledge of words or metres could bring his mind
into relation with Milton's. A great deal of (so-called) Biblical
criticism has been, for like reason, equally learned and
worthless."

54 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
tions, and every page bears the impress of their ear
nestness and reverence. It may be meekly yet justly
claimed for the present revisers that they share
largely in this important qualification. They have
no fellowship with the disposition which of late years
has appeared among some who profess and call
themselves Christians, to speak lightly of the Script
ures as a partial of imperfect record of revelation, and
to lessen the force with which the book lays hold of
man's mind and conscience. On the contrary they
addressed themselves to their work with humility
and awe, as having to do with that which is of all
things most sacred. They had different theories of
inspiration, and varied very much' in theological opin
ion ; but to them the Bible, the whole Bible, while it
was the word of man, was also the Word of God,
and as such separated by an immeasurable interval
from every other book. They could cordially adopt
the language of Dr. Temple, the present Bishop of
London, at the anniversary of the British and Foreign
Bible Society in May, 1883. After saying of the
Bible that it speaks with the authority of its Maker,
he adds : " I have read many books which do much
for the human intellect and the human spirit. I
have read many books which teach and enlighten —
which sometimes seem, as it were, to be the medium
of new revelations to the soul ; I have read the writ
ings of good men and of great men ; I have read the
writings of great philosophers of old — of men who
saw far deeper into the truth by the power of won
derful intellects, guided, no doubt, by God's provi-

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 55
dence, than it was possible for ordinary men to see.
I have read many books which set before the soul
the loftiest motives of action, and the most heavenly
principles to guide the conduct ; and still, wherever
we turn, as we read them all, we feel that they are
referred to our own consciences to judge ; that we
still are called to discriminate, and to say, ' Here I
accept, and there I reject ; ' and though the man be
a greater man than I, still my judgment remains re
sponsible for its own decision, and I cannot shift the
responsibility on any other shoulders than my own.
And I have read many such books, and have felt
that I have learned much ; and still, for all that,
there remains the sense that these books, thOugh they
are my teachers, are not my rulers, and though they
instruct me they cannot command me. But when I
turn- to the Word of God, it takes me straight, as it
were, into God's very presence, and gives its mes
sage there, by an authority which is His and His
alone." In view, then, of this singular authority -of the
book, its constituent parts were handled with tender
ness and solicitude. There was no temptation to en
gage in hazardous speculations or seek after startling
novelties. The one thing set before them was to
render the meaning of Holy Writ accessible tp the
humblest reader in a form not inconsistent with its
divine origin and transcendent importance. The
whole treatment has been reverential, and the changes
introduced are in exact consistency with this feeling.
The revisers, recognizing the simplicity and majesty

56 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
of the old version, sought to perpetuate the same in
their work, and thus to have the book in form and
tone suited to the high and holy character of Him by
whom it was given to men. If they have succeeded
in this endeavor no reader will find himself needlessly
shocked in turning its pages. On the contrary he
will see and feel that it is the same blessed volume
with which he has long been familiar, out of which
he was taught in his childhood and from which he
drew the nutriment of his riper years. Its old con
tents and character are all here. It still retains its
ineffaceable stamp of truth, holiness and majesty,
rightly representing Him from whom it has come
and appealing to whatever is deepest and most uni
versal in our nature. It is the voice of God in the
language of men.
7. Simplicity of Style. — The interest of the gen
eral body of English readers has been kept in view
from the beginning, and has controlled the decision
of many a vexed question. It is said of the returned
exiles in the days of Nehemiah (Neh. viii. 8) that
the Levites met the assembled people in Jerusalem,
and they " read in the book, in the law of God, dis
tinctly ; and they gave the sense so that they under
stood the reading. " This seems to imply an exposi
tion of the sacred words on the part of Ezra and his
associates, and so far as that is concerned the revisers
were careful not to imitate them. They drew the
line as accurately as possible between interpretation
and translation. The former made no part of their
work, while the latter was their fixed aim. And so
far as the business of Ezra was to make the people

THE METHOD OF THE REVISIO 5?
who had become more familiar with Aramaic than
with Hebrew, understand what the living oracles
said, it furnishes the model followed by the authors
of the revision. They did not seek to please the
learned or cultivated classes, but to meet the wants
of plain people of average intelligence and education,
by making the version such that its meaning would
be obvious to any attentive reader. They had before
them an admirable standard in the work of the schol
ars whom King James called together, excepting so
far as the progress of the language has modified the
signification of many words ; and the constant en
deavor was to assimilate new renderings to those
already in existence. They wished to make the. book
smooth, flowing and rhythmical, but, above all, per
spicuous and plain. This is the first requisite of a
translation, that for the lack of which there is and can
be no compensation. Obscure, ambiguous renderings,
or such as are couched in words not in ordinary use,
are utter failures. The ordinary reader might just
as well be left to the original Hebrew, for it would
teach him as much as a version clothed in words and
phrases and idioms not in familiar use.
Yet the other extreme of adopting a phraseology
inconsistent with the dignity of the divine oracles is
to be and for the most part has been carefully avoided.
A signal instance of the neglect of this caution is to
be found in a recent translation of the Psalter ex
ecuted by an eminent British scholar. And it is
found just where one would least expect it, in the
23d Psalm, an ode which for beauty of sentiment
and felicity of illustration is, not to be matched in all

58 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
literature. For thousands of years it has gone to the
depths of the human heart, gladdening the house of
bereavement and sorrow and whispering hope and
joy to the downcast and forsaken. In our common
English version it has fallen upon the ears of men
like a strain of exquisite music, and proved a precious
cordial amid the shadows of the dark valley. Many
years ago one of the most distinguished statesmen of
this country, as he lay upon the bed from which he
knew that he could never arise, asked again and again
that this soothing utterance might be repeated in his
hearing. At the same time in another State a poor
uneducated negro lad, who was told that he was draw
ing near to the gates of the grave, heard from the
lips of the only relative that was near him the same
old Psalm. " Oh, sister, read that again," was his
repeated request, as his ear caught the simple, touch
ing words. These two persons, representing the re
motest extremes that can be imagined, in age, posi
tion, culture and ability, yet found an equally satis
fying and uplifting solace in the same blessed words.
One may well doubt if there is any portion of the
Old Testament or the New that is so endeared to
millions of devout hearts as this. Yet the learned
scholar referred to translates the second and third
verses thus :
He refreshes my soul ;
He leads me in the right tracks for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of deadly shade,
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me ;
Thy club and thy staff they comfort me.

THE METHOD OF THE REVISION. 59
Of course the thought of the original is all here,
but how unspeakably has it been debased and vulgar
ized by the change of "paths" into "tracks," of
" the shadow of death " into " deadly shade," and,
worse than all, of " rod " into " club." The music
of the song has evaporated, its suggestiveness is mar
red, and the ill-chosen substitutes jar upon sense and
feeling. The revisers have industriously sought to
avoid any such gross error as this, and have often
preferred to leave untouched a slightly inadequate
rendering rather than run the risk of offending sacred
associations or introducing unseemly words or phrases.
Upon the whole, if they have succeeded in making
an approximation to the end they had in view, there
is reason to anticipate some very good results from
their labors. It cannot be denied that a consider
able portion of the Old Testament has been a sealed
book to a multitude of readers, including many who
are in full sympathy with the revelation of which it
forms a part. They say that notwithstanding the
clearness and brilliancy of certain passages of the
latter half of the volume, yet they find that, as a
whole, it is obscure. The connection is not obvious,
the progress of thought is hardly to be traced, and
they often fail to catch the full sense of the writer.
The splendor of the, luminous portions only makes
the darkness of the rest more dense and depressing.
Now, it is true that much of this evil is due to the
circumstances of the case. Prophetical utterances
are occasional in character and yet often separated
from the occasions which called them forth ; when

60 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
they are strictly predictive, they are necessarily some
what veiled ; and not unf requently there is need of
considerable information from other sources in order
to see their precise scope and bearing. These diffi
culties are insuperable to the translator however able
or accomplished. It is not conceivable that any
amount of effort or skill can make the prophecies of
the Old Testament as easily and quickly understood
by all readers as the Gospels of the New. Still
much may be done by removing all difficulties not
inherent in the writings themselves, by making the
paragraph divisions correspond to the sense of the
author, by correcting gross errors of translation, by
carefully observing the tense forms of the verbs, by
distinguishing proper names when they occur, and,
in general, by making prominent such notes of con
nection or hints of .transition as present themselves.
All this has been kept steadily in view, and it is rea
sonable to anticipate that careful English readers will
find the Revised Yersion from Isaiah to Malachi
freed from many obscurities and much more readily
comprehensible than the common version. What
seemed to be disjecta membra will take their place
as living parts of an organic whole, and the acknowl
edged gems of prophecy will shine the brighter from
being displayed in their appropriate setting.

CHAPTER III.
THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
The text of the Old Testament is in a very differ
ent condition from that of the New. The latter is
to be obtained from a great variety of documentary
sources, manuscripts, versions and patristic quota
tions, the collation and arrangement of which has
gradually grown into the science of textual criti
cism. The number of these documents is very great.
As Tischendorf justly said, " In all classical litera
ture there is nothing which may even distantly be
compared in riches with the textual sources of the
New Testament." In consequence of this fact there
are found to be various readings in vast numbers, a
circumstance which once occasioned great alarm
among the unlearned.. But now that fear has been
dispelled. The variations of text do not affect any
thing essential in our common Christianity. They
are rather a pledge of the general integrity of the
text, so that Westcott and Hort say with entire
truth, " In the variety and fulness of the evidence
on which it rests, the text of the New Testament
stands ^absolutely and unapproachably alone among
ancient prose writings." These readings furnish an
aid which would be gladly welcomed by the editor of

62, OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
any of the ancient Greek classics. But while this is
true, it is also certain that the variations largely in
crease the labor of the translators or revisers of the
New Testament. Before they begin the work of
rendering they must first ascertain what it is that
they are to render. And this is a very laborious
task, one the performance of which requires very
great learning, patience, acumen and tact. And
we may well suppose that the authors of the recent
revision spent as much time in settling the difficult
questions of the text upon which they labored as they
did in determining its meaning, and fixing upon the
best method of conveying that meaning in racy, idio
matic English.
The case was far otherwise with the company
charged with the revision of the Old Testament. No
such wealth of resources for ascertaining the original
form of the Hebrew text exists. The main reliance of
the critic and expositor is upon the Massorah, the
technical name given to a collection of grammatico-
critical notes on the Hebrew text with the design of
determining its divisions, grammatical forms, letters,
vowel-marks and accents. Such a- work as this was
rendered necessary by the fact that originally the He
brew, like the other Semitic languages, was written
with the consonants alone and without separation be
tween the words. Hence it was a delicate and diffi
cult task to determine what vowels should be em
ployed in any particular case, and where the stops
and accents should be inserted. This, however, was
accomplished, although the authors of the work and "

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 63
the time of their action are shrouded in obscurity.
There can hardly be a doubt that the Massorah was
the work not of one century but of many centuries.
The old Rabbins were inclined to attribute it to Ezra
and the Men of the Great Synagogue, but the more
usual opinion assigns its commencement to the schools
that were established at Tiberias and Babylon and
elsewhere in the second century of our era. It ex
isted only in the form of oral tradition until at some
period between the sixth century and the ninth it
was committed to writing. It first took the shape
of marginal notes on the copies of the sacred books.
These gradually expanded into a very minute and
comprehensive system. A full record of these an
notations and glosses was given in the " Great Mas
sorah," which appeared about the eleventh century,
and is so called to distinguish it from another collec
tion of notes, known as the " Small Massorah."
While much of what is contained in the Massorah is
nothing but laborious trifling, yet quite apart from
this there is much that is of very great use to the
critical student. The authors have sometimes been
charged with corrupting the sacred text, but for this
there seems to be no solid foundation. They do not
appear to have introduced anything of their own,
but rather to have made a careful distinction between
what they found in the manuscripts and what they
proposed to substitute. There can be no doubt that
they have thus preserved to us much traditional in
formation of the highest value. In the words of
the learned professor, E. C. Bissell, D.D., " There

64 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
ought to be no doubt that in the text which we in
herit from the Massoretes, and they from the Talmud-
ists, and they in turn from a period when versions
and paraphrases of the Scriptures in other languages
now accessible to us were in common use — the same
text being transmitted to this period from the time
of Ezra under the peculiarly sacred seal of the Jew
ish canon — we have a substantially correct copy of
the original documents, and one worthy of all con
fidence. "
The chief portion of the results reached by the
Massoretes is given in the foot-notes of the ordinary
Hebrew Bibles. What is found in the text is called
Kethib (written), what is added as a various reading
is called Keri (read). The number of these various
readings has been variously estimated. The gt t
Jewish scholar, Elias Levita (1471-1549), said that,
after repeated countings, he found them to be 848,
but the eminent Hebraist of our own day, Dr. Gins-
burg, makes the number to be 1353. "Very many of
them are merely orthographical, and have no bear
ing upon the sense of the original. Of others, how
ever, the reverse is true, a conspicuous example of
which is seen in Isaiah ix. 3, " Thou hast multiplied
the nation, and not increased the joy." Here the
word in the Kethib, justly rendered not, disturbs the
sense and the connection. The Keri by the change
of a single letter transforms the negative particle into
a personal pronoun, and then the verse runs thus :
"Thou hast multiplied ^the nation, thou hast in
creased their joy : they joy before thee according to

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 65
the joy of the harvest," etc. The same verse shows
by contrast the care and scrupulousness of the Mas
soretes, for in the first elause certain modern critics
without any authority change the word rendered
nation into one that means gladness, in order that
thus th.e parallelism may be made symmetrical ; and
a recent English expositor of Isaiah adopts the sug
gestion. But this is pure conjecture and wholly
without warrant. There is no evidence that the old
Jewish transcribers of the text ever allowed them
selves any such license. The word Massorah means
"tradition," and exactly describes the work done.
All the traditional marks and divisions of the sacred
text, all the recognized though unwritten helps to its
understanding, and the pronunciation which had been
handed down, were recorded by the Massoretes in a
fixed and official form. They depended upon the
existent materials and built upon them. That they
dealt honestly with the word is unquestionable. We
know that from a very early period the strictest rules
were enjoined upon copyists, and it was easy to secure
compliance with them, for the Talmudists made an
exact enumeration of the verses, words and letters
of each book, and designated the middle verse, word
and letter of the book. And even in cases where
there was an evident and trivial mistake — a letter
slightly out of place, or upside down, or too small,
or too large, or a variation in the writing of a word —
the fact was noted, but no change "was made in the
text. That was handed down just as it had been
received. Jerome (pb. 420) in his Latin translation

66 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
corrects renderings of the Septuagint, and gives a
faithful representation of the Hebrew as it was then
received in Palestine, yet a faithful comparison of
his work with the text now in use shows no mate
rial differences either in addition or omission. It
would seem then that the modern Israelite might re
peat the boast of Josephus in regard to the sacred
books of his nation that " during so many ages as
have already passed no one has been so bold as either
to add anything to them, to take anything from
them, or to make any change in them. ' ' For fifteen
centuries at least the Jews regarded it as a religious
duty to preserve with all exactness the sacred records
of their faith and history. " When the Hebrew
language was unknown by Christians," as Professor
Osgood justly says, " when the Jew was under the
harrow of unresting persecution and his name a by
word, he was with patient fidelity keeping watch
over the text, unknown to all but himself, and pre
serving a priceless inheritance for the coming cen
turies." It is not to the credit of Christian scholarship that
so little has been done during the last three hundred
years toward reproducing the Massorah in its com
pleteness. But the reproach has been in measure
rolled away by the work of Dr. Ginsburg, issued in
London within a few years. This is entitled, " The
Massorah : Compiled from Manuscripts Alphabeti
cally and Lexically Arranged," and is in two folio
volumes, the first of which (pp. 758) appeared in
1880, and the second (pp. 830) in 1883. These con-

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 67
tain the entire Hebrew text. A third volume will
furnish an English translation of the terms employed,
and an essay on the rise and history of the Massorah.
This great work cannot fail to be of immense service
in stimulating the study of what has been accom
plished by the old Jewish critics and scholars.
The present Hebrew text, as now found in the
best editions of the Old Testament, is a reprint, with
few and slight exceptions, of the text edited by Jew
ish scholars and published by Bomberg, at Yenice,
in 1525, and afterward, with corrections, in 1547.
This Bible was accompanied by Rabbinic commen
taries and was designed for the use of the Jews, since
few Christians at that day were acquainted with
classic Hebrew, and still fewer with Rabbinic. This
text enjoys the great advantage of being acknowl
edged by Jews and Christians alike. That it is
worthy of great confidence is the united testimony of
critics, and especially of the latest and most learned
of them, Prof. H. L. Strack, of Berlim It is not
known what manuscripts or how many of them
were used by the editors, but they were all doubtless
of a late date, written under the strict rule of the
Talmud and accompanied with the various readings
of the Massoretes. The principal editor, Jacob ben
Chayim, is known to have been thoroughly skilled
in all that pertained to the text, and as reverent, as
he was learned. That "there are passages where the
text has suffered from wrong transcription, where
there are insuperable difficulties or slight mistakes,
where manuscripts differ, and versions give a render-

68 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
ing at variance with the Hebrew, is well known to
every scholar. Indeed, it could not be otherwise.
Notwithstanding we have the printing-press, and
numerous Bible societies and multitudes of critical
readers, the Authorized Yersion has by no means
preserved one and the same text in all the editions,
but has again and again required the most thorough
revision. Much more was such a thing to be looked
for in manuscripts written, as these were, centuries
apart. But the places where error has crept in are
by no means so numerous as has sometimes been
asserted. Dr. Samuel Davidson, in his " Revision
of the Hebrew Text," cites between seven and eight
thousand places where there are variations either in
the manuscripts or the versions. These changes, for
the most part, refer to the different modes of writing
or accentuating the same word, and they include all
the marginal notes of the Jewish mediaeval scholars.
But the number compares very favorably with those
of the Greek Scriptures. The Old Testament con
tains more than three times as much matter as the
New, yet even if we rate the various readings of the
Hebrew at ten thousand, this is only one fifteenth of
the number found in the manuscripts of the New
Testament. But the same abatement for all practical
purposes has to be made in both. The one hundred
and fifty thousand variations of the Greek text
dwindle down to a very small number when one
eliminates all that do not affect the sense, and the
same thing is true in regard to the Hebrew text.
All the extant MSS. perpetuate the Massoretic

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 69
text. They are divided into two classes, the public
or holy, and the private or common. The former
are synagogue rolls which have been prepared so
carefully that the possibility of error has been re
duced to a minimum. But they contain only the
Pentateuch, or also the five Megilloth (Canticles,
Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther) and the
Haphtaroth (lessons from the Prophets), and they
give only the text of the Massoretes without their mar
ginal addition?. They are, for the most part, of re
cent origin, though antique in form. The latter class
contain the entire Scripture, together with the Mas-
soretic emendations. Dillman says, that, as a general
thing, the consonantal text, the points, the Keris, and
other additions, frequently including translations and
Rabbinical commentary, are written by different
hands. Hence it is often difficult, and indeed im
possible, to determine the date and nationality of a
codex, but it seems certain that none of the manu
scripts now known are really very old. The oldest
authentic date is a.d. 916 for a codex of the Proph
ets, and a.d. 1009 for an entire Hebrew Bible.
Both of these are preserved in the Imperial Library
at St. Petersburg. The collation of existing codices
has been carried on with great industry for a long
time. The labors of Kennicott and De Rossi in the
last century were herculean, yet they did not suc
ceed in establishing beyond controversy among critics
any material change in the old text. They added
little to what was known before. In this century
Frankel, Frensdorf, Pinsker, Strack, and others have

70 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
brought out a greater number of the diversities
marked by the early Jewish scholars, yet in the main
their efforts have resulted only in a negative conclu
sion — viz., that we are not to expect much additional
light from any further collation of MSS. We may
indeed anticipate some help in the reconstruction of
passages which seem to have experienced corruption,
but there is no reason to think that any sweeping
changes will be found necessary.
There is another source of correction which by
some has been used and commended as trustworthy
and as promising important advantages. This is the
early versions. The oldest of these are the Tar-
gums, which are supposed to owe their origin to the
disuse of the Hebrew tongue by the exiles in Baby
lon (Neh. viii. 8). They were at first, and for many
years, oral. As might be expected, they are usually
paraphrases, in which the ideas of the translator are
more followed than those of the original writer. No
one of those now existing extends over the whole
Old Testament, although together they do, with the
exception of Ezra and Nehemiah. The two oldest
of these are that of Onkelos on the Pentateuch and
that of Jonathan ben Uziel on the Earlier Prophets
and the Later. The former, whose author was a
friend of Gamaliel and lived about a.d. 70, is gener
ally correct, and follows the text closely, being free
from the fabulous additions that mar other Targums.
The latter proceeded from a man who, according to
tradition, was a disciple of the famous Hillel. He
was a century later than Onkelos, and his work is

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. Ul
more paraphrastic and less simple. There are two
other Targums on the Pentateuch (Pseudo-Jonathan
and Jerushahni), but they are decidedly later than
the foregoing' and much less valuable. On the
Hagiographa there exist what are called the Tar
gums of Joseph the Blind. Tradition assigned these
to a person so named who lived in the fourth cen
tury, but critical study has pat their date in the
eleventh century. They are various in origin, and,
excepting in the Book of Proverbs, are extremely
paraphrastic and fanciful.
- The oldest Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures
is the one known as the Septuagint, a name derived
from the worthless tradition that it was made by a
company of seventy Jews at the request of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, who was gathering a library. The
truth about its origin is that Alexandria became after
the Dispersion a centre of Jewish population and
afterward of religion ; but as time went on the Jews
lost command of their own language and therefore
required a translation of their sacred books into
Greek. The men who met this want differed very
much in knowledge and skill, were of an indetermi
nate number, andof different periods, beginning with
the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus (b.c. 280) and
terminating with b.c. 150. The translators were
chiefly of Egyptian, and particularly Alexandrian,
birth and training, and therefore strongly Hellen
istic. Their work is quite unequal, the Pentateuch
being very literal and faithful, while the Prophets
and the Hagiographa are handled in a somewhat

72 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
arbitrary manner. The study of it is indispensable
to the expositor, because its idiom became the idiom
of the New Testament in a more fully developed
form, and no one can thoroughly understand Hellen
istic Greek without carefully studying its original
model. Besides the Septuagint there were three other
Greek versions, of which only fragments remain. (1)
The chief of these is the one bearing the name of
Aquila, a Jewish proselyte of Pontus, a contemporary
of Hadrian (about a.d. 130), who prepared a literal
translation for the benefit of Jews in controversy with
Christians. It was so successful that it came to be
used by both Jews and Christians. It was slavishly
literal, and the author, in his endeavor to present a
word-for-word rendering of the Hebrew into the
Greek, goes to the extent of the boldest word-coin
ing and grammatical absurdities. (2) Theodotion, a
Jewish proselyte of Ephesus, revised (before a.d.
160) the translation of the LXX. instead of making a
new one. His alterations were derived partly from
Aquila and partly from the original text. But his
own knowledge of Hebrew was limited, for words
and parts of sentences were left untranslated, the
Hebrew being merely written with Greek letters.
There seems to be no doubt that this version was
much used by the early Christians, and its rendering
of the Book of Daniel was substituted for that of
the Septuagint as early as the third century. The
same substitution is found in most of the editions of
the LXX. (3) Symmachus, a Samaritan Ebionite,
who lived under the Emperor Severus (a.d. 193-211),

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 73
made a version intended to shun the unintelligible
boldness of Aquila and the ignorant transliterations
of Theodotion. He succeeded so far as to produce
a work better than the others as to sense and general
phraseology. His translation is distinguished for
clearness and elegance, but is paraphrastic and occa
sionally arbitrary. There were three other Greek
versions, of unknown date and authorship, discov
ered by Origen, in the course of his travels, in connec
tion with his great work of Biblical Criticism, but
the few fragments of them that remain are of little
or no value.
The only other early version of importance is the
Syriac, commonly called the Peshitto (the correct or
simple), because confined to the text, in contrast to
the allegorical or mystical paraphrases. The first
trustworthy reference to its use is found in the com
mentaries of Ephrem the Syrian in the fourth cen
tury, but even then it was ancient, for Ephrem de
fines many of its words which were no longer under
stood by his countrymen. Hence it is not improb
ably assigned to the second century. It was made
from the Hebrew probably by Jewish. Christians,
and includes the Old Testament canon without the
Apocrypha. It is, in general, close and accurate.
It has been proposed by some scholars to use these
various versions to determine the Hebrew text in
cases where the reading is obscure or doubtful. But
such a course is to be followed with very great cau
tion. From all that we know of the origin and his
tory of the Hebrew text, the presumption is over-

74 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
whelming in favor of its accuracy as against any
version. While we adhere to it we are standing on
solid ground, but as soon as we leave it the footing
becomes uncertain and precarious. Besides, not one
of the versions which have been mentioned has been
submitted to a thorough critical revision, so that we
are not sure as to their text in any given case. Even
of the Septuagint, upon which so many have labored
for a century past, we have no critical edition, none
in 'which all the existing materials for settling the
text have been applied for that purpose. But before
an entirely trustworthy edition can be prepared an
immense work must be done in collating MSS.,
both uncial and cursive, the ancient versions (Old
Latin, Ethiopia, etc.) made from them, and the quo
tations in the writings of the Fathers. And if this
be true of the Septuagint, much more does it apply
to tho Chaldee and other versions. To correct the
Hebrew, then, on this basis would be to amend what
is uncertain by that which is still more uncertain.
Hence the more sober critics with one consent hold
fast the Massoretic text. This has been the rule with
the authors of the present revision. Their work is
based throughout upon the traditional Hebrew. In
difficult or doubtful places, where some corruption
seems to have crept in or some accident to have be
fallen the manuscript, the testimony of the early ver
sions is given in the margin, but never incorporated
with the text. That remains intact. But even this
reference to secondary sources was unacceptable to
the American portion of the Old Testament revisers,

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 75
as may be seen by their appendix. Cf. Section YI.
under the heading "Classes of Passages." It
seemed to them, that all these references had in them
too much of the uncertain, conjectural and arbitrary
to be entitled to a place on the margin, as if they
had some portion of intrinsic authority. We are
not sure in any case that the makers of these versions
did not follow their notion of what the text ought to
be rather than that which they found in the codices
before them. And conjectural emendations are of
no value. Yarious scholars in the last century, such
as the accomplished Lowth, and some in the present
age, have expended much labor in suggesting altera
tions which in their view reproduced the original
text, but they convinced almost nobody but them
selves. The learned Casaubon once said, in reference
to a very acute suggestion of a contemporary, " Tor-
rentius's conjecture is clever ; but I cannot adopt it
in the teeth of all the manuscripts, from which I
never depart except when absolutely necessary." To
the same effect Ritschl in our own day : " There is
hardly any codex of any classical author so bad that
it will not occasionally offer a good reading which
will deserve more credit than a conjectural, even a
likely one." Both these utterances were made in
reference to the classics, but they have even greater
force when applied to the sacred writings.
Accordingly the reader will find in the Revised
Old Testament a rendering of the Hebrew manu
scripts pure and simple, nothing but the Massoretic
marginal readings being adopted into the text, and

76 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
even they only when circumstances seemed to justify
or require it. Undoubtedly the day will come when
the labor of many earnest students in Europe and
America will accumulate such materials and lead to
such a method of handling them as will throw light
upon many difficult passages and furnish a much nearer
approach to the true original text than we now have.
But this is to be the work of years, possibly of gen
erations. Meanwhile it is wisest and safest to ad
here to the unbroken tradition of the past, notwith
standing there are some outspoken dissentients from
this conservative course. One of the most brilliant
of American Biblical scholars * said a few months
ago that " we can no more rely with childlike confi
dence upon the common Massoretic text for the Old
Testament than we can upon the so-called received
text of the New Testament. The New Testament
revisers abandoned the received text of the New
Testament for a better text. If the present revisers
have not sought a better text of the Old Testament,
in our judgment they have failed in their duty, and
their work will not be accepted." But surely the
learned professor has made a mistake here. It is
very true that the New Testament revisers often de
parted from the received text, but never upon the
authority of ancient versions or quotations only.
Every alteration which they made rests upon manu
script authority, as to which they accepted the testi-

* Prof. Briggs, in the Presbyterian iJeuieio for January, 1885,
(p. 150).

THE TEXT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 77
mony of the Syriac, the Itala and others merely as
corroborative. And this has been the rule adopted
by the Old Testament companies. Nor would they
be justified in taking any other course. No canon
of criticism which exalts subsidiary sources of knowl
edge above that which confessedly is direct and
primary will ever be accepted either by ' ' Biblical
scholars " or by the Christian public.

CHAPTER IV.
CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH.
The first feature that arrests attention here is the
printing of the poetical portions of the Books of
Moses in the form of verse. Instances are to be seen
not only in the prophetic blessing of the patriarch
Jacob (Gen. xlix.), the song of triumph at the Red
Sea (Ex. xv.), the rapt utterances of Balaam (Num.
xxiii., xxiv.), and the song and the blessing of Moses
at the end of his life (Deut. xxxii., xxxiii.), but also
in several much shorter passages — viz. , the song of
Lamech (Gen. iv.), the prophecy of Noah (Gen. ix.),
the Lord's answer to Rebecca (Gen. xxv.), the bless
ings pronounced by Isaac (Gen. xxvi.), the song" of
the well (Num. xxi.) and the abrupt ode on the
downfall of Moab (ibid.). To persons not familiar
with the subject this at first sight looks pedantic and
unmeaning. It is, however, very far from being so.
The form of these utterances shows that they belong
to that poetical feeling and habit which pervaded
the entire life and history of the Hebrews. What
ever moved the heart of the people was expressed in
song, whether it was the discovery of a fountain in
the desert or joy over some great victory. And it
is desirable that the reader be reminded of this fact,

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 79
lest lie should fall into error by interpreting poetry
as prose. For the laws of the two kinds of compo
sition have essential differences. And though Hebrew
poetry has neither rhyme nor rhythm, and cannot be
subjected to the classifications usual in classic and
modern poetry,* yet the poetic element is inwrought
in its very structure. Everywhere and always sym
metrical clauses are placed side by side. The sym
metry is not external and formal but real, lying in
the relation of the expression to the thought. The
same thought is repeated several times synonymously
in different words, or else antithetically by two op
posite sentences. In the more fully developed liter
ature of later periods the parallelism often appears
with elaborate and diversified refinements, but the
brief, rapid utterances of the lyrical spirit here record
ed introduce us directly into the manners and habits
of the early race, and show how artlessly deep feel
ing by a sort of necessity expressed itself in poetical
forms. It is well, therefore, that the correct method
of printing the parallel clauses should remind the
reader that he is passing from didactic prose into
emotional and animated poetry. Some critics, such as
Herder (" Spirit of Hebrew Poetry"), would extend
this practice, and print in parallelisms portions of
the ordinary narrative of the Pentateuch ; but nothing
seems to be gained by such a course, nor has it com-
* This is the commonly accepted doctrine on the subject.
Whoever wishes to see the contrary view set forth with great
acuteness and vigor may consult Prof. Briggs's interesting
volume on Biblical Study (New York, 1883), Chapter IX.

80 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
mended itself to general acceptance. The revision,
therefore, has wisely confined the printing in verse
form to those passages which by their origin as well
as structure compel one to see in them an outburst of
poetical feeling.
The following selection of passages which have
been changed in the revision is intended as a speci
men of the work done and of the principles upon
which it has been carried out. The selection has
been determined more by the brevity of the passages
quoted or the facility with which the alterations
made could be stated and explained than anything
else. It was desirable to cite enough cases to fur
nish a tolerably fair conception of- the revisers' work,
both in amount and character. Yet in such narrow
limits the whole case could not be set forth, and the
reader is earnestly requested to bear this in mind.
The author had for the most part to rely upon
his memory in stating the general reason for the
action taken in each particular case, and he thinks
that what he states is correct, yet of course errors
may have slipped in. This, however, is not likely,
because the revision never contemplated novelties,
but only a summing up of the results of criticism
during the last two centuries.
Genesis. — In the first chapter the putting of each
day's work in a separate paragraph aids the common
reader. In iv. 23 the song of Lamech is made more
intelligible by making the second couplet read,
For I have slain a man for wounding me,
And a young man for bruising me :

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 81
In xiii. 1 " Abraham went up out of Egypt . . .
into the South," the printing of the last word with
a capital letter shows that it refers to a definite region
(the Negeb), and thus avoids the inpOngruity of the
Authorized Yersion in leading one to think that the
patriarch reached Palestine by going south from Egypt.
In v. 18 " the plain of Mamre which is in Hebron"
is changed to " the oaks of Mamre which are in
Hebron," because this is the meaning of the Hebrew,
and there is no plain in Hebron or its vicinity. (So
xiv. 13 and xviii. 1.) In xviii. 19, " For I know him
that he will command his children and his household
after him" is changed to, " For I have known him,
to the end that he may command," etc. This is ac
cording to the Hebrew, which teaches that God's
reason for telling Abraham of His purpose to destroy
Sodom and Gomorrah was His previous knowledge
of him, in the intense sense the word know often has
in Scripture. (Amos iii. 2 ; Galatians iv. 9.) In
xxiv. 2, ' ' Abraham said to his eldest servant of his
house' ' is made to read, ' ' Abraham said to his ser
vant, the elder of his house," which is what the He
brew means. The change brings to view an official
designation which runs all through the Scripture,
and has endured to this day. In xxxiii. 18, " And
Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem," the
revision reads, " came in peace to the city of Shech
em," because no such city as Shalem is known, and
the true rendering shows how God fulfilled Jacob's re- .
quest (xxviii. 21). In the prophecy of Jacob (Gen.
xlix.) are several manifest improvements. Reuben

82 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
is charged with being not " unstable," but, as the
original word means, " boiling over" — that is, im
pulsive or excitable, which exactly describes his char
acter as shown by his conduct on various occasions.
In the second member of the fifth verse, " instru
ments of cruelty are in their habitations," the margin
of the Authorized Yersion, " weapons of violence
are their swords," is inserted in the text, as being
both more literal and more expressive. In the ninth
verse, instead of saying that Judah couched " as an
old lion," the revision returns to Tyndale's more
accurate rendering, " as a lioness." In the tenth
verse the Authorized Yersion is retained, and other
proposed renderings put in the margin, except that
" the gathering of the people " is changed into " the
obedience of the peoples." The alteration of the
last word is one which is required scores of times,
since the authors of the Authorized Yersion never
recognized the plural of the word " people," save
in two instances in the Apocalypse (x. 11, xvii. 15),
and therefore left the meaning ambiguous. In the
case before us the sense is not merely that his own
people should be gathered unto Shiloh, but that
whole nations should obey him. In vv. 14, 15 the
more accurate rendering of the revision brings out
more plainly the character of Issachar (" couching
down amidst the sheepfolds" instead of " between
two burdens ") as one who preferred the ease of a
subject state to a struggle for liberty and independ
ence. In v. 19 Gad's history is distinctly brought
to view as a tribe which, although severely assailed,

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 83
shall resist, and routing the enemy shall harass his
rear. Thus :
Gad, a troop shall press upon him :
But he shall press upon their heel.
In the prediction about Joseph (vv. 23-25) the ob
scurity of the Authorized Yersion is alleviated, but
the margin exhibits the smoother rendering of some
critics who remove the parenthesis and make the
passage an accumulation of phrases (like the 18th
Psalm) descriptive of the author of Joseph's deliver
ance, as the Mighty One of Jacob, the covenant
shepherd, the stone (or rock-foundation) of Israel,
etc. In 1. 22 the fine antithesis of the original is
brought out by rendering the verb which occurs in
both clauses in the same way ; " ye meant evil against
me, but God meant it for good."
Exodus. — In Exodus ii. 22 the awkward tautology,
"a stranger in a strange land," is replaced by the
hteral version, " a sojourner in a strange land." In
the song of triumph after passing the Red Sea (Ex.
xv.) the vividness and poetical grandeur of the lyric
are shown in the revision by the change of the past
tense into the present in vv. 5-7, and of the future
into the past in vv. 14-16, a change required by the
original. In the obscure passage (Ex. xvii. 16) the
text retains the rendering of the Authorized Yer
sion, while the margin gives the more literal and
more generally accepted sense of the Hebrew. " Be
cause there is a hand (i.e., the hand of Amalek)
against the throne of the Lord [therefore] the Lord

84 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
will have war with Amalek from generation to gen
eration." In the second commandment (xx. 5) the
sanction is made more clear by a slight change, thus :
" visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the chil
dren, upon the third and upon the fourth generation
of them that hate me." And this is the exact sense
of the original. The sixth command (v. 13) is, after
the pattern of the Prayer Book and also of the Author
ized Yersion in Matt. xix. 18, given as " Thou shalt
do no murder," and the same is done at Deut. v. 17.
The advantage of this rendering is that it needs no
limitation or explanation. To kill is often lawful
and sometimes a duty, but to do murder is wrong
always and everywhere.
In the account of the tabernacle (ch. xxv.) shittim
is replaced by acacia, crown by cornice, almonds by
al/mond-blossoms, and bowls by cups ; and " badgers'
skins" has in the margin sealskins — all changes in
the interest of fidelity and perspicuity. Other alter
ations, too numerous to be denoted in detail, contrib
ute to make the account of the construction more
intelligible to the ordinary reader. In xxvii. 21 the
phrase "tabernacle of congregation," which occurs
more than a hundred times afterward, is properly
changed into " tent of meeting," for this tent was
not a place where the people met merely one another,
but where they met with God (see xxix. 42) ; and
this fact gave it its name. An acknowledged error
is corrected in xxxii. 25, when, instead of saying that
the people were "naked," which does not suit the
connection, the text says that they were " broken

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 85
loose," which exactly expresses the unbridled con
dition of the sinful multitude. So the divine names
become more impressive when we read in xxxiv. 6,
" The Lord, The Lord, a God full of compassion,"
etc. In like manner a peculiarity of the original
is represented in v. 13, ' ' Ye shall break their im
ages and cut down their groves,' ' when instead of
" groves" we read " Asherim" with margin, " Prob
ably the wooden symbols of the goddess Ashtoreth
which were set up beside the altars of Baal." This
word occurs a score of times in the Old Testament, and
is always mistranslated ; sometimes to the utter ruin
of the sense. In v. 33, " And till Moses had done
speaking with them he put a veil on his face," a
gross error of the Authorized Yersion in inserting
the word till, for which there is no authority in the
original, is removed. " And Moses left off speaking
with them, and he put a veil on his face." The
sense is that as long as Moses was uttering the Lord's
commands he remained unveiled, but when that
official function ceased he resumed the veil, and took
it off only when he went in before the Lord to speak
with Him (v. 34).
Leviticus. — In i. 3 (and elsewhere, where the same
Hebrew phrase occurs), instead of saying that the
bringer of an oblation offers it "of his own voluntary
will," the revision states correctly that he does it
"that he maybe accepted before the Lord ;" and
in v. 16 "filth" is substituted for "feathers,"
which a bird's crop cannot have. In iv. 21 "con
gregation " is changed to " assembly," as often else-

86 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
where, in order to preserve a distinction between two
Hebrew words which are confounded in the Au
thorized Yersion. In v. 7 and elsewhere "trespass
offering" is replaced by "guilt offering," as more
faithful to the sense of the original. A variety of
minor alterations is found in this book owing to the
advance in Biblical knowledge, which do not require
special notice. One in the 16th chapter is an ex
ception, the substitution of " Azazel" for "scape
goat." The latter is an impossible translation, and
is given up by all critics. The former is a trans
literation of the Hebrew word, and is inserted be
cause there is so much doubt among the most learned
as to its precise meaning. An alternative rendering
in the margin, "dismissal," suggests the thought
that as the two goats made only one oblation, that
which was slain expressed the expiation of sins, and
that which was dismissed to the wilderness the utter
and final removal of those sins. In xvii. 11 the revision
reads, " For it is the blood that maketh atonement
by reason of the life," which is at once more faith
ful and more expressive than the Authorized Yersion,
which renders the last portion of the clause " atone
ment for the soul." In xix. 17 the Authorized
Version reads, "thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy
neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him." The ob
scurity of the last clause is removed in the revision
by rendering "and not bear sin because of him,"
which teaches the important truth that it is a sin not
to give rebuke when it is called for. In v. 20
" she shall be scourged " is replaced by " they shall

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 87
be punished," showing that both participants in a
common sin meet retribution. In v. 26 the am
biguous phrase " observe times " is changed into
"practise augury." (So Deut. xviii. 10, 14.) In
xxiv. 11 the Authorized Yersion says of a man that
he "blasphemed the name of the Lord.'''' The re
vision is more exact, "blasphemed the Name," in
accordance with the emphasis Scripture puts upon
the divine name. It is by eminence the Name.
Numbers. — In the opening chapters of Numbers
the paragraph division greatly aids the cursory reader
in perceiving the enumeration of the tribes and their
order in marching and encamping, and the divisions
of the Levites. The rigid care with which the sanc
tuary was secured against desecration appears in the
change made in iv. 20 where the prohibition of the
Kohathites from going in to see the holy things is not
" when they are covered," as the Authorized Yer
sion has it, but as the phrase means—" even for a
moment." A single momentary glance is forbidden.
In vii. 39 " the voice of one speaking " is changed
to " the Yoice speaking," which is more literal and
more vivid. In ch. viii. 3 the unmeaning clause
" he lighted the lamps thereof over against the
candlestick" (for the lamps were upon the candela
brum) is exchanged for " he lighted the lamps so as
to give light in front • of the candlestick, ' ' which is
what was needed to be done, and was done. In xi.
25 is an important change. The Authorized Yersion
says of the seventy elders that ' ' they prophesied and
did not cease," whereas the true sense of the last

88 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
words is that they " added not," or, as the revision
puts it, " did so no more." (The 6ame Hebrew is so
given by the Authorized Yersion in Deut. v. 22.)
They were not to teach, but to rule, and their speak
ing by inspiration was a temporary gift to signalize
their entrance into office. In the eighth verse of the
next chapter " apparently " is changed to "mani
festly," with an obvious gain in lucidity. In xiii.
17 " mountain " is put by the revision in the plural,
as in v. 29, for the spies were to visit not a single
mountain, but the entire hill country of the land. In
the 33d verse ' ' Nephilim" (which is merely the He
brew word in English letters) is .substituted for
' ' giants, " as in Gen. vi. 4, because the meaning of the
word is uncertain, and the ordinary reader is as well
able as the scholar to gather it from the connection.
In this passage it may as well mean mighty in strength
as mighty in size. In xiv. 34 the unhappy ren
dering which ascribes a " breach of promise" to
the Lord is properly altered to "alienation." In
xvi. 33 the change of " houses" into " households"
is plainly required, since the people had no houses in
the wilderness. (Even the Authorized Yersion so
renders in Deut. xi. 6.) In xviii. 10. the revision
retains the odd rendering of the Authorized Yersion :
" In the most holy place shalt thou eat thereof," yet
nothing is more certain than that no food was eaten
in the innermost sanctuary. Doubtless the first
clause should be, " As (or among) the most holy
things." In xxi. 1 "way of the spies" is changed
into "way of Atharim," it being more likely that

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 89
the original is a proper name than an unusual form
of a common noun. In v. 9 the healing of a man
bitten by a serpent is said to come, not simply when
he "beheld" (as Authorized Yersion) the serpent
of brass, but when he "looked unto" it, implying
a voluntary and designed turning of the eyes in that
direction. In ch. xxi. the extract from the book of
the wars of the. Lord, and the song of the well, and
the ode on the overthrow of Moab are properly
printed in parallelisms. The same is the case with
. Balaam1' s prophetic utterances, chs. xxiii., xxiv.
The change of a " unicorn" into a " wild ox" dis
places a mythological creature for a real animal well
known in the East. The assertion that there is " no
enchantment with Jacob" is stronger than that of
the Authorized Yersion that there is none ' ' against"
him, inasmuch as it means that such is Jaeob's pro
tection by his covenant God that he has no need of
divination or magic arts. The vague, ambiguous
phrase in xxiii. 23, " according to this time," is
changed with much effect into the single word
"Now." The alteration made in xxiv. 2, 3, and
repeated in vv. 15, 16, representing the seer in the
first instance with eyes closed and in the second with
eyes opened, is quite agreeable to the original,
and at the same time much more poetic and strik
ing than the Authorized Yersion, since it conveys
the conception of one whose bodily vision is closed
against all outward things, while his inner sense, on
the contrary, is divinely illumined. In xxiv. 17
" children of Sheth" is very properly changed into

90 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
" sons of tumult" — i.e., tumultuous warriors. In
the same verse the omission of the initial capital in
the " Star out of Jacob" and the " Sceptre out of
Israel" leaves the reader to decide for himself
whether these terms refer to a divine or to a human
personage. The brief, obscure closing prophecies of
Balaam respecting Amalek, the Kenite and Kittim,
are given with as much clearness as a close version
admits. In ch. xxix. there occurs several times,
as often before, the phrase " after the ordinance,"
which is correct and much less ambiguous than
the wording of the Authorized Yersion " after the
manner." In the description of Canaan's boun
daries (ch. xxxiv.) is a number of minor correc
tions of the Authorized Yersion, chief of which is
the change of " river of Egypt," which most read
ers would suppose to be the Nile, into " brook of
Egypt,' ' a very different stream, the modern Wady-
el-Arish, which reaches the sea about forty miles
south of Gaza. In the account of the cities of refuge
(xxxv. 11-31) the same Hebrew word is rendered in
the Authorized Yersion several times by " man-
slayer," and again by " slayer," and again by " mur
derer ;" in the revision the first-mentioned term
is carried through uniformly. In the last verse but
one the ambiguous phrase, "the land cannot be
cleansed of the blood that is shed therein," is re
placed by the clear and accurate statement, " no ex
piation can be made for the land for the blood," etc.
Deuteronomy. — Ini. 1, instead of " the plain over
against the Red sea," the revision has " the Arabah

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 91
over against Suph." The margin explains the
Arabah as the deep valley running north and south
of the Deaa Sea. It is the most conspicuous topo
graphical feature of Palestine, and as such should be
noted when it occurs in the text of the Scripture.
" Suph" is probably the pass es Sufeh, near Ain-el-
Weibeh. No one who has ascended that pass will
wonder at its being used in a geographical descrip
tion. In v. 7 the revision makes distinct the
various portions of the country — viz., the Arabah,
the hill country, the lowland (or Shephelah=the low
tract south of Carmel), the South or Negeb, and the
sea-shore (the entire coast up to Tyre). These well-
marked divisions reappear in Joshua (ix. 1, x. 40,
etc.). In v. 40 there is a gain in clearness by
changing " way of the Red sea " into " way to the
Red sea," which is beyond question the meaning.
In iii. 17 the first word of the compound " Ashdoth
Pisgah ' ' is translated (as in the Authorized Yersion
at iv. 49), and appears as " the slopes of Pisgah."
In iv. 19 " shouldest be driven" is changed into
" be drawn away. " It was enticement to idolatry,
not compulsion, against which Moses warns the
people. Yerse 41, " Then Moses severed three cities
beyond Jordan," severed is changed to separated,
the word used in the corresponding passage (xix. 2).
The transposition of " desire" and "covet" .in v.
21 is justified by the wish to show that the first verb
here represents the same Hebrew word that occurs
in Ex. xx. 17. In vii. 26 the substitution of " de
voted " for " cursed " brings out the full meaning

92 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
of the Hebrew herem as something given over to de
struction by divine command. An unwelcome change
to many will be found in xi. 21, "as the days of
heaven upon the earth," where the revision reads
the clause " as the days of the heavens above the
earth ;" but the original words, the parallel passage,
Ps. Ixxxix. 29, and Hebrew usage, all require us to
hold the comparison as relating not to character but
to duration, and the meaning to be that Israel should
retain the land as long as the heavens cover the
earth. In v. 30 the geographical distinctions of
the passage are made much more intelligible in the
revision. In xii. 31, " even their sons and daughters
they have burnt in the fire to their gods," the change
from the past tense to the present (according to the
Hebrew) is important as showing that human sacri
fices were in use in Canaan at the time of the con
quest. In xiii. 13 the revision follows the Author
ized Yersion in the phrase " sons of Belial," but
adds in the margin what is the accepted meaning of
the noun " worthlessness. " Many scholars insist
that this phrase is simply a common instance of per
sonification (like sons of affliction = the afflicted,
Prov. xxxi. 5), and should always be resolved into
base, or worthless, men. But the Apostle in II.
Cor. vi. 15 uses Belial (or Beliar) as the name of a
person, and for this reason, if for no other, it is well
to retain the picturesque combination.
The change in xv. 4, " Howbeit there shall be no
poor with thee," etc., regards the words as a promise
of exemption from abject poverty so long as the

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 93
people were obedient, and therefore as conditional.
The Authorized Yersion rendering, added here in
the margin, " save when there shall be," etc., means
that a loan could be called in when the debtor was
not a poor man and would not be distressed by the
exaction. And this was not an improbable contin
gency, since the Lord was to bless the people so
largely. The assurance in v. 11 seems to oppose
the view taken in the revision. In xviii. 10 the term
" witch" is replaced by " sorcerer," and justly, for
the Hebrew noun is masculine. (In Ex. xxii. 18 it
is feminine.) In the close of xx. 19, a very obscure
and difficult passage, the revision gives a rendering
which is certainly better than that of the Authorized
Yersion. (It is that of the LXX. , Ewald, Knobel and
Keil.) For " thou shalt not cut them down (for the
tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the
siege" is substituted "Thou shalt not cut them
down ; for is the tree of the field man, that it should
be besieged of thee ?" In xxi. 18 " a rough valley"
is changed into " a valley with ranning water," in
accordance with the opinion of most critics. Verse
8 is rendered more accurately and smoothly than in
the Authorized Version, and in v. 14 the phrase
" make merchandise of her" is wisely exchanged
for " deal with her as a slave." (So in xxiv. 7.) In
xxiii. 20 (and xxix. 22) " stranger" is well replaced
by the stronger word "foreigner." In xxv. 5 the
change of "child" into "son" is important, for it
was the failure of male children only that required
the application of the Levirate law. In xxviii. 4, 5

94 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
and 17, 18 " flocks of thy sheep" is made " young
of thy flock," and "store" becomes "kneading
trough," both changes being due to fidelity. For
the same reason " removed into" in v. 25 becomes
"tossed to and fro among," a phrase often used
in reference to Israel's sufferings in captivity. But
it admits of a doubt whether in v. 68, "ye shall
be sold unto your enemies," it was necessary to
change "be sold" into "sell yourselves," since
the reflexive conjugation sometimes is a simple
passive. In xxix. 19 " stubbornness" is more cor
rect than the "imagination" of the Authorized
Version ; and the change in the last clause of "to
add drunkenness to thirst" to "to destroy the moist
with the dry" is more literal, and does something
to relieve the obscurity which overhangs the clause
(cf. Luke xxiii. 31). In xxxi. 26 is the small but
significant change of the preposition "in" into
" by," for the book of the law was put, not " in the
side of the ark," but by the side of it. In xxxii. 5
there is a great change. The second member, as
given in the Authorized Yersion (" their spot is not
the spot of his children"), is an impossible transla
tion. The extreme compression of the Hebrew
makes it hard to render at once literally and intelli
gibly. The revision reads " they are not his children,
it is their blemish," meaning that these corrupt
dealers, so far from being God's children, are their
blot — i.e., a blemish to the name. In v. 4 the fine
comparison of the eagle is brought out more dis
tinctly than in the Authorized Version. In v. 17

CHANGES IN THE PENTATEUCH. 95
" demons" is much better than " devils," which is
misleading. In v. 27, " lest their adversaries should
behave themselves strangely," the last three words
are correctly changed to "misdeem." Many will
regret to lose out of v. 35 the familiar utterance,
"Their foot shall slide in due time," but true
. as that sentiment is, it cannot be fairly gotten out
of the Hebrew, which simply means " At the time
when their foot shall slide." An obscurity is re
moved in v. 36, "and there is none shut up or
left," by adding "at large" to the word "left,"
this indicating the contrast implied in the clause.
The prefix of " As" in v. 40 to " I live forever"
makes the whole passage plainer ; and the new ren
dering of the last clause of v. 42, " From the head
of the leaders of the enemy," is at once clearer and
more suitable than " From the beginning of re
venges upon the enemy." The song of Moses in
ch. xxxiii. is given more plainly than in the Au
thorized Version, as well as more correctly. The
declaration about Reuben is rendered literally, " And
let his men be few," and the other version put in the
margin. The same is true respecting the third mem
ber of Judah's blessing. In v. 17 " unicorns" is
changed into "wild ox," and "people together"
into "peoples all of them." In v. 21 "because
there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated "
becomes " For there was the lawgiver's portion
reserved" — i.e., in due time he secured his allot
ment. In v. 25 the "shoes" of Asher's portion
are, in accordance with most modern critics, given

96 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
as "bars." In v. 28 a different view of the con
nection from that taken by the Authorized Yersion
preserves the parallelism, and the order and mean
ing of the original, thus :
And Israel dwelleth in safety,
The fountain of Jacob alone,
In a land of corn and wine.
Israel is safe, yet separate from all other peoples,
and, moreover, in a rich and fertile region.

CHAPTER Y.
CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.
In the historical books, of the Old Testament the
need of amendment is much less than in other por
tions of the Scripture. Unusual forms, rare combi
nations, elliptical phrases, difficult constructions, are
not nearly so frequent as in the prophetic or poetic
writings. For the most part the narrative runs on in '
an even tenor, according to the accepted usages of
the language.
Joshua. — In this book the partition of Canaan
among the tribes is rendered more intelligible owing
to modern progress in sacred geography. But occa
sionally there is an infelicity of another kind that re
quires removal. In iii. 13 at the crossing of the
Jordan it is said in the Authorized Yersion that " the
water of Jordan shall be cut off. from the waters that
come down from above," but the subsequent verses
show that the italicized word from is needless and
disturbing, and should be replaced by " even," for
it was the descending waters that were to be cut off.
So in v. 21, the place where the waters stood in a
heap was, not " very far from the city of Adam," but
" a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside,"
etc. The revision here rightly adheres to the Ket-

98 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Mb, which furnishes a reason for the mention of
Adam. In viii. 33 the Authorized Yersion is altered
so as to read, " as Moses . . . had commanded that
they should bless the people of Israel first of all."
This is more literal than the old version, more con
formed to the order of the original, and besides gives
a reason why this solemn ceremony was performed
before the conquest of the land was completed. In
ix. 4, 13, instead of " wine bottles," we read " wine
skins," of which alone it could be said that they
were "rent and bound up." In x. 12, 13 the ex
traordinary command of Joshua and its fulfilment are
printed in verse form, in accordance with its mani
fest intention and character.
Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ;
And thou, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed,
Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies.
The advantage of this is that thus there is a distinc
tion between the sublime, rhythmical, poetical utter
ance that is quoted, and the cool, prosaic statement of
the author which follows it, reasserting the miracle.
One is an extract from the Book of Jasher, the other
the historian's narrative. In xi. 2 the revision states
clearly the different regions summoned by Jabin to his
help. In v. 13 " the cities that stood in their strength"
is changed to "on their mounds," the sense being
that the cities in the plain were burned, but the for
tified upland cities (save Hazor) were only sacked.
An important correction is made in xxii. 11, where
the true rendering " in front of the land of Canaan j"

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 99
instead of " over against the land," etc., shows that
the altar of the trans-Jordanic tribes was erected not
on the eastern side of the river, but on the western,
as indeed it required to be in order to confirm the
claim of these tribes to a common interest in the
Sanctuary of Israel. In xxiv. 15 the change of
"flood " into " River" (i.e., the Euphrates) removes
a needless obscurity, and shows that the reference is
to the ancestors of Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees.
Judges. — The song of Deborah (ch. v.) is amend
ed according to the demands of modern scholarship.
Verses 10, 11 are rendered so as to show the call on
those now in safety and comfort to give due honor to
the author of their deliverance.
Tell of it, ye that ride on white asses,
Ye that sit on rich carpets,
And ye that walk by the way.
Par from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water,
There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord.
The verses that follow are still somewhat obscure
owing to the brevity of the phrases, but many clauses
are helped, as in the substitution of "the mar
shal's staff" for "the pen of the writer," and of
" they rushed forth at his feet" instead of " he was
sent on foot," and in the striking antithesis about the
" water-courses of Reuben." " Creeks" in place of
"breaches," v. 17, turns darkness into light.
In vii. 11, 19 " outside" is changed into " outer
most" with propriety and advantage, and in the
same connection " lamps" into "torches." In x.
5.3 the misleading archaism " all to brake his skull"

100 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
is changed to "brake his skull." In xv. 19 the
change of " the jaw" into the proper name " Lehi"
shows that the fountain that refreshed Samson burst
forth not from the jawbone but from a depression in
the earth. So in xx. 18, 26, 31 and xxi. 2 " the
house of God" becomes "Bethel," because it is
certain that it was the city so called, and not the
sanctuary that the writer meant.
I. Samuel. — In i. 28 the change of " lent" into
" granted " expresses the exact sense of the original.
In iii. 13 Eli's sons " made themselves vile" be
comes " did bring a curse upon themselves," which
is the usual meaning of the word used here. In vi.
18 " even unto the great stone of Abel whereon they
set down the ark" becomes "even unto the great
stone whereon they set," etc. — one of the few in
stances in which the existing Hebrew text is corrected
on the authority of the early versions, the internal
evidence in their favor being overwhelming. In ix.
20 Samuel asks Saul, " On whom is all the desire of
Israel ?"- but the revision gives the true sense, " For
whom is all that is desirable in Israel?" At this
time the young Saul was not widely known. In
xxiv. 3 " sides" of the cave is properly made "inner
most parts," and in xxvii. 10 " Whither have ye
made a road to-day" the change of a single letter
converts the archaic "road" into the modern
"raid." II. Samuel. — In i. 18 the Authorized Version says
David " bade them teach the children of Judah the
use of the bow," which is most improbable, and the

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 101
revision puts the last words, " the song of the bow"
— viz., the one which immediately follows, it taking
this name from the mention of Jonathan's bow in
v. 22. This -is in accordance with Oriental usage.
The second chapter of the Koran is very long, yet
because of the brief mention of a red cow in a por
tion of it, it bears the title, "The Cow." In
ii. 23 (iii. 27 et al.) " Abner smote him under the
fifth rib," the last four words are, in agreement
with modern lexicons, changed to "in the belly."
In v. 10 we read " David went on and grew great ;"
the revision resolves this Hebrew idiom by rendering
" David waxed greater and greater," which is the
exact English equivalent. In vi. 19, instead of " a
flagon of wine," the revision properly reads, " a cake
of raisins." In xvi. 7 the words, "Begone, be
gone, thou bloody man," are surely a more spirited
rendering of Shimei's address to David than the
" Come out, come out " of the Authorized Version.
It is hard to understand the reason assigned by Joab
in xvii. 22 for declining to allow Ahimaaz to run as
messenger to the king, because it asserts what cer
tainly was not the fact. Therefore the assertion,
" Seeing thou hast no tidings ready," is well replaced
by " Seeing thou wilt have no reward for the tid
ings," which is intelligible. The last words of
-David in xx. 1-7, though not wholly relieved of ob
scurity, are yet made much plainer in the revision.
In accordance with the solemn formality with which
these words are introduced, it makes the third verse
describe not what must be, as in the case of an earthly

102 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
ruler, but rather what shall be, with at least a hint
of Messianic reference.
One that ruleth over men righteously,
That ruleth in the fear of God ;
He shall be as the light of the morning when the sun riseth,
A morning without clouds ;
When the tender grass springelh out of the earth,
Through clear shining after rain.
In xxiv. 23 the version, " all this, O king, doth
Araunah give unto the king," is quite as faithful as
that of the Authorized Yersion, " all these things did
Araunah, as a king, give unto the king," and much
more natural.
1. Kings. — In v. 18, instead of " stone-squarers,"
the revision adopts the rendering given in the mar
gin of the A. V., " Giblites," now universally ad
mitted to be correct. (It means the people of Gebal,
a Phoenician city.) The same remark is true of the
change in x. 28 (II. Chron. i. 16), where "linen
yarn" is certainly a mistranslation. The correction
made in xii. 31, 33, " made priests from among all the
people," instead of "of the lowest of the people,"
relieves Jeroboam of the superfluous folly of making
the worst men priests. What he really did was to
disregard the priestly tribe. The change in xv. 13 re
veals more clearly the extraordinary wickedness of
Maachah, who did not make simply " an idol in a
grove," but " an abominable image for an Asherah,"
probably an infamous phallus-statue. In xviii. 45 it
is a gain to read that the rain came not ' ' in the mean
while," but " in a little while." So in xx. 27, instead

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 103
of the statement that the people " were numbered and
Were all present," it is said that they were "mustered
and were victualled." In xxii. 38, instead of the
meaningless utterance "and they washed his armor," ,
the revision reads correctly, " now the harlots washed
themselves there," which teaches that Ahab's blood
came in contact not only with dogs, but with impure
and shameful persons.
II. Kings. — The interrogation in i. 3 as to Aha-
ziah's folly in consulting the god of Ekron when he
was sick, gains much in force and vividness by being
put, as the Hebrew demands, in a positive form—
"Is it because there is no God in Israel that ye go
to inquire of Baal-zebub V ' The addition of the
margin to ii. 9 forbids the common mistake of sup
posing that Elisha asked to have twice as much of
the Spirit as Elijah had. He asked a first-born's
portion in his master's spirit. In viii. 11 the addi
tion of the words in italics, ' ' upon him, ' ' to the state
ment, " and he settled his countenance steadfastly,"
removes an ambiguity by showing that it was the
steady gaze of Elisha that put Hazael to shame. In
ix. 8, and elsewhere, the term "man child" ex
presses the full sense, and does away with a disagree
able form of speech. (A similar euphemism is intro
duced in xviii. 27.) In xii. 4 the phrase "current
money," which exactly renders the Hebrew, dis
places the obscure statement, ' ' even the money of
everyone that passeth the account." Many readers
have stumbled at the statement (xxii. 14) that Hul-
dah dwelt at Jerusalem "in the college," but the

104 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
word means, as the revision has it, " the second
quarter" of the city, probably an addition recently
made to its enclosure.
I. Chronicles. — Inx. 3 " and the archers hit him,
and he was wounded of the archers," a repetition is
avoided by changing " and hit him" to " and over
took him," a rendering just as faithful as the other.
In xii. 14 the excellence of the Gadites becomes more
conspicuous by the better rendering that is adopted
in the revision. Not " one of the least was over an
hundred, and the greatest over a thousand," but "he
that was least was equal to a hundred, and the great
est to a thousand." In the 40th verse an obvious
error is corrected by changing " meat, meal " into
the marginal rendering of the Authorized Version,
" victual of meal." In xiv. 15 the signal for David
to attack the Philistines is not the obscure " a sound
of going" in the tops of the mulberry trees, but " the
sound of marching," which is much more intelligible.
In the close of ch. xvii., the whole tone of the
passage is lifted up by rendering v. 24, " and
the house of David is established," instead of " let it
be established," and v. 27, "and now it hath
pleased thee to bless the house of thy servant," in
stead of " let it please thee to bless," etc. For the
words express not merely a request, but a calm and
assured conviction that God has done and will do
what He promised. This the revision states in
conformity to the original. In eh. xxix. " glis
tering stones" (v. 3) is happily exchanged for
"stones for inlaid work," and (v. 7) the mislead-

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 105
ing term "dram," which suggests inevitably our
English weight so called, for " daric," the name of
a Persian coin.
II. Chronicles. — In the Authorized Version, at
iv. 3, we read of oxen that compassed the molten sea
" ten in a cubit," which is simply impossible. Few
who study the case can doubt that there has been an
error of early date in transcription, substituting the
word here given (bekharim) for the word (pekhahim),
which is found in the corresponding passage in
I. Kings (vii. 24). The revision meets the difficulty
by translating " for ten cubits," which is intelligible,
but rather a strain upon the Hebrew. The word
" devils" in xi. 15 is misleading as well as incorrect,
and is therefore rendered literally " he goats." The
last words of this chapter, " And he desired many
wives," which in the Authorized Yersion only re
peat what has been already said, are made in the
revision to have a sense which is legitimate and in
entire harmony with the connection. " And he
sought for them [the sons just mentioned] many
wives." The change of "images" into " sun-images" in
xiv. 5 relieves the narrative of repetition (see v.
3), and brings to view what seems to have been a
very seductive form of idol worship in ancient Israel.
In viii. 22 and xxiv. 27, for the word " story" of
the Authorized Yersion, the revision adopts its
marginal rendering, "commentary." The Hebrew
term is the same (Midrash) afterward employed by
the Rabbins to denote their interpretations of the

106 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Scripture. In xxviii. 19 the obscure phrase "he
made Judah naked " is happily exchanged for " he
dealt wantonly (or margin, cast away restraint) in
Judah." In xxxiii. 11 it is said that the captains of
the host of Assyria " took Manasseh among the
thorns," which it is not easy to understand. The
revision, in accordance with the Hebrew, puts it,
"took Manasseh in chains," and adds a margin,
" Or, with hooks," either of which is intelligible.
In v. 19 the statement that certain things are
written " among the sayings of the seers," is made
" in the history of Hozai," in accordance with most
of the moderns, who think that the word rendered
" seers" is really a proper name. In xxxiv. 6, after
saying that Josiah burned the bones of the priests
and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem, the writer adds,
" So did he in the cities of Manasseh .. . . even
unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about."
As it is hard to see how either burning or cleansing
could be done with mattocks, the revision reads the
last clause, " in their ruins round about," a phrase
which would apply very well to the dismantled and
forsaken cities of northern Israel.
THE POST-EXILE BOOKS.
These books, like Chronicles and Daniel, have a
considerable mixture of Chaldee with the Hebrew,
and also have a number of words known or supposed
to be of Persian origin, as was to be expected from the
circumstances of the time. These, however, add but
little to the difficulties of the interpreter or translator.

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 107
Ezra.— In iv. 11 a letter is represented as begin
ning, " Thy servants, the men on this side the river,
and at such a time," where the last clause (found
also in vv. 10 and 17) seems to be wholly unmeaning.
The revision renders, " and so forth," the combina
tion apparently being equivalent to our et ccetera.
The same phrase is found again in vii. 12, where
the letter of Artaxerxes begins with the words,
"Unto Ezra, the priest, ascribe of the law of the
God of heaven, perfect peace and at such a time,' '
which the revision renders more faithfully, " unto
Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of
heaven, perfect and so forth," which is exactly in
the style of formal address to a person of dignity.
In v. 22, instead of " measures" of wheat the re
vision has " cors." And very properly, for surely
it is as reasonable to transliterate a Hebrew dry
measure as it is the liquid one, which occurs in the
same verse (" baths"), and often elsewhere. " Cor"
occurs once (Ezek. xiv. 14) in the Authorized Ver
sion. In viii. 36 "lieutenants" is replaced by
" satraps," which, being an anglicized Persian word,
is rightly used to denote a Persian officer. In ix.
¦6, 7, 13, 15 and x. 19 "trespass" is supplanted by
"guilt" and " guiltiness," the stronger term being
required to bring out the full meaning of the original.
Nehemiah. — Inii. 8, instead of " the palace which
appertained to the house,' ' the revision reads more
sensibly " the castle which appertaineth to the
house." In iv. 6 the Authorized Version says, " and
all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof,"

108 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
which is a very enigmatic utterance. The revision
relieves the difficulty by rendering " unto half the
height thereof," which is doubtless the true sense.
In v. 8 certain persons are said to conspire to fight
against Jerusalem, and ' ' to hinder it! " The revision
is at the same time more literal and more intelligible
in rendering the phrase, " to cause confusion there
in." In the last verse of the chapter, Nehemiah
says, " none of us put off our clothes saving that
every one put them off for washing." This is so flat
and feeble that most critics agree that something has
dropped out of the text. The revision greatly less
ens the difficulty by rendering, " Every one went
with his weapon to the water." In v. 10 the
Authorized Version represents Nehemiah as saying,
after his rebuke of others for their exactions, " I
likewise, and my brethren and my servants, might
exact of them money and corn." But this is not the
meaning of the Hebrew, which states not a possibility
but a fact. Hence the revision renders fairly, " And
I likewise ... do lend them money and corn on
usury." Nehemiah through his family was impli
cated in the wrongdoing, and hence his confession,
and his saying, "let us leave off this usury." In
ix. 22 the Authorized Version reads, " Moreover,
thou gavest them kingdoms and peoples ; and didst
divide them into corners." The last clause the re
vision renders, "which thou didst allot after their
portions," which at least has some meaning. The
eleventh chapter closes with the verse, ' ' And of the
Levites were divisions in Judah and in Benjamin,"

CHANGES IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 109
a very unimportant statement. The revision gets a
much better sense by rendering, "And of theLevites
certain courses in Judah were joined unto Ben
jamin." Esther. — In i. 22 the last clause reads, "and that
it should be published according to the language of
every people." The revision is more accurate in
rendering, " and should speak of it according to the
language of his people," which doubtless refers to
the diversities of languages in the households of the
polygamous Persians. In iv. 6 " street of the city"
is changed to " broad place (i.e., open square) of the
city," in front of the palace. In viii. 10 it is said
of the king's decree that letters were sent ' ' by posts
on horseback, and riders on mules, camels and young
dromedaries." This is altered to read " by posts on
horseback, riding on swift steeds that were used in
the king's service, bred of the stud," which is more
faithful, and better suggests the pains and care for
rapid communication. In ix. 19 it is said of the Jews
that they " made the fourteenth day of Adar a day of
feasting and gladness," as if this was done only that
year. But the true sense is that this became a per
manent custom. Hence the revision, following the
Hebrew, translates, " Therefore do the Jews make,"
etc.

CHAPTER VI.
CHANGES m THE POETICAL BOOKS.
The Book of Job. — Poetry is found, as we have
seen, in the historical books, and also occurs in the
prophets, but there are several books of which it
makes the warp and the woof. This fact renders the
work of the translator more difficult, because a close
rendering of words sometimes causes both form and
spirit to evaporate. The difficulty is increased where
the writer is profound and sublime as well as impas
sioned. Hence it is acknowledged that King James's
translators were less successful in the Book of Job
than anywhere else. Sometimes the course of the
argument was mistaken, at others the meaning of
particular words or the connection of the clauses.
Nor can revisers in our own day be sure of having
the universal suffrage of scholars in favor of the
emendations they introduce, for often there is only a
choice of difficulties. Words are met with that occur
but once, and so offer no facility of comparison with
other passages, and there are references or allusions
to customs that have long been obsolete. And while
the analogy of the other Semitic tongues offers some
help, it is not always such as can be relied upon.
The rhythm and beauty of the English of the common

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. Ill
version have rendered it attractive to many cultivated
men, who regard Job only as a wonderfully fine
ancient poem, but without any definite divine author
ity ; and their praise of it is unstinted. So much
the more reason, is there for such a revision of the
version as will make it represent the present state of
Hebrew scholarship. Needless obscurities may be
removed, not only in single words and clauses, but
also in the connection of the thought and the aim of
the different speakers. And so far as this has been
effected in the revision a boon of no common magni
tude has been conferred on ordinary readers, in
enabling them to get a better comprehension and a
fuller enjoyment of the noblest poem and loftiest
discussion the world has ever seen, one too which,
notwithstanding its grandeur and pathos and fire, its
boundless range of figure and illustration, yet deals
with a moral question of perpetual recurrence in
every land and every age. This question, the ap
parent contradiction between God's promise and His
providence, is often glanced at in the prophetic writ
ings, such as Malachi iii. 13-18, and is lyrically set
forth in several of the Psalms, such as the 73d, but
only here is it formally debated by a number of
speakers and finally brought to an issue by the voice
of Jehovah Himself .
. In i. 5 (also v. 11 and ii. 5, 9) the phrase " cursed
God" is replaced by "renounced God," which in
the judgment of most critics is more suitable and
natural. In iii. 8 the change of "mourning" into
"Leviathan" (the marginal reading of the Author-

112 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
ized Version) is demanded by fidelity, however dif
ficult it is to explain the word. In v. 7, 8 the rea
soning of Eliphaz is sadly perplexed in the Authorized
Version by making him say that " Although afflic
tion cometh not, etc., yet man is born to trouble,
etc. ;" whereas what he says is really, as the revision
gives it :
For affliction cometh not forth of the dust,
Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground ;
But man is born unto trouble,
As the sparks fly upward.
Sorrow does not come from natural causes, but from
man's sinful nature. In viii. 13, as in seven other
places, "hypocrite" is changed to "godless man,"
which is the true meaning of the word. In ix. 29
"Ifl be wkked" is justly, and with great advan
tage to the sense, made to read, "I shall be con
demned." In the very difficult verse, xi. 12, the
revision renders But a vain man would be wise,
Though man is born as a wild ass's colt,
and puts in the margin one of the most probable of
the many other renderings, some of which show that
if the charge in the text is not true of the race, it
certainly is of some members of it. In xii. 5 the
obscure comparison of a man ready to fall to " a
lamp despised" disappears in the revision, which
renders faithfully and clearly,
In the thought of him that is at ease there is contempt for mis
fortune ;
It is ready for them whose foot slippeth.

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 113
So in xiii. 12 the dark and unmeaning comparison of
remembrances to ashes, and of " bodies" to " bodies
of clay" becomes lucid in the version,
Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes,
Your defences are defences of clay.
Many readers will be glad to see that the common
version of xiii. 15, " Though He slay me, yet will I
trust in Him," is substantially retained, although
most critics, following a different reading of the text,
explain the passage as meaning that Job, though he
knows that God will slay him and he has no hope of
another issue, yet will maintain his right before Him.
In v. 27 the obscure " settest a print upon the heels
of my feet" becomes " drawest a line about the
soles of my feet" — i.e., keepest me as a prisoner.
The revision renders xvii. 11 " Are the consolations
of God," etc., more accurately and with a great in
crease of force. Thus :
Are the consolations of God too small for thee,
And the word that dealeth gently with thoe ?
So in xvi. 21 it makes Job express the wish that his
witness, God, would see right done him both with
God and with men. The touching passage xvii. 15,
16, "where is now my hope? They shall go
down," etc., is so altered as to show Job's con
viction that the hope held before him by his
friends, instead of being realized, will go down
with him to Sheol when once he finds rest in the
grave. Thus :

114 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Where then is my hope ?
And as for my hope, who shall see it ?
It shall go down to the bars of Sheol,
When once there is rest in the dust.
In xviii. 15 the meaningless words "It shall dwell
in his tabernacle because it is none of his " become,
" There shall dwell in his tent that which is none
of his"— viz., strangers.
The notable passage xix. 25-27 is greatly clarified.
The offensive and needless mention of " worms," to
which there is nothing answering in the Hebrew, is
dropped. Job had just expressed a wish for a per
petual record of his words that coming generations
might know his claim to rectitude. This, however,
was not enough. Hence he adds, " But I know " —
whatever their opinion may be; "I know" — that
my Redeemer liveth. This vindicator will stand up
upon the earth in a future day, and Job will see him.
That vision of God will be all that he needs, as it is
an assurance of peace and reconciliation. It will be
from his flesh, and as his body is said to have been de
stroyed, it must be from a new body, which implies
a resurrection. In the margin are stated the other
and more generally accepted views, which consider
the vision as made " without the flesh" — i.e., in a
disembodied state, and that Job sees God " on my
side" — i.e., favorable, and "not a stranger" — i.e.,
not hostile or estranged. The last clause, ' ' My reins
are consumed within me," is an expression of intense
longing. Chapter xxi. is Job's reply to the assertion that

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 115
the wicked are punished in this life, but the argu
ment is embarrassed in the Authorized Yersion by
the rendering of vv. 17-21, which tends in the oppo
site direction. The evil is corrected in the revision,
which states the question,
How oft is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out ?
That their calamity cometh upon them ?
so as to imply that it is rare, and presents the state
ment, " Te say, God layeth up His iniquity for His
children," as an objection which the speaker pro
ceeds to answer and refute. A similar correction of
the argument is found in the next chapter, vv. 19,
20, where the senseless contrast between " our sub
stance is not cut down" and " the remnant of them
the fire consumeth" is done away by making v. 20
the utterance of the righteous, in accordance with
the argument of Eliphaz, thus :
Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.
In the last verse of the chapter a curious and unin
telligible misrendering " island of the mnocent" is
set right. -»In ch. xxiv. the alteration of v. 1, "Why,
seeing times are not hidden from the Almighty,
do they that know Him not see His days V ' so
as to make it ask,
Why are times not laid up by the Almighty,
And why do not they which know Him see His days ?
That is, why does He not appoint a period of assize,
is sustained by the rest of the chapter which, prop-

116 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
erly speaking, brings out the fact that the sufferings
of the poor and the wrong-doing of the wicked re
quire such a day of judgment, which, however, does
not come. In ch. xxvi. the senseless rendering of
v. 5, " Dead things are formed from under the
waters," etc., is replaced by a vivid reference to
God's control over departed spirits ; the obscurity of
v. 10, "until the day and night come to an end,"
gives way to a poetical view of the arch of heaven as
marking the horizon ; and in the last verse the revi
sion finely expresses the thought that what is seen of
God in nature's most striking works is merely the
outskirts of His ways, and bears the same relation to
His intrinsic majesty that a faint whisper does to the
rolling thunder. Chapter xxviii., in vv. 3, 4, which
to the ordinary reader are simply darkness visible,
the revision shows that the reference is to man's
boldness and success in mining, and in v. 11 his skill
in hindering the percolation of water into a mine.
Thus :
He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn ;
They are forgotten of the foot that passeth by ;
They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.
And again :
He bindeth the streams that they trickle not.
In ch. xxx. many obscurities are removed. In v.
20 "thou regardest me not" is properly changed
to "thou lookest at me" — i.e., in silent indiffer
ence, as the sense requires. In xxxi. 31 an obvious
error that disturbs the sense and the connection is

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 117
amended ; and in 35, instead of the prosaic and in
correct, " Oh that one would hear me ! Behold, my
desire is that the Almighty would answer me," the
revision reproduces the vigor of the original,
Oh that I had one to hear me !
(Lo, here is my signature, let the Almighty answer me ;)
And that I had the indictment which my adversary hath written !
Job offers to affix his sign manual to the protesta
tions of innocence already made, and prays to see the
charge against him, which is very different from the
A. Y.'s absurd rendering, " Oh that mine adversary
had written a book !" In xxxiii. 23, " If there be a
messenger ... to show unto man his uprightness,"
the ambiguous " his uprightness " is made " what is
right for him," which it is assumed the sufferer fol
lows, whereupon God becomes gracious to him. The
result is shown in vv. 25, 26, where the revision justly
puts the tenses in the present. In. v. 27 a consider
able alteration is made, to the great improvement of
the sense. Instead of the incoherent, " He looketh
upon men ; and if any say, 1 have sinned," etc., we
have the verse rendered as an expression of the re
stored sinner's thankfulness,
He singeth before men, and saith,
I have sinned, etc.
And the next verse states not a prediction, " He will
deliver his soul," but a fact, He hath delivered my
soul from going into the pit. In xxxiv. 6, 23, 31,
33, 34, 36 are important changes, which render the
course of thought much clearer. The same is true

118 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
of xxxv. 1-3 and 12-16, where the original is ob
scure, and often there is only a choice of difficul
ties. In xxxvi. 18 the well-known rendering of the
Authorized Version, " bewarelestHe take thee away
with His stroke' ' is perforce abandoned, and a quite
different turn given to the passage. Thus :
Because there is wrath, beware lest thou be led away by thy
sufficiency ;
Neither let the greatness of the ransom turn thee aside.
The last two verses, "With clouds He covereth the
light, and commandeth it not to shine by the cloud
that cometh betwixt. The noise thereof sheweth
concerning it, the cattle also concerning the vapor,"
which are so dark, are made intelligible in the revi
sion, which represents God as covering His hands
with lightning and sending it in the right direction,
so that thunder announces the fact, and even the cat
tle are apprized of the coming storm. In xxxviii.
14, instead of the clay turning to the seal, the revi
sion reads, " It is changed as clay under the seal ;"
— that is, under the light of the dawn the earth takes
shape as clay does when impressed by the seal, and
all things stand forth as a many-colored garment.
In xxxix. 13 the words are not, as in the Authorized
Version, a challenge concerning the creator of the
peacock and the ostrich, " Gavest thou the goodly
wings to the peacocks ?" etc., but between the latter
bird's strength and pride of wing and her disposition
as shown in the following verses :
The wing of the ostrich rejoiceth,
But are her pinions and feathers kindly ?

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 119
In xl. 23 the Authorized Version quite mistakes the
sense in rendering, " he drinketh up a river and
hasteth not : he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan
into his mouth," the true sense being-
Behold, if a river overflow, he trembleth not :
He is confident though Jordan swell up to his mouth.
No outbreak of water, not even the madly rushing
Jordan, can affright him.- In xii. 25 " By reason of
breakings they purify themselves" becomes, in ac
cordance with the original, the more forcible,
By reason of consternation they are beside themselves.
Such is the terror leviathan inspires even among the
mighty. The Psalms. — The revision of this book was at
tended with peculiar difficulty. The Psalter does not,
like Job, have its most obvious interest on the literary
side, although it has a great charm even as a collec
tion of ancient Hebrew lyrics. But for generations
it has been endeared to multitudes as the vehicle of
their devotional feelings, the companion of their
worship, their solace in sickness, their resource in
every time of trial or peril. This has rendered its
words and phrases inexpressibly dear ; and the least
alteration seems like the touch of a desecrating hand.
It is fortunate that alteration is not nearly so much
called for here as in some other books, particularly
in Job. The early English translators generally
seized the sense of the original, and expressed it with
force and beauty, yet of course, for the reasons that
have been elsewhere specified, there are cases in

120 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
which faithfulness requires a new rendering. It is
believed that in the main the revisers have been
wisely conservative.
The Psalms, in pursuance of an old custom, are
divided into five books, a division which if not of in
disputable authority is at least a matter of conven
ience. The superscriptions being a part of the Mas
soretic text are retained, but the endeavor is made to
represent them as accurately in English as our knowl
edge of ancient musical terms will allow.
In the second Psalm the natural division of this
perfect lyric into four equal parts is suggested by the
spaces after vv. 3, 6 and 9. The slight altera
tion in the last verse, " For His wrath will soon be
kindled," in place of "When His wrath is kindled
but a little," is in accordance with the weight of
critical, authority. In Ps. viii. 5 man is said "to
have been made a little lower than God," which ex
actly conforms to the Hebrew. The Authorized
Version's " lower than the angels " was taken from
the LXX. (who were copied by the Vulgate), whose
words are quoted in the Epistle to the Hebrews (ii.
7), where they fully answer the needs of the writer's
argument. But the quotation in the New Testa
ment affords no reason for overlooking the strength
of the Hebrew original. The introduction of the
divine name Jehovah (in place of Lord) in the first
verse and the last adds greatly to the force and
beauty of the psalm. In Ps. ix. the confusion and
obscurity of v. 6 are admirably removed by a ver
sion which brings God's overthrow of the wicked

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 121
into marked contrast with the fact that He sits as
king forever. In Ps. x. every verse except the first
is more or less changed with the effect on the whole
of greatly increasing the vividness of the character
ization. In xi. 2 the substitution, of " in darkness"
for ' ' privily' ' is one of many instances in which a
literal version is more expressive than any para
phrase. The 16th Psalm is greatly improved. Its
general theme is that God is all in all to the believer,
and this is well given in the new rendering of v. 2,
I have said unto the Lobd, Thou art my Lord ;
I have no good beyond Thee.
In v. 10 the revision substitutes for the misleading
"in hell," the literal rendering "to Sheol," which
means that the singer's soul is not to be abandoned
to the state of the dead. The change of the same
word in xviii. 5 shows that the writer there was
not complaining of hellish sorrows, but of the net
work of the unseen world closing around him.
The cords of Sheol were round about me.
In this psalm, " prevent," used in its obsolete sense,
is twice (5, 18) exchanged for "came upon." In
Ps. xx. the omission of where supplied by the
Authorized Version in v. 3 shows the true sense of
the original — viz., that the heavens without articu
late language declare the divine glory. The omis
sion of the article before " great " in v. 13 brings out
the true sense, that the suppliant will escape, not one
pre-eminent sin, but "much transgression." In
xxii. 29, 30 the changes made indicate that both the

122 OLD testament revision.
prosperous and the poor, even those ready to perish,
shall join in the feast held in honor of the great sal
vation, and that it shall be related to coming genera
tions. All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship :
All they that go down to the dust shall bow before Him,
Even he that cannot keep his soul alive.
A seed shall serve him ;
It shall be told of the Lord unto the next generation.
The space at v. 21 indicates the transition from suf
fering and outcry to praise and triumph. In xxvii.
13, instead of supplying words to make out the sense,
the revision resolves the construction into an aposi-
opesis, Oh, had I not believed to see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living —
leaving the imagination to suggest the consequence
of a different course. In xxviii. 8 " the saving
strength of His anointed " becomes " a stronghold of
salvation to His anointed." With an equal increase
of vigor the 9th verse of the next psalm is made to
read, " And in His temple everything saith, Glory,"
instead of "every one doth speak of His glory."
In xxxii. 8 the incomprehensible " 1 will guidp thee
with mine eye' ' becomes ' ' I will counsel thee with
mine eye upon thee," as the Hebrew requires. In
xxxvii. 3 the impossible rendering of the Authorized
Version, " verily thou shalt be fed," is replaced by
" Follow after faithfulness," and in v. 37 the true
translation is given in the margin, " there is a latter
end to the man of peace."

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 123
Book II. — In xliv. 2 the change is intended to
bring out what all admit to be the meaning of the
Hebrew, that God drove out the nations, but planted
His own followers in their place, and afflicted other
peoples, but spread abroad His own. In xiv. 13 the
king's daughter is all glorious not "within," as the
Authorized Version ambiguously says, but " within
the palace." The changes in xlix. are of great im
portance in exhibiting the meaning of this interest
ing and important lyric. They show that the " in
iquity" mentioned in v. 5 is not the speaker's, but
his foes' ; that the " redemption" of v. 8 is not
atonement, but deliverance from temporal death ; and
(vv. 14, 15) that death rules over the rich and hon
ored, while God "receives" the believer. The
poetical vigor of the original is well set forth in the
rendering proposed for v. 14 :
They are appointed as a flock for Sheol ;
Death shall be their shepherd.
In 1. 8 the Authorized Version implies that though
the Jews neglected burnt offerings, this was of no
account, whereas the true sense is that they did not
neglect this duty, but gave to it an opus operatum
efficacy. /In lvi. 19 the utterance, true enough in
itself, " Because they have no changes they fear not
God," is replaced by the stricter rendering, " The
men who have no changes and who fear not God."
The first verse of Ixii., " Truly my soulwaiteth upon
God," is made to read, " My soul waiteth only upon
God." The change of truly to only gives to the

124 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
original Hebrew word the same sense the Authorized
Version gives it in vv. 2, 5, 6, and thus preserves
a characteristic feature of the psalm. The self-
consistency of Ps. lxvii. as a harvest song is preserved
by changing, " Then shall the earth yield her in
crease " (v. 6) into the more faithful, " The earth
hath yielded," etc. The sublime but difficult 68th
Psalm is much improved. Verses 15, 16, dark in
the Authorized Version, " The hill of God is as the
hill of Bashan ; an high hill, as the hill of Bashan.
Why leap ye, ye high hills ? this is the hill," etc.,
are so rendered as to show that so exalted is the hill
where God dwells that even lofty mountains like
Bashan " look askance" at it.
A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan ;
An high mountain is the mountain of Bashan.
Why look ye askance, ye high mountains,
At the mountain which God hath desired for His abode ?
In Ixix. 22 the cumbersome list of supplied words,
" that which should have been for their welfare," is
neatly supplanted by " when they are in peace." In
lxxi. 16 the fine utterance, " I will go in the strength
of the Lord God," gives way to the more exact sen
timent, " I will come with the mighty acts of the
Lord Jehovah."
Book III. — In lxxii. 15 the obscure " he shall live"
of the Authorized Yersion is changed into " they
shall live," and the clause is so connected with what
precedes as to show that the words refer not to the
king, but to His subjects. Their blood is so precious
in His sight that so far from suffering it to be shed,

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 125
He will cause them to live on. In v. 16 the striking
contrast between a handful of seed corn and a har
vest waving like Lebanon disappears, because it is
not found in the original. In vv. 17-19 the word
"blessed" occurs in the Authorized Version four
times ; in one case the revision puts it " happy,"
because a different word occurs in the Hebrew. The
familiar phrase (Ixxvi. 10), " The remainder of wrath
thou wilt restrain," is supplanted by this stronger
utterance, "shalt thou gird upon thee" — i.e., as a
sword belt or weapon, because the Hebrew means
this. So for the same reaSOn, in the 2d verse of the
next psalm, "my sore ran in the night" becomes
" my hand was stretched out in the night." In Ps.
lxxxiv. the obscurities of vv. 5, 6, "in whose heart
are the ways of them; who passing through the
valley of Baca," etc., are removed, and we learn in
stead the happiness of those
In whose heart are the highways to Zion.
Passing through the valley of weeping they make it a place of
springs ;
Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings.
In the fine missionary psalm lxxxv. 4 a slight
change of the prepositions shows that Rahab and
Babylon not merely receive communications from
God, but are actually counted among His people —
which accords with the whole tenor of the song.
Book IV. — In xc. 11 the enigmatical " according
to thy fear, so is thy wrath " is resolved into a con
tinuation of the question preceding, and so becomes
clear,

126 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Who knoweth the power of Thine anger,
And thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto Thee ?
So in the next verse " to get a heart of wisdom" is
stronger as well as more exact than ' ' to apply our
hearts unto wisdom." In xcii. 14 the trees of the
Lord instead of being " fat and flourishing," as in
the Authorized Yersion, are "full of sap and green,"
which is at once appropriate and faithful. In c. 3,
instead of " He hath made us and not we ourselves,"
the revision reads, " He that hath made us and we
are His," following the Keri, and getting a more
emphatic and suitable sense. In civ. 4 the clause
"who maketh His angels spirits," which conveys
little or no meaning to the reader, becomes " who
maketh winds His messengers." The rudest blasts
are only agents that do His will.
Book V. — In ex. 3 the grammatically impossible
rendering " Thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power" gives place to " Thy people offer them
selves willingly" — i.e., are cheerful recruits when
the host is mustered. In cxvi. 10, instead of the
Authorized Yersion " I believed, therefore have I
spoken," which violates the tense forms, the revision
renders literally " I believed, for I will speak,"
which has much the same meaning — viz., that His
speech implies antecedent faith. A more important
change is in the next verse, where all men are declared
to be not "liars," which here must mean morally
false, but " a lie" — that is, an uncertain dependence,
upon which no one can count. In cxix. 61 " The
bands of the wicked have robbed me" becomes " The

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 127
cords of the wicked have wrapped me around, ' ' as
the Hebrew demands. In v. 113, for the same rea
son, " they that are of a double mind " rather than
" vain thoughts" are made the objects of the writer's
hatred. In cxxxix. 15, 16 the reference to the for
mation of man before birth is made much plainer.
" My substance was not hidden from thee" becomes
"my frame was not hidden from thee." And in
stead of the dark, " [members] which in continuance
were fashioned," we read, " which day by day were
fashioned," referring to the gradual growth of the
embryo. In cxliv. 14 a few changes made in ac
cordance with the Hebrew render the description of
prosperity stronger.
That our oxen may be well laden ;
That there be no breaking in nor going forth
And no outcry in our streets.
The Book of Proverbs. — This is the longest speci
men of the gnomic poetry of the Hebrews. In it
the didactic rather than the emotional element pre
vails, and the chief design is to give instruction by
means of maxims of wisdom conveyed in a condensed
and often antithetical form. And although on some
accounts this facilitates the work of the translator,
yet in other respects it makes it harder. For occa
sionally condensation is pushed to the extreme, and
there are allusions and references which are remote,
and therefore obscure.
In v. 16 the Authorized Version reads, " Let thy
fountains be dispersed abroad," etc., which is in
direct contradiction to the direction in v. 15. Some

128 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION,
remove the difficulty by inserting a not before " dis
persed," but the revision secures the same end by
throwing the verse into the form of a question, '
" Should thy springs be dispersed," etc. The bed
covering, called in the Authorized Version, viii. 16,
" carved works, fine linen of Egypt," the revision
correctly renders " striped cloths of the yarn of
Egypt." In x. 23 " It is as sport to a fool to do
mischief ; but a man of understanding hath wisdom,"
the revision reads the second clause, ' ' And so is wis
dom to a man of understanding," bringing out the
fine contrast that as a fool delights in mischief, so a
wisev man does in understanding. In xiii. 15 the
familiar sentiment, " the way of transgressors is
hard," which certainly in itself is a just and weighty
sentiment, becomes " the way of the treacherous is
rugged," which fairly represents the original. In
xvi. 1 " The preparations of the heart in man, and
the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord" falls
far short of the true sense, which is " The prepara
tions of the heart belong to man, but the answer of
the tongue is from the Lord." What is said in xviii.
23, " A man that hath friends must show himself
friendly," is true enough, but the meaning of the
Hebrew is, ' ' He that maketh many friends doeth it
to his own destruction." Indiscriminate friendship
is ruinous. It is not easy to understand the Author
ized Version in xx. 30, " The blueness of a wound
cleanseth away evil," but the revision makes the
sense plain, " Stripes that wound cleanse away evil"
— i.e., severe discipline is effectual. In xxiv. 34 (as

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 129
in vL 11) it is said to the slothful, " So shall thy pov
erty come as one that travelleth," which is not very
clear. The revision renders the concluding phrase,
"as a robber," which gives a good sense and com
pletes the parallelism. The well-known comparison
of a word fitly spoken to ' ' apples of gold in pictures
of silver" is made vivid by changing "pictures"
to " baskets, " with margin " filigree work. " The
golden fruit gleams through the meshes of the net
work. It is true, as the Authorized Yersion says in
xxviii. 25, " He that is of a proud heart stirreth up
strife," but the more exact rendering of the first
words is " He that is of a greedy spirit." In xxxi.
11 the Authorized Version says of the virtuous
woman that her husband trusteth in her, ' ' so that
he shall have no need of -spoil," but the revision, fol
lowing the Hebrew, says, "And he shall have no
lack of gain."
Ecclesiastes. — This book, although claused among
the poetical writings, and though it has proverbial
utterances (as in viii. 1-14), and at least in one place
a passage of lofty poetical feeling (xi. 9 — xii. 8), still
in the main belongs rather to prose, and accordingly
is printed as such. It is one of the most difficult
books of the Old Testament, and its age and author
ship are still stoutly contested. Many of its utter
ances are obscure in whatever way they are trans
lated, and in these the pains taken by the revisers
show little fruit. But there are others in which a
slight change adds greatly to the case of compre
hension.

130 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
In i. 11 " There is no remembrance of former
things, " the revision puts generations as the supplied
word, which agrees better with the Hebrew and the
connection, making the whole verse a declaration of
the emptiness of all earthly fame ; a fitting conclu
sion to the prologue of this melancholy book. In v.
14 occurs an utterance, often repeated afterward,
' ' All is vanity and vexation of spirit. ' ' The revision,
in conformity with most critics, renders, "All is
vanity and a striving after wind." In ii. 25 " For
who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more
than I ?" the revision removes an obscurity by ren
dering the second clause, " who can have enjoy
ment ?" There is a very great gain in the new ren
dering of vii. 11, "Wisdom is good with an in
heritance, and by it there is profit to them that see
the sun." The revision renders more accurately,
" wisdom is as good as an inheritance ; yea, more
excellent is it for them that see the sun." In xi.
10 it is said, "childhood and youth are vanity."
The sense is more plain in the revision, " youth and
the prime of life are vanity." In the fine descrip
tion of old age in the last chapter of the book, in
stead of " desire shall fail" (v. 5), the new render
ing is "the caper-berry (a restorative and stimulating
article of food) shall fail" — i.e., lose its power to
rouse and revive. In v. 11, instead of " nails fastened
by the masters of assemblies,' ' it is the words of
these masters that are compared to nails well fast
ened. In the last verse but one the revision retains
the words by which the Authorized Version en-

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 131
forces the charge to fear God and keep His com
mandments, " For this is the whole duty of man,"
but in the margin gives what many consider the only
possible rendering of the Hebrew, " this is the duty
of all men."
The Song of Solomon. — The pious instinct of
believers in every age and land, aided by the general
analogy of Scripture — an analogy running all the way
through from the Pentateuch to the Apocalypse — has
discerned the figurative meaning of this Song of
songs, as it is justly entitled, and has joyfully used
it for the purposes for which it was made a part of
divine revelation. But" its exquisite literary beauty
as a Hebrew pastoral, and one exceeding all other
poems of the kind, has in large measure escaped the
common apprehension, because its peculiar form as a
dramatic song, implying two chief interlocutors and
a sort of refrain or chorus, has not been recognized.
It is desirable that this should be expressed in some
way, and if not by attaching names (e.g., Solomon
and the Shulamite) to the mutual responses, at least
by putting a space between them, to indicate that
there is a dialogue. The poem turns upon the ex
pression of the strongest passion of our nature, and is
marked with Oriental abandon, yet, unlike all other
pastorals, Latin, Greek or Eastern, it has not the
vestige of a putrid stain, and nowhere needs to be
apologized for or to have omissions marked with
stars. ^An unseen but irresistible hand warded off
the touch of pollution, and kept the emotion which
glows like a very flame of Jehovah from overleaping

132 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
decorum or modesty. No part of the poetical books
more required the hand of revision, since in the
common version the connection of the paragraphs
was not exhibited, and the force of not a few terms
was misunderstood. It would be claiming too much
to assert that all infelicities have been removed in
the present revision, but it is certain that a very
great improvement has been made. The dramatic
element is brought out, the poetry is made clearer,
the descriptions are rendered intelligible, and the
general effect of the entire song is made obvious to
the careful reader. It should be added that the dis
tribution into paragraphs is not arbitrary or a matter
of mere taste, but determined by the changes of
gender in the Hebrew, which clearly show whether
it is the Shulamite or the object of her affection that
is speaking. Thus it is the bride who calls herself
" a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys,' ' and accord
ingly it is a male voice that responds, " As a lily
among thorns, so is my love among the daughters."
In i. 15 the Authorized Yersion has "thou hast
doves' eyes," but the true sense is " thine eyes are
as doves" — i.e., resemble their plumage. In ii. 5
"flagons" is changed to "raisins," meaning the
pressed cakes of that fruit. In v. 7 the adjuration
to the daughters of Jerusalem, " stir not up nor
awake my love till he please " is made to read, " nor
awake love until it please" — i.e., till love awakes
of itself. (And so in iii. 5 and viii. 4.) Genuine
love is a shy and gentle affection which dreads intru
sion and delights in spontaneity.

CHANGES IN THE POETICAL BOOKS. 133
The 13th verse has its point and poetry well
brought out by the accurate rendering :
The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,
And the vines are in blossom,
They give forth their fragrance.
The obscure clause in the next verse, " secret places
of the stairs," is made plain by the literal version,
"the covert of the steep place." That iii. 7 gives
the answer to the question in the verse preceding
"who is this that cometh out of the wilderness,"
etc., is shown by the rendering, " Behold, it is the
litter of Solomon." This litter is spoken of again
(v. 9) not as " a chariot" (Authorized Yersion), but
as " a palanquin," a portable seat or couch, the costly
structure of which is then recounted. In iv. 3 (and
vi. 7) the temples of the bride are compared to a
piece of pomegranate, not " within thy locks," as the
Authorized Version, but "behind thy vail." The
pleasing combination of white and red shines through
the diaphanous material. In vi. 12 the clause, ' ' my
soul made me like the chariots of Ammi-nadib," is
changed to " set me among the chariots of my willing
.people," which suggests some meaning congruous to
the connection, while the former is hopelessly blind.
The same may be said of the change in v. 13. " The
company of two armies " is far less suggestive than
"the dance of two companies." In the seventh
chapter the Oriental coloring of the poem is pre
served by changing " shoes" of the Authorized Ver
sion into "sandals," and adding to " the joints of
thy thighs," the margin, "Thy rounded thighs,"

134 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
which is beyond doubt the true sense. For v. 9,
" The roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my
beloved, that goeth down sweetly," etc., there is the
better as well as more exact rendering,
And thy mouth like the best wine,
That goeth down smoothly for my beloved,
Gliding through the lips of those that are asleep.
In the animated description of love (viii. 6, 7) the
comparison in the words ' ' the coals thereof are
coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame" is
made much more vivid by the literal rendering,
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
A very flame of Jehovah.
In v. 12 the saying " thou, O Solomon, must
have a thousand " is very obscure in itself and in the
connection. A part of the obscurity at least is re
moved by the hteral rendering, " thou, O Solomon,
shalt have the thousand," which refers back to the
preceding verse, where a thousand pieces of silver
was mentioned as the ample product of Solomon's
vineyard at Baal-Hamon. Here the Shulamite de
clares that to him shall be the whole result of the
allegorical vineyard — viz., herself.

CHAPTER VII.
CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS.
The writings of the prophets are framed largely
on the model of the poetry of the Hebrews, and
abound in the use of parallelisms, so that by some
editors they are printed in couplets just as the
Psalms and the Song of Solomon. But as the
writers frequently give up this peculiarity, and for
the most part utter what they have to say in ordinary
prose, the revision here adheres to the usage of the
Authorized Version, making an exception only in
those cases where the poetic form and spirit plainly
contrast with that which precedes and follows, e.g.,
the prayer of Jonah and the sublime ode in the 3d
chapter of Habakkuk, and the whole of the Lamen
tations of Jeremiah, which are evidently of a lyric
character. The division into paragraphs is suggested
either by the short titles given in the text, as in Isaiah
xxi. 11, 13, where " The burden of Dumah" and
" The burden upon Arabia" obviously imply the
transition to a new theme, or by the internal structure
of other parts where the prophet passes from one sub
ject to another.
Isaiah. — In i. 31 the Authorized Version renders,
" The strong shall be as tow and the maker of it a

136 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
spark," which is very obscure. The revision re
moves the difficulty by rendering the second clause,
" and his work as a spark," which means that the
idol the strong man makes shall kindle a devouring
flame to the destruction of both. The well-known
passage in iii. 18-24, which describes the punishment
of female luxury by the removal of all ornaments of
dress, is rendered much more intelligible by attach
ing to the terms used the meaning now generally
accepted among archaeologists. It is not worth
while here to mention the items in detail, except to
say that the change in the second clause of v. 24, "in
stead of a girdle a rope," suggests the contrast be
tween a richly ornamented belt and the common rope
used by the poorest classes. In the fourth chapter
the revision, putting the new paragraph at the sec
ond verse, makes the connection much more clear,
since the first verse evidently belongs to what pre
cedes. In v. 17, "Then shall the lambs feed after
their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones
shall strangers eat," the changes of "after their
manner" to "as in their pasture," and of " strang
ers " into "wanderers," bring out the sense that
the lands of the Jews are to become a mere pasture
ground' for the flocks of wandering shepherds. The
comparison of Israel with a teil tree casting its
leaves, in vi. 13, is dark in the Authorized Version,
but becomes clear when the land is said to be com
pared to a terebinth or an oak whose stock (or sub
stance) remaineth even when they are felled, and can
again put forth shoots. So with Israel : after repeated

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 137
desolations, still there is a holy seed, a remnant accord
ing to the election of grace (Rom. xi. 5), to be the
stock thereof. In vii. 15, " Butter and honey shall he
eat that he may know to refuse the evil and choose the
good," the change of " that he may know" to " when
he knoweth," shows that even when the child to be
born comes to the age when he discerns between
good and evil, he is to eat " butter (curds) and
honey," the diet of a sparse population and a neg
lected tillage ; a token that God's judgments have
come. So in the next verse we are not to read,
"the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of
both her kings," which is not what Isaiah' means to
say, but " the land whose two kings thou abhorrest
shall be forsaken. ' ' The alterations in v. 25 make
plain its meaning that even the hills which once had
been carefully cultivated should become mere hunt
ing grounds and pastures. In viii. 12 a " confeder
acy" is properly changed into "conspiracy," since
the Hebrew word means a treasonable combination.
The dark clause that ends v. 19, " for the living to
the dead," becomes luminous by supplying what is
implied. " For (or, in behalf of) the living should
they seek unto the dead ?' ' a pungent rebuke of
all necromancy, modern as well as ancient. The
ninth chapter has its true force and beauty brought
out by a number of changes. In v. 1 Isaiah does
not foretell affliction to the land of Zebulon, etc.,
but says that as before it was abased now it should
be glorious. So in v. 3, instead of the conundrum
of the Authorized Yersion, " multiplying the nation

138 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
and not increasing the joy," the revision takes the
reading of the Keri, and renders " Thou hast multi
plied the nation, thou hast increased their joy,"
which just suits the context. In v. 5 the Author
ized Version, " Every battle of the warrior is with
confused" noise, and garments rolled in blood ; but
this shall be with burning and fuel of fire," is hope
less, for the connection has no reference to two
sorts of battles. The revision says, " For all the
armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the gar
ments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for fuel
of fire." So complete shall be the reign of peace
that all the means and appurtenances of warfare
shall be utterly consumed. It was a felicitous illus
tration of the terms of this prophecy when, at the
close of the Sepoy rebellion, large bodies of the
natives were disarmed, and it took a week or more
to consume by fire the immense number of varied
weapons that were surrendered.*
*This verse is one of those quoted by Mr. Matthew Arnold
in his " Isaiah of Jerusalem" as illustrating his views of the
method to be adopted by revisers of the English Bible. He
quotes the amended version of Prof. Kobertson Smith and also
that of Mr. Cheyne, and condemns both as lacking the excel
lence of the old version. " The charm has vanished never to
return." What now is this charm? He confesses the incor
rectness of the verse as it stands, saying frankly, " No one of
us understands clearly what this means, and, indeed, a clear
meaning is not to be got out of the words, which are a mis
translation." But then to balance this evil, "they have a
magnificent glow and movement,'- "they delight the ear and
move us." Could there be » more conspicuous instance of
dilettanteism ? Men are moved not by sense, but by sound.

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 139
In xiii. 22 we read, " The wild beasts of the
islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons
in their pleasant palaces," but the revision is more
correct, as well as clearer and more forcible, in read-
They hear or read something. They do not know what it
means. It conveys no distinct idea to the mind. Yet somehow
the pomp of words tickles the ear and awakens agreeable sen
sations. And therefore the unintelligible version is to be pre
ferred to one which, without being particularly smooth, is cer
tainly correct ! I submit that this is true neither in literature
nor in religion. In the case of any ordinary work of letters no
sensible person would accept a beautiful but senseless transla
tion in place of one that gave the meaning of the original, and
he would deem it an insult to his understanding to be asked to
do such a thing. Much more is this the case when the work in
question is a sacred one — nay, even claims to be a divine mes
sage. Here it is not the words, but the meaning that is in the
words, that is intended for human instruction and guidance.
God is "a God of knowledge," and Ha requires knowledge in
acceptable worshippers. Truth is His great means for turning
men from sin to holiness, and after they have made that turn,
for building them up into the complete likeness of their Saviour.
Nothing can be done without this. Impressions made by any
thing else, no matter how deep or thrilling, are as evanescent
as the dew that goeth early away. The servant of Gqd is strong
and stable just in proportion to the amount of divine truth
he has understood and appropriated and made absolutely his
own. It is impossible that words that are not understood can
have this effect. Whatever influence they exert " upon soul
and spirit" is superficial and temporary. Take the case of this
very verse. Is there any comparison between a vague impres
sion of power and grandeur made by confused noise and garments
rolled in blood as features of a battle, and the weighty truth
taught by a correct version, that so mighty is the power of the
coming Prince of Peace that even all the weapons of war, offen
sive or defensive, shall be utterly destroyed ?

140 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
ing — "wolves shall cry in their castles, and jackals
in their pleasant palaces, " a vivid picture of desola
tion. In xiv. 29, 31 the misleading " Palestina"
is rightly changed to " Philistia ;" for what is meant
is not the entire holy land, but the southwest coast-
plain from Ekron to Gaza, as in Ps. Ix. 8. In xvi. 1
the change of the to a in the phrase " in the night"
expresses what is the fact, that the ruin of Moab
came in a single night. The change of the futures
into presents in vv. 2-5 is according to the original,
and makes the picture much more vivid. In xvii. 9
the Authorized Version says of the strong cities that
they " shall be as a forsaken bough or an uttermost
branch, which they left because of the children of
Israel." The revision renders more intelligently and
accurately "shall be as the forsaken places in the
wood and on the mountain top, which were forsaken
from before the children of Israel. ' ' Even fortified
cities shall become as desolate as the forests and hill
tops which were forsaken at the time of the Con
quest. In the remainder of the chapter the altera
tions are too many to be noticed in detail, but all are
sustained by authority, and add exceedingly to the
force of the passage. In xviii. 1, 2 the enigmatical
description of Ethiopia is made clear by changing
" Woe to the land shadowing with wings" into " Ah
the land of the rustling of wings,' ' and the direction,
" to a nation scattered and peeled, ... a nation
meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers
have spoiled," so as to read "to a nation tall and
smooth, ... a nation that meteth out and treadeth

CHANGES IN THE ^PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 141
down, whose land the rivers divide " — a very lively
description of a land occupied by a great and power
ful people, here understood by most critics to be
Ethiopia. In xix. 10 the Authorized Version,
" And they shall be broken in the purposes thereof,
all that make sluices and ponds for fish," being con
fessedly a mistranslation, the revision reads, "And
her pillars shall be broken in pieces, all that work for
hire shall be grieved in soul. ' '
In xxi. 8 "And he cried, a lion," which makes
no sense, is turned into " he cried as a Hon " — i.e.,
as when a lion roareth (Rev. x. 3). In xxii. 17, in
stead of threatening "a mighty captivity," which
scarcely applies to a single person, the revision says
that "the Lord will hurl thee away violently as a
strong man, yea, He will wrap thee up closely," the
purpose of which is shown in the next verse, " will
toss thee like a ball into a large country." In xxiii.
4, 14, the abstract " strength" is properly changed
to the concrete " stronghold," and in v. 10 " Pass
through thy land as a river" is made " Overflow thy
land as the Nile." The familiar direction (xxiv.
15) " Glorify the Lord in the fires" is necessarily
changed to " Glorify the Lord in the East," which
most critics agree to be the meaning. The old ver
sion made a good motto for the afflicted believer,
but there is a plenty of others as excellent in the Old
Testament as well as in the New. In xxvi. 19, instead
of " Thy dead men shall five, together with my dead
body shall they arise," we have the briefer and
clearer figure of a resurrection, " Thy dead shall

142 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
live ; my dead bodies shall arise." A beautiful an
ticipation of the later revelation that Christ's people
even in the grave are still united to Him and are
His. In ch. xxvii. are numerous changes, among <
them one which obliterates the familiar utterance !
"He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the'
east wind" (v. 8), because faithfulness requires that
the first part of it should be rendered, "He hath
removed her with His rough blast," reciting not a
promise but a judgment. In xxviii. 7 the omission
of the supplied words in the Authorized Yersion
" must be," shows that the statement " it is precept
upon precept, line upon fine," simply continues the
charge in the preceding verse that the prophet speaks
to the people as to children. In xxx. 7 another
familiar saying, " Your strength is to sit still," dis
appears, because the Hebrew is simply a conclusion
from the previous assertion of Egypt's inability to
help, and means, " therefore have 1 called her
Rahab (or arrogance) that sitteth still." In xxxi. 9,
instead of "he shall pass over to his stronghold for
fear," the true rendering is that the stronghold itself
shall cease to exist, "his rock shall pass away by
reason of terror." In xxxiii. 18, instead of " Thine
heart shall meditate terror," as if in view of a pres
ent or coming calamity, the revision reads, " Thine
heart shall muse on the terror" — viz., that which
has passed away. Hence is added the inquiry, what
has become of 'those who caused it but have now
disappeared. " Where is he that counted, where is
he that weighed the tribute ? where is he that counted

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 143
the towers ?" In xxxvi. 12 a very desirable euphe
mism is introduced. In xii. 2, instead of " who raised
up the righteous man," etc., the revision reads,
" who hath raised up one from the East whom He
calleth in righteousness to His foot ?" thus transfer
ring the righteousness from Cyrus (the one here in
tended) to Him who called him. In xiii. 21 the
force of the familiar text about magnifying the
law is enhanced by putting the whole verse into
one sentence, " It pleased the Lord for His righteous
ness' sake to magnify the law and make it honor
able." In xlvi. 1 the obscure archaism, " your car
riages were heavy loaden" is relieved so as to give
liveliness to the picture of idols captured and re
moved — " the things that ye carried about are made
a load, a burden to the weary beast." In xlvii. 1 the
clauses, "sit on the ground; there is no throne,"
are, with a manifest improvement, thrown into on_e,
" Sit on the ground without a throne," to express
Babylon's humiliation. In xlix. 5, by using the read
ing of the Hebrew Keri, the sense is greatly im
proved. Instead of rendering " And now saith the
Lord . . . Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall
"I be glorious," etc., the revision reads, " And now
saith the Lord that formed me to be His servant, to
bring Jacob again to Him, and that Israel be gathered
unto Him (for I am honorable in the eyes of the
Lord, and my God is become my strength) : yea,
He saith, It is too light a thing," etc. In v. 7, " be
cause of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy
One of Israel, and he shall choose thee," gram-

144 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
mar and sense are both consulted in changing " and
He shall choose thee" to " who hath chosen thee."
In 1. 11 the Authorized Yersion reads, ' ' Behold all ye
that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with
sparks ; walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks
that ye have kindled." The revision puts it, " Be
hold, all ye that kindle a fire, that gird yourselves
about with firebrands ; get you into the flame of
your fire, and among the brands ye have kindled."
This change makes more striking the obvious sense
of the passage that the fire which God's foes pre
pare for His servants shall be the cause and means of
their own destruction. A more exact rendering of
li. 14, " The captive exile hasteth that He may be
loosed, and that he should not die," etc., makes it as
sert not an effort toward freedom, but its actual ac
complishment. " The exile shall speedily be loosed,
and he shall not die, ' ' etc.
The 53d chapter of the evangelical prophet has so
long been endeared to the hearts of devout believers
that nearly every word has become sacred, like the
psalms, and no change can fail to give a shock to
many readers. Yet the conviction of scholars is uni
versal that in not a few instances the common ver
sion fails to give the exact sense of the original.
The revision begins the pericope with lii. 13, as is
certainly right, and removes the needless and dis
turbing confusion of tenses in vv. 2, 3, such as " He
shall grow up;" " when we shall see him ;" "He
is despised and rejected. ' ' The correction of these
makes the description more coherent and impressive,

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 145
as one continuous picture of lowliness and rejection.
In v. 3, instead of "we hid as it were our faces
from Him," there is the exacter rendering, " as one
from whom men hide their face, He was despised,"
etc. The difficult 8th verse, "He was taken from
prison and from judgment ; and who shall declare
His generation" is made plainer by rendering, " By
oppression and judgment He was taken away ; and
who considereth His generation ?" Yet it is the
opinion of not a few of the learned that it would be
better to substitute for the latter clause what is given
in the margin, and read thus : " As for His genera
tion, who among them considereth that He was cut
off from the land of the living for the transgression
of my people to whom the stroke was due T ' In
liv. 8 " In a little wrath I hid my face from thee"
becomes " In overflowing wrath I hid my face,"
etc., thus making a stronger contrast with the kind
ness mentioned in the next clause. In v. 12 the
promise to Zion is not " windows of agates," but
" pinnacles of rubies." * In lvi. 10, 11 the compari
son of Israel's rulers to dumb, indolent, greedy
dogs, and to faithless shepherds, is brought out much
more clearly than in the Authorized Version. The
indignant question of Jehovah at offerings made to
* The author, when he was in the East some ten years ago,
learned of a tradition current among the Mohammedan popula
tions, that one of the pinnacles of Solomon's temple terminated
in a jewel of such transcendent lustre that even in a dark night
the Bedawin women, thirty miles away beyond the Jordan, were
able to thread their needles by its light.

146 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
idols (lvii. 6), " Should 1 receive comfort in these ?"
is much better expressed by " Shall I be appeased
for these things?" In v. 13 a literal rendering
turns "vanity shall take them" into "a breath
shall carry them away." In lix. 19 the oft-quoted
text, " when the enemy shall come in like a flood,
the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against
Him," becomes, according to the tenor of modern
criticism, " For He shall come as a rushing stream
which the breath of the Lord driveth." So ren
dered, the words are a glowing description of the im
petuous progress of the name of the Lord. In Ixii.
6 the Authorized Version reads, " Ye that make
mention of the Lord, keep not silence and give Him
no rest till He establish Jerusalem." But the bold
ness and the correspondences of the original are
finely set forth in the revision, " Ye that are the
Lord's remembrancers, take ye no rest and give Him
no rest till He estabhsh," etc. Rest not yourselves,
neither let him rest.
The striking passage at the beginning of the next
chapter, " who is this that cometh from Edom, with
dyed garments from Bozrah," etc., is greatly helped
by representing the conqueror as "marching" rather
than "travelling" in the greatness of his strength,
and by a more vigorous rendering of the last clause
of v. 6, but especially by preserving the preterite
tenses of the original. Thus, J;he version adequately
represents the whole grand dramatic description of
Jehovah as a warrior on his triumphant return after
having achieved a triumphant victory. The enig-

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 147
matical close of the chapter, " We are thine ; thou
never barest rale over them : they were not called
by the name," is made coherent by the change, " We
are become as they over whom thou never barest
rule ; as they that were not called by thy name."
The similar difficulty in Ixv. 5, "in those is con
tinuance, and we shall be saved," which is unmean
ing, is removed by rendering "in them [i.e., in
our sins] have we been of a long time, and shall
we be saved?" In lxv. 11, "ye that prepare a
table for that troop, and that furnish the drink unto
that number," the change of "that troop" into
"Fortune," and of "that number" into "Des
tiny," suggests to the reader -what otherwise he
would hardly conjecture, that these are names of
idol deities. In Ixvi. 2 to say, after Jehovah's asser
tion that He made heaven and earth, " and all those
things have been, ' ' is flat, but it becomes significant
in the revision, " and so all these things came to be,"
thus emphasizing the contrast between a manufact
ured universe and the nobler temple of a spiritual
nature. Jeremiah. The phrase " imagination of their
heart," which occurs iii. 17 and several times else
where, is changed to " stubbornness of their heart,"
which is what the word means. In iv. 14, "How
long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee ?' ' the
word vain ( = empty) does not express the force of
the original, and is therefore changed to evil. So in
v. 30, "thou rentest thy face with paint" becomes
" thou enlargest thine eyes with paint," because the

148 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Oriental custom was in this way to produce an ap
parent enlargement of the eye. In vi. 29 the fine
figure of the prophet is obscure. " The bellows
are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire ; the
founder melteth in vain." The revision is more
accurate. " The bellows blow fiercely ; the lead is
consumed of the fire ; in vain do they go on refin
ing." That is, no matter how severe the smelting
process, there is no good result. The wicked re
main, and Israel becomes " refuse silver." In viii.
8, to the people's claim, " We are wise, and the law
of the Lord is with us," the Authorized Version
says, " Lo, certainly in vain made He it ; the pen
of the scribes is in vain," but the revision gives the
better and clearer sense, " But, behold, the false pen
of the scribes hath wrought falsely." You have the
law, but your scribes have turned it into a he. In
x. 21 and elsewhere " pastors" is changed into " shep
herds" to avoid ambiguity. In xi. 19, "I was like a
lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter," " a
lamb or an ox" is changed into " a gentle lamb,"
which is just as correct, and more suitable. The second
member of the fine antithesis in xii. 5 is in the Au
thorized Version " if in the land of peace wherein
thou trustedst they wearied thee, then how wilt thou
do in the swelling of Jordan ?" but tbe revision ren
ders more exactly, " though in a land of peace thou
art secure, yet how wilt thou do in the pride of
Jordan ?" In xiv. 2 the Authorized Version says of
the gates of Judah that " they are black unto the
ground," but the revision resolves the pregnant ex-

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 149
pression of the Hebrew into " they sit in black upon
the ground ;" and in v. 6, instead of saying that the
wild asses " snuffed up the wind like dragons," says
they "pant for air like jackals." In xvii. 11 the
partridge that ' ' sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them
not" becomes "the partridge that gathereth young
which she hath not brought forth ;" meaning that as
these young when aware of the fraud forsake the
false mother, so riches wrongly gotten forsake the
unlawful owner. In xviii. 14 the enigmatical ques
tion, " Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which
cometh . . . field, or shall the cold flowing waters
... be forsaken," is changed to " Shall the snow
of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field, or shall
the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried
up ;" the prophet using the perennial snows on Leb
anon and its never-failing streams to set forth the
hereditary attachment of a nation to its gods. The
striking passage xx. 7-12 is made clearer and more
vivid in the revision, but is too long to be given
here. The unmeaning direction in xxii. 20, " Cry
from the passages," is changed to " Cry from Aba-
rim," which is a mountain summit like Lebanon and
Bashan mentioned in the preceding clauses. In
xxxi. 21, " Set thee up waymarks, make thee high
heaps," the revision gives light by substituting
" guide-posts " for "high heaps." In the account
of Jeremiah's purchase of land (xxxii. 10), " I sub
scribed the evidence" very properly becomes "I
subscribed the deed." A similar change in vv. 11,
12, 14 clarifies the narrative. The prophet is said in

150 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
xxxvii. 12 to have gone out of Jerusalem " to sepa
rate himself thence," which the revision rightly turns
into " to receive a portion there," as required both
by the Hebrew and the connection, for the Author
ized Version's phrase would seem to justify the
charge of attempted desertion which his foes urged
against him. In xxxix. 2 the awkward and dubious
statement, " the city was broken up," is replaced by
"a breach was made in the city." In xii v. 21
"fatted bullocks" gives way to "calves of the
stall," the phrase used for the same Hebrew in Mai.
iv. 2. In xlviii. 12 the bold figure of the context
is preserved by changing " 1 will send wanderers
that cause him to wander" into " I will send them
that pour off and they shall pour him off." Jere
miah has compared Moab to wine that has never
been drawn off into another cask, and therefore re
tains its taste and scent unchanged. Now, however,
shall come those who will tilt up the old casks and
empty them completely. In li. 12 the direction to
the besiegers of Babylon is to set up the standard,
not " upon the wall," as the Authorized Version has
it, but "against the wall." In v. 17 the strange
utterance, " Every man is brutish by his knowledge,"
is changed to "is become brutish, and is without
knowledge," which is what the Hebrew and the
connection require. In vv. 31, 32 the Authorized
Version says that at the capture of Babylon messen
gers shewed the king that " his city is taken at one
end, and that the passages are stopped," whereas
their message was that the " city is taken on every

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 151
quarter and the passages are surprised, " which was
phe fact. So in v. 55, instead of the identical prop
osition, " when her waves do roar like great waters,
a noise of their voice is uttered," the revision gives
both sense and poetry, reading, " and their billows
roar like many waters, the noise of their voice is
uttered." The Lamentations of Jeremiah. — This book,
which is not merely poetry but poetry of a very com
plicated nature, since three of the five chapters are
alphabetical and all of very elaborate structure, is
printed in parallelisms. The sense is made clear by
a variety of minor changes. I note only a few. In
stead of saying (i. 8) that " Jerusalem is removed,"
the revision is more Hteral and clear in saying, she is
" become as an unclean thing." (The same change
is made in Ezek. vii. 19, 20.) A similar phrase is em
ployed euphemistically and wisely at the close of v.
17 and also in Ezek. xviii. 6. In ii. 20 " children
of a span long" are changed into " children dandled
in the hands," as modern criticism demands. The
triplet in iii. 28-30, " He sitteth alone and keepeth
silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He
putteth his mouth in the dust ; if so be there may
be hope. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth
him : he is filled with reproach," is made clearer
by turning the verbs from the present into the
cohortative, according to the Hebrew, and changing
" borne " into " laid." The passage then is an ad
dress concerning the sufferer.

152 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Let him sit alone and keep silence, because He [i.e. God] hath
laid it upon him.
Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may be hope.
Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him ; let him be
filled full with reproach.
Ezekiel. — In i. 15 we read, " behold, one wheel
upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four
faces," as if there was only a single wheel for the
whole. The true sense is given in the revision,
" behold one wheel upon the earth beside the living
creatures, for each of the four faces thereof," which
is what the Hebrew means. In iii. 21 the Author
ized Version represents the penitent man as delivered
"because he is warned." But the impenitent was
likewise warned, and the revision therefore shows
the difference by rendering, as the original admits,
"because he took warning. " The curious utterance
respecting the wheels of the cherubic vision, x. 13, " it
was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel !" is
supplanted by the simpler and more accurate state
ment, " they were called in my hearing, the whirl
ing wheels." In xi. 16 the familiar phrase " a little
sanctuary '' disappears in the revision, because the
promise really is that God will become a sanctuary
"for a little while" — i.e., during the provisional
period of exile. Hence the loss is only in expres
sion. The substance of the promise in the Author
ized Version remains. In xvi. 4, "to supple thee"
is made " to cleanse thee ;" v. 12, " a jewel on thy
forehead" becomes " a ring upon thy nose ;" v. 14,
"comeliness" is turned into "majesty;" v. 24,

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 153
" high place " becomes " lofty place," to distinguish
this term from another usually so rendered ; v. 49,
"abundance of idleness" is made "prosperous
ease' ' — all of which are changes required by modern
lexicography. In xviii. 24 the Authorized Version
preserves a Hebraism, " all his righteousness that
he hath done shall not be mentioned," which in
English implies that some of it might be, whereas
the sense is just the reverse; as given in the revision,
" None of his righteous deeds . . . shall be remem
bered. " * In the 20th chapter the word ' ' pol
luted " is in seven cases changed to "profaned,"
which is the exact meaning of the original ; but in vv.
26, 31, 43 it is retained because it translates another
Hebrew verb. The printing of " South" with a
capital initial letter indicates that the reference is
not to a point of the compass, but to a specific
region known as the Negeb or South. In ch. xxi.
8-17 the vivid description of the sword which is to
overthrow Babylon is freed from obscurities in the
revision — e.g., the statement, v. 15, "it is made
bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter, ' ' is thus
illumined, " it is made as lightning, it is pointed for
slaughter." So in v. 21, instead of "he made his
arrows bright, he consulted with images," we read,
" he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the
teraphim" (household gods), both of these being cus
tomary forms of divination. The well-known pas-
* A similar retention of a misleading Hebrew idiom is found
in Ps. ciii. 2, "And forget not all His benefits," where the
meaning is, "Forget none of His benefits."

154 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
sage, vv. 25-27, " And thou, profane wicked prince
of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have
an end. Thus saith the Lord God, Remove the dia
dem, and take off the crown : this shall not be the
same : exalt him that is low and abase him that is
high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn," etc.,
retains its general character as an address to Zedekiah,
but the change of "diadem" to "mitre" indicates
that the .revolution predicted was to include the
priesthood as well as the royalty. " And" thou, O
deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel,
whose day is come, in the time of the iniquity of the
end, thus saith the Lord God : Remove the mitre
and take off the crown : this shall be no more the
same : exalt that which is low, and abase that which
is high. 1 will overturn, overturn, overturn it :
this also shall be no more until he come whose right
it is ; and I will give it him." No overturning, how
ever, would be final until He came whose is the right.
In v. 30 the question, " Shall I cause it to return into
his sheath ?" is properly transformed into a command,
" Cause it to return into its sheath," etc., an impres
sive statement of the fact that the sword's work is
over. In xxiv. 3, "Set on a pot" becomes "Set
on the caldron,' ' the one mentioned in xi. 3 ; and in
v. 12 the revision shows how ineffectual was the
effort to burn away the filth — " She hath wearied
herself with toil ; j'et her great rust goeth not out
of her; her rust goeth not forth by fire," a view
, wholly misconceived in the Authorized Version.
The description of Tyre's wealth and commerce

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 155
(ch. xxviii.) is rendered more intelligible. Instead
of "the company of Ashurites have made thy
benches of ivory," we read, " they have made thy
benches of ivory inlaid with boxwood ;" and in
stead of " The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in
thy market" (v. 25), there is the fine figure that
these-ships " were thy caravans for thy merchandise. "
Injthe last four verses the change of the futures into
preterites is more literal, and adds greatly to the
effectiveness of the wail. In the reproof of Tyre's
claim of divinity, xxviii. 6, the weak dilution of the
Authorized Version, " but thou shalt be a man"
gives way to the vigorous, " but thou art man." In
vv. 16-19 the change of the futures of the Author
ized Version into preterites is a gain in accuracy
and vividness. In xxxii. 2 " whale" is changed to
" dragon," which better represents the crocodile of
Egypt than an animal whose habitat is the ocean.
In v. 6 " water-courses " is substituted for " rivers,"
because in the land referred to, Egypt, there is but
one river, which, however, has many artificial chan
nels. In the description of the valley of dry bones
(xxxvii.), the change of " shaking " (v. 7) into
" earthquake" gives the striking sense of the orig
inal, and that of the statement " we are cut off for
our parts" into "we are clean cut off," converts
obscurity into lucidness. Inxxxviii. 2, 3, " the chief
prince" is made " prince of Rosh," according to
the general consent of modern critics. In xii v. 23
is a change which occurs also elsewhere — viz., that
of " the holy and profane " into " the holy and the

156 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
common," the last term implying only what is not
consecrated. Daniel. — In ii. 30 the Authorized Version makes
Daniel say that the secret was revealed to him " for
their sakes that shall make known the interpreta
tion," but the revision gives it more accurately " to
the intent that the interpretation may be made
known." The difference is considerable. In iii.
25 the king says, in the Authorized Version, that
the form of the fourth person seen in the furnace
"is like the Son of God," which 4he revision
changes properly to " a son of the gods," which is
all that the original means or can mean. In vi. 7,
8, etc., " decree" becomes "interdict," because the
original word means a prohibitory decree. In vii.
9 " the thrones were cast down" is changed to
" thrones were placed," in accordance with the older
versions and most moderns, and with the connection.
In viii. 9 " the pleasant land " becomes " the glori
ous land," in accordance with the rendering of the
same word in Ezek. xx. 6, 15, and also with the
Authorized Version's usage in Dan. xi. 16, 41. In
v. 13 " saint" becomes " a holy one," for the same
reason that a like change was made in Job v. 1 and
xv. 15 — viz., that " saint" is usually understood to
mean a human being, whereas " a holy one" may
be either angelic or human. In v. 17 the obscure
utterance, " at the time of the end shall be the
vision," gives place to the more literal, " the vision
belongeth to the time of the end." A similar
emendation is found in vv. 19, 26. In the famous

CHANGE3 IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 157
passage' at the close of ch. ix. many will be disap
pointed to find that " Messiah," which is simply the
Hebrew word in English letters, has disappeared,
while instead of it appears the translation of its mean
ing — viz., "the anointed one." This is the only
case in Scripture where the word is given in the
Authorized Version as a proper name, and the re
visers thought proper to assimilate it to the numerous
other passages (e.g., Lev. iv. 3 ; I. Chron. xvi. 22 ;
Ps. ii. 2), where it is uniformly rendered "anoint
ed." But whether so late as the time of Daniel,
the word had not come to have a specific reference
to the future deliverer who was to exhaust the mean
ing of anointing in all its applications, may be a
question. In favor of the revisers' rendering is the
fact that in the Hebrew neither this word nor the
next one has the article, so that a literal rendering
would be "an anointed one, a prince." But quite
apart from the matter of translation is the question
whether the reference is to an earthly deliverer, like
Cyrus, or to Him of whom Andrew said to his
brother Peter (John i. 41), " We have found the
Messiah (which is, being interpreted, Christ)."
The latter half of the 25th verse conforms as
closely as possible to the original. In the next v^rse
many will be surprised to miss the phrase about
Messiah's being cut off " but not for himself," but
it is the general opinion of scholars that this is an
impossible translation. The words "are " there shall
not be to him," and we may supply, to complete the
sense, " a successor," or " a people," or, as the re-

158 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
vision, " anything." The latter part of the verse
follows the Hebrew closely ; instead of " and unto
the end of the war desolations are determined," the
revision reads " and even unto the end shall be war ;
desolations are decreed." In the last verse, "con
firm the covenant," which is hardly a rendering, is
changed to "make a firm covenant." The latter
half of the verse, shunning the obscurity of the
Authorized Version, takes the form most agreeable
to current critical opinion : " upon the wing (or pin
nacle) of abominations shall come one that maketh
desolate ; and even unto the consummation, and that
decreed, shall wrath be poured out upon the desola-
tor." Of course, in a passage which has been fought
over for ages by all classes of critics, no one can
furnish a version which will be universally accepted.
But any candid judge must admit that the revision
excels the common version in strictness and clearness
of rendering, as well as in freedom from dogmatic
bias. The twelve Minor Prophets constitute the most
generally neglected portion of the Old Testament,
partly because they abound in obscure and difficult
passages, partly because the historic period and rela
tions of these writers are not understood, and also
because they are less frequently made" the subject of
popular comment in the pulpit or the press. Many
otherwise intelligent believers would be puzzled to
recite their names in the order of their occurrence or
otherwise, and much more to indicate their differ-

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 159
ences as to subject, style, purpose, ability or literary
merit. The evil has been increased by the fact that
here the authors of the common version were less
successful than elsewhere, and sometimes by infelici
tous renderings made the sacred writers more obscure
than they naturally are. The revision of course
does not solve all difficulties and make all rough
places plain, but if it smooths the path for the Eng
lish reader and perceptibly aids him in reaching the
mind of the Spirit, the benefit will not be small to
the church of God.
Hosea. — In ii. 21, 22 the verb " hear" is changed
to "answer," which is the proper sense of the
Hebrew. When the heavens ask to send their rain
upon the earth, God will answer them, and when
the earth asks rain the heavens will answer, and so
throughout the series of bold personifications. In
iv. 16, " For Israel slideth back like a blacksliding
heifer," the revision reverts to the true meaning
of the original, which is that Israel hath behaved
himself stubbornly like a stubborn [or refractory] ¦
heifer. In v. 18, "her rulers with shame do love,
Give ye," which is almost unintelligible, is re
placed by "her rulers dearly love shame" — i.e.,
what is shameful. In v. 10 "the princes of Judah
are like them that remove the bound," the change
of "bound" into "landmark" makes the sense
more obvious. In vi. 3 the fine passage, " Then
shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord ; His
going forth is prepared as the morning ; and He
shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and

160 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
former rain unto the earth," has its full beauty
brought out by a stricter rendering — " Let us know,
let us follow on to know the Lord ; His going forth
is sure as the morning ; and He shall come unto us
as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the
earth." The sense is both clearer and richer. We
read in v. 4 concerning Judah's goodness that " as
the early dew it goeth away ;" but all dew is early,
and the revision amends in accordance with the He
brew, and reads, " the dew that goeth early away,"
which well represents the evanescent piety of the
people. The same phrase occurs in xiii. 3, where
the same emendation is made. The use of "goeth"
in one passage and " passeth" in the other to render
the same Hebrew verb, is a variation retained from
the Authorized Version.
A striking alteration is found in v. 7, where in
stead of saying that " they like men have trans
gressed the covenant," the revision reads, " they like
Adam have transgressed," etc., which is certainly a
possible translation, and to many far more ex
pressive than the common version. In ch. vii. are
many obscurities inherent in the brief elliptical style
of the prophet. Verse 4 shows one that belongs to
the translators. It is hard to see any meaning in the
words " who ceaseth from raising after he hath
kneaded the dough until it be leavened," but the
revision reads, " he ceaseth to stir the fire from the
kneading of the dough," etc. — i.e., the oven of the
baker, to which the people burning with lust are
compared, is so hot that he needs no more to add

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 161
fuel. In viii. 12 the Authorized Version reads, " I
have written to him the great things of my law,"
but the revision (following the Kethib) renders,
" Though I write for him my law in ten thousand
precepts," etc., referring to the myriads of instruc
tions the people had enjoyed. In x. 1 it is said,
" Ephraim is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit
unto himself," certainly a very suggestive sentiment ;
but modern critics agree to the rendering of the re
vision, which manifestly suits the connection better,
" Israel is a luxuriant vine which putteth forth his
fruit." But his prosperity only made him more
devoted to idols. In xii. 3 an obvious contrast is
obscured in the version, " He took his brother by
the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had
power with God." The revision reads, "In the
womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his
manhood he had power with God," thus comparing
together Jacob's earliest years and his adult vigor.
In xiii. 9 the Authorized Version, " O Israel, thou
hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thine help,"
just and weighty as it is in itself, is not a fair ren
dering. The revision gives the true sense : " It is
thy destruction, O Israel, that thou art against me,
against thy help." In xiv. 2, " So will we render
the calves of our lips" is against Hebrew grammar,
as well as obscure. The revision reads, " so will we
render as bullocks the offering of our lips" — i.e.,
thankful praise will take the place of sacrificial offer
ings, which is doubtless the meaning hinted at in
the Authorized Version.

162 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Joel. — The chief changes here are in the tense
forms. The vividness of the description of the
locusts' invasion in the second chapter is greatly in
creased by putting the verbs in vv. 3-11 in the pres
ent. The prophet speaks as if the whole scene were
passing before his eyes. In v. 8 the mysterious ut
terance " when they fall upon the sword, they shall
not be wounded " is greatly relieved by the ren
dering, " they burst through the weapons, they break
not off their course." There is a gain also in chang
ing the tenses in vv. 18, 19, for, according to the
Hebrew, the prophet tells, not what the Lord will do,
but what He has done.
Amos. — In this prophet all obscurity is not re
moved, but light is given to many passages that per
plex the ordinary reader. In ii. 13 the Authorized
Version, " 1 am pressed under you as a cart," etc., is
exactly reversed, according to the original, " Behold,
I will press you in your place as a cart presseth that is
full of sheaves." And this better suits the connec
tion. In iii. 12 the incongruity of describing the
rescue of Israel from Samaria and at the same time
from Damascus, is remedied by changing "in Da
mascus in a couch" into " on the silken cushions of a
bed." In v. 9 the description of Jehovah as one
" that strengthened the spoiled against the strong"
is turned so as to show his punitive majesty, " that
bringeth sudden destruction upon the strong so that
destruction cometh upon the fortress." And this
better suits the connection. In the symbolic vision,
vii. 4, the fire is said in the Authorized Version to

CHANGES IN THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS. 163
" have devoured the great deep and did eat up a
part." A part of what, the reader asks, but asks in
vain. The revision solves the riddle by rendering
the last clause, " and would have eaten up the land,"
which makes sense, and probably conveys the true
meaning. In viii. 8 and ix. 5 the change of " flood "
into " River" brings out the meaning of the figure
employed — viz. , the land shall rise and fall just as the
Nile rises, overflows and then subsides. So in ix. 6
the description of the Lord's work becomes clearer.
It is His " chambers" not " stories" that He builds
in heaven, and it is not " a troop" but " a vault"
or arch that He founds upon the earth.
Obadiah. — In vv. 11-14 the Authorized Version
resolves the imperatives of the Hebrew into subjunc
tives — " Thou shouldst not have looked," etc.,
" shouldst not have entered," etc. But the revision
with most critics keeps the form of the Hebrew,
" Look not thou on the day of thy brother in the day
of his disaster, and rejoice not," etc. The words of
the prophet are addressed to the Edomitesbv way of
apostrophe, just as if he saw them actually pursuing
the unbrotherly conduct which he denounces.
Jonah. — A single change of minor importance is
noted in this prophet. In i. 11 "the sea wrought
and was tempestuous " is put into English idiom by
the phrase " became more and more tempestuous,"
which is precisely what the original means.
Micah. — In i. 15 " I will bring an heir unto thee "
sounds like a promise in the midst of denunciations,
but the word for "heir" is justly in the revision

164 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
rendered "him that shall possess thee," which is a
menace, and suits the context. And the next- clause
carries out the sentiment by saying, not as the
Authorized Version, that this new possessor "will
come unto Adullam," but that the glory of Israel
shall come even to that cave for refuge. In vi. 11,
instead of the Authorized Version, " Shall 1 count
them pure with the wicked balances ?' ' which does
violence to the verb, the revision reads, " Shall I be
pure with wicked balances," meaning that the
offender thus asks his conscience.
Nahum.^ — In the vigorous description of the assault
on Nineveh, the Authorized Version reads (ii. 3),
" the chariots shall be with flaming torches," but
the revision, " the chariots flash with steel." In iii.
2, 3 the revision does justice to the original by repre
senting the rapid movement of the assailants and the
pomp and glow of their onward rush. " The noise
of the whip, and the noise of the rattling of wheels ;
and prancing horses and jumping chariots ; the horse
men mounting, and the flashing sword and the glit
tering spear ; and a multitude of slain, and a great
heap of carcases."
Habakkuk. — The Authorized Version renders i.
11, " Then shall his mind change, and he shall pass
over and offend, imputing this his power unto his
god," but most critics understand the verse as stating
the resistless march of the invader and his self-confi
dence. " Then shall he sweep by, as a wind, and
shall pass over and be guilty, even he whose might
is his god.' ' In ii. 3 is the familiar utterance about

changes in the prophetical books. 165
the vision : " though it tarry, wait for it ; because
it will surely come, it will not tarry. ' ' The revision
changes the last word to " delay," because the He
brew has two different words for tarry, one that
means merely to linger, the other meaning a delay
that is final or too late to be rectified. The apparent
contradiction of the Authorized Version is thus shown
not to exist. In ii. 15 the Authorized Version says,
" Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that
puttest thy bottle to him," which the ignorant quote
as if it were applicable to our own day. But the
second clause is incorrectly translated, and the true
rendering is, "that addest thy venom thereto."
Thus the revision shows that there is no reference to
friendly social drinking usages, but rather to a man
who thrusts an unwelcome drink upon another on pur
pose to bring him to shame. In ii. 19 the Authorized
Version has the idol-maker saying " to the dumb
stone, Arise, it shall teach," but it is far more spir
ited to make the last words an indignant question of
the prophet—" Shall this teach ?" The brilliant ode
which occupies the third chapter is made more clear
in several places. Instead of the senseless " horns"
(v. 4), we read, ' ' He had rays coming forth from His
hand." So in v. 14, instead of " striking through
with his staves the head of villages/' we read, " Thou
didst pierce with His own staves the head of His
warriors. " The prosaic version of v. 15, " Thou didst
walk through the sea with thy horses, through the heap
of great waters, ' ' is exchanged for " Thou didst tread
the sea with thine horses, the heap of mighty waters. ' '

166 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Zephaniah. — In i. 11 " merchant people" is re
placed by " people of Canaan," whose overthrow is
mentioned in the next chapter.
Haggai. — In ii. 7 the well-known promise in ref
erence to the second temple, " the desire of all nations
shall come," is usually interpreted to mean Messiah
as the unconscious hope of the Gentiles ; but the true
rendering makes it refer to things, not persons —
" The desirable things of all nations shall come, and
I will fill this house with glory." Of course this is
a consequence of Messiah's appearance.
Zechariah. — In iii. 8 Joshua and his fellows are
called in the Authorized Version "men wondered
at." The revision gives the true and comforting
meaning — "men that are a sign" — i.e., typical
men, they who foreshadow the great future priest
upon his throne. In xii. 2 the unintelligible phrase
" the forest of the vintage " is exchanged for " the
strong forest.' ' In xii. 2 Jerusalem is to be a cup of
reeling to all the people " when they shall be in the
siege both against Judah and Jerusalem," but coun
tries are not * besieged, and the literal rendering is,
" and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against
Jerusalem." Malachi i. 10. — Instead of the irrelevant question
of the Authorized Version, " Who among you would
shut the doors for naught V modern critics render,
as the revision, " Oh that there were one among you
that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle
fire on my altar in vain." Better no sacrifice than
one improperly offered. The well-known passage,

changes in the prophetical books. 167
iii. 17, " they shall be mine . . . when I make up
my jewels," is rendered according to the original
thus, " And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of
hosts, in the day that I do make, even a peculiar treas
ure." The Hebrew offers no suggestion that God
makes up a casket of jewels, but it does teach how
dear God's people are to Him, and how carefully
they are preserved.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE AMERICAN APPENDIX.
When the co-operation of American scholars in
the work of revision was invited, nothing was said,
perhaps nothing was even thought of, in respect to
the course to be pursued in case of a difference of
opinion between the two committees as to the pro
priety of any proposed changes. As the work went
on it became apparent that such a difference existed.
Various methods of composing it were suggested, and
there was considerable correspondence on the subject.
Finally it was agreed with great, if not entire, una
nimity, that on the one hand the American Commit
tee should recognize the moral claim of copyright on
the part of the English publishers, the Syndics of the
University presses, and for fourteen years from the
date of publication should abstain from issuing any
edition of their own, meanwhile giving the whole
weight of their influence in favor of the English
issues ; while, on the other hand, the differences of
reading or of rendering which in the view of the
American Committee were of special importance
should be inserted in an appendix to be attached to
all the English editions. There were some at least
of the American Committee to whom the plan of an

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 169
appendix was very distasteful, and who would gladly
have welcomed some other solution of the difficulty ;
but none such could be found, and accordingly all
acquiesced in the conclusion just stated. The effort
of the American Committee, then, was to reduce the
appendix to the smallest possible dimensions ; and
after receiving the final action of their British
brethren, they revised and re-revised the exceptions
they took to their results, often surrendering what
they deliberately judged to be best because it did not
seem to be of such importance as to demand distinct
mention. With these explanations the reader will
easily understand the precise force of the heading of
the appendix as given in the authorized editions.
" The American Old Testament Company, while
recognizing the cordial acceptance given to many of
their suggestions, present the following instances in
which they differ from the English Company as of
sufficient importance to be appended to the revision
in accordance with the original agreement."
These suggestions are divided into two portions,
one consisting of emendations to be applied to words
or phrases of frequent occurrence, or at least occur
ring oftener than once, and hence bearing the general
title of " classes of passages," the other of particular
instances in which a different rendering is preferred.
I. CLASSES OF PASSAGES.
I. Of these the first and most important is that
which refers to the characteristic divine name, Jehovah.
This name occurs in the Authorized Version of the

170 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Old Testament in seven places, in three of which it
is in composition, as Jehovah-Shalom (Judges vi. 24).
This number has been considerably increased in the
revision, but the American Committee think that the
change should be universal. It is well known that
the Jews cherished a superstitious dread of this name,
and while preserving its radical letters altered the
vowels, so that it is not altogether a settled question
what those vowels were, though 1 believe all admit
that they were not those represented by our English
word Jehovah. Most modern scholars propose to
express them by the form Jahveh, which is some
times by pedants introduced into popular works.
The Greek translators did not transfer the word,
but rendered it uniformly by nvpioi, and the English
translators copied their example by rendering with
the exceptions noted, Lord ; and where this occurred
in connection with another Hebrew word signifying
Lord, they rendered the compound phrase "Lord
God," thus completely hiding from the ordinary
reader the full force of the term. For "Lord"
simply conveys the ideas of authority, power and
majesty, which are abundantly conveyed by other
terms, such as El Shaddai. As is well known, God
is the ordinary title given to the Creator as supreme
and the object of worship, in which sense it is applied
to the gods of the heathen ; but Jehovah belongs
alone to the God of Israel who revealed Himself to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and it is never applied
to any other deity. There are Gods many, or many
that are so called, but there is only one Jehovah.

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 171
This is the incommunicable name. There are differ
ences of opinion as to its exact meaning, but there
is no difference as to its being the chosen and charac
teristic appellation of the God of the Scriptures, the
One who revealed Himself to His people and entered
into covenant with them. Elohim is the God of
nature, the creator and preserver of men, but Je
hovah is the God of revelation and redemption ; and
this wealth of meaning in the latter term is increased
if we regard it as involving the ideas of eternal and
immutable self-existence which its derivation is gen
erally considered to imply. Now, why should such
a peculiar and pervading feature of the living oracles
be effaced from the English Bible ? Why should a
habit, originating in nothing but superstition, be re
tained ? The only answer is the shock to usage given
by the change in such a multitude of places in the
Bible.* But this, though it be sore enough, is not
* Mr. Arnold indeed gives another reason in his "Isaiah of
Jerusalem" — viz., that Jehovah "has a mythological sound."
But how can that be, when it has for nearly three centuries
been in the Authorized Version in seven places ? Most persons
are accustomed to make a wide distinction between Scripture
and mythology. Is it possible that Mr. Arnold was influenced
by an unconscious recalling of the opening stanza of Pope's
"Universal Prayer," fitly so called, as no rational individual
could thus worship he knows not what ?
Father of all I in every age,
In every clime adored,
By saint, by savage, and by sage,
Jehovah, Jove, or Lord I
If this be so, I may be permitted to say that where one reader
of the English Bible has gotten his conception of Jehovah from

172 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
sufficient to justify so great a departure from fidelity
as is found in the common version, for this departure
operates to obscure the very thing which the author
of the Bible intended to make prominent. Words
are often things, and nowhere so clearly as in the
names of the divine Being. Witness the emphasis
laid on this word in the Old Testament and the New.
" This is my name, and this is my memorial to all
generations" (Ex. iii. 15). "His name through
f ajth in His name hath made this man strong' ' (Acts
iii. 16). The sentiment of the passage in Exodus is
reproduced in Ps. xxx. 4 (xcvii. 12), where, however,
it is quite obscured in the rendering of the Author
ized Version, which is retained in the British re
vision, " Give thanks at the remembrance of His
holiness." The true sense of the passage is :
Sing praise unto the Lord, O ye saints of His,
And give thanks to His holy memorial name.
And so in Hosea xii. 5 we read " Jehovah is His
memorial," where the whole point of the sentiment
lies in the divine name. The American Company
felt that it was due to the English reader that he
should be able to see in his Bible all the stress which
the Most High has been pleased to lay upon His
chosen characteristic name.
II. The word Sheol is rendered in the Authorized
Version variously as "the grave," "the pit" or
' ' hell. ' ' The English revisers in some cases substituted
Pope, at least fifty have drawn theirs from the occasional use of
the word in that Bible.

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 173
the transliteration of the Hebrew word, but in others
allowed the old rendering to remain. The Appendix
asks that the transliteration should be carried through
the book without exception. The reasons are that
this saves the necessity of a periphrasis, since no one
English word expresses the full sense of the Hebrew,
and it is not wise to substitute a description for a
definition. The original term, whatever be its deri
vation, simply denotes the state or place of departed
spirits, considered as the common abode of the right
eous (Gen. xxxvii. 35) and the wicked (Ps. ix. 17).
The Authorized Version's renderings of it are there
fore misleading. "Hell" in popular English is the
place of endless punishment, a sense which Sheol
never has. The grave and the pit refer primarily to
the body, and so miss the very point of Sheol, which
refers to the spirit. The only safe way is to trans
literate the word throughout, and then the English
reader, studying all the passages in which it occurs,
can arrive at his own conclusion as to its meaning.
It is of course unpleasant and undesirable to intro
duce a new and foreign word into a book for the
people, but in this case no resource is left. Any
other course would darken the mind of the Spirit.
Classes III., IV. and V. express simply a prefer
ence for modern usage over ancient. Many prefer
the archaisms as not misleading and as in keeping
with the venerable age of the Scriptures, but others
insist that the book which is put into the hands of
all the young as soon as they are able to read should
represent the grammatical forms in vogue among all

174 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
good writers of our own day. A very large majority
of the American Committee sided with the latter, and
hence the substitutions recommended.
Class VI. respects renderings in the margin that
have been borrowed from the Septuagint version, the
Vulgate or other ancient " authorities." The inser
tion of these is based on the presumption that the
variations found in these versions originated in vari
ations in the Hebrew codices, which the authors of
those versions had before them. Without denying
that such matters are well worthy of the scholar's
careful attention, the American Committee yet felt
that there was an element of uncertainty about them
which forbade the notion of presenting them even
as alternative readings in a book intended for the
people. The English Bible is a version of the He
brew Bible as we have it from the hands of them
to whom " were committed the oracles of God."
Class VII. contains a variety of details, very many
of which explain themselves, or at least suggest the
reasons for their adoption. For example, "adder"
is substituted for " basilisk," because the latter word
conveys to most readers no more meaning than the
original Hebrew would convey. Other words, such
as seethe, sod, chapiter, fenced (in the sense of forti
fied), fray, mount (in the sense of mound), ouches,
sith, tell (in the sense of number or count), are prac
tically obsolete. " A lamb of the first year "is an
ambiguous expression, but the change of the last four
words into " a year old " gives the sense of the
original clearly and exactly. The phrase " son of

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 175
Belial ' ' seems to imply that Belial, which simply
means worthlessness and then wickedness, is the name
of an evil spirit, for which there is indeed plenty of
authority in Milton but none in the Scripture, save
possibly in II. Cor. vi. 15, where Belial (true text,
Beliar) is put in opposition to Christ, and where
many think it is simply a personification of the evil
principle. It seemed to the American Company that
to resolve the phrase into its obvious meaning would
be a gain to the reader. The phrase " God forbid "
is removed, because it does not seem reverent to in
troduce the divine name in an exclamation where it
does not appear in the original. " Lamp" takes the
place of " candle," because the latter never has been
known in the East, and is not found there now save
as introduced by foreigners. " New wine" is in
serted whenever it represents the Hebrew word
usually so translated, in order that the English reader
may for himself trace the usage. NTo one would
guess that "apothecary" and "confectionery" in
the Authorized Version simply mean " perfumer ;"
and since such is unquestionably the fact, it seems
better to put the correct word in the text. To say
that God "sitteth upon the cherubim" does not
convey a sense suitable to our conceptions of the
divine majesty ; and it is equally correct and far more
dignified to say that " He sitteth (i.e., as king = en
throned) above the cherubim,' ' these exalted creat
ures being considered as bearers of His throne. It is
worth while to substitute scoffer for scorner, because
the latter word now refers mainly to a mental emo-

176 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
tion, whereas the other implies the outward expres
sion of such emotion, which is what the original word
means. It greatly increases the vividness of a pas
sage when, instead of the word trust, which represents
several different Hebrew terms, we find the phrase
take refuge, which is the exact sense of the original.
So the phrase " wait on," which now means to serve
or minister, entirely falls short of the signification of
the Hebrew verb = wait for, and therefore a change
is required if the reader is to know just what the
book says. Modern usage expresses the loud lamen
tation of intelligent beings by the word " wail" and
not by "howl," which is usually reserved for irra
tional creatures. For euphemistic reasons, " harlot"
is substituted for " whore," and " play the harlot"
for " go a whoring." To justify these substitutions,
it is enough to say that while both words and phrases
have precisely the same meaning, there is a large
class of persons to whom one seems much more 6oarse
and offensive than the other. . It cannot be wrong to
gratify an innocent predilection like this.
n. SINGLE PASSAGES — THE PENTATEUCH.
In Genesis xviii. 19 the phrase of the Authorized
Version " to do justice and judgment "is retained
in the revision. This is objected to not only because
it is a tautology, but because it conceals an important
distinction of the two original words, one of which
expresses man's duty toward God (righteousness), the
other his duty toward his fellow (justice). In xlix.
3 the change of "excellency" into "pre-eminence"

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 177
is both more hteral and more effective, since the
point of Reuben's position as first-born was not
simply that he had dignity and power, but that he
had more of these than any of his brethren — i.e., had
the pre-eminence.
In Exodus i. 21 the saying that God made the
mid wives "houses" is often misunderstood as if it
were material structures He built for them, yet there
seems no doubt that what is meant is " households"
(or families), a meaning which the word has in scores
of instances, even according to the Authorized Ver
sion. It ought, then, for perspicuitj' to be inserted
here. In xvii. 14, where the Lord tells Moses to
write his purpose to destroy Amalek, "in a book,"
the proposed addition of the marginal rendering
" Or, the book " is by no means a trifle, since it gives
the article of the original, and besides suggests the
important fact that a regular record was habitually
kept at that time. In xix. 5 God's promise to Israel,
" ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me," has often
been misconceived as meaning that Israel should be
a peculiar people in the ordinary sense of that phrase.
The exact sense of the words is given in the Appen
dix, " mine own possession" — i.e., peculiarly mine —
mine in a sense in which no other people is. (See
Appendix on Deut. vii. 6.)
In Leviticus xvi. 8 the revision puts in the margin
" dismissal " as the probable meaning of the translit
erated Hebrew Azazel (or scapegoat). The Appen
dix prefers the stronger word "removal" as more
faithful and more suitable. The much-vexed pas-

178 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
sage, xviii. 18, is thus rendered, " Thou shalt not take
a woman to her sister to be a rival to her . . . beside
the other in her lifetime." The Appendix reverts
to the Authorized Version, " Thou shalt not take a
wife to her sister," because this is the obvious mean
ing of the prohibition, and because the word in ques
tion is again and again in this very chapter rendered
wife, and there is no reason for choosing another ren
dering here.
In Numbers v. 21, 22 the change proposed in the
Appendix is simply euphemistic. The reason of it is
that in a book intended for both sexes and all ages,
and for public as well as private reading, a euphe
mistic expression is always to be preferred when it
leaves the sense unchanged. In vii. 13 and else
where the obsolete word " charger" is exchanged for
its exact equivalent, "platter." Whatever may be
the state of the case in England, it is certain that in
this country not one reader in a hundred would
understand what was meant by " a silver charger."
In several verses in ch. xix., the purifying water,
made by infusion of the ashes of a red heifer
slain and burnt in a peculiar way, is called "the
water of separation." The Appendix prefers the
phrase " water for impurity," both as more faithful
to the Hebrew, and as better adapted to express the
exact purpose for which the red heifer water was
prepared. It was intended to purify the unclean.
In Deuteronomy the margin " hill country " pro
posed to be added to " mountain" in iii. 25, is
meant to suggest that here the sense may be made

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 179
plainer by attaching to the word rendered mountain
the wider sense which it unquestionably has very
often in the Old Testament. It was not one partic
ular peak or knoll that Moses longed to see, but the
whole mountainous region of which Palestine mainly
consists. In iv. 34 the margin "trials" is justly
preferred to the text "temptations," since a com
parison of the other passages in which the word occurs
shows that it is not moral enticements that are re
ferred to, but the chastisements inflicted upon Pha
raoh and other adversaries. The change of "in any
wise" to " surely" in xvii. 15 and xxii. 7 is made
in the interest of perspicuity ; and the same is to be
said of the substitution of " judge amiss ' ' for " mis
deem ' ' in xxxii. 27.
THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.
In Joshua v. 10, 11 the phrase " old corn," re
tained from the Authorized Version in the revison, is
misleading, for the original word does not specify
any kind of cereals, new or old, but merely what the
land is wont to yield, and hence the Appendix prop
erly proposes to substitute the term "produce."
In xvi. 1 the revision reads, " And the lot for the
children of Joseph went out from the Jordan," etc.,
connecting the verb with the locality, whereas the
meaning is that " the lot came out [from the urn or
receptacle of the lots] for the children of Joseph,"
etc. So in the second verse of the next chapter
the revision reads, " And the lot wasfor the rest of
Manasseh," as if this was a new statement in addition

180 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
to what preceded, whereas it is a mere resumption of
what has gone before. The Appendix therefore
reads, " So the lot was for the rest," etc. In xxii.
10 we read of "a great altar to see to," which is
certainly obscure if not ambiguous ; hence the Ap
pendix renders " a great altar to look upon" — i.e.,
its size would impress the spectator. In the 20th
verse a different rendering of the divine names is a
manifest improvement. " The Lord, the God of
Gods," is changed into " The Mighty One, God,
Jehovah." The first noun is a name signifying
Power ; the second is the ordinary name for Deity ;
the third is the covenant name of Him who called
Israel to be His people. The whole together, El,
Elohim, Jehovah, expresses all that to an Israelite
was commanding and impressive in the Being whom
he worshipped. The same combination reappears in
the first verse of the 50th Psalm.
In Judges iii. 20, instead of " summer parlor," the
Appendix proposes " cool upper room," for this is
all that the original words mean. In v. 26, instead
of " the nail," which Jael is represented as using to
kill Sisera, the Appendix says " the tent-pin,' ' which
is what the implement is called in the preceding
chapter (vv. 21, 22). The revision corrects the
Authorized Version in one chapter, but not in the
other. It seems plain that the poetical account
should correspond with the prose narrative. In ix.
15 the Authorized Version and the revision represent
the bramble in Jotham's parable as saying to the trees,
" Put your trust in my shadow," but it is evident

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 181
that the meaning is the " shade" which the bramble
offers. Hence the Appendix suggests this change
here, and in many other places where it is clearly
called for. In the same chapter (v. 52) it is said of
Abimelech that he " went hard unto the door of the
tower," which is not clear to ordinary readers, for
which reason the Appendix substitutes the mod
ern phrase "he drew near." The questions of
Manoah to the angel in xiii. 12 are given by the
revision, " What shall be the manner of the child,
and what shall be his work ?' ' The Appendix1 bet
ter represents the letter and spirit of the original
by, " What shall be the ordering of the child, and
how shall we do unto him ?" A comparison of v.
8 shows that Manoah wished to learn, not what the
child was to do, but how his parents were to deal
with him. In xv. 15 what the Hebrew says of the
jawbone with which Samson did such execution was
not that it was " new," but that it was " fresh." It
might have been very old, but it was still moist, and
therefore strong.
In Ruth ii. 10 theMoabitish maiden tells Boaz, ac
cording to the Authorized Version and the revision,
that she was a " stranger ;" but the Appendix suggests
what the Hebrew says, that she was " a foreigner."
The same change applies well to David's address to
Ittai the Gittite (II. Sam. xv. 19), " For thou art
a foreigner." A more important emendation occurs
in iii. 11, where Ruth is called " a virtuous woman,"
which she certainly was. But the word means more,
both here and in Prov. xii. 4 and xxxi. 10, and can

182 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
be fairly rendered only by some such term as " ca
pable, " or, as the Appendix prefers, ' ' worthy. ' ' Vir
tue is the sine qud non of a reputable woman, but
some may have that and nothing else. Ruth was not
of that class.
In I. Samuel ii. 20 Eli appears by the Authorized
Yersion to be promising Hannah further offspring
instead of " the loan which was lent to the Lord ;"
but the Appendix renders " for the petition which
was asked of the Lord." And this is true to the
fact. Samuel, as his name shows, was asked of the
Lord, and was therefore not lent but consecrated ir
revocably to Him. Eli prays for other children in his
place. In v. 26 Samuel not only "was" in favor
both with the Lord and with man, but " increased"
in the same, as the Appendix says, for the Hebrew
expresses an advance equally in years and in favor.
The expression in iii. 1, " there was no open vision,"
is so obscure as to be almost unintelligible ; the Ap
pendix makes it clear by rendering " no. frequent
vision." In x. 2 the Authorized Yersion, followed
by the revision, makes Samuel say to Saul, " Thy
father hath left the care of the asses and taketh
thought for you." To bring this into conformity
with modern usage, the Appendix puts it, " Thy
father hath left off caring for the asses, and is anxious
for you." (Cf. ix. 5.) This corresponds with the
Revised New Testament in Matt. vi. 25, 31, 34..
In v. 24 "God save the king" is changed into
" Long live the king," because this is all that the
original means, and the needless use of the divine

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 183
name should be avoided. , In xiv. 47 " vexed them"
is made " pu.t them to the worse," because the
former rendering is both inadequate and ambiguous.
In xxiv. 11 it is proposed to substitute "life" for
"soul," as the object of Saul' s pursuit of David,
since it was plainly David's death which the king
sought, and it is well to hinder plain readers from
making a mistake. In xxv. 13 the Appendix substi
tutes " baggage " for " stuff " (" two hundred abode
by the stuff"), making the same change which
the revision made at xvii. 22, where it is surely no
more needed than it is here. The omission of the'
margin to xxv. 22, 34 recommends itself.
In II. Samuel v. 2, instead of " Thou shalt feed
my people Israel," the Appendix proposes, " Thou
shalt be the shepherd of my people," etc. This is
the meaning of the original word, which implies
much more than is contained in the term, Feed. See
a fine example in Ps. xlix. 14 (and also in Rev.
vii. 17), Revised Version.. "Widow woman" and
" widow" in English mean precisely the same thing.
It is hard to see therefore why, in deference to a
mere Hebraism, the longer form should be retained
in our version, as it is in xiv. 5 and elsewhere. So
in v. 26 the retention of " polled his head," instead
of " cut the hair of his head," seemed to the Am
erican Company the preferring of a misleading
archaism. In I. Kings vi. 6 it is proposed to substitute " off
sets" for " rebatements," on the ground that it
being hard enough to understand the construction of

184 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the temple any way, no needless difficulties from
obsolete terms should be left to embarrass the mean
ing. The same thing is to be said of the proposed
substitution of " panels" for " borders" in vii. 28,
29. In x. 15, 16 the change of "chapmen" into
" traders" and of " targets" into " bucklers" is sim
ply the surrender of obsolete terms or meanings.
The same is true of the substitution of "cakes"
for " cracknels" in xiv. 3. " Jar" is proposed for
"barrel" in xvii. 12, 14, 16, because the original
does not mean barrel, and that measure is too large
for the circumstances. The substitution of "go ye
halting" for "halt ye," in xviii. 21, is for the
reason that it better expresses the vacillation, the
habitually shifting inconsistent course which the
prophet reproves. The fault rebuked was not their
taking a middle ground between two parties, but
their adhering now to one, and again to the other.
In II. Kings ii. 23 the Appendix asks that the
margin " young lads" be put in the text in place of
" little children," because the Hebrew term (na'ar)*
has the same latitude of meaning as boy used to have
in our Southern States, where it was applied in the
case of slaves equally to a babe in arms and to a man
of seventy. The offenders here were evidently not
mere children, but half-grown persons, and are
therefore properly described as young lads, and again
as (v. 24) lads. In xvii. 6 the phrase " in Habor, on
the river of Gozan," it is proposed to replace by
* Compare II. Sam. xvii. 1 and II. Kings iv. 31.

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 185
" on the Habor, the river of Gozan," because there
seems little reason to doubt that the word denotes the
chief affluent of the Euphrates, known as Khabour.
In xix. 7 the Appendix changes " a rumor" into
"tidings," because the word means not a vague
report, but a definite communication or message.
The other change proposed in this chapter — viz.,
v. 35, " these were all dead bodies," is due to an at
tempt to escape the tautology (which, it must be
confessed, exists in the Hebrew), " they were all
dead corpses."
In I. Chronicles ix. 19 the Authorized Version
and the revision mention " the gates of the taber
nacle," which, in accordance with the Hebrew, the
Appendix turns into " the thresholds of the tent."
In the same chapter (v. 28) " tale" is changed to
"count," the former word being almost obsolete.
In the statement, xxviii. 17, that David's pattern of
the temple which he gave to Solomon came to him
" by the Spirit," the revision removes the capital
letter of the Authorized Version, which the Appen
dix proposes to restore, as it is hard to conceive what '
else the phrase can mean than the Spirit of the Lord,
the same Spirit which filled Bezaleel and Aholiab
of old.
In II. Chronicles xxxvi. 3 the Authorized Version
says that the King of Egypt " condemned the land
in a hundred talents of silver," etc. The revision
substitutes ' ' amerced " f or " condemned. " For this
the Appendix proposed to read " fined " as more in
telligible to modern readers. In v. 17 the revision

186 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
changes " him that stooped forage" into " ancient,"
for which the Appendix proposes " hoary headed,"
as being both literal and unambiguous.
In Esther ii. 17 it is said of Esther that she ob
tained " grace and favor" in the sight of the king.
The Appendix proposes to substitute " favor and
kindness," in accordance with a purpose to render
the Hebrew words uniformly.
THE POETICAL BOOKS.
In Job i. 1, 8 and ii. 3 the revision retains the Au
thorized Version's word " eschewed," but the Ap
pendix (following the example of the New Testa
ment revisers in 1. Peter iii. 11) substitutes " turned
away from," as a plainer term. In the last verse of
the chapter the revision reads " nor charged God with
foolishness," but the Appendix prefers to retain the
text of the Authorized Version," charged God fool
ishly," and also its margin, " Or, attributed folly to
God. ' ' In iii. 4 the revision retains the Authorized
Version, " Let not God regard it from above," but
the Appendix renders more exactly the form and
meaning of the Hebrew, " Let not God from above
seek for it " — i.e., Let. not Him who is on high
seek after it that it may duly appear. The change
proposed in v. 11 is a euphemism which preserves
the full sense, and is therefore acceptable. In v. 19
the insertion of the article before "great" in the
sentence, " The small and great are there," is re
quired both by euphony and grammar. In v. 24
" my roarings are poured out like waters," the pro-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 187
posed substitution of " groanings " for "roarings"
commends itself as more appropriate to the utter
ances of a human being. In iv. 4, " Thou hast
confirmed the feeble knees," the proposed change
of " confirmed " to " made firm" conforms to mod
ern usage, and renders the phrase at once intelli
gible. [But the same change is required in Is. xxxv.
3. J In v. 6 the transposition suggested by the Ap
pendix makes the sense of the question more clear.
Does not your confidence rest upon your fear of
God ? and your hope upon your -integrity ? In vi. 2
it is hard to see any meaning in the last word of the
clause, " Oh that my calamity were laid in the bal
ances together !" Hence the Appendix omits it,
and renders, Oh that all my calamity, etc. — a sense
which the Hebrew will certainly bear, and which is
every way appropriate. (A similar' instance of the
same amended rendering of the Hebrew is to be seen
in xxiv. 4.) In v. 10 the revision reads,
Then should I yet have comfort ;
Yea, I would exult in pain that spareth not ;
For I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
The Appendix proposes as more literal, and more
congruous after Job's request for death, to render
the words as a calm assurance of innocence :
And be it still my consolation,
Tea, let me exult in pain that spareth not,
That I have not denied, 'etc.
In v. 25 is the question, " What doth your argu
ing reprove ?" which is rather blind. The Appen-

188 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
dix renders literally, " Your reproof, what doth it
reprove ?" The kind of reproving that comes from
you, what does it amount to ? In v. 26, as often
elsewhere, "imagine" is used where modern usage
requires "think" or "purpose" to be substituted.
In vii. 4 the revision reads,
When I lie down, I say
When shall I arise ? but the night is long : etc.,
but the Appendix prefers the old form of the second
member, which is simpler and quite as true to the origi
nal, " When shall 1 arise, and the night be gone ?"¦
In v. 7, " my life is wind, " the Appendix suggests the
more emphatic " my life is a breath." In v. 17
"heart" is changed to "mind," because this is
what the passage means. The question is, Why
God should make man of any importance or busy
Himself at all with him, not why He should bestow
any affection upon him. In ix. 20 the revision
reads, If we speak of the strength of the mighty, lo He is there I
But if of judgment, who will appoint me a time ?
The Appendix better preserves the balance of the
clauses, and makes clearer the sense, by reading,
If we speak of strength, lo He is might}- !
But if of judgment, who, saith He, will summon me ?
That is, if the question be one of power, of course
He will crush me ; but if it be one of right, then God
asks who can summon Him to adjudge the question ?
In x. 22 the revision follows for the most part the

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 189
Authorized Version. The Appendix would read it
thus : The land dark as midnight ;
The land of the shadow of death, without any order,
And where the light is as midnight,
adding as margin to midnight " Or, thick darkness."
This is quite as literal as what it supplants, and more
effective. The difficult line in xi. 6, that God would
show the secrets of-wisdom — " That it is manifold in
effectual working," the Appendix puts thus, "For
He is manifold in understanding," which is simpler,
more suitable and equally true to the original. The
similarly obscure passage in v. 12 the revision renders,
But a vain man would be wise ;
Though man is born as a wild ass's colt,
making a contrast between the two members. The
Appendix considers the second an emphatic repetition
of the first, thus :
But rain man is void of imderstanding :
Tea, man is born as a wild ass's colt.
This seems better suited to the connection than the
other. In xii. 4, instead of "A man that called,"
the Appendix puts "I who called," thus bringing
out Job's full meaning that it was a monstrous thing
that he, a man who called upon God and received
an answer, should be made a laughing-stock. In xii.
23, where the revision reads, " He spreadeth the
nations abroad and bringeth them in," the Appendix
makes the sense clearer by rendering, " He enlargeth
the nations, and He leadeth them captive." And in

190 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the next line, instead of " He taketh away the heart
of the chiefs of the people," the Appendix has,
"He taketh away understanding from the chiefs,"
etc., which is beyond doubt what the line means.
In xiii. 8 the Hebraism, " Will ye accept His per
son," retained from the Authorized Version, is re
solved by the Appendix into its exact equivalent in
our idiom, " Will ye show partiality for Him ?" So
in v. 10. In v. 11 "excellency" becomes "maj
esty," which is the manifestation of excellency. In
the very familiar passage, v. 13, the revision re
tains the first clause of the Authorized Version, and
renders, " Though He slay me, yet will I wait for
Him," but the Appendix is more literal, and gives
the true sense, ' ' Behold, He will slay me ; I have
no hope. " It is not pleasant to resign a version which
expresses such triumphant faith, and has therefore
become dear to pious hearts in all generations, but it
must be done. The rendering " Though He slay"
is impossible. In v. 16 the revision retains the'
Authorized Version (with a slight change),
He also shall be my salvation ;
For a godless man shall not come before him.
But the Appendix prefers to read,
This also shall be my salvation,
That a godless man shall not, etc
— i.e., Job's desire to appear before God is evidence
of innocence, and so an assurance of his safety, for
no one conscious of wrong-doing would venture this.
In xv. 12 "And why do thine eyes wink?" the

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 191
change of " wink" to " flash" gives the sense, and
is clear. In v. 27 " made collops of fat on his flanks"
is obscure, and hence changed to " gathered fat upon
his loins." For the same reason the margin of v. 29
is preferred to the text. In xvii. 2 Job's saying,
" mine eye abideth in their provocation," is ambig
uous ; to say " it dwelleth upon their provocation "
— i.e., it must do so — is plain. In v. 7 " I am be
come an open abhorring " gives way to the more
literal and vigorous " They spit in my face." In
xix. 17 is another euphemism, which, however, pre
serves all the force of the original. The famous
passage 25-27 is thus given in the Appendix :
But as for me, I know that my redeemer liveth,
And at last he shall stand up upon the earth ;
And after my skin, even this body, is destroyed,
Then without my flesh shall I see God ;
Whom I, even I, shall see on my side,
And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.
Job expected to die, but even then he will see
God, see Him on his side, and no more as estranged
or hostile. The rendering here given is certainly a
possible one, and the sense quite suitable to the con
nection. In v. 28 the margin " And that" is sub
stituted for the text "Seeing that," because the
sense seems to be that if Job's friends continued to
pursue him and insist that the root of the matter
(the real cause of his inflictions) was in himself, they
should suffer.
In xxi.- 32, " And shall keep watch over the
tomb," the insertion of the word "men" before

192 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the verb watch does away with the apparent absurd
ity of a body in the grave keeping watch over the
tomb. In xxii. 14 to say that " God walketh on
the vault of heaven" is more clear and vivid than
to say He walketh "in the circuit of heaven." In
xxiv. 12 " God imputeth it not for folly," the Ap
pendix prefers "regardeth not the folly" — i.e.,
gives no heed to the wrong done, which is the sense
the connection requires. In xxix. 6 and elsewhere
"rivers" is turned into "streams," because the
latter word better represents the Hebrew, and is
more suited to the circumstances. In xxxi. 2 " what
is the portion of God from above ?" the true sense
is given by reading " from God above," and by a
corresponding change in the next line. In v. 31 the
ambiguous " satisfied with his flesh" is changed into
" filled with his meat." In xxxii. 19 "breast" is
introduced emphemistically as a full equivalent to
the Hebrew. In xxxv. 6 "doest" is changed to
" effectest," because "doest" occurs in the next
line, where it renders a different Hebrew verb. In
xxxvi. 18 the revision reads, " Because there is wrath,
beware lest thou be led away by thy sufficiency, " but
it gives a better and clearer sense to render, " For let
not wrath stir thee up against chastisement, " for Job's
wrath was enticing him to rebellion. (Cf. xxxiv. 37.)
In xxxvii. 1 the slight change of "At this also" into
" Yea, at this" makes the connection with the pre
ceding chapter closer ; and in v. 2 " Hear, oh hear "
is immensely more forcible than " Hearken ye
unto," and represents the Hebrew exactly. In

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 193
xxx viii. 10 " prescribed for it my decree," a mental
act does not suit the connection jnearly so Well as the
concrete physical effect, ' ' marked out for it my
bound" — i.e., fixed a limit to the sea. In v. 30
the obscure "the waters are hidden as with stone"
is well changed into " hide themselves and become
like stone," which exactly and poetically represents
the formation of ice. In xxxix. 5 the term " wild
ass" occurs in both members, but as the Hebrew
employs two different words, the Appendix properly
puts " swift ass" in the second member. In v. 13
the revision greatly improves the Authorized Ver-
sioH, but the Appendix better preserves the fine
poetic touch of the original,
The wings of the ostrich wave proudly ;
But are they the pinions and plumage of love ?
In v. 16, instead of " She is hardened against her
young," as the Authorized Yersion and the revision,
the Appendix gives the true sense, " She dealeth
hardly with.' ' So in v. 28 the form and spirit of the
Hebrew are well given in the spirited rendering of
the Appendix, Upon' the cliff she dwelleth and maketh her home,
Upon the point of the cliff and the strong hold.
In xl. 15 " which I made with thee" is made to say
by the Appendix what all admit that it means — i.e.,
" which I made as well as thee." So in v. 19 the
lumbering clause " He only that made him can make
his sword to approach unto Him" is wisely changed
to "He that made him giveth him his sword." The

194 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
changes in the last chapter of " comely proportion"
into " goodly frame" and of " neesings" into
" sneezings" are in the interest of fidelity and
clearness. THE PSALMS.
Book I. — In ii. 1 and xxxviii. 12 the margin " med
itate" is substituted for the text "imagine," be
cause the latter word does not sufficiently express the
force of the original. In v. 7 it is better English
to say "abundance" of lovingkindness than "mul
titude' ' of the same. In ix. 17 to say that the wicked
shall " return to Sheol " implies that they have been
there before, wherefore " return" is changed to " be
turned back unto." In x. 14 the phrase " to re
quite it with thy hand ' ' is quite as faithful to the
obscure Hebrew as " to take it into thy hand," and
much more lucid. In xii. 2 the Hebrew may mean
" falsehood " as well as " vanity," and the connec
tion here requires the former. (Similar is the change,
xxvi. 4, xii. 6, cxliv. 8.) In v. 5, " For the oppres
sion of the poor, now will 1 arise," the substitu
tion of "because of" in place of " for, " prevents
ambiguity, and makes the meaning plain at once.
The proposed substitution in xvi. 2 of " 0 my soul,
thou hast said " for " I have said," is due simply to
an unwillingness to depart from the Massoretic inter-
punction. The sense is the same with either read
ing. In xvii. 7, " shew thy marvellous lovingkind
ness," etc., the Authorized Version is preferred, be
cause the version given in the revision, although
more faithful to the form of the original, is unidio-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 195
matic and lumbering in a high degree. In v. 15 the
reading of the Authorized Version, retained in the
revision, " I shall be satisfied . . . with thy like
ness," is rejected as positively misleading. The
Psalmist does not expect to be like God, but to see
Him (as the parallelism shows), and hence the Ap
pendix renders "with beholding thy form," which
is the meaning. In xxi. 3 for obvious reasons
" meetest " is substituted for the obsolete (in this
sense) word " preventest." In xxii. 8 "deliver"
in the second line is changed to " rescue, " because
" deliver" occurs in the first line, where it renders a
different Hebrew verb. In v. 10 a grateful euphem
ism preserves the full sense of the original by render
ing " Thou art my God since my mother bare me."
In v. 16 the preference for the revision's margin,
" Like a lion," over the text, " they pierced," rests
upon the fact that the Massoretic text requires the
former, while the latter is derived from the ancient
versions. The substitution of "Be their shepherd "
for " Feed them," in xxviii. 4, is made because the
latter falls far short of the meaning of the original.
Feeding is only one of a good shepherd's offices. In
xxx. 4 for " Give thanks for a remembrance of His
holiness' ' it is proposed to read " Give thanks to His
holy memorial name," because a comparison with
Ex. iii. 15 (where God says of His name Jehovah,
" This is my memorial unto all generations") shows
that the latter phrase is what the Hebrew means.
(Cf. cii. 12, cxxxv. 13.) In v. 5 " His favor is for
a lifetime" is preferred to " In His favor is life,"

196 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
because, while the Hebrew allows either, the former
is,better suited to the form of the original and to the
parallelism. The change of " judgment " into
"justice" in xxxiii. 5 and often elsewhere, is re
quired by the modern difference between the two
words, which makes the former a very inadequate
representation of the original. In xxxvii. 3 the
familiar and blessed promise, " and verily thou shalt
be fed," is rejected, because it is a grammatically
impossible version. Of other versions which are
possible, the Appendix selects that one, " Feed on
His faithfulness,' ' which is most poetical, represent
ing God's veracity as the very food by which His
servants are sustained. So in v. 37, " the latter end
of that man is peace" cannot fairly be gotten from
the Hebrew, and hence the Appendix prefers the
rendering, " there is a happy end to the man of
peace," which accords with the usage of the word
end. (Cf. Prov. xxiii. 18.)
Book II. — In xiii. 5, " the health of His counte
nance" (so v. 11 and xliii. 5), the word " health" is
exchanged for " help," because the latter gives the
sense of the Hebrew, which the former does not.
The change proposed in xliv. 2 is important in order
to prevent misconception. The revision, following
mainly the Authorized Version, renders,
Thou didst drive out the nations with thy hand, and plantedst
them in ;
Thou didst afflict the peoples, and cast them forth.
The alteration makes more clear what all admit to
be the sense :

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 197
Thou didst drive out the nations with thy hand, but them
thou didst plant ;
Thou didst afflict the peoples, but them thou didst spread
abroad.
God did one thing to the heathen, but just the op-
site to His people.
In xlix. 8 the substitution of "life" for "soul"
is necessary, for most readers would suppose " the
redemption of the soul " meant propitiation, whereas
the whole reference is to bodily existence, which the
writer tells us no wealth can buy. And so in the
next clause it is said of any proposed ransom, not
that it "must be let alone forever," but that "it
faileth forever" — i.e., comes absolutely to an end.
In v. 12 the Authorized Yersion " man being in
honor abideth not ' ' is preferred, because this is the
very point of the psalm, that no degree of wealth or
station can secure permanence in life. " Conversa
tion" in 1. 23 is changed to "way," for the same
reason that the New Testament revisers gave up the
word when used in the now obsolete sense of " de
portment." In li. 11 "spirit" is. spelled by the
Appendix " Spirit," because the reference must cer
tainly be to a divine spirit. In v. 12 "willing" is
put in place of "free," because the latter term in
this connection is not so easily understood. In lii. 9
the phrase "I will wait on thy name" is ambiguous.
The sense is made clear by putting " hope in" for
"(wait on." In lvi. 4 the obscure utterance, "In
God I will praise His word : In God have I," etc.,
is greatly relieved by putting the words "I will

198 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
praise His word "in a parenthesis, so that the verse
runs smoothly. Thus :
In God (I will praise his word),
In God have I put my trust.
The same in v. 10. In lix. 10, instead of " The
God of my mercy shall prevent me," the Appendix
proposes, in accordance with the Massoretic text, to
render My God with His lovingkindness shall meet me,
which is richer as well as plainer. In lxii. , " my soul
waiteth in silence for God only" is more faithful and
more emphatic than the revision " my soul waiteth
only upon God." In v. 3 " leaning" is substituted
for "bowing," because "a bowing wall " is often
misunderstood. The substitution of " earnestly" for
" early" in the sentence lxiii. 1, " early will I seek
thee," is according to all modern lexicographers.
In lxv. iii " forgive them" takes the place of " purge
them away," because this better expresses the mean
ing of the word which relates to a forensic act and
not to a subjective process. In lxviii. 13 the re
vision makes a question, "Will ye he among the
sheepfolds as the wings of a dove covered with
silver," etc. ; the Appendix prefers to treat the verse
as an assertion, " When ye lie, etc. (are at rest), it is
as the wings," etc. That is, your prosperity is as
splendid as the changeable colors of a dove's plu
mage. In v. 18 the Hebraism "led captivity captive"
is reduced to the English idiom, " led away cap
tives." The meaning of v. 20, " unto the Lord be-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 199
long the issues from death," is made clearer by read
ing " belongeth escape from death." So in v. 23, to
rendejr, ' ' That thou mayest crush them, dipping thy
foot in blood " is more exact than to say, " That
thou mayest dip the foot,' ' etc.
Book III. — In lxxiii. 10 the obscurity of the
words " waters of a full cup are wrung out by
them" is removed by changing "wrung out" into
"drained." (Cf. lxxv. 10.) In xc. 9 the revision
has, " We bring our years to an end as a tale that is
told y" the Appendix displaces the singular and ob
scure periphrasis at the end of the fine by the word
" sigh,' ' which is at least one meaning of the Hebrew
term. In v. 17, " the beauty of the Lord be upon
us,' ' the substitution of favor for beauty gives the
sense, and converts obscurity into lucidity. In xcii.
13 the revision follows the Authorized Version in
treating the verse as an identical proposition,
They that are planted in the house of the Lord
Shall flourish in the courts of our God.
The Appendix is faithful to the Hebrew in making
the verse a continuous description of the righteous,
thus, They are planted in the house of the Lord,
They shall flourish in the courts of our God.
In xciii. 1 it is hard to see any gain in the re
visers' change of "clothed" into "apparelled."
Hence the Appendix reverses this, and reads the
second line,
Jehovah is clothed with strength, He hath girded Himself
therewith.

200 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
In xcvii. 5 the change of " hills" into " mountains"
is required by fidelity, and by the loftiness of the
thought. It is mountains that melt like wax before
Jehovah. In ciii. 5, " who satisfieth thy mouth with
good things," the word rendered " mouth" has long
been a cross to critics. As it cannot be rendered
literally, it is better to take a term such as the Ap
pendix offers — viz., "desire," which is of larger
compass than one like "mouth," which is confined
to bodily sustenance. In civ. 4 the revision renders
Who maketh winds His messengers,
His ministers a flaming fire,
which is an improvement upon the Authorized Ver
sion ; but the Appendix preserves the parallelism
and adheres to the form of the original by reading
the second member " Flames of fire His ministers."
Winds and flames are alike His servants. In v. 8,
" they went up by the mountains, they went down
by the valleys" is a possible rendering of the original,
but it is far more poetical to render, as in the mar
gin, "The mountains rose, the valleys sank."" In
cv. 34 "caterpillar" is put in place of "canker-
worm," because since the Hebrew has no exact
equivalent in English, it is better to use a familiar
term than one that is obsolete.
Book V. — In cvii. 30 the revision changes " their
desired haven" of the Authorized Yersion into " the
haven where they would be." The Appendix re
stores the Authorized Version as being both faithful
and idiomatic. In ex. 3 the revision retains the mis-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 201
translation of the Authorized Yersion in the clause
" beauties of holiness. " The Appendix divides the
verse differently, and brings out a clearer and more
consistent sense,
Thy people offer themselves willingly
In the day of thy power, in holy attire :
Out of the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy
youth.
When God marshals His host, His people freely
offer themselves in sacerdotal array as servants of a
priestly king : as the dew is freshly produced every
morning, so they have perpetual succession by con
stant renewal. In cxi. 11 the Authorized Version,
" A good understanding have all they that do
His commandments, ' ' is better than the proposed
" . . . they that do thereafter, " which is awkward
and harsh. In cxvi. 1, " I love the Lord, because He
heareth my voice" is better than " because He hath
heard," both in point of faithfulness to the original
and as a representation of present experience. In
cxix. 38 the revision reads,
Confirm thy word unto thy servant,
Which belongeth unto thy fear.
But the Appendix follows the order of the original,
and gives its sense better by reading,
Confirm unto thy servant thy word,
Which is in order to thy fear,
i.e., make good to him the word which thou didst
utter in order to be feared. In v. 158, " 1 beheld the
treacherous dealers," the last word adds nothing to the

202 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
sense, and may properly be omitted. In cxxii. the
obscure statement that the tribes go up to Jerusalem,
" a testimony unto Israel," is altered to read, " an
ordinance for Israel," thus pointing to the well-
known fact that their visit to the capital was a divine
requisition. In cxxx. 6, instead of saying " my soul
looketh for the Lord, " the Appendix prefers to sup
ply the same verb as the Authorized Version — viz.,
waiteth. In cxxxix. 13, for ' ' thou hast possessed my
reins" the Appendix reads, "thou didst form my
reins," which is certainly more intelligible. So in
v. 16, " thou didst see mine imperfect substance, " the
change of "imperfect" into "unformed" makes
the meaning plain. In cxliii. 2 the revision follows
the Authorized Yersion in saying " in thy sight shall
no man living be justified," but the Appendix ren
ders more exactly, " in thy sight no man living is
righteous." Incxliv. 7, 11 occurs the term "strange
children," which misleads. The Hebrew has no
reference to age, and means simply " strangers" or
rather " aliens."
Proverbs. — In iv. 18, " the path of the righteous
is as the shining light," the beautiful figure is made
more vivid by turning " shining" into " dawning,"
which the Hebrew admits. In vii. 22 the obscure
statement that one following false guides goeth " as
fetters to the correction of the fool ' ' is illumined by
the change of " fetters" into " one in fetters. " In
ix. 7 "shame" is altered to "reviling," because
this and not self-reproach is what befalls him that
corrects a scorner. In x. 7 (and elsewhere) the sub-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 203
stitution of "righteous" for "just" rests upon the
fact that the former means more than the latter, and
so represents the original. In xxv. 11 the rendering
"apples of gold in baskets of silver" misses the
point that the word for " baskets" evidently means
something through whose interstices the golden
fruit shows itself; hence "network" better ex
presses the meaning. In xxvii. 4, " wrath is cruel
and anger is outrageous," the substitution of " over
whelming' ' for the last word is nearer the Hebrew (= a
flood), and better suits the connection. Respecting
" virtuously" in xxxi. 29, see on Ruth iii. 11. In
v. 30 " Grace" is substituted for " Favor," because
the Hebrew means an inherent personal quality, and
not something adventitious, dependent upon the
opinion of others.
Ecclesiastes. — In iii. 11 the revision follows the
Authorized Version in rendering " also He hath set
the world in their heart," the objection to which is
that this gives to the word translated by " world " a
sense which it never has elsewhere in Biblical
Hebrew. The Appendix, in accordance with most
scholars, renders the word "eternity." In vi. 10
the change of "it is known that it is man" into " it
is known what man is" rests simply upon the better
sense thus attained. The Hebrew admits either
rendering. In vii. 15 the change of " the days of
my vanity" into "my days of vanity" is merely
giving up a Hebrew idiom for one that is English.
The alteration suggested in x. 1 is a euphemism
which no whit affects the sense. The substitution

204 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
of " dawn" for " prime" in the sentence, xi. 10,
" youth and the prime of life are vanity," is due to
the fact that this sense of the obscure Hebrew is at
least as well founded lexically as the other, and better
suits the context. The changes in xii. 1, 2, 6 are
made in the interest of perspicuity, as well as a closer
conformity to the original — " Remember also thy
Creator, etc., while the evil days come not, nor the
years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no
pleasure in them ; while the sun is not darkened,
nor the light, nor the moon, nor the stars, and the
clouds return not after the rain.' ' In v. 6 " desire"
is substituted for " caper-berry," because though the
latter has all lexical authority for it, it would be
practically without significance to the ordinary reader,
while the rendering of the Authorized Version,
" desire shall fail," comes very near to what is sup
posed to be the meaning — viz., that stimulating food
shall cease to rouse the flagging appetites of age.
Song of Solomon. — The adjuration in ii. 7, iii.
5, and viii. 4 to the daughters of Jerusalem, not to
stir up "nor awaken love until it please," which is
the rendering of the revision, rests upon the view
that the words refer to the spontaneity of love, which
must not be aroused but awaken of itself — a doctrine
neither of Scripture nor of sound ethics. The Ap
pendix, with the great body of interpreters, takes
love as (abstract for concrete) = beloved one, and
conceives the words as those of the bride who at
peace in the arms of her beloved prays that He may
not be aroused by any intrusion, thus — " nor awaken

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 205
my love until He please." It is true the verb is
feminine,, but this is because the antecedent is fem
inine. In vi. 5 "garment" is read for "coat,"
because the latter is not suited to an article of
woman's dress. In vi. 4 and 10 the change proposed
is intended to remove the incongruity that a person
evidently regarded as' attractive should be spoken of
as " terrible." For this word is substituted " over
powering," in the sense that this person so comely,
so fair, so bright, is as soul-subduing by her charms
as a bannered host by its arms. Hence the reading :
Who is this that looketh forth as the dawn,
Pair as the moon, clear as the sun,
And overpowering as an army with banners ?
The changes in vii. 1, 2 are due to a desire for
perspicuity. " Thy rounded thighs" is as near the
Hebrew as "the joints of thy thighs," and much
more intelligible. The mention of " sandals" in the
first line of the chapter shows that the person de
scribed was in full dress, and that being the case, the
"navel" is well represented by "body," and
"belly" by "waist." The English reader has a
clearer conception of the meaning by means of these
changes. Isaiah. — In ii. 4 the revision retains the Author
ized Version, " He shall reprove many peoples,' ' but
no one disputes that the meaning of the verb ren
dered " reprove" is really to " decide concerning."
The conception is not that of a rebuker, but that of
an umpire. In vii. 21 "nourish" is changed to

206 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
" keep alive," because this is the literal meaning of
the word, and expresses the exact sense — viz., that
in that day a man shall preserve only a young cow and
two sheep, which, however, as the next verse- says,
would furnish an ample supply for the remnant that
would be left. In ix. 10 the Authorized Version
and revision read, " sycamores are cut down, but we
will change them into cedars ;" but the Appendix is
more accurate both as to words and sense, in render
ing the last clause " will put cedars in their place,"
which is what Isaiah both means and says. In x.
13 the claim of the king is not merely " I am pru
dent," but "I have understanding," which the
Hebrew means. In v. 15 " wield " is substituted
for "shake," because our usage is not to shakes,
saw or a rod, but to wield it. (So in xi. 15 " shake"
is replaced by "wave" for a similar reason.) In
xiii. 8 "troubled" gives way to "dismayed," be
cause the former word is too weak for the original.
In v. 21 "satyrs" is exchanged for " wild goats,"
because the prophet means a real existence and not a
mythical being. In xxiii. 8 to call Tyre "the crown
ing city' ' is neither so faithful nor so expressive as
to say " Tyre that bestoweth crowns. " In v. 13 the
change proposed by the Appendix considers the
prophet as describing the past, while the revision
views him as setting forth the present and the future.
The former is more strictly literal. In xxvii. 1
" dragon" is replaced by " monster," for the reason
that the former is a fabulous animal. In xxviii. 7
"err" becomes " reel," and " gone astray" becomes

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 207
" stagger," because these are the meanings of the He
brew words, and it is a disadvantage to mar the vivid
ness of the picture by obliterating the outward physical
expressions of intoxication. The changes proposed
in the difficult passage, vv. 24, 25, are all in the in
terest of perspicuousness, and are justified by the
original. In xxix. 24 to " learn doctrine" is mis
leading. Hence the proposed change, to " receive
instruction." In xxx. 1 " to cover with a covering"
is a dubious rendering of the Hebrew, and not very
suitable. Hence the substitution of "make a
league," which is equally justifiable lexically, and
far better suited to the connection. The other
changes in this chapter are all for the sake of making
the meaning plainer. In xxxii. 10 the substitution
of "ingathering" for "gathering" shows that it is
the bringing in of things, not persons, that is in
tended. In xxxiii. 4 ' ' shall they leap' ' is changed
to " shall men leap," because in what precedes there
is nothing expressed to which " they" can refer. In
v. 14 " seized " is put for " surprised," because the
latter conveys a sense which is not in the Hebrew.
The reading of xxxiv. 8, given in the Appendix,
" For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of
recompense for the cause of Zion," is simply a more
exact transfer into English idiom of the sense of the
original. In xxxyiii. 12 the rendering " my dwell
ing is departed " has as much authority as " mine
age is departed," and is far better suited to the con
nection. It is very hard to attach any meaning to the ren-

208 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
dering of xii. 27, copied by the revision from the
Authorized Yersion, " The first shall say unto Zion,
Behold, behold them." But the Appendix renders
sensibly, " 1 am the first that saith," etc. — i.e., God
claims that He before any one else announces the
bestowment of His promised blessings. In xiii. 15
the ambiguity of " I will make waste mountains" is
removed by changing "make" into "lay." So in
xliii. 23, "1 have not made thee to serve with offer
ings" is not nearly so plain as " I have not burdened
thee with offerings." In xiv. 3 the rendering " thou
mayest know that I am the Lord which call thee"
does not give the emphasis of the original, which re
quires the last clause to be " that it is I, Jehovah, who
call thee." In xlvi. 3 is another euphemism which
keeps the meaning while getting rid of an obnoxious
word. The clause " will accept no man" in xlvii. 3
is hardly intelligible. To substitute " spare" for
"accept," as some good critics do, at least gives a
good sense. In v. 5 " lady of kingdoms" is neither
so faithful nor so expressive as " mistress of king
doms." In lii. 2 the direction, " arise, sit thee
down," sounds like a contradiction. The true sense
is given in the Appendix, " arise, sit on thy throne"
the supplied words being not an arbitrary addition,
but one suggested by Hebrew usage. In v. 10 the
sentence " all the ends of the earth shall see the sal
vation of our God " turns into a prediction what the
Hebrew asserts as a fact — " The ends of the earth
have seen," etc. In liii. 1 the change of " report"
to ' ' message' ' gives the exact sense of the original,-

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 209
and is more agreeable to our usage than the Author
ized Yersion. In v. 7 the rendering " He humbled
himself and opened not his mouth" is a possible
one, but it is quite allowable, and much more suit
able, to read ' ' yet when he was afflicted, he opened
not," etc. In v. 8 a clearer sense is gotten by ren
dering with the Appendix, " Who considereth that
he was cut off out of the land of the living, for the
transgression of my people to whom the stroke was
due." In v. 9, instead of saying he was " with the
rich in his death," the Appendix reads, " with a rich
man," because in the Hebrew the noun is singular
and without the article. In v. 11 the ambiguous
" by his knowledge" is exchanged for " by the
knowledge of himself" shall my righteous servant
justify many. In liv. 12 "precious stones" repre
sents the original better than "pleasant stones." In
lx. 6 " they all shall come from Sheba" does not
give the exact sense, as does the version — " all they
from Sheba shall come." In lxi. 2 the familiar
phrase " the acceptable year of the Lord " is not so
lucid as the phrase, " the year of Jehovah's favor."
In lxvi. 5 " but they shall be ashamed " is weak and
tame beside the version that gives the emphasis of
the original, "but it is they that shalLbe put to
shame." In v. 16 what the Lord says is not that He
will " plead with all flesh," but that He will " ex
ecute judgment upon all flesh." In v. 20 "obla
tion" instead of " offering" brings out the prophet's
conception that what was thus presented to the Lord
was not a mere gift, but a devout ceremonial service.

210 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Jeremiah. — In ii. 25 " There is no hope" is sup
planted by " It is in vain," as being clearer to the
ordinary reader. In the difficult passage, v. .34, the
Appendix reads, "Thou didst not find them [viz.,
the innocent poor whose blood is in your skirts] break
ing, in : but it is because of all these things" — [viz.,
your manifold wrongdoings which they resisted].
They were " innocent poor," for they were not mur
dered for crime, but because of their faithfulness. In
iv. 10 the change of " soul " to " life" is a conformity
to modern usage. The same is true of the treatment
of " spoiled " in vv. 13, 20. When it refers to per
sons, it is made " despoiled ;" when it refers to
things, it becomes "laid waste." In v. 29 "the
whole city" is made " every city" (which is the
rendering of the same. Hebrew in the latter part of
the verse), because the connection requires it. In
vi. 14 " they healed the hurt . . . lightly," the last
word is changed to "slightly," to avoid ambiguity.
In v. 27, " I have made thee a tower among my peo
ple," " tower" is changed to " trier," because the
Hebrew requires this, as does also the last clause,
" that thou mayest try their way." In x. 24, " cor
rect me but with judgment, ' ' the last two words are
changed to "in measure," which is the Authorized
Version's rendering of the same phrase in xxx. 11
and xlvi. 28, and is correct, for what the prayer asks
is not just correction, but moderate. In xi. 20, " let
me see thy vengeance upon them," an imprecation is
put into the prophet's mouth ; but the verb is a
simple regular future, and there is no need to give

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 211
up the ordinary sense as expressed in the Appendix,
" I shall see," etc. In xiii. 12, " Do we not know,"
etc., the Appendix restores before " know" the word
" certainly," which is in the Authorized Version, but
was dropped in the revision ; it is implied in the
Hebrew, and adds to the emphasis of the question.
In xiii. 21 the proposed rendering of the Appendix
is, " What wilt thou say when He shall set over thee
as head those whom thou hast thyself taught to be
friends to thee ?' ' — i. e. , those foreign potentates whose
favor you once courted, and supposed you had ob
tained. This is simpler and easier than the version
given in the revision. In xiv. 12 " oblation" is
changed to "meal offering," because this is the
specific meaning of the word, and it is required here
by its connection with "burnt offering." In xviii.
17 " I will look upon their back and not their face"
is far less clear than the proposed version, " I will
show them the back and not the face." (Cf. xxxii.
33.) In xx. 7 the revision, like the Authorized
Yersion, renders, " O Lord, thou hast deceived me,"
etc. ; but as the Hebrew does not require so harsh
an utterance, the Appendix proposes, " Thou hast
persuaded me" — i.e., to assume the prophetic office.
As the same word occurs in v. 10, it is altered there
also. In xxi. 5 "wrath" is changed to "indigna
tion," because the former word has been substituted
in the preceding clause for " fury" — a term which,
¦in the opinion of the American Committee, should
not be applied to the Most High. In xxiii. 15 " un
godliness" is substituted for " prof aneness, " because

212 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
in modern usage the latter word denotes only one
form of sin. In xxviii. 13 "thou shalt make in
their stead bars of iron" departs from the Hebrew,
which puts the verb in the preterite. What the Lord
says is that Hananiah has indeed broken the bars of
wood, but in so doing has made bars of iron, as the
next verse shows. We should render, therefore,
"thou hast made," etc. In xxxi. 20, "Is he a
pleasant child ?" is weak, if not ambiguous. Hence
the change proposed, "Is he a darling child ?'-'
which is the exact meaning. In the same verse, to
say that " the bowels yearn [not " are troubled "] for
him," is to give the true sense. In xxxviii. 11 " cast
clouts" is unmeaning, while " cast off clouts" at
least suggests the sense. In xii. 14 "all the people
. . . cast about and returned " seems to mean that
they reflected and so returned, whereas all that the
Hebrew means is that they " turned about and came
back." In xlvi. 3, " Order ye the buckler and the
shield," order seems to mean command, but the
Hebrew simply says, " Prepare." In xlviii. 28
Moab is compared to a dove making her nest "in
the sides of the hole's mouth," to which it is hard to
attach any meaning. The Appendix proposes to
read instead, " over the mouth of the abyss," which
the Hebrew will admit, and which gives a lively con
ception of Moab's danger when driven from her
bulwarks. In 1. 7 " we offend not" is ambiguous ;
but-" we are not guilty" is clear, and also exact. In
li. 34 " delicates" would be a puzzle to most readers,
hence the proposed substitute, "delicacies." In

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 213
Lamentations i. 12 the Authorized Version and the
revision speak of " sorrow which is done unto me ;"
the true idiom is given in the Appendix, " sorrow
which is brought upon me." In ii. 19 and iv. 1 the
same read " at the top of every street," but English
usage is " at the head of every street."
Ezekiel. — In i. 4 " color" is changed to "look,"
and "amber" to "glowing metal," as being more
exact representatives of the Hebrew. In v. 18
" rings" is changed to " rims," which is more intel
ligible. In v. 13, instead of "" I will satisfy my fury
upon them," which is a somewhat unamiable repre
sentation of God, the Appendix puts, " I will cause
my wrath to rest upon them," which adequately ex
presses the Hebrew. In xiii. 5 to " build up the
wall " is both more faithful and more suitable than
to " make up the fence." In xvi. 7 " bud of the
field " does not fairly represent the Hebrew, which
means " that which groweth in the field." So in v.
43 " hast fretted me in all these things," the word
fretted falls far short of the true meaning, which is
well expressed in the phrase "raged against." In
xx. 3 the change of "Are ye come to inquire of
me ?" into " Is it to inquire of me that ye are come"
is required in order to show not merely the form, but
the emphasis of the original. In xxiii. 8, 21 the
euphemistic change of " bruising the teats" into
" handling the bosom" speaks for itself. In xxix. 5
" I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness" is
changed into "I will cast thee forth into," etc.,
because the stronger sense thus given to the verb is

214 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
now admitted, and is undoubtedly better suited to
the context here. In v. 18 " every shoulder is
peeled, ' ' the last word is neither literal nor of ob
vious meaning, and is therefore changed to "worn."
In xxxviii. 22 for " I will plead against Him with
pestilence," etc., is substituted, "with pestilence
and with blood will I enter into judgment against
Him," because this alone adequately represents the
original. In xliii. 14 " ledge" is substituted for
" settle," for the latter term has no meaning, or else
a misleading one, in this account of the way the altar
is to be built.
Daniel. — In the revision the word Messiah disap
pears from both the text and the margin of Daniel
ix. 25, 26, and therefore out of the Old Testament
entirely. As it is simply a transliteration of the
Hebrew word used in these verses, the Appendix
very properly restores it to the margin, since the
Hebrew term may have become in Daniel's day, as
we know it did afterward, a proper name. The
three other changes in this book proposed by the
Appendix are simply restorations of the Authorized
Version. To discuss their propriety would require
more space than can be given.
Hosea. — The dark passage in viii. 11, "Because
Ephraim hath multiplied altars to sin, altars have
been to him for sin" is relieved by changing "to
sin" in both clauses to " for sinning," referring ap
parently to the progressive and reproductive power
of sin.
Micah. — In iv. 13 the change of " thou shalt

THE AMERICAN APPENDIX. 213
devote their gain unto the Lord " into " I shall
devote," etc., is based upon the Massoretic pointing
of the text.
NAHrai. — In i. 10 "though they be like tangled
thorns, and be drenched as it were in their drink,
they shall be devoured utterly" is not more faithful,
and is certainly less simple and fluent, than what is
proposed in the Appendix — " entangled like thorns,
and drunken as with their drink they are consumed."
In ii. 1 " munition" is supplanted by " fortress," as
more specific and plainer. _ In v. 4 the prophet does
not say that the chariots " jostle one against an
other," which would hinder their progress, but that
they " rush to and fro," the exact characteristic of
an invasion. In v*,7 the inexplicable word " Huz-
zab," treated as a proper name in the Authorized
Version and the revision, is regarded by the Ap
pendix as a verb, and rendered, " And it is decreed,
she is uncovered," etc., which at least is intelligible.
And so instead of " handmaids . . . tabering upon
their breasts," the Appendix gives " beating upon
their breasts." In v. 9 " goodly furniture" repre
sents the Hebrew better than " pleasant furniture."
In iii. 2 " bounding chariots" better comports with
lofty poetry than "jumping chariots." In the last
verse " bruit " is changed to " report," for the sake
of the reader not versed in old English.
Zechariah. — In iii. 5 " a fair mitre" is made " a
clean mitre," as is demanded by faithfulness, and
also by the contrast with filthy garments in the pre
ceding verses. In iv. 7 "headstone" is 'changed

216 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
to " topstone," to avoid obscurity or ambiguity. In
v. 14 "sons of oil" is made "anointed ones" by
resolving a Hebrew idiom into English. In v. 3
"purged out" is altered to "cut off," which is
what the Hebrew means. In xiv. 21 the margin
proposed to " Canaanite" — viz., " trafficker," is re
jected, because it seems impossible that a feature of
future perfect holiness should be stated so as to imply
that all trading is necessarily sinful.
Malachi. — In iii. 3 " purge them as gold and
silver" is changed into "refine them as gold and
silver," refine being the proper word to describe such
a process. In v. 15 "they tempt God and are de
livered," the sense is more clearly given by changing
the last two words so as to read, " They tempt God
and escape."

CHAPTER IX.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
At the Reformation the principle that the Script
ure is the supreme authority for faith and practice
was often so applied as to give the Old Testament
more than its just due. Men insisted that the whole
body of truth revealed in the New Testament existed
in the Old, and that the patriarchs had exactly the
same knowledge of salvation as the apostles, so that
proof texts for all points of doctrine could be drawn
from one as well as the other. This extreme natu
rally provoked a reaction, and there arose men who
asserted that the Jewish religion is a system by itself,
having no connection beyond that of local origin and
chronological succession with the Christian. This
was substantially the view of Schleiermacher. And
since his day it has often cropped out where least an
ticipated. Even in orthodox communions are found
those who habitually disparage the Hebrew Script
ures. Sometimes they assert that the Old Testament
contains so much that is harsh and repulsive that it is
a burden to carry. At others they declare that it is
antiquated and obsolete, and that it is of no more use
now than is the light of lamps after the sun has
arisen. Serious objection has been made even to the

218 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Sunday-school lessons of the "International Series,"
because many of its selections have been taken from
this part of Scripture, just as if our Lord had never
said, "Salvation is from the Jews," or "If they
hear not Moses and the prophets neither will they be
persuaded, if one rise from the dead."
The issue of the Revised Old Testament naturally
calls attention to this mischievous error, and it seems
worth while to set forth the true state of the case. Any
notion of the kind referred to is a direct reflection
upon the divine Author of the Bible. It pleased
Him to reveal His will " by divers portions and in
divers manners," so that it should be a gradual de
velopment running through along succession of ages.
Yet this was not done in the way of Mohammed,
the Mormons and other human pretenders to inspi
ration, with whom the second disclosure was a repeal
of the first. On the contrary, the whole scheme is
coherent, and hangs together as a progressive state
ment of truth and duty, the former part foretelling,
or prefiguring, or hinting at the latter, and the latter
implying and building upon the former, so that it
cannot for a moment be pretended that the posterior
portion comes as an afterthought, intended to amend
what went before, or to supply gaps which had been
inadvertently left. Evidently one presiding mind
ruled over the construction and the mutual relations
of both portions. Nor can the two be separated with
out violence and damage. Upon this point the lan
guage of the learned G. F. Oehler may be properly
quoted. "We must not allow ourselves to be de-

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 219
ceived. The relation of the New Testament to the
Old is such that both stand or fall together. The
New Testament assumes the existence of the Old
Testament law and prophecy as a positive presup
position. We cannot have the redeeming God of
the New Covenant without the Creator and cov
enant God preached in the Old ; we cannot discon
nect the Redeemer from the predictions He came
to fulfil. No New Testament idea, indeed, is fully
set forth in the Old, but the genesis of all the
ideas of the New Testament relating to salvation lies
in the Old. " (" Theology of the Old Testament, ' '
Day's edition, p. 2.) All admit that the New
Testament is needed to understand the Old, but it is
equally true, though by no means so generally ac
knowledged, that the Old Testament is needed to
understand the New. So many references are made
by the Saviour and by the apostles and evangelists to
the antecedent revelation that any reader would
stumble unless he had Moses and the prophets in
hand. The two Testaments are not the same, for if
they were, why should there be two 1 But they are
not unrelated, much less are they opposed to each
other. Together they constitute one continuous body
of revelation, which proceeds step by step from the
beginning to the end, and is an orderly and consis
tent unfolding of the germ first given at the gates of
Paradise. To discard or overlook the Old Testa
ment is to rob the Bible of its completeness, and to
miss the assurance and comfort which arise from a
sense of its wondrous unity as animated by a single

220 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
life, although set forth under such varied circum
stances and at such different times. It is to forget
that it is one and the same Spirit who uses the his
tories and psalms and prophecies of the earlier econ
omy, and the gospels and epistles of the later, to
convey the Word of God to men. It is to despise
that word of prophecy (i.e., of inspiration) to which
one of the latest books in the New Testament tells
us to " take heed as unto a lamp shining in a dark
place," clearly implying that it is a revelation of the
divine will with which we cannot safely or lawfully
dispense. (II. Peter i. 19.)*
That this opinion is not due merely to doctrinal
prejudice is apparent from the utterances of the fine
critic Herder a century ago in the preface to his
"Vom Geist hebraischer Poesie." "The basis of
theology is the Bible, and that of the New Testament
is the Old. It is impossible to understand the former
aright without a previous understanding of the lat
ter ; for Christianity proceeded from Judaism, and
the genius of the language in both books is the
same. And this genius of the language we can no
where study better — that is, with more truth, depth,
comprehensiveness and satisfaction than in its poetry,
and indeed, as far as possible, in its most ancient
poetry. It produces a false impression and misleads
the young theologian to commend to him the New
* " What Pliny says of nature, Naturae rerum vis atque majestas
in omnibus momentis fide caret, si quis modo partes ejus ac non
totum complectatur animo, is applicable to the kingdom of grace
in a still stronger degree." (Hengstenberg.)

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 221
Testament to the exclusion of the Old, for without
this the other can never be understood in a scholar
like and satisfactory manner. In the Old Testament
we find a rich interchange of history, of figurative
representation, of characters and of scenery. In it
we see the many-colored dawn, the beautiful going
forth of the sun in his milder radiance ; in the New
Testament he stands in the highest heavens and in
meridian splendor, and every one knows which period
of the day is the most refreshing and strengthening to
the natural eye of sense. Let the scholar, then, study
the Old Testament, even if it be only as a human book
full of ancient poetry, with kindred feeling and
affection, and thus will the New come forth to us of
itself in its purity, its sublime glory, its more than
earthly beauty. Let a man gather into his own mind
the abundant riches of the former, and he will never
become in the latter one of those smatterers who,
barren and without taste or feeling, desecrate these
sacred things."* And this is' confirmed by indepen
dent testimony gathered in the school of experience.
Mr. George Borrow, who spent many years in circu
lating the Scriptures in foreign lands, makes this in
teresting and conclusive statement in his work called
"The Bible in Spain,", first published in 1843(1
quote from the end of the 48th chapter) : "1 had by
this time made the discovery of a fact which it
would have been well had I been aware of three
* This quotation is made with some alterations from the ad
mirable translation of Herder's work by Dr. James Marsh, pub
lished in 1833.

222 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
years before — I mean the inexpediency of printing
Testaments, and Testaments alone, for [Roman]
Catholic countries. The reason is plain : the
[Roman] Catholic, unused to Scripture reading,
finds a thousand things which he cannot possibly
understand in the New Testament, the foundation
of which is the Old. ' Search the Scriptures, for
they bear witness of me,' may well be applied to
this point. It may be replied that New Testaments
separate are in great demand and of infinite utility
in England. But England, thanks be to the Lord, is
not a papal country ; and though an English laborer
may read a Testament and derive from it the most
blessed fruit, it does not follow that a Spanish or
Italian peasant will enjoy similar success, as he will
find many dark things with which the other is well
acquainted, and competent to understand, being
versed in the Bible history from his childhood."
Nor is it without significance that nearly one half
of the Hebrew Scriptures is composed of historical
matter. It is not history in the modern sense of
that term, investigating the causes of events and ex
plaining them on philosophical principles, but rather
a simple series of annals, recording the progress of
affairs without any attempt to analyze characters, to
classify results, or to deduce the general laws of
human development. The narrative portions of the
Old Testament are usually considered rather as fur
nishing the materials of history than history itself.
But it is just this absence of speculative deductions
and of any endeavor to frame the general laws that

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 223
control particular events that gives the book its chief
' value. It is in no sense a general history of man
kind, and indeed touches upon the world at large
only in the beginning when speaking of the origin of
the race, or toward the close when the symbolic
visions of Daniel set forth the revolutions of em
pires that are to introduce the kingdom that shall
have no end. Nor is it a mere secular or civil his
tory of certain nations. The bulk of the narra
tive is taken up with the fortunes of the Hebrews as
a chosen people, the possessors of the only true
religion, among whom the church of the living
God was founded, and through a long course of
ages developed under local and ceremonial restric
tions. The chronicle is limited to the record of
occurrences, and as such is strictly true. This in
deed has often been denied, but without reason. For
the impartial record, telling the faults as well as the
virtues of the writers and of the race to which they
belong, excludes the, idea of wilful perversion. Men
do not invent what brings them discredit. But the
annals are peculiar in that they set forth the dealings
of God with the people whom He chose to be the de
pository of His truth and the means of its preserva
tion until the fulness of time came for its world-wide
diffusion. There is, then, a copious and continuous
illustration of the principles of the divine govern
ment in application to nations. The writers indeed
hardly seem conscious of this — at least they never stop
to make any reflections of that kind. But all the
same they set forth the facts which show God's hand

224 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
in history. Very many of the themes which occupy
a large space in the works of modern writers — the
arts, manners, institutions, social conditions, litera
ture and science — are wholly omitted, but the relig
ious idea is never absent. For the people were under
a theocracy ; their real monarch was He who sat
enthroned above the cherubim. And everything
turned upon their relation to Him and their fidelity
to that relation. Hence the simple, artless chronicle
has a value peculiarly its own, as representing in
detail and on a very small scale the eternal prin
ciples which rule the world, and are 6ure to work
themselves out in the course of the largest empires
in any part of the earth.
The same thing may be said of biography, the
charming and instructive literature which treats of
the lives of particular persons. No nation possessed
of any degree of intellectual culture is without its
treasures of this kind, but all of them together of
every age and land would fail to supply the lack of
the memoirs contained in the Old Testament. One
reason of this is found in the impartiality of the
record. No personal, social, national prejudice ever
biasses the mind of the writer. He never stops to
commend the subject of which he treats, or to apol
ogize for what certainly needs apology. The treat
ment is like colorless glass which transmits the rays it
receives without imparting to them a shade of any
kind. It does not make any difference what position
a man holds, or how much he may have been hon
ored either by God or man, or to what extent his

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 225
good name is identified with that of his people, the
evil in his life is recorded as faithfully as the good,
and without any attempt at extenuation. Such abso
lute fidelity is, or at least seems to be, an impossibil
ity in our day. Indeed, the tendency in the other
direction has been so strong as to give rise to the
proverbial expression, the lues biographica. But in
the Hebrew memoirs one is brought face to face with
actual facts, and we see the man as he is, not as his
kindred or friends or countrymen would wish him to
appear. Both sides of his career are given with
equal simplicity and fulness. The same hand which
tells of the patriarch who was so strong in faith as to
be ready at God's command to offer up his only son,
the heir of the promises, tells also how on two separate
occasions, through a mean fear, he falsely pretended
that his wife was his sister. The same book which
describes the generosity of David at the well by the
gate of Bethlehem when the three heroes broke
through the garrison and drew the coveted drink for
him, recites also the hideous story of his dealing with
Bathsheba and Uriah, the melancholy record of un-
cleanness and blood-shedding. The more closely the
pages of these records are studied, the more evident
it becomes that the reader has before him the veri
table man himself as he would appear to Him who
searches the heart and tries the reins. Not only are
all the facts that are given true, but they are so
given as to produce a correct impression, a point in
which the most impartial and conscientious of merely
human biographers are very apt to fail.

226 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Its numerous and varied illustrations of the doc
trine of expiation give a peculiar value to the Old
Testament. There are those who pronounce the
whole Levitical economy as inscrutable as the Sphinx,
a mere trial of faith and patience. Yet its essential
elements are plain and striking, as is shown by the
degree in which the language used in describing
them has entered into the vocabulary of Christians
and formed the chosen medium for the expression of
their experiences. The courts of the tabernacle and
temple streamed incessantly with blood and the air-
was thick with the smoke of incense. The fire never
went out upon the altar. The herd and the flock
and the birds of the air contributed to the sacrifices
which were offered not only every morning and
evening, but on innumerable other occasions. Con
fession of sins was made over the head of the vic
tims, and the blood was sprinkled upon the altar.
The whole ritual was one continuous parable of sub
stitution. It exhibited by means of a complicated
system of oblations the wa.y of a sinner's acceptance
with God. It showed in type and shadow what was
afterward accomplished in real and abiding efficacy.
It exhibited on the outward and earthly plane what
was done in a far higher sphere. The blood of bulls
and goats was intended to stand in marked and living
contrast with the blood of Him who was a Lamb
without spot, the Lamb of God who taketh away the
sins of the world. The wondrous tragedy on Cal
vary, which stands in the centre of the world's his
tory, finds its best illustration in the Passover sac-

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 227
rifice of the elder economy, or in its twofold offer
ing on the great day of atonement. One entire book
of the New Testament is mainly occupied with the
comparison of the high-priest after the order of Mel-
chizedek and his work with the Aaronic priesthood
and its unceasing repetition of oblations which
never could purify the conscience or take away sin.
To understand the terms of this comparison, to feel
its force and to seize the momentous underlying
truth, we must have the Old* Testament. Its explicit
statements are of more worth than all the speculations
ever set forth even by the most acute and brilliant
of philosophical theorists. Its " object teaching "
. as to sin and redemption is a prominent factor in the
experience of every humble believer. There are
many questions about the system which he cannot
answer, but its interior essence, its characteristic
feature, has become the life blood of his faith.
Further, the Old Testament contains the liturgy
of the universal church. The hymns of the New
Covenant are very few, the need of the believer in
that respect having been already supplied by the
Psalter. And while it is true that the service books
of the ancient church contain many admirable pro
ductions, they do not come up to the majesty and the
wide compass of the Hebrew worship, as shown in
the Psalms of adoration. Neither Ambrose nor
Gregory reached or approached this level. They
tempered the boldness of the originals, but their ad
mixtures of what is more Christian-hke and spiritual
toned down the ardor and lessened the sweep of the

228 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
singers of Israel. " Nor would it be possible — it
has never yet seemed so — to Christianize the Hebrew
anthems, retaining their power, their earth-like rich
ness and their manifold splendors, which are the very
splendors, and the true riches and the grandeurs of
God's world, and withal attempered with expressions
that touch to the quick the warmest human sympa
thies. . . . As to the powers of sacred poetry,
those powers were expanded to the full, and were
quite expended too, by the Hebrew bards. What
are modern hymns but so many laborious attempts
to put in a new form that which, as it was done in
the very best manner so many ages ago, can never be
well done again, otherwise than in the way of a ver
bal repetition." So said Isaac Taylor in his " Spirit
of Hebrew Poetry" (p. 157), and his words are
true. Nothing in all literature is more remarkable
than the adaptation of the Psalms to express the re
ligious wants of the human soul in every age and
place. The lyrics are all products of Hebrew times
and the Hebrew people, and yet they are found
even in translation to do what nothing else does for
any people anywhere. Joy and sorrow, praise and
prayer, confession and thanksgiving, penitence and
faith, hope and fear, all kinds, all degrees of human
experience, are here set forth in a way that leaves
nothing to be desired. The most acute and learned
draw inspiration from this fountain, and the young
est and feeblest find the same words comforting and
refreshing. As literature the Psalms repay the most
patient and prolonged study ; but as records of the

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 229
heart under the impression of the profoundest spirit
ual truths they meet a response from multitudes who
have no ear for melody and no eye for the graces of
form. As Mr. Carlyle said, " David, a soul inspired
by divine music, struck tones that were an echo of
the sphere-harmonies, and are still felt to be such."
In view of this fact the Old Testament as containing
the Psalms has an immeasurable importance, and a
revision of the common version a commensurate in
terest. If obscurities are removed, if the sense is
more faithfully given, if poetical peculiarities are
brought out more distinctly, while the rhythm and
the music of the old translators are preserved, there
is a very great gain both literary and devotional.
The experience of ages shows that the Psalter will
continue to be the model of prayer and praise for the
hosts of the redeemed, and whatever helps these
hosts to use it more intelligently and with richer en
joyment can hardly fail to be a lasting blessing.
In support of what has been said, appeal may be
made to the usage of the church universal. All
churches founded upon the New Testament have
acknowledged the perpetual authority of the Old as
an integral part of revelation. The erratic views of
heretical sects, such as the Marcionites of the second
century and the Socinians of the sixteenth, or of in
dividual errorists, have never even in the darkest
periods obtained general currency, but rather serve
as foils to set forth in prominent rehef the signal
unanimity with which Papists and Protestants, the

230 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Eastern church and the Western, have clung to the
Old Testament as an essential part of Scripture.
The same may be said of the experience of Christians
in all ages, as bearing testimony on this interesting
and important matter. The moral and spiritual in
fluence exerted by the Bible on the characters and
lives of men has been exerted by it as a whole, and
not by the New Testament alone. Perhaps it may
be said with truth that in proportion to the depth
and power of experimental piety in any age or indi
vidual has been the disposition to avoid casting lots
upon the parts of revelation, and to preserve it like
the Master's tunic, " without seam, woven from the
top throughout." And even the brilliant but erratic
Ewald said in his last published work (" Die Lehre
der Bible von Gott.," I. § 141), " The truth is, the
Old Testament contains a multitude of fundamental
truths in such certainty and completeness that they
cannot be more deeply grounded or better defended
in the New Testament, but are everywhere presup
posed as standing firm and inviolate since the old
times." But against all these claims in behalf of the Old
Testament-it is sometimes urged that its morality is
defective, that it represents the earlier stages in the
progress of ethical ideas, and that therefore it has
been wholly supplanted by the purer and more ele
vated statements of the Gospel. In support of this
objection, appeal is made to the way in which the
Hebrews obtained possession of Canaan, to certain of
their social and domestic institutions, and to gross

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 231
instances of wrong-doing recorded of persons recog
nized as true" believers. In reply, it is proper to
begin with the assertion that the ethical rule of the
Old Testament is perfect, absolutely perfect. It is
contained in the Decalogue, which, after laying a
firm foundation in the obligations of religion, pro
ceeds to build upon that foundation a code of social
ethics which never has been or can be surpassed,
providing, as it does, for all relative duties, for life,
for personal purity, for property, and for reputation,
closing and riveting the whole by a precept which
takes in the heart. The New Testament, so far
from disowning or disparaging this rule of life, con
firms and sanctions it in the strongest possible man
ner. Our Lord said ' expressly, "Think not that 1
came to destroy the law and the prophets : I came
not to destroy, but to fulfil" (Matt. v. 17) — i.e., as
His further statements showed, to develop its deeper
meaning, to guard against misconceptions, to remove
false glosses, and to enable its subjects to keep it.
So the great Apostle said, " The law is holy, and the
commandment holy, and righteous, and good"
(Rom. vii. 12). Throughout the later Scripture
reference is continually made to the Ten Command
ments as the permanent and authoritative standard
of moral obligation (Matt. xv. 4, xix. 17-19 ; John
vii. 19 ; Acts vii. 38 ; Rom. xiii. 8-10 ; Gal. iii. 10 ;
Eph. vi. 2 ; Heb. ii. 2 ; James ii. 8-11 ; iv. 11 ; I.
John v. 2, 3). Nothing in all history — nothing in
the flights of human imagination has ever exceeded
the circumstances of majesty and awe amid which this

232 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
divine code was announced to men. It was, and was
intended to be, a complete summation of human duty.
But it is to the conduct of the people under this
law that the impugners of the Old Testament refer.
One of the most common objections is based upon
the way in which Israel became possessed of the land
of Canaan — viz. , by the hteral extermination of its
former inhabitants, a procedure which is denounced
as monstrous and inhuman. But it is to be said (1)
that tbe wholesale destruction was the same that fell
upon the cities of the plain and upon the world at the
general deluge, a destruction which in each case was
declared to be the punishment of great and manifold
sins ; (2) that it was inflicted by the express com
mand of God acting as the moral governor of the
world ; and (3) that it was necessary in order that
the chosen people might occupy the chosen land.
The only alternative was to make slaves of the entire
population. But this would have been ruinous to
Israel, first by the habits of sloth and self-indulgence
which such a condition of things must needs have
engendered, and then still more by the close, and
continual contact it would involve with a population
degraded by a grossly corrupt religion and by a
bestial immorality. Were the Hebrews to be segre
gated from other races in some one particular region,
it was indispensable that the previous inhabitants of
that region should be removed. And dreadful as the
destruction of the Canaanites was, it was not too
high a price to pay for the preservation of true relig
ion in the earth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 233
Again, it is affirmed that the Old Testament in
the Lex talionis distinctly recognized the right 'of
private revenge, and made every man the avenger of
his own wrongs. " Thou shalt give life for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth," etc. (Ex. xxi. 20), is inter
preted as if it authorized individual retaliation. But
it did no such thing. It occurs among judicial stat
utes, and is to be interpreted in the same manner.
In fact, it simply declared the penalty of injuries wil
fully committed, and announced to all that whoever
wronged another must make suitable reparation for
the wrong unless he could, compound matters with
the injured party, which was allowed in every case
save that of deliberate murder (Num. xxxv. 31).
The execution of this law — a law which is found
in the XII. Tables of Rome, and which is approved
by Montesquieu as founded in reason and drawn
from the nature of things — was committed to the au
thorities. Our Lord's statement in Matt. v. 38, 39
does not set aside this judicial rale, but reproves the
errors of those in His time who applied in private
intercourse and for personal vindictiveness what was
originally given only for the public administration of
justice. It is further objected that the Old Testament tol
erated polygamy and extra-judicial divorce. In re
gard to the latter of these we have a full and satisfac
tory explanation from our Lord. He points back to
the monogamy established in Paradise as the true basis
of the family constitution, and one that was never
repealed. But in the case of Jews the statute was

234 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
relaxed, not because it was wrong, but because of the
" hardness of the people's hearts." Woman being
the weaker vessel was sure to suffer unless some pro
vision-was made to temper and restrain the fierceness
of men of coarse nature and uncivilized habits. Di
vorce was an evil, yet when made under the forms
of law it was better than the continuous grinding
oppression for which the strict seclusion of women in
the East allowed unlimited range.
The same thing may be said of polygamy. This
was never established, much less praised, as it is
among the Mormons of our day as a useful and
blessed institution. On the contrary, it was simply
tolerated, and the providence of God showed «ory
distinctly in the lives of the patriarchs and of the
parents of Samuel, and in the experience of David
and Solomon, to what evils it necessarily led. Yet,
upon the whole, in a country like Palestine and in
an age when women were cut off from all the social
life of both sexes, it was doubtless expedient to allow
a departure from the law laid down at the creation,
and permit a man to have more wives than one, on
the ground that this imperfect arrangement was bet
ter than general and promiscuous concubinage, and
that the habit being so deeply rooted, it was wiser
to regulate and control it than to meet it by an abso
lute prohibition in that rudimentary stage of human
progress. Slavery is another of the features of Old Testa
ment life that are severely censured. Involuntary
servitude belongs to an inferior civilization, and,

THE" IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 235
strange as it seems, marks a step in its upward prog
ress. There was a time when all captives in war
were slain in cold blood, but afterward they were
spared and put in bondage. Hence the name serva-
tus (preserved) contracted into servus (slave). As a
living dog is better than a dead lion, so it was better
to become a living bondsman than to be a slain cap
tive. The institution existed when the Jews became
a nation. They retained it, but greatly modified its
severe features. A native slave could not be such
longer than six years, except by his own consent
formally given, and in any event his servitude ceased
at the year of jubilee. A foreign-born heathen slave
might be kept in perpetual bondage, but a bondage
unlike any that ever existed in any upart of the an
cient world. He never was regarded as a tool, a
chattel, a thing without any rights. Nothing ap
proaching to the language, even of such men as Plato
or Aristotle on this subject, is to be found anywhere
in Scripture. The slave had the benefit of the
weekly day of rest and of all the joyful public and
private festivals of the Mosaic economy. Express
mention is made of the " manservant and the maid
servant" in the Fourth Commandment, and also in
the directions about the domestic feasts made upon
the tithes and offerings (Deut. xii. 18). The slave
was a person, and as such had his rights protected
under the law. Above all, he was among a people
who enjoyed the revelation of the being and will of
the one living and true God, infinite in holiness and
mercy as well as in wisdom and might. " Jehovah,

236 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Jehovah, a God, merciful and gracious, long-suffer
ing, and abundant in kindness and truth." It was
better to be a serf or bond-servant in Israel than a
man of wealth and station in heathen darkness, just
as the devout Psalmist preferred rather to be a door
keeper in the house of God than to dwell at ease in
the tents of Avickedness. Slavery was not prohibited,
because the times were not ripe for such prohibi
tion. A wise lawgiver always adapts his legislation
to the character and circumstances of the people.
Even Christianity did not direct the immediate over
throw of the system, but contented itself with an
nouncing the principles and inculcating the duties
which were sure in the end to break every shackle
and yet create no social convulsion. The feudal sys
tem which' once prevailed over Europe was in some
respects as oppressive as slavery, yet its bonds were
gradually relaxed in the same way, until now it has
become a mere name. There seems little reason to
doubt that the permission and regulation of slavery
under the Old Economy was not only wiser, but
humaner than its absolute prohibition would have
been. It certainly did not proceed from harshness
or indifference to human welfare. For the Mosaic
code forbade hatred and revenge (Lev. xix. 17, 18),
enjoined kindness even to enemies (Ex. xxiii. 4, 5),
commanded respect toward the deaf, the blind, and
the aged (Lev. xix. 14, 32), and required tender care
for the poor, the widow, the fatherless, and the
stranger (Ex. xxii. 21-27 ; Deut. xxiv. 17, 19). For
these the corners of the field must remain unreaped,

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 237
and the forgotten sheaf must be left where it had
fallen. Even animals shared in the compassion of
the Hebrew lawgiver (Deut. xxii. 5, 7 ; xxv. 4).
Such tender consideration for the weak and helpless,
incorporated into the legal system of tbe Old Testa
ment, indicates high morality and a very profound
sentiment. Where is the advance upon these points
which some tell us is to be found in the New Testa
ment ? That Testament contains nothing new either
in form or in spirit.
It is further urged that the Old Testament con
tains numerous instances of gross wrong-doing, the
perpetrators of which were yet regarded and treated
as acceptable with God and made recipients of His
favor. These are the falsehoods of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, those of Rahab and Jael, the horrible
sacrifice of Jephthah's daughter, the deplorable mis
deeds of Samson, and the crimes of David, the man
after God's own heart. In regard to all these the
truth must be held fast that sins are sins, whoever
commits them. The Old Testament never blurs
moral distinctions, much less should we. A man's
eminence or advantages rather enhances than lessens
the criminality of his evil deeds. Take, for exam
ple, the most common of the offences already re
ferred to — falsehood. The most of the lies that are
told come through fear. A lie is the habitual refuge
of a coward. But who ought to be less of a coward
than the man who believes in the Living God and
regards Him as his friend ? The lies of the patri
archs are grievous blots upon their good name. But

238 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
they are not condoned in the Scripture, but simply
recorded as integral parts of the history, and as sol
emn admonitions to every reader. In Jacob's case
his subsequent experience indicates a very salutary
dealing of Providence with him. A long and pain
ful exile from home and the suffering of many de
ceptions from his father-in-law were a righteous
retribution for the gross deceit by which he won the
blessing from the aged Isaac.
Rahab is quoted and commended both by James
and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, but it
is her faith, not her falsehood, that is praised. She
believed in Jehovah and in Israel as His covenant peo
ple, and for their sake was willing to surrender home
and friends and country. So she welcomed and
preserved the spies, and sent them home "another
way" (James ii. 25), and in so far was conspicuous
for well-doing. But her deliberate falsehood was a
remnant of her heathen training, for which no pallia
tion is given or is possible. Born and brought up
in an atmosphere of deceit, it doubtless seemed to
her a very natural thing to lie in a good cause. The
same may be said of Jael. It was a good thing in
her to drive the tent-pin through the temples of the
sleeping Sisera. In so doing she executed a proper
retribution upon an enemy of the Lord, she took
sides with the covenant people, and did what lay in
her power to render their victory complete and per
manent. For this she received the highly-wrought
encomium of Deborah, and was pronounced " blessed
above women," or, as some render the phrase,

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 239
" blessed by women." But her treachery in invit
ing Sisera into her tent, and her assurance to him of
safety, were detestable. These gross violations of
truth detract much from her character, and yet leave
the signal service she rendered to Israel unimpaired
as an act of heroic fidelity to the side of right. She
took a wrong way to do a right thing, and the sing
ers of the triumph overlook her deceit and her breach
of hospitality in their hatred of the licentious and
cruel tyrant and their warm sympathy with their
country rescued from idolatry and degradation.
The case of Jephthah is different. He is com
mended, as a hero of faith, and such he was in taking
command of the people at a perilous period, in his
wise conduct of the war and in his triumphant vic
tory. The one stain upon him is the sacrifice of his
only child. He vowed to God that in case of victory
he would " offer up for a burnt offering" whatsoever
came forth from his house to meet him on his return.
His daughter came forth, and ' ' he did with her ac
cording to his vow." Some have praised him for
his self-renunciation in keeping his vow. All such
praise is nearly as odious as Jephthah' s course. His
i deed was an immorality, and denounced as such in
the law. The vow itself was wrong, for no man has
a right to take upon himself such an uncertain obli
gation ; but the performance of it was worse, for it "
degraded the offerer of the victim to a level with
those Canaanites whom his ancestors had driven out
of existence with fire and sword. Jephthah had been
living as a free lance on the frontiers of the country

240 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
amid demoralizing associations, and this fact, while
it accounts for his crude notion that any circum
stances could make it right to do wrong, also sets in
a brighter light his wise and determined and success
ful leadership of his countrymen against the national
foe. Samson's case is similar. He was a combination
of superhuman physical strength with uncommon
moral weakness. God saw fit to employ him as a
deliverer of His people, just as centuries afterward
He commissioned the weak, bigoted, and petulant
Jonah. In general, the channels of divine energy are
appropriate to their office, and clean men bear the
vessels of the Lord ; but there are exceptions for wise
purposes, one of which may be to vindicate or illus
trate the divine sovereignty. But whatever the rea
sons, it is certain that God endowed with miraculous
might a man who never could resist the solicitations
of a woman, but did in reality the shameful things
fable records of Hercules with Omphale. His ex
ploits in battle when, single-handed, he contended
with hundreds and thousands, were signal expres
sions of his faith in God, and the same is true of his
death at Gaza. That death was no more suicide than
that of any soldier who leads or takes part in a for
lorn hope. He performed an act of retributive
vengeance upon the national foes, and the sacrifice of
his own life, which it required, was freely made, and
stands evermore as a testimony of his self -renouncing
fidelity. Much of his life had been wasted, but
what was left of it he dedicated to God. Having

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 241
been restored once more to his gigantic strength, by
one supreme effort he pulled down the temple and
carried a host of his oppressors into a common grave.
He asked and he received divine help, and justly is
his feat celebrated as an act of faith, as well as of
strength. It is to be observed that all these cases belong to
an early stage in the application of moral principle?
to practical life. This does not mean that there was
a progress in ethical ideas, just as there was a progress
in doctrine all through the old economy. There was
no such ethical progress, and no room for it. This
is shown not only by the Decalogue, which was cer
tainly given from Sinai, and the many admirable
provisions of the enactments acccompanying it, but
also by the fact that the cardinal principles of morals
have always and everywhere been the same. False
hood., fraud, slander, envy, theft, breach of trust and
murder, are not more peremptorily forbidden by
Scripture than they are by the common judgment of
civilized nations, ancient and modern. No revela
tion was needed to tell men that these things were
wrong. In the last century one of the Moravians
who labored among the aborigines of our country
said to a Mohegan chief, " You must not lie, nor
steal, nor get drunk," etc., and received the indig
nant answer, " Thou fool, dost thou think that we
do not know that ?" * The superiority of Christian
ethics lies mainly in the example it furnishes and the*
* Loskiel's "History of Moravian Missions in North America."

242 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
motives it offers, and only to a small extent in the
precepts it enjoins, as, e.g., in relation to the obliga
tions of the sexes. Our Saviour's object 'in a large
part of the Sermon on the Mount is not to correct
the morality of the law, but to set aside the corrupt
glosses which the degenerate Jews had fastened
upon it. Take away these incrustations, and the
moral code of Sinai shines out as conspicuously pure
and elevated as the utterances of our Lord. The
Master did indeed a wonderful thing when He con
densed the Ten Commandments into two, the love of
God as supreme and the love of our neighbor as our
selves, but nowhere and at no time did He set aside
or impeach any one of the ten words uttered from
the blazing summit of Jebel Mousa. On the con
trary, when the young ruler asked the weighty ques
tion, " What shall I do that I may have eternal
fife ?" the answer came promptly, " If thou wouldest
enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matt.
xix. 17). No rational explanation of this utterance
can be made which will not imply that those com
mandments cover the whole sphere of human duty.
But while all this is true, it is also true that the
ethical principles lying at the basis of the Mosaic
economy were not at once taken up into the hearts
of the people and incorporated with their lives. It
required time to bring about this result, just as it did
in some other things. For example, idol worship
was always condemned among the Hebrews. Yet
when Jacob left Padan-Aram Rachel stole and car
ried off her father's teraphim (household deities)

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 243
(Gen. xxxi. 34) ; when the patriarch himself went
from Shechem to Bethel he needed to tell his fam
ily, ' ' Put away the strange gods that are among
you' ' (Gen. xxxv. 2) ; and as far down as Saul's days
we find that when Michal wished to deceive her
father's messengers by pretending that David was
sick, she used teraphim to represent the appearance
of his form in the bed, thus showing that these idol
atrous images had a place even in this good man's
dwelling. So in the days of Israel's imperfect civil
ization, when there was more or less of the moral
chaos that always accompanies sudden changes, so
cial revolutions, alternations of war and peace, of
conquest and defeat, the development of character
was not uniform ; excellencies in one direction were
overbalanced by deficiencies in another ; and even
those who in the main were upright according to the
divine standard, yet occasionally fell short in the
hour of trial. A capital illustration may be drawn
from the experience of modern Christian missions.
One of the evangelical denominations of our country
has in the extreme East two thousand members in
full communion, and eight thousand persons known
as "adherents." Recently two of the wisest and
most experienced of the missionaries laboring there
were asked how many of these adherents they sup
posed to be really converted persons. The answer
was, " Nearly all of them." s Whereupon the ques
tion arose why, that being the case, they were not
received into the fellowship of the church and ac
knowledged as brethren in the Lord. The reason

244 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
given was, that they retained so much of their old
heathen habits and tendencies, and their stability
under the pressure of temptation was so imperfect,
that there was reason to fear a relapse into some
gross immorality that would bring great discredit
upon the Christian name. Hence they were retained
so long in this inchoate disciplinary status. Pre
cisely this was the condition of many of the Old
Testament worthies. The standard of duty was as
high as it ever has been ; witness the command given
as far back as the days of Abraham, " Walk before
me, and be thou perfect" (Gen. xvii. 1), and often
times there was a wondrous exhibition of moral ex
cellence ; witness him who walked with God so
closely and continuously that he was translated with
out seeing death, or Samuel, the early called, who, at
the close of a long public life, was able to challenge a
whole people to make good any charge of wrong
doing ; but still, as a general fact, true believers had
not grown up to their privileges, and often fell into
that which was clearly and sometimes grossly amiss.

CHAPTER- X.

The following list includes all who accepted the
invitation to become members of the Revision Com
mittee, and at any time took part in the work. The
dignitaries of the Church of England are mentioned
first, and after them the other members in alphabeti
cal order. To this list, which has been drawn from
Schaff's " Companion to the Greek Testament and
the English Version," the author has appended such
details of personal history as he has been able to
obtain. The British Company.
The Bishop of Winchester, Chairman.
William Aldis Wright, Secretary.
Right Rev. Edward Harold Browne, D.D. , Bish
op of Winchester, formerly of Ely, Farnham Castle,
Surrey. Born at Morton House, Bucks, in 1811.
He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Author
of an "Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles,"
Sermons on the Atonement, the Pentateuch in reply
to Colenso, Notes on Genesis in the "Speaker's

246 OLD testament revision.
Commentary," and articles in Smith's Bible Dic
tionary. Right Rev. Lord Arthur Charles Hervev, D.D.,
Bishop of Bath and Wells, Palace, Wells, Somerset.
Born August 20, 1808. Educated at Eton and Cam
bridge. Author of the Genealogies of our Saviour ;
the Inspiration of Scripture, Notes on Judges, Ruth
and Samuel in the " Speaker's Commentary," besides
various single sermons and charges, and articles in
Smith's Bible Dictionary.
Right Rev. Alfred Ollivant, D.D., Bishop of
Llandaff, Bishop's Court, Llandaff. Born in Man
chester in 1798. Died December 16, 1882. For
merly Vice-Principal of St. David's College. Regius
Professor of Divinity at Cambridge.
Right Rev. Connop Therlwall, D.D., Bishop of
St. David's, Bath. Born February 11, 1797, at
Stepney, Middlesex. Died July 27, 1875. Edu
cated at the Charter House and Trinity College,
Cambridge. Rector in Yorkshire 1828. Bishop of
St. David's 1840. Joint translator with Julius Hare
of Niebuhr's History of Rome. Author of a His
tory of Greece, first published in Lardner's Cabinet
Cyclopaedia, afterward separately.
Right Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, D.D.,
Bishop of Lincoln. Born in 1807 at Ashby, Nor
folk. Died March 20, 1883. Resigned his position

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 247
on the Committee of Revision in 1870. Educated at
Winchester and Cambridge. Author of Lectures on
Inspiration, Memoirs of Wordsworth, Greece, His
torical and Descriptive, Greek Testament with Notes,
Commentary on the English Bible, 7 vols. , new edi
tion, 1872, and numerous other writings.
Very Rev. John James Stewart Perowne, D.D.,
Dean of Peterborough Deanery, Peterborough. Born
March 13, 1823, at Burdwan, Bengal. Educated at
Norwich and Cambridge. Author of an acute and
learned work on the Psalms, Hulsean Lectures on
Immortality, Articles in Smith's Bible Dictionary,
and various other writings.
Very Rev. Edward Hates Pltjmptree, D.D.,
Dean of Wells, Wells. Born August 6, 1821. Re
signed from the Committee in 1874. Double first-
class at Oxford in 1844. Author of Boyle Lectures
for 1866, Biblical Studies, Exposition of Epistles to
the Seven Churches, Notes on Proverbs in " Speaker's
Commentary," Notes on First Three Gospels in Elli-
cott's Commentary, Exposition of Ecclesiastes, Spirits
in Prison and other Studies on the Life after Death,
articles in Smith's Bible Dictionary, etc., etc.
Very Rev. Robert Payne Smith, D. D. , Dean of
Canterbury, Deanery, Canterbury. Born Novem
ber, 1818, in Gloucestershire. Educated at Pem
broke College, Oxford. Author of Messianic In
terpretation of the Prophecies of Isaiah, Bampton
Lectures for 1869, Notes on Jeremiah in " Speaker's

248 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Commentary," several translations from the Syriac,
and a Syriac Lexicon, based upon Castelli, five parts
of which have been published.
Ven. Benjamin Harrison, M.A., Archdeacon of
Maidstone, with Canonry in Canterbury Cathedral
annexed, Precincts, Canterbury. Born about 1809.
Educated privately and at Christ Church, Oxford,
where he obtained Kennicott Hebrew Scholarship in
1831, and the Pusey and Ellerton Hebrew Scholar
ship in 1832. Author of Prophetic Outlines of the
Christian Church, the Anti- Christian Powers as
traced in the Visions of Daniel and St. John (War-
burtonian Lectures), and numerous charges and ser
mons. Editor of Bishop Broughton's Sermons on
the Church of England.
Yen. Henry John Rose, Archdeacon of Bedford.
Born in 1801. Died January 1, 1873. Author of
a History of the Christian Church from 1700 to
1858. Editor of Encyclopaedia Metropolitana (2d
ed.), Hulsean Lecturer in 1833, Notes on Daniel in
the "Speaker's Commentary," etc.
Rev. William Lindsay Alexander, D.D., Profes
sor of Theology, Congregational Church Hall, Edin
burgh. Born at Edinburgh August 24, 1808. Died
there December 22, 1884. Author of the Connection
and Harmony of the Old and New Testament, Christ
and Christianity, St. Panl at Athens, etc.; contribu
tor to the Encylopaedia Britannica, and editor of the
third edition of Kitto's Biblical Cyclopaedia.

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 249.
Robert Lubbock Benslt, Esq., Fellow and Hebrew
Lecturer, Gouville and Caius College, Cambridge.
Tyrwhitt's Scholar, 1857. Examiner in Hebrew
text, Old Testament, and Greek text. New Testa
ment, in the University of London,
Rev. John Birrell, Professor of Oriental Lan
guages, St. Andrews, Scotland.
Frank Chance, Esq., M.D., Burleigh House, Sy
denham Hill, London.
Thomas Chenery, Esq. Born in Barbadoes, 1826.
Died in London, February 11, 1884. Educated at
Eton and Cambridge, became the Times correspond
ent at Constantinople, an adept in Hebrew, Arabic,
Persian and Turkish (said to have known the Hebrew
Bible and the Koran by heart), translator of " The
Assemblies of El-Hariri," and editor JVaachberoth
Ithiel: Successor of Mr. Delane as editor of the
London Times, 1876.
Rev. Thomas Kelley Cheyne, D.D., Late Fellow
and Hebrew Lecturer of Balliol College, Oxford,
Rector of Tendring, Essex. Author of the Book
of Isaiah Chronologically Arranged, of the Proph
ecies of Isaiah, a new translation, with Commentary
and Appendices (3d ed., 1884), and of a new version
of the Book of Psalms.
Rev. Andrew Bruce Davidson, D.D., Professor
of Hebrew, Free Church College, Edinburgh. Au-

250 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
thor of an Introductory Hebrew Grammar, Com
mentary on Job, Vol. I., 1862, Hebrews in Hand
books for Bible Classes, 1882, Job in Cambridge
Bible for Schools, 1884.
Rev. Benjamin Davies, D.D., LL.D., Baptist
College, London. Born February 26, 1814, near
Llanboidy, Pembrokeshire. Died July 19, 1875.
Educated at Baptist College, Bristol, University of
Glasgow, Trinity College, Dublin, and in Germany.
Received degree of Ph.D. from Leipzig. Author
of a Compendious Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon.
Translator of Rodiger's edition of Gesenius's He
brew Grammar, Joshua to Malachi in Revised Eng
lish Bible, 1877.
Rev. George C. M. Douglas, D.D., Professor of
Hebrew and Principal of Free Church College, Glas
gow. Author of Why I Still Believe that Moses
Wrote Deuteronomy, the Book of Judges in Hand
books for Bible Classes, The Book of Joshua in
Handbooks for Bible Classes.
Samuel Rolles Driver, Esq. , Regius Professor of
Hebrew, Oxford. Author of a valuable work on the
Hebrew Tenses (2d ed., 1881), and The 53d Chapter
of Isaiah according to the Jewish Interpreters, 2 vols.
Rev. Charles John Elliott, Winkfield Vicarage,
Windsor. B.A. St. Catharine's College, Cambridge,
1840. Tyrwhitt University Scholar 1842. Joint
author of Notes on the Psalms in the " Speaker's

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 251
Commentary." Author of a Visitation Sermon,
1847, and of other single discourses.
Rev. Patrick Fairbarn, D.D., Principal of the
Free Church College, Glasgow. Born January, 1805,
in Berwickshire, Scotland. Died at Glasgow, Au
gust 6, 1874. Author of various works on Typology,
Prophecy, and Hermeneutics, and of Expositions of
Ezekiel, and of the Pastoral Epistles, and editor of
the Imperial Bible Dictionary.
Rev. Frederick Field, D.D., Carlton Terrace,
Heigham, Norwich. Born in London in 1801. Edu
cated at Christ's Hospital and Cambridge ; Fellow
of Trinity College ; afterward Rector of Reepham,
Norfolk. Edited the Greek text of Chrysostom's
Commentaries on Matthew, and of his Interpreta
tion of the Pauline Epistles, The Septuagint accord
ing to the Alexandrian Codex, and also Origen's
Hexapla. Author of Otium Norvicense.
Rev. John Dury Geden, Professor of Hebrew,
Wesleyan College, Didsbury, Manchester. Born
May 4, 1822, at Hastings.
Rev. Christian D. Ginsburg, LL.D., Holmlea,
Virginia Water, Chertsey. Born in Poland about
1825. Formerly connected with the Society for the
Promotion of Christianity among the Jews, and their
missionary at Paris. Author of Coheleth or Ec-
clesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Essenes, the Kab-

252 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
balah, Massorath Ha Massoreth, Jacob ben Chajim's
Introduction to Bomberg's Bible, the Moabite Stone,
and the Massorah, compiled from manuscripts alpha
betically and lexically arranged.
Rev. Frederick William Gotch, D.D., LL.D.,
Principal of the Baptist College, Bristol. Author of
the Pentateuch in Revised English Bible, London,
1877. Rev. John Jebb, Canon of Hereford. Born in
Dublin irr-1805. Educated at Winchester and at Trin
ity College, Dublin. Author of " A New Transla
tion of the Book of Psalms, with Dissertations,"
" The Divine Economy of the Church," etc.
Rev. William Kay, D.D., Great Leghs' Rectory,
Chelmsford. Late scholar of Lincoln College, Ox
ford. First Class, Lit. Hum., 1839. Fellow of Lin
coln 1840-66. Principal of Bishop's College, Cal
cutta, 1849-55. Author of Essays on the Promise
of Christianity, Crisis Hupfeldiana, the Psalms Trans
lated from the Hebrew, with Notes, Notes on Isaiah
and on Hebrews in " Speaker's Commentary," Notes
on Ezekiel in S. P. C. K.'s Commentary.
Rev. Stanley Leathes, D.D., Prof essor of He
brew, King's College, London. Born March 21, 1830,
at Ellesborough, Bucks. Educated at Jesus College,
Cambridge. Author of "The Witness of the Old
Testament to Christ," a Hebrew Grammar, the Gos-

THE names of the revisers. 253
pel its own Witness, the Religion of the Christ,
Studies in Genesis, etc. , etc.
Rev. Joseph Rawson Lumby, Norrisian Professor
of Divinity, Cambridge. Born at Stanningley, York
shire, about 1830. Educated at Leeds Grammar
School and Magdalen College, Cambridge. Edited
several works for the Early English Text Society and
the Pitt Press. Author of a History of the Creeds,
and. the notes on Philippians and Philemon in
Schaff's International Commentary on the New
Testament. A contributor to the Encyclopaedia
Britannica (9th ed.), the Expositor, and other peri
odicals. Professor McGill. Died March 16, 1871.
Rev. Archibald Henry Sayce, Deputy Professor
of Comparative Philology, Oxford. Born 'at Shire-
hampton, near Bristol, September 25, 1846. Edu
cated partly at home and partly at Grosvenor Col
lege, Bath. Became scholar of Queen's College,
Oxford, in 1865, and a Fellow of the same in 1869.
Author of Outlines of Accadian Grammar, an As
syrian Grammar, Babylonian Literature, Introduc
tion to the Science of Language, Ancient Empires of
the East, etc., etc.
Rev. William Selwyn, D.D., Canon of Ely.
Born 1806. Died April 24, 1875. Educated at Cam
bridge, and Lady Margaret Reader in Theology there.

254 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Author of Horae Hebraicae, Critical Notes on the
Septuagint, Thoughts on Cathedral Reform.
Rev. William Robertson Smith, LL.D., Lord Al
moner's Professor of Arabic, Cambridge, formerly
of the Free Church College, Aberdeen. Born at
Keig, Aberdeenshire, November 8, 1846. Edu
cated privately, and then at Aberdeen University,
the New College, Edinburgh, and the Universities
of Bonn and Gottingen. A brilliant and versatile
scholar, now associated with Prof. Baynes in editing
the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Author of the Old
Testament in the Jewish Church, and the Prophets
of Israel, and their Place in History to the close of
the Eighth Century,
William Wright, LL.D., Professor of Arabic,
Cambridge. Born in Presidency of Bengal, India,
January 17, 1830. Educated at St. Andrews, Fife,
and Halle, Prussia. Author of a Grammar of the
Arabic Language, and editor of numerous Syriac and
Arabic texts. He catalogued the Syriac and Ethiopic
MSS. in the British Museum.
William Aldis Wright, M. A., LL.D., Fellow and
Senior Bursar of Trinity College, Cambridge. Born
about 1836. Educated at Trinity College, Cam
bridge, and made librarian there. Chief contributor
in biblical geography and biography to Smith's
Bible Dictionary. Editor of Bacon's Essays and
Advancement of Learning, with notes and glossarial

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 255
indexes. Co-editor with W. G. Clark of the Cam
bridge Shakespeare (9 vols.) and the Globe Shake
speare (1 vol.). Author of the Bible Word-Book
(2d ed., 1884). American Company.
William Henry Green, D.D., LL.D., Chairman.
George Edward Day, D.D., Secretary.
Rev. Charles Augustus Aiken, Ph.D., D.D.,
Archibald Alexander Professor of Oriental and Old
Testament Literature and Christian Ethics in the
Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. Born Octo
ber 30, 1827, in Manchester, Vt. Graduated at
Dartmouth College 1846 ; at Andover Theologi
cal Seminary 1849-53, including a year and a half
at Berlin and Halle. Pastor at Yarmouth, Mass.,
1854. Professor of Latin at, Dartmouth 1859 ; same
at Princeton 1866. President of Union College
1869. Professor of Apologetics and Christian Ethics,
Princeton Theological Seminary, 1871 ; of Oriental
and Old Testament Literature and Christian Ethics
at same 18S2. Translator and editor of Proverbs in
Dr. Schaff's edition of Lange's Commentary, and con
tributor to many of the theological reviews.
Rev. Talbot Wilson Chambers, S.T.D., one of the
ministers of the Collegiate Dutch Church in the city
of New York. Born in Carlisle, Pa. , February 25,
1819; Graduated at Rutgers College, N. J., in

256 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
1834 ; partial course in Theological seminaries of
New Brunswick and Princeton. Licensed to preach
in 1838. Settled over Second Reformed Dutch
Church, Somerville, N. J., 1839. Removed to New
York in 1849. Author of Noon Prayer-Meeting,
Life of Frelinghuysen, The Psalter a Witness for
the Divine Origin of the Scriptures, Notes on Zecha-
riah in Schaff's edition of Lange's Commentary.
Rev. Thomas Jefferson Conant, D.D., Brooklyn,
N. Y. Born in Brandon, Vt., December 13, 1802.
Graduated at Middlebury College, Yt., in 1823 ;
continued there in a post-graduate course two years,
given' to Hebrew, Greek and German. Tutor in
Columbian College, Washington, D. C, in 1825.
Professor of Languages in Waterville College (now
Colby University), Maine, in 1827 ; that year
ordained as an evangelist. Professor of Languages
and Biblical Literature in Hamilton Literary and
Theological Institution (now Madison University and
Theological Seminary), at Hamilton, Madison Co.,
N. Y., in 1835. Professor of the Hebrew Lan
guage and Biblical Exegesis in Rochester Theological
Seminary, Rochester, N. Y., in 1851. This post
Dr. Conant resigned in 1857 to accept a commission
from the " American Bible Union" to revise the
English Yersion of the Bible for that society. After
long service in this work he made a contract with
Ebenezer Morgan to continue the revision on Mr.
Morgan's account. Author of a translation of Ge-
senius's Hebrew Grammar, Revised Version of

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 257
Book of Job, with introduction and notes, and also
of Proverbs (some editions contain both the He
brew and the English) ; Revised Version of Gen-
esis,jwith introduction and notes, and the same of
the Book of Psalms, each in 1vol., 8vo ; Prophecies
of Isaiah, i.-x. 4, a revised version, with explana
tions for English readers, and critical notes on the
Hebrew text, the Gospel of Matthew, Greek text,
common version and revised version in parallel col
umns (1 vol. 4to) ; Revised English Version of the
Old Testament, in 8vo, 12mo, and 16mo ; Baptizein,
its meaning and use philologically and historically in
vestigated ; Revised Version of the Historical Books
of the Old Testament, from Joshua to Second Kings,
with introduction and occasional notes.
Rev. George Edward Day, D.D., Professor of
the Hebrew Language and Biblical Theology in the
Divinity School of Yale College, New Haven, Conn.
Born at Pittsfield, Mass., March 19, 1815. Was
graduated at Yale College in 1833, and in the
Yale Divinity School in 1838, where he was assistant
instructor in Sacred Literature 1838-40. Pastor of
First Church in Marlborough, Mass., and the Ed
wards Church in Northampton, 1840-51. Professor
of Biblical Literature in Lane Theological Seminary,
Cincinnati, O., 1851-66 ; Professor of the Hebrew
Language and Biblical Theology in the Divinity
School of Yale College since 1866. Translated, with
additions, Van Oosterzee on Titus for Dr. Schaff's
edition of Lange's Commentary. Edited, with notes,

258 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
the American issue of Oehler's " Biblical The
ology." Rev. John De Witt, D.D., Professor of Hellen
istic Greek and New Testament Exegesis in the
Theological Seminary of the Reformed (Dutch)
Church, New Brunswick. Born November 29, 1821,
in New Brunswick, N. J. Graduated at Rutgers Col
lege, 1838, and at the Theological Seminary, New
Brunswick, 1842. Pastor of the Reformed Dutch
churches at Ridgeway, 1842-44 ; at Ghent, 1845-48 ;
at Canajoharie, 1848-49 ; at Millstone, N. J., 1850-
63. Professor of Oriental Literature at New Bruns
wick, 1863-84 ; Professor of Hellenistic Greek and
New Testament Exegesis, 1884. Author of the Sure
Foundation and How to Build on It, and 'the Praise
Songs of Israel, a new rendering of the Book of
Psalms. Rev. William Henry Green, D.D., LL.D., Pro
fessor of Oriental and Old Testament Literature in
the Theological Seminary, Princeton, N. J. Born
at Groveville, N. J., January 27, 1825. Graduated
at La Fayette College, Pa., 1840. Tutor there
1840-42. Graduated at Princeton Theological Sem
inary 1846. Supply of Second Presbyterian Church,
Princeton, 1847-49. Pastor of Central Presbyterian
Church, Philadelphia, 1849-51. Professor Biblical
and Oriental Literature, Princeton Seminary, 1851-
59, and of Oriental and Old Testament Literature
1859. Author of Grammar of Hebrew Language,

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 259
Hebrew Chrestomathy, the Pentateuch Vindicated,
Elementary Hebrew Grammar, The Argument of
the Book of Job, Moses and the Prophets. Trans
lator and editor of Song of Solomon in Schaff's edi
tion of Lange's Commentary.
Rev. George Emlen Hare, D. D. , Professor of Bib
lical Learning in the Divinity School, Philadelphia,
Pa. Born in Philadelphia, September 4, 1808. Grad
uated at Union College, N. Y., in 1826. Became
Rector of St. John's Church, Carlisle, Pa., in 1830 ;
Rector of Trinity Church, Princeton, N. J., in 1834.
Rector of St. Matthew's Church, Philadelphia, in
1845 ; finally Professor of Biblical Learning in the
Philadelphia Divinity School of the Protestant Epis
copal Church in 1862.
Rev. Charles Porterfield Krauth, D.D. , LL.D. ,
Yice-Provost of the University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, and Professor of Theology and Church
History in the Evangelical Lutheran Theological
Seminary in Philadelphia. Born March 17 in Mar-
tinsburg, Va." Died January 2, 1883, in Philadel
phia. Graduated in 1839 at Pennsylvania College,
Gettysburg. Studied theology with Drs. Schmucker
and Schmidt. Ordained and installed pastor of a
church in Baltimore in 1842. Subsequently held
the same office in Winchester, Va., and Pittsburg,
Pa. In 1859 called to St. Mark's Lutheran Church,
in Philadelphia. In 1864 became Professor of
.Theology and Church History in the Theological

260 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Seminary, then newly established in Philadelphia
by the Lutheran body. In 1868 elected to the
chair of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy in the
University of Pennsylvania, and five years later
made Vice-Provost. Author of the Conserva
tive Reformation and its Theology, a Transla
tion of Tholuck's Commentary on the" Gospel of
John, an Enlargement of Fleming's Vocabulary
of Philosophy, a new edition of Berkeley's Phil
osophical Writings, and various minor treatises
touching questions in theology and Church his
tory. Tayler Lewis, LL.D., Professor of Greek and
Oriental Languages in Union College, Schenectady,
N. Y. Born March 27, 1802, in Northumberland,
N. Y. Died May 11, 1877, in Schenectady. He
was prepared for college by Dr. Proudfoot, of Salem.
Graduated from Union College in 1820. Studied
law, and commenced practice at Fort Miller in 1824.
Became Principal of Waterford Academy in 1833.
Professor of Greek and Latin in the University of
the City of New York in 1838. Professor of Greek
in Union College in 1849, and afterward of Oriental
Languages and Biblical Literature. Author of Plato
contra Atheos, the Six Days of Creation, the Bible
and Science, the Divine-Human in the Scriptures,
Notes on Genesis and Job and Ecclesiastes in Schaff's
edition of Lange's Commentary, Vedder Lecture, the
Light by which we see Light, and innumerable minor
articles in reviews and periodicals.

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 261
Rev. Charles Marsh Mead, Ph.D., D.D., former
ly Professor of Hebrew in the Theological Seminary,
Andover, Mass. Born January 28, 1836, at Corn
wall, Vt. Graduated at Middlebury College, Vt.,
1856. Teacher in Phillips Academy 1856-58. Tutor
at Middlebury 1859-60. Graduated at Andover
Theological Seminary 1862. Studied at Halle and
Berlin 1863-66. Made Ph.D. at Tubingen 1866;
same year appointed Professor of Hebrew at An
dover. Resigned the professorship in 1882. Since
then a resident of Bonn, of Leipzig, and now of Ber
lin. Translator and editor of the Book of Exodus
in Schaff's edition of Lange's Commentary. Author
of " The Soul Here and Hereafter," and of numer
ous articles in the Bibliotheca Sacra and other reviews.
Rev. Howard Osgood, Professor of Hebrew in the
Baptist Theological Seminary, at Rochester, N. Y.
Born January 4, 1831, in the parish of Plaquemines,
La. Graduated at Harvard College 1850. Ordained
1856. Pastor at Flushing, L. I., 1856-58, and in
New York 1860-65. Professor of Hebrew at Crozier
Theological Seminary, Crozier, Pa. , 1868-74, and at
Rochester Theological Seminary 1875. Author of
" Jesus Christ and the Newer School of Criticism"
in Baptist Review, January, 1883, " Prehistoric
Commerce of Israel," ib., April, 1885. Translator
of Pierret's Dogma of the Resurrection among the
Ancient Egyptians, Hebrew Student, February, 1885.
Rev. Joseph Packard, D.D., Professor of. Biblical

262 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
Learning in the Protestant Episcopal Seminary of
the Diocese of Virginia, Alexandria, Va. Born De-
' cember 23, 1812, in Wiscasset, Maine. Graduated
at Bowdoin College in 1831. Two years later entered
the Andover Theological Seminary. While there ap
pointed a professor in Bristol College, Pa., now ex
tinct. Admitted to deacon's orders by Bishop Gris-
wold in 1836. The same year elected professor in
the seminary at Alexandria, Va. Author of the Ex
position of MalachiinDr. Schaff's edition of Lange's
Commentary. Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe,D.D., Hartford, Conn.,
formerly Professor of Hebrew in Andover Theolog
ical Seminary. Born April 26, 1802, at Natick,
Mass. Graduated at Bowdoin College 1824, and at
Andover Seminary 1828. Assistant Professor of
Sacred Literature at Andover 1828-30. Professor
of Languages at Dartmouth College 1830-33. Pro
fessor of Biblical Literature in Lane Seminary
1833-50, and of Natural and Revealed Religion in
Bowdoin College 1850-52. Professor of Sacred
Literature in Andover Seminary 1852-64. Author
of a translation of Jahn's Hebrew Commonwealth, a
new edition, with notes, of Lowth's Hebrew Poetry,
Report oh Elementary Education in Europe, Intro
duction to the Criticism and Interpretation of the
Bible, the Origin and History of the Books of the
Bible, besides many contributions to religious period
icals. Dr. Stowe resigned from the Revision Com
mittee in 1876.

THE NAMES OF THE REVISERS. 263
James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Professor of Ex-
egetical Theology in the Drew Theological Semi
nary, Madison, N. J. Born August 14, 1822, in
New York. Graduated at Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Conn., 1844. Teacher of Ancient Lan
guages in Troy Conference Academy, West Poult-
ney, Vt., 1844-46. Professor of Biblical Literature
and Acting President of Troy University 1858-61.
Professor of Exegetical Theology in Drew Seminary.
Author of Epitomes of Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldee
Grammar ; Analysis of the Epistles to the Romans
and to the Hebrews, and of the Apocalypse ; Trans
lation of the Book of Ecclesiastes ; Exposition of the
Song of Solomon ; a volume of Lectures, entitled
Irenics ; portions of the translation and notes on
Esther and Daniel in Dr. Schaff's edition of Lange's
Commentary ; joint editor with Dr. John McClin-
tock, and after his death sole editor, of a Cyclopaedia
of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature
(10 vols. 8vo, and 1 supplementary), and a contrib
utor to various periodicals.
Cornelius V. A. VanDyck, M.D., D.D., Profes
sor in the American College at Beirut, Syria. Born
at Kinderhook, N. Y., August 18, 1818. Studied
the classics at the Kinderhook Academy ; studied
medicine with his father, H. L. Van Dyck, M.D.,
and at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Went to Syria as missionary physician 1840. Soon
became a proficient in Arabae, and took charge of a
seminary at Abieh, on Mount Lebanon. Ordained

264 OLD TESTAMENT REVISION.
to the ministry by his associates, and gave himself to
missionary work. He was associated with Dr. Eli
Smith in the preparation of an Arabic version of the
Scriptures, but the Pentateuch was barely completed
when Dr. Smith died. Then Dr. Van Dyck alone
carried on the enterprise to completion, and the re
sult is an accurate and elegant version, equal -in style
to the Koran, and acceptable to cultivated speakers
of Arabic everywhere. He spent two years in
New York in superintending the publication of this
great work. Since its completion he has been mainly
employed in professorial work in the American Col
lege and in the preparation of text-books in Arabic
for the use of the students. Dr. Van Dyck could
not attend the meetings of the company, but was
often consulted by letter, and the notes he transmit
ted on particular portions of the Old Testament were
highly valued and very useful.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

[The Scriptures referred to do not include those which occur in Biblical
order in chapters iv.— viii.]

Abbot, Dr. Ezra, his qualities as a
critic, 52.
Abraham, 226, 228, 245.
Adam, the city, 97; the man, 160.
Aiken, Dr. C A., 255.
Alexander, Dr. William Lindsay, 248.
American Committee appointment,
43 ; mode of action, 50, 51 ; har
mony, 9 ; their Appendix, 16T sq. ;
list of members, 255 sq.
Aquila's Greek version of O. T., 72.
Archaisms, 172.
Arnold, Matthew, on translation, 138
(note); on the name Jehovah, 170
(note).
Asherim, 85, 102.
Assyriology, 28.
Auspices of the revision, 39, 40.
Authorized Version, its defects, 19
sq., 28 sq., 132, 158 ; its excellence,
16 sq., 46, 57, 110.
"Azazel," 86,176.
Amos iii. 2, p. 81.
Acts ii. 47, p. 42.

Bath and Wells, Bishop of, 246.
Belial, 92, 174.
Bensley, Robert L., 249.
Bentleyr 53.

Biography in the O. T., 225.
Birrell, Prof. John, 249.
Bissell, Prof., on correctness of the
O. T. text, 63.
Bomberg's Hebrew Bible, 67.
Borrow's Bible in Spain quoted, 222.
" Boy" applied to slaves, 183.
Briggs, Prof. C A., on textual revi
sion, 76 ; on Hebrew poetry, 79
(note).
Brooks, Rev. Dr. Phillips, quoted, 4.
C.
Cardinal ethical precepts, the same
everywhere, 242 ; perfectly given in
the O. T., 232.
Carlyle, T., on David's Psalms, 230.
Casaubon on conjectural readings,
75.
Cartography of Palestine, 27.
Catholic character of the revision, 41.
Chambers, T. W., 256.
Chance, Frank, 249.
Chapter divisions of the A. V., 16, 17.
Chenery, Thomas, 249.
Cheyne, Rev. Thomas Kelley, 138,
249.
Church of England, 39, 40.
Conjectural readings, 65, 73 sq.
Convocation of Canterbury, 39.
"Cor," 107.

266

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

" Corn," British use of the word, 44.
Cyrus, 143.
U. Cor. vi. 15, p. 174.

David, 226, 230, 235, 238, 244.
Davidson, Prof. Andrew Bruce, 249.
Davidson, Dr. Samuel, on the various
readings of the O. T., 68.
Davies, Rev. Dr. Benjamin, 250.
Day, Dr. George E., 257 ; quoted, 14,
220.
Decalogue, perfect, 232 ; upheld by
our Lord, 232, 243.
Deliberate action of the revisers, 49.
Denmark, Bible revision in, 7.
" Devils," 105.
De Witt, Prof. John, 258.
Divorce in the 0. T., 234.
Dillman, Prof., on Hebrew codices, 69.
Douglas, Principal George C. M., 250.
Driver, Prof. Samuel R., 250.
Dent. xii. 18, p. 236.
" xxii. 5, 7, p. 238.
" xxiv. 17, 19, p. 238.
" xxv. 4, p. 238. E.
Egyptology, 28.
El Arish, 90.
El Shaddai, 169.
Elohim, meaning of, 170, 179.
Ephrem the Syrian, 73.
Errors in translation, list of, 29, 30.
EsSafeh, 91.
Euphemisms, 103, 143, 151, 175, 177,
185, 191, 207, 212.
Ewald on the Old Testament, 231.
Expiation in the O. T., 228.
Extermination of the Canaanites, rea
sons for, 233.
Exodus xxi. 20, p. 234.
" xxii. 21-27, p. 287.
" xxiii. i, 5, p. 237.
F.
Faber on the English Bible, 46.
Fourth Commandment, 35, 236.
France, Bible revision in, 8.

G.
Gadites, 104.
Genesis, division of chapters in, )
Germany, Bible revision in, 9.
" Giblites," 102.
Ginsburg, Rev. Dr., 64, 66, 251.
Gotch, Dr. F. W., 250.
Green, Prof. W. H., 33, 258.

Halstead's version of Job, 31.
Harrison, Archdeacon, 248.
Hare, Prof. G. E-, 259.
Hebraisms, 32, 152, 153, 163, 182, 189,
197, 202, 217.
Herder referred to, 79 ; on the O. T.,
221.
Hell not a proper rendering of Sheol,
172.
Herem, 92.
Hercules, 241.
History in the O. T., 223.
Holland, Bible revision in, 13 ; Siaaten
Bybel of, 16.
Home, Bishop, quoted, 10.
Hozai, 106.
Human sacrifices in Canaan, 92 ; for
bidden by Mosaic code, 240.
Huxley, Prof., on English Bible, 47.
"Hypocrite," 28, 112.
Habakkuk iii. 3, 4, p. 31.
Hebrews ii. 7, p. 120.

Idol worship among the Hebrews,
243.
International feature of the revision,
43.
Isaac Taylor on the Psalms, 229.
Isaiah, division of chapters in, 23.
" vii. 16, p. 32.
" ix. 3, p. 64.
" xiii. 3, p. 32.
" xix. 10, p. 31.
J.
Jacob, 239, 243.
Jael, 239.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

267

Jahveh, 169.
Jebb, Canon John, 250.
Jehovah, 120, 168 sq.
Jephthah, 240.
Jerome, 25, 65.
Job, division of chapters in, 23.
Jonathan ben Uziel, 70.
Judges xiii. 3, p. 32.
xv. 19, p. 32.
Job xxvi. 5, p. 31.
John i. 41, p. 157.
James ii. 25, p. 239. K.
Kay, Dr. William, 252.
Kennicott, 69.
"Keri," 64,69,126,143.
" Kethib," 64, 160.
Kindness of the Mosaic code, 237.
Koran, The, 101.
Krauth.Prof. C. P., 259.
L.
Llandaff, Bishop of, 246.
Leathes, Prof. Stanley, 252.
Lewis, Prof. Tayler, 260.
Lex talionis, 234.
Liturgy of the Old Testament, 228.
Lincoln, Bishop of, 246.
Lowth, Bishop, 37, 75.
Loskiel, History of Moravian mis
sions, 242.
Lnmby, Prof. J. R., 253.
Lying, its evil nature, 238.
Lev. xix. 14, 17, 18, 32, p. 237.
Luke, xxiii. 31, p. 94.
M.
Marsh.Hon. George P., on revision, 32.
Marsh, Dr. James, translation of
Herder, 222.
Massorah, its nature, 62 sq.
Massoretic text adhered to, 193, 194,
216.
Meat offering, 28.
Method of the revision, 50.

Messiah, 165 ; word excluded from
the revision, 156 ; restored to the
margin by the Appendix, 215.
Mead, Prof. Charles M., 260.
Michal, her teraphim, 244.
Midrash. 105.
Missionaries awaiting the revision,
49.
Missionary " adherents," their char
acter, 244.
McGill, Prof., 253.
Montesquieu on Lex talionis, 234.
Moravian missionary rebuked, 242.
Malachi iii. 13-18, p. 111.
Matthew v. 17, p. 232.
v. 38, 39, p. 234.
" vi. 25, 31, 34, p. 181.
" xix. 17, p. 243.
" xix. 18, p. 84. N.
Name, the, 87, 171.
Negeb (or South), 81, 153.
Newcome, Archbishop, 37.
Nephelim, 88.
Norway, Bible revision in, 8.
Noyes, Dr. George R., 37.
Numbers xxxv. 11, 12, 15, p. 47.
" xxxv. 31, p. 234.
Nehemiah viii. 8, p. 56, 70.
O.
Obsolete words, list of, 19 sq., 173, 196.
Oehler, Bib. Theol. quoted, 219.
Old Testament unduly exalted, 218;
reaction concerning, 218, 219 ; need
ed to understand the New, 220 sq. ;
its value recognized by universal
church, 230.
Onkelos, Targum of, 70.
Osgood, Prof. Howard, on the JewB'
fidelity, 66 ; personal details of,
261.
Osterwald's French version, 8.
P.
Packard,. Prof. Joseph, 261.
Parallelisms, 24, 79, 135, 199.

268

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

Paris, Polyglot, 25.
Peabody, Rev. Dr. A. P., on Ezra Ab
bot, 52.
Perowne, Dean, 247.
" People " for " peoples," 82.
Persian words, 105, 106, 107.
Peshirto version, 19, 73.
Plumptre, Dean, 247.
Pliny on nature, quoted by Hengsten-
berg, 221 (note).
Poetry in Hebrew history, 78 sq.; of
Job., 110; of Canticles, 131; of the
Prophets, 135.
Pope's Universal Prayer, 170.
Psalter, divisions of, 120 ; hard to re
vise, 119 ; superscriptions in, 36 ;
harvest lyric, 124 ; missionary, 125 ;
adapted to all ages, 229.
Psalm iv. 1, p. 32.
" ix.17, p. 172.
" x. 4, p. 33.
" xvi. 2, p. 31.
" xix. 3, p. 33.
" xxiii. 1, 2, p. 58.
" xlvii. 8, p. 32.
" lxvii. 6, p. 31.
" lxxiii. p. 111.
" ciii. 2, p. 153 (note).
B.
Rahab, 239.
Rachel stole tbe teraphim, 243.
Re-revision unlikely, 51.
Revelation, the Bible is such, 34, BO.
Reverence needed for a translator, 52.
Resurrection intimated, 114, 142.
Ritual of the O. T., its use, 227.
Ritschl on conjectural readings, 75.
Rose, Archdeacon, 248.
Rales of Committee on revision, 45.
Rev. vii. 17, p. 182. S.
Samuel, his purity, 245.
Samson, 241 sq.
"Satrap," 107.
Sayce, Prof. A. H., 253.

Schaff, Dr. Philip, on the church of
England, 40 (note) ; his Companion
to the Greek Testament, 246.
Schleiermacher, 218.
Schultens, his Arabic scholarship, 26.
Segond, Prof. Louis, his version of
the Bible, 9.
Selwyn, Canon William, 253.
Sepoy rebellion, illustration from,
138.
Sermon on the Mount, 234, 243.
SheOl, 113, 121, 123, 171 sq.
Septuagint, 24 sq. ; its origin, 71 ; no
critical edition of, 74.
Simplicity of style needed for a ver
sion, 56.
Smith, Dean, R. Payne, 247.
Smith, Prof. W. Robertson, 138, 254.
Song of Solomon, Purity of, 131.
Slavery in Hebrew times, 235 sq.
St. David's, Bishop of, 246.
Stowe, Dr. C. E., 262.
Strack, Prof. H. L., 67, 69.
Symmachus, his version of the O. T.,
72.
Syriac Peshitto, 25, 73.

Talmndists, 65, 67.
Targnms, 70, 71.
Temple, Bishop, on the authority of
Scripture, 54.
Tenses in Hebrew, 25.
Teraphim in Hebrew households, 243,
244.
Theodotion, his version of the O. T.,
72.
Ti6chendorf on textual sources of
the N. T., 61.
Translation must be intelligible, 138.
Twelve tables of Rome, 234.
Twenty-third Psalm, its excellence,
57 ; mistranslation of, 58.
H. Tim. iii. 16, 17, p. 8.
U.
Uniformity of rendering, 47.

ALPHABETICAL INDEX.

269

Van Dyck, Dr. C. V. A., 263.
Various readings of Hebrew text, 64,
67,68.
Versicnlar division of A. V., 17.
Versions, ancient, their authority, 73
Bq„ 173.
Vnlgate, 25, 42, 173.

W.
Walton's Polyglot, 26.
Westcott and Hort on text of N.
61.
Wilberforce, Bishop, 39.
Wright, William, 254.
Wright, William Aldis, 254.

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among our biographies of eminent Americans. There have been so many Inquiries
after the * Sereno E. Dwight edition ' that I am rejoiced that you have now made this
life of Brainerd accessible to all. Its fullness, Its excellent typography, Dr. Plerson's
thrilling prelude on God's Hand In Missions, and the excellent preface and judicious
notes added by Dr. Sherwood constitute this a rich sheaf added to the best of our
granary of Christian literature." — Prof. Selden J. Coffin, Lafayette College.
Manual of Keyiyals.
Practical Hints and Suggestions from Histories of Revivals, and Biographies
of Revivalists, with Themes for the use of Pastors, including Texts, Subjects,
and Outlines of the Sermons of many distinguished Evangelists. By G. W.
Hebvey. 12mo, cloth, $1.25.
Metropolitan Pulpit.
Containing Condensations of Leading Sermons, and much other Homiletic
matter. Vol. I. Royal 8vo, cloth, 206 pp., $1.50. Vol. II., cloth, enlarged.
(Metropolitan Pulpit and Homiletic Monthly.) Royal 8vo, 388 pp , $2.75. Per
set. Vols. I. and II., $4.00.
Meyer's Commentaries.
An American Edition of these valuable, critical and exegetical commentaries
by Heinbich A. W. Meyeb with preface, notes and introduction, by several
eminent American scholars.
Romans, edited by Timothy Dwight, LL.D., of Tale.
I. and n. Cobinthxans, edited by Talbot W. Chambers, D.D., New York.
St. John, edited by Prof. A. C. Kendrick, D.D., Rochester.
St. Matthew, edited by Geo. R. Crooks, D.D., Drew Seminary.
Mabk and Luke, edited by M. B. Riddle, D.D.
Galatjans, Ephesians and Philemon, edited by Prof. Henry E. JacobB, D.D.
Acts op the Apostles, edited by William Ormiston, D.D.
Large 8vo, uniform in style, cloth, $3.00 each.
Meyer's series of Great Commentaries on the New Testament are in the front rank of
¦cholarly Biblical works.
" This Is a very learned Commentary."— C. H. Spurgeon.
"Prince of Exegetes."— T. W. Chambers.
" Of immense value."— Thomas Armitage, D.D.
" Always helpful."—/. T. Duryea, D.D.
" Useful for its large learning, wise judgment, and conciseness "— Arthur Brooks, D.D.
This series of publications deserves the highest praise, and cannot fail to reward the
enterprising publlsherB."— Bibliotheca Sacra.

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a. — ,  —  .
«'My St. John."
A remarkable pastoral experience by James M. Ltjdlow, D.D. " A most
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32mo, 10 cents; 60 copies, $3.50; 100, $6.00.
New Light on Mormontsm.
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This will be found to be a book of remarkable interest and power. It gives a vivid
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. public, at least to this generation. The work cannot fall to deepen the disgust and
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New Popular Biographies.
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Ulric Zwingli.
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Praise Songs of Israel.
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same careful, scholarly treatment and the same devout spirit. This work is rich In
spiritual thought, and must prove abundantly suggestive to every thoughtful reader."—
" I am gratified to learn that you Intend to bring out an American reprint of Pusey's
^?n,0^ Pr0Pheta, wnich is the most learned, able and instructive commentary on that
Princetons " produoed ta Great Brltaln.--.Prof. Henry Grem,
" It gives i pie a heartfelt joy tp learn of your design to republish Dr. Pusey's Minor
Pru^ts ,. V /,TeEkthSre,w^ p,r?1-ound Earning combined with the spirit of 'the little
child,' enlisted In _the task of old Testament exposition, we see it here. I cannot al-
ways accept the Doctor's solution of knotty points, but I tremble to compare my own
questionings with his entire self-surrender to what seems to him the mind of th2
Id^b^B^JuofN. YW and mah humamty are rarelyco^bIned.-lto4 A <&
•' I consider Dr. Pusey's Commentary on the'MInor Prophets to be a most valuable
work ; I have studied It with great profit and much pleasure and benefit, acdl Jm most
5Ja?& an Amerioan edlW°n »>» ""out to oe published."-!^™ *D&, D™7,
" I am glad to hear that you propose to republish on this side of the Atlantic Pnsev'a
Commentary on the Minor Prophets It Is the best exposition known to mo 7,? ,7„!
section of the Sacred Scriptures. Pusey's Hebrew scholarship >wal undoubted -nta
leaning was extensive; his acquaintance particularly with patristic literature f'wS
very large, and his heart was especially devout. His well-known church views do not

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obtrude themselves, and alike In his comments on Daniel and the Minor Prophets he
seems to me to be on his knees as he studies — seeking only to know God's meaning and
desiring only to do God's will. I have gone throuah his Daniel chapter by chapter-
wondering even more at the reverence wn at the learning of the expositor."— Wm.
M. Taylor, D.D., New York.
" Dr. Pusey's * Commentary on the Minor Prophets ' will certainly be an Interesting
and valuable addition to your list of publications."— Phillips Brooks, D.D., Boston.
*' The republication of Dr. Pusey's Commentary on the Minor Prophets Is much to
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be far more widely known In this country. I am glad to hear that a New York house
has undertaken the reprint."— Bishop F. D. Huntington, of Central New York.
Revised New Testament. (Teacher's Edition.)
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Rock that is Higheb than- I.
A beautiful gift book suitable at all seasons. By Rev. John Edqab Johnson.
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Rome in America.
By Justin Fulton, D.D. 12mo, paper, 30 cents; cloth, 75 cents.
Sabbath foe Man, The,
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Schaff-Heezog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge;
or, Dictionary of Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal and Practical Theology. Based
on the Real'Encyklopadie of Herzog, Pitt and Hauck. Edited by Philip
Schaff, D.D., LL.D., Professor in Union Theological Seminary, assisted by
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professorsand clergymen." — John Hall, D.D., New York.
" The articles are concise, yet full. The volume Is a mine of fresh and Interesting
Information on all Scriptural and ecclesiastical matters In which He pure nuggets ready
for tne hand of the seeker. The work furnishes ample proof of laborious carefulness
and vigilant accuracy. "-W. Ormiston,D.D., LL.D., New York.
"The Schaft-Herzog is the very best Encyclopaedia published In any language. For
variety, amplitude and exactness of useful Information in the branches of knowledge
covered by it, I am acquainted with no work that equals it."— Prof. Roswell D. Hitch
cock, D.D., New York.
" It Is certain that this Encyclopsedla will fill a place In our Theological Literature in
which, for a long time, it will have no rival."— Prof. A. A. Hodge, D.D., Princeton Theo.

• Dr. Schaff's ' Religious Encyclopaedia' may wellbe called the joint product of the
scholarship of the world. It is the result not solely of any one thinker or one class of
thinkers, butof scholars and schools widely diversified in their intellectual habits and
tastes. It not only deserves to form a part of every good library for students of general
literature, but It is pre-eminently valuable as forming in itself a compact theological
library."— Prof. Edward A. Park, D.D.
"I have long been acquainted with the original work of Herzog, which in scientific
structure and profound learning has held the first place among works of its kind. The
present edition, to which Dr. Senate's accomplished supervision adds so much worth,
is invaluable."— Julius H. Seelye, Amherst College.
" I am delighted with the ' Religious Encyclopaedia ' edited by Dr. Schaff, who has
certainly enriched our American libraries with a greater store of ripe sacred knowl
edge than any other living scholar. This encyclopaedia is invaluable for scope of sub
jects, for richness of knowledge, and for general reliableness of judgment."— Ren..
Henry Ward Beeclier .

I

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Stobies in Rhyme foe Holiday Time.
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Theology of the Old Testament.
By Dr. Gust. Fr. Oehler, late Professor Ordinaxius of Theology in Tubingen,
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" Oehler's Theology of the Old Testament has for a generation been considered as at
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The Mentor.
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especially so to young men. Its teachings will greatly tend to give them confidence
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Traps por the Young.
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No. Price.
*1. John Ploughman's Talk. Spurgeon. , . 1 «,_,,_ *n 19
Choice of Books. Carlyle. 4to  f tfotn  »u n
*2. Manliness of Cubist 1 nomas Hughes. 4to  10
3. Essays. Lord Macaulay. 4to  15
4. Light of Asia. Edwin Arnold. 4*o  ,  15
*5. Imitation of Cheist. Thomas a Kempis. 4to  15
*6-7. Life of Christ. Canon Farrar. 4to  50
8. Essays. Thomas Carlyle. 4to  20
*9-10. Life and Work of St. Paul. Canon Farrar. 4to  60
*11. Self Culture. Prof. J. S. Blickie 4to  10
112-19. Knight s Popular History op- Esijland. 4to  2 80
"20-21. Letters to Workman and Laborers. Ruskin. 4to  30
22. Idyls of the King. Alfred Teunyson. 4to  20
23. Life of Rowland Hill. V. J. Charlesworth. 4to  15
24. Town G-eology. Charles Kingsley. 4to  15
25. Alfred the Great. Thos. Hughes. 4to  20
26. Outdoor Life in Europe. E P. Thwlnr. 4to  20
27. Calamities of Authors I. D'Israeli. 4to  20
28. Salon of Madame Necker. Parti. 4to  15
29. Ethics of the Dost. John Buskin. 4fo  15
30-31. Memories of My Exdle. Louis Kossuth. 4to  40
*32. Mister Horn and His Friends. Illustrated. 4to  15
33-34. Orations of Demosthenes. 4to.  40
35. Frondes Agrestes. John Buskin. 4to  "... 15
36. Joan of Arc. Alphonse de Lamartine. 4to  10
37. Thoughts of M. aurelius Antoninus. 4to  ,  15
38. Salon of Madame Neckeb. Part II. 4to  15
39. The Hermits. Charles KiDgsiey. 4to  15
*40. John Ploughman's Pictures. Spurgeon. 4to  15
*41. Pulpit Table-Talk. Dean Ramsay. 4to  10
*42. Bible and Newspaper. C. H. Spurgeon. 4to  15
43. Lacon. Rev. C.Colton. 4to  20
44. Goldsmith's Citizen or the World. 4to  20
45. America Revisited. George Augustus Sala. 4to  20
46. Life of C. H. Spurgeon. 8vo  20
|47, JounCalvIn. M. Guizot. 4to  15
+43-49. Dickens' Christmas Book. Hlustrated. 8vo  50
50. Shairp's Culture and Religion. 8vo  15
t51-52. Godet s Commentary on Luke. 8vo  2 00
+53. Diary of a Mmistkr's Wife. Parti. 8vo  '.'.'.'.  15
1 54-57. Van Doren's Commentary on Luke. 8vo  .-  3 00
+58. Diary of a Minister s Wife. Part n. 8vo  15
59. The Nutkitive Cure. Dr. Robert Walter. 8vo  16
t60. Sartor Resartus. Thomas Carlyle. 4lo  '...'.  25
t61 -62. Lothair. Lord Beacocefield. 8vo  '.  50
G3. The Persian Queen. E. P. Thwing. 8vo  ...'.  10
64. Salon of Madame Necker. PartlLT. 4to.  15
+65-66. History of English Bble Translation. Conant  60
67. Ingeksoll Answered. Joseph Paiker, D.D. 8vo  '. 15
+68-69. Studies in Mark. D.C.Hughes. 8vo  60
70. Jobs Comforters. A, Satire. Dr. Parker. IGruo  .'.'..11.1 10
+71. Reviser's English. G W. Moon. 12mo  20
t'i'2. Conversion of Children. Hammond. 12mo  .'.'.'.  30
73. New Testament Helps. Rev. "W. F. Crafts. 8vo  20
74. Opium — England's Policy. Liggins. 8vo  'm\\\  io
+75. Blood f f Jesus. Rev. Wm. A. Ruid. 12mo.„  '....\ io
76. Lesson in the Cloeet. Chas. F. Deems, D.D. 12mo  20
+77-78. Heroes and Holddays. Rev. W. F. Crafts. 12mo  60
79. Reminiscences of Lyman Beeoher, D.D. 8vo  10

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80. Life of Cbomwell. By Paxton Hood. Paper, 25 cts.; cloth  $1 00
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84. Flotsam and Jetsam. By Thomas Gibson Bowles. Paper, 25 cts.;
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85. Highways of TrrERATttBE; or What to Read and How to Bead. By
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86. Colin Clout's Calendak; or, a Record of a Summer. By Grant Allen.
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87. Essays op George Eliot. Collected by Nathan Sheppard. Paper,
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88. Ohaelotte Bronte. By L. C. Holloway. Paper, 15 cts. ; cloth  75
89. SimHobjrt. By Justin D. Fulton. Paper, 25 cts. •. cloth  100
90. Successful Men of To-Day, and What They Fay of Success. Bv Wil-
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91. Nature Studies. By Richard A. Proctor. Paper, 25 cts. ; cloth  1 CO
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93. A Winter in India. By W. E. Baxter, M. P. Paper, 15 cts. ; cloth  75
94. Scottish Characteristics. By Paxton Hood. Paper, 25 cts.; cloth.. 1 00
95. Historical and Othee Sketches. By James Anthony Froude. Paper,
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96. Jewish Abttsan Life in the Time of Jesus. By Prof. Franz Delitzsch.
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97. ScrENTiFia Sophisms. By Samuel Wainright. Paper, 25 cts. ; cl"th... 100
98. Illustrations and Meditations. By C. H. Spurgeon. Paper, 25 cts.;
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99. French Celebrities. Part I. By Ernest Daudet and others. Paper,
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100. By- Ways of Literature. By D. H. Wheeler, LL. D., Pres. Allegheny
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101. Life of Martin Luther, based upon " Koestlin's Life of Luther."
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102. Fbench Celebrities. Part II. By Claretie and others. Paper, 15
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103. Our Christmas in a Palace. By Edward Everett Hale. Paper, 25 cts.;
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104. With the Poets. By Canon Farrar. Paper, 25 cts.; cloth  100
105. Life of Zwingli. By Prof. Grob. Paper, 25 cts.; cloth  10"

PUBLICATIONS OF FUNK £ WAGNALLS, NEW YORK.
%hz standard %ibxixx%.
The Standard Library for 1884 contains none but absolutely new works, and
many of them by the ablest American writers of Action. The series contains
26 volumes, 12mo, printed on good paper, in clear, large type, and bound in
paper covers with artistic designs, and in cloth, on extra heavy paper, with
back and side gold stamp, in variously colored bindings.
Prioe-s : Paper, 15 and 25 cents per volume; cloth, 75 cents and $1.00.
No. Price.
106. Stoby of the Merv. Epitomized from "The Merv Oasis" by the
author, Edmond O'Donovan. Paper, 25 cents ; cloth  $1 00
107. Mdmu. and The 1'atry of a Puperfluous Man. Two Novels. By Ivan
Turg^nieff. Translated from the Russian. One Volume. Paper, 15
cents; cloth  75
108. Memorte and Rime. Stories, Poems and Sketches. Also " Leaves from
my Journal." By Joaquin Miller. Pa^er, 25 cents; cloth  100
109. Christianity Triumphant. By John P. Newman, D.D. A most graphic
and eloquent account of the vie' ories achieved by Christianity. Paper,
15 cents; cloth  75
110. The Bowsham Puzzle. A new Novel. By John Habberton, author of
" Helen's Babies." Paper, 25 cents; cloth  1 00
111; My Musical Memories. A volume of reminiscences. By H. R. Haweis,
A.M. Paper, 25 cpnts; cloth  100
112. Archibald Malmaison. A Novel. By Julian Hawthorne. Paper, 15
cents; cloth  75
113. In the Heart of Africa. Travels of Sir Samuel Baker, F. R. G. S..
WithMap. Paper, 25 cts; cloth  100
114. The Clew of thb Maze; or, Modern Infidelity and How to Meet It.
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115. The Fortunes of Rachel. A Novel. By Edward Everett Hale. Paper,
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116. Chinese Gordon. A Succinct Record of his Life. By Archibald Forbes.
Paper. 15 cts.; cloth  $0 75
117. Wrr, Wisdom and Philosophy. By Jean Paul Richter. Paper, 25 cts. ;
cloth  100
118. Himself Again. A Novel. By J. C. Goldsmith. Paper, 25 cts^; cloth, 1 00
119. The Home is Poetry. A collection of English and American verse on
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120. Number One, and How to Take Cabe of Him. A series of familiar
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121. Rutherford. A Novel. By Edgar Fawcett. Paper, 25 cts. ; cloth  1 00
122. Ten Years a Police Court Judge. By Judge Wiglittle. Paper, 25 cts. ;
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126. An Old Sailob's Yarns. By Capt. Roland Coffin. Paper, 16 cts. ; cloth. 76
127. Out of Egypt. Bible Readings on the Book of Exodus. By Rev. Geo.
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128. True. A Novel. By George Parsons Lathrop. Paper, 25 cts ; cloth... 100
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130. Christmas in Narragansett. By Edward Everett Hale. Paper, £6 cts. ;
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BOOKS ON THE "REVISED VERSION:"
Revised Vebsion of tee Old Testament.
Official Oxford and Cambridge Edition. Price $1.00.
Apart from the desirability of replacing the Authorized (King James) Version
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the Revised Version will prove the very best commentary upon the old version To
all clergymen, Sunday-school teachers and Bible readers, the revised Bible will be
found indispensable to a clear and reliable interpretation of Scripture.
The $1.00 edition is compact and clearly printed. The size is 4x5 >£ inches.
Companion to the Revised Old Testament.
Showing the leading changes made by the Revisers, and the reasons for
making them. By Talbot W. Chambers, D.D. 12mo, cloth, $1.00,
Dr. Chambers was a most valued member of the Revision Committee, and is,
besides, a ripe and accomplished scholar and Biblical critic1. Moreover, he is
thoroughly trustworthy, conscientious and painstaking in all his literary work.
" The Companion to the Revised Old Testamen*. " discusses the need of a re
vision, and the method of making it; then considers the original text of the Old
Testament, and follows this with a mention of the changes made*, and the reasons
for making them, from Genesis to Malachi, and concludes with a list of the Old
Testament Revisers, British and American, and their Bibliography.
The work will he timely and welcome to all who purchase and desire to under
stand and appreciate the merits of the Old Testament Revision.
Companion to the Revised New Testament.
Explaining the reason for the changes made in the Authorized Version. By
Alex. Robebts, D.D., member of the English Revision Committee, with Sup
plement by a member of the American Committee. Authorized Edition. 8vo,
117 pp., paper, 25 cents; 16mo, 213 pp., cloth, 75 cents.
The New York Examiner and Chronicle says ; " It is very valuable, giving needed
facts as to the causes of the different readings which have sprung up in the
Scriptures, and the grounds upon which the changes in the present Revised Ver
sion have been made.
The Revisers' English.
A Series of Criticisms, showingthe Revisers' violations of the Laws of the Lan
guage. By G. Washington Moon, i\ R. S. L., author of "The Dean's Eng
lish," etc. 12mo, cloth, 76 cents.
"There can be no question that Mr. Moon has dealt the heaviest of all blows
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•¦ Mr. Moon's criticisms upon the Revisers' English seem to us very searching
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Revised New Testament. (Teacher's Edition.)
With New Index and Concordance, Harmony of the Gospels, Maps, Parallel
Passages in full, and many other Indispensable Helps. All most carefully
prepared. Price, in cloth, $1.50. Other prices, from $2.60 to $10.00.
Christian Union : "This is the best."
Presbyterian Journal : " The complete edition."
Rev. Dr. McCosh : " Admirably suited to teachers."
Anaxttical Concobdance to 8,000 Changes in the Revised New
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By Robert Young, D.D., LL.D., author of Young's Concordance to the Bible,
etc. 8vo, 21 pp., price, paper, 40 cents. 12mo., 72 pp., price, paper, 40 cents.

NEW BOOKS ON THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS :
Histoet oe English Bible Translation.
The Popular History of the Translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Eng
lish Tongue. With specimens of the Old English Versions. By Mrs. H.C-
Conant and Rev. T. J. Conant, D.D. 8vo, paper, 50 cents; cloth $1.00.
" This is the best history of the English translation of the Bible with which we
are acquainted, and it gives some details respecting both Wycliffe and Tyndale
not to be found in general histories of the Bible."— Christian Union.
The Oldest Chuech Manual,
Called " Teaching of the Apostles," with illustrations and fac-similes of tho
Jerusalem MS , and cognate documents. Edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D-
12mo, cloth, price, $2.00.
" This is the latest and fullest work on this remarkable book recently discov
ered by Bryennios, the Metropolitan of Nicomedla. It gives the text of the " Teach.
ing " in Greek and English, with a Commentary, and all the cognate documents
(the Apostolic Church Older, the Coptic Canons, the Seventh Book of the Apos
tolic Constitution), with translations, and a number of Chapters of Discussions
connected with the subject. These chapters give an account of the manuscript
and its discovery, a sketch of Dr. Bryennios, an analysis of the contents, an esti
mate of its theology, and general value. They inquire into the age and author
ship of the manuscript, and its relation to similar documents of the first and
second centuries. The questions of the primitive mode of baptism, and the ad
ministration of the Lord's Supper and Agapaa receive large attention. So also the
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the post- Apostolic Age.
A unique feature of tho work is the illustrations and fac-eimiles of the Jerusa
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pages of the M!S. Itself (which is now almost inaccessible), and several baptismal
pictures from the Catacombs. The fac-similes were obtained by friends of the
author in Constantinople, and have never before been published. The book con
tains also an important communication and a letter from Bryennios of Nicomedla,
the discoverer and first editor of the Didache.
The Pbaise Songs op Israel.
A new rendering of the Book of Psalms. By John De Witt, D.D., of the
Theological Seminary, New Brunswick, N.J. , and member of the American
Old Testament Revision Company. 8vo, cloth, price, $1.50.
A work of rare literary ability and artistic beauty, as the testimonials of some
of our most distinguished scholars and critics declare.
Dr. Howard Crosby says : " Dr. John De Witt has prepared a translation of
the Psalms, which is the happy result of accurate scholarship and aesthetic taste.
The signification and poetry are both preserved. His treatment of the Hebrew
tenses (as they are called) relieves the text from much obscurity and his rhyth
mical English is in full accord with the poetry of the Psalmist. It is not too much
to say that this is the best translation of the PsalmS in the English language. It
is better than any commentary for the general reader."
Dr. T. W. Chambers says in the Christian Intelligencer: "The work not only
does great credit to the scholarship and taste of the author, but promises to be
of very great usefulness. It furnishes the oheapest, most convenient, and in some
respects best, commentary ou the Psalms which an English reader can desire,
because it gathers up and presents the results of all criticism up to our day
fused aud arranged by a vigorous and independent mind, familiar with, the sub
ject and in entire sympathy with its purport and aim."

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