Lecture.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3649, 6 September 1880, Page 2

Lecture.

The Rev. S. J. Neill last night gave his second lecture upon the " Sources of textual criticism of the Scriptures." The lecture was most attentively listened to, and contained a vast amount of information. After giving a summary of his previous lecture, the speaker continued his subject by defining the sources of textual criticism, which were manuscript, versions, palristic quotations, and some conjectuul emendations. There were other aides such as inscriptions on coins, monuments, &c, but the three, great sources were those names and in the order mentioned. The ancient manuscripts were then considered, and the authorities stated that Guttenbertf had for printing the first Bible in 2*55, and Cardinal Zimenes for the Greek New Testament in 1514. About 600 copies of this book wers printed at a cost of over £11,000. The work was not completed, however, until 1522, the same year that Luther nailed to the door of the church at Wittenberg his denunciation of the Romish doctrine of indulgences. In the meantime—lsl6 and 1519—Erasmus brought out two editions of the Greek New Testament. Shortly after this time Stephens printed another eiition of the Greek text, founded chiefly on the third of Erasmus', using the collections of sixteen MSS, which, however, were not all copies of the New Testament. On the edition of Stephens in 1550, and of Benza in 1582, the Elzever text of 1633 was founded, which was called the Textus Receptus, aud was nearly a copy of Stephen's third edition,which was a close copy of Erasmus' sth ; and the whole rested ou the authority of less thau 30 MSS..of recent date and of little critics!

value. With regard to the MSS. of the Old Testament, the study of the Hebrew text laboured under special difficulties. There were hardly any works besides the Bible in Hebrew, so that there was not the same facility for discovering the meaning of words or idioms as was possessed in regard to Greek. The method of writing Hebrew underwent a great modification after the language ceased to be a living tongue. About the sth century, and between the 7th and 10th, marks were used to distinguish the vowels, and the text was called the Massoric, and as the only Hebrew MSS which were now possessed were Massoritic, consequently their age and value could pretty nearly be determined. Great hopes were entertained that the Malabar 8011, which was found in the East some time ago, would be earlier than any existing MSS.; but it too turned out to be Massoritic It was true there were translations of the Hebrew Scriptures wh'ch carried back their knowledge much beyond the period to which Hebrew MSS reached; but such, versions required to be used with great caution, aod in some respects were quite likely to lead astray under the supposition^ §hat the Massoritic text was much more corrupt than it really was. The printed Hebrew Bible which formed the Textus Receptus of the Old Testament was Vander Hooght's edition published in Amsterdam in 1705. Since then the labour of the scholars had not been very successful in discovering any MbS much older than those possessed then; but such men as Hennicott, De Rossi, and Davidson had collated a vast amount of readings, and aided much in the formation of a pure text. Mr Neill then proceeded to consider briefly a few. of the most ancient MSS of the New Testament. The primary source of evidence in regard to the Old Testament failed about the tenth century; but the MS for the New Testament carried people back further. > There was now in existence two Greek Testaments, which' were written in the 4th century, and several written in the sth and 6lh. The 4ecimer-4feen^SDoke_at length -about the' MSS in the British Jluseum, which was by far more voluble than that possessed by other nations, and one of the oldest and best in existence. It is supposed to belong to the sth century, and is estimated by critics as A in antiquity and merit; but little is known of its history. It is bound in four volumes, but the fourth, which contained the New Testament, has several lamentable defects, such as'the loss of several leaves. In addition to the Testaments it contains the only extant copy of the Epistle of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, and a fragment of a second epistle of less undoubted authenticity, and is the earliest codex in which was found capital letters, so called. With regard to the codex in the Vatican library in Rome, it:was considered the oldest in existence until the discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus, and even yet tome English scholars were slow to change for Tichendorl' s new discovery. Like - the Codex A, nobody knew whence it came, who its previous owners were, or who brought it to the Vatican, but it is supposed, like Codex A, to have been brought from Alexandria. All that was known was that the Vatican library was iarnished in 1448, and that this MS. appeared in the earliest extent catalogue in 1475. It. is jealousy guarded, and no extract? are' permitted to be taken from it. The lecturer then related the experiences of Dean A)ford arid Tichendorf in their attempts to see the Vatican copy, and al o the Tatter's efforts in finding the Siuaitic Codex. Ihe lecturer, in conclusion, intimated that the subject would be further considered next Sabbath.