THE REVISED OLD TESTAMENT

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2035, 23 July 1885, Page 4

THE REVISED OLD TESTAMENT

Wi, (Pall Mall (h/i'ttc) reeencd oulv c..pi(sof tin' Now Veision ot the OM T< -tanimt, md b<f<»ie eoinpiiiiig it with tin \ut hoi Ned Vi'ision, uo may gnc <-ii-i\f» additional c ill iilationi ;thout tho tn.iteuals of tlic Revised Biblo, which will |ieilii|is li •of mtriv-t : — At the (Ktoid Uni\i i ."it>'s own paper mill, which is situate 1 at Wolveicote, near O\f<»id, .'*7,"> tons of >ag ha\o been consumed in making '2">o tons of paper foi this i>suc of tile Revised Voision. It would cover two and a qimter «qimc miles. It would go round the world in a strip of 6111. wrle, or say, if tho pasjes were laid open one after nnotlu r, it would go round the world. The sheets piled in reams as they leave the mill would make a column 10 times the height of St. Paul's, or folded into books befoie binding, "at least 100 times the height. The copies w hich are being prepared by the Oxford Univer?ity press .ilone would, if piled flat one upon another, make a column more tlnn 14 miles hi«h, or 370 tines the height of the Monument If piled end on end they would roach 74 miles high, or 1013 times i the height of the Monument. It is Inrdly HHsible to give an idea of the number of goats and sheep \vho9c skins liavi been required for binding the copies ; but it has been calculated that 1500 goat skins have been used in binding the copies which will be presented by the Amenuan Committee of Revision on the 21st inst A apet»wl Act of Congress has been p isxed to admit these copies into the United States free of duty. According to the Jewish Chronicle, it will be issued on the \ery day— the eve of the Feast of Ponte cost " on which the first edition was published," as it was theu that the revelation took place on Mount Sinai. It is presumable only a coincidence, but it is certainly a very remarkable one. The rush for early copies has been tiemendous, and curiosity exceptionally keen. The London correspondent of a great New York daily offered LlOO for the sight of a copy at one of the University warehouses ; but the official was ohdnritc. The correspondent ha 3 been authoiised by his paper to spend L5OO in telegraphing over particulars and main features of tho new version. The Revisers explain that they have 11 left untouched all archaisms, whether of language or construction, which, though not in familiar use, cause a reader no emb 1 rrassment and lead to no inisnudeistandmg." In respect to the form "f the revised veision, the following explanation is given in the picfaco ;—; — The old di\ ision of the books into ohapteis and vi.rs.es has been abandoned in favour of the arrangement in paragraphs, tho numbering of the chapters and verses being, however, retained for convenience of lcfcrcncc. Where 'the change of subject seemed to n quire a greater break than waa mai ked by the beginning of a now paingtnph, it has been indicated by a space before the paragraph. Occasionally the divisions of the chapters in the Authorised Version differ from those in the common Hebrew Bioles. In such cases the variations are given in the margin. In the Psalms the titks aie punted in smaller type, as in some modem English Bibles, which differ in this respect from the edition of IGII. One consequence of the arrangement in paragraphs has been the omission of the heading of chapters, which for other and moio important ieason3 it was thought advisable to abandon, as involving questions that belong lather to the piounceof the com mentator than to that of the translator. With tho headings of chapteis the head lines of the pages natuaally disappeaied also, and for tho same reason. In the poetical poitions, besides the division into paragraphs, the Rcvuers have adopted an arrangement in lines, so as to exhibit the parallelism which is characteristic of Hebrew poetry. As for instance, take this extract from the 98th Psalm :—: — (), sing unto the Lord a new song ; For ho hath done maivelloui things ; His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation for him. The Lord htvth made known his salvation. His righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the nations. But they have not extended this arrangement to the prophetical books, the language of which, although frequently marked by parallelisms, is, except in purely lyrical passages, rather of the nature of lofty and impassioned prose, v ' In tho- Song Miriam, the blessing of the Israelites by Balaam, the adjuiation of Joaluia to the sun and moon to stand still, and all similar passages, are set out line by line, and also in the Book of Job, which is treated as one long poem, the first two chapters and a poition of the last being all that is given in prose. The Psalms and Proveibs are similarly dealt with, as is aho the " Sonp of Solomon," as it is called in the Authorised Version, a title which has now given place to the " Song of Songs," the first \erse justifying as it does each title — "The song ot songs, which is Solomon's " — bohis? the same in each version. " The Psalms,' 1 not the "Book of Pbalms," as of old, are divided into five books : Book I. comprising those from the Ist to the 41st, Book 11. those from the 42nd to the 72nd, Book 111, those from the 73rd to the Sflth, Book IV. those from the 90th to the 108 th, and Book Y. the letnaindcr. The pie\ions hfadinqs of the individual psalms, wheic such have appealed, arc ictamrd, and the only change likely to strike attention is that the instruction "Selah," which often occurs, is now placed in smaller type and in parenthesis, instead of being urn on as an integral portion of the te\t, as in the Authorised Version. The Books of Ecclcsiastes, Isaiah, Jeieuuah, and the remainder of the piophcts, aie set as prose, but tho Lamentations of Jeremiah appear as verse. In the use of italics the revisers departed from the custom of the Authorised Version and adopted as their rule the fol lowing resolution of their company — "That all such words now piintcd in italics, ai are plainly implied in the Hebrew and ncccssaiy in Kngli-h, be printed in common type." But wheie any doubt existed as to the exact u ndoiing of the Jlebiew, all words which have been added in order to give completeness to the Knglish expression <tte piinttd in italic type, .so that the reader by omitting them may be able to see how far their inseition is justified by tlic woids of the onyinal. As ior in stance, in tho f-ccond commandment : " Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor the fdoitu of any form that is in Heaven above." This of couise if. especially tiuc of those renderings for which an alternative is given in the margin, where the roman and italic type play exactly opposite parts. THE KATE OK "Hl'Mi." The revisers make the following explanation as to the liberties which the^ have taken with "Hell":— "The Hebrew Sheul, which signifies the abode of depnrtpd spirits, and corresponds to the Greek Hades, or the under world, is \aiion«ly rendered in the Authorised Veision by ' grave,' « pit,' and • hell.' Of these readings • hell,' if it could be taken yi its original sense as-used <in.tho r Creeds, ,wonld be a fairly adeauiite equivalent for the Hebrew word ; but it is so commonly understood as the place of torment that to employ it frequently would lead to inevitable mH'inder^ftinding. The Revivr*, thuefnre, in thf histoii'.il ninaliws ha\e left tlic luidciiug 'the giave' 01 1 the pit ' m the te\t, with a marginal

note, 'Ik')). Shcol,' to indicate tli.it it does not signify ' tlie place of huii.tl'; while in the poetical wilting-, they have put most commonly ' Shcol ' in tlie text .nid ' the giave ' in tlie maigin. In Ibiiah \i\\, howevei, vvheie "hell' 13 used in moii 1 of its original sense, and is lesb liable to be misundei stood, and wheie any change m so familiar a passage which was not distinctly an impio\ement won Id be a (X eidcd lo^s tlie Ic\ isci s hay c contented themselves with leaving 'hell' in the te\t, and have connected it with othei p.i<-«ages by putting ' Scheul ' iv the inai^in.' " The lesnlt is that instead of "The wicked shall be tinned into hell, and all nations th.it foi get God " (I'salm iv, 17), we have, "The wicked shall letutn to SUcol, e\en aII the iutions that foiget (iid.' And m I'iovcibs \. .3, instead of being told th.it "The feet of a stiange woman go down to death, hei steps take hold on hell," we lead, " Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold on Shcol." In like manner the .mcicnt Hebrew proveib in the old version said of the houses of ill fame of Ins epoch, "The dead aie tlieie and her guests aie in tlu* depths of hell " Now it leads, " The de.nl .no their, hei guests are in the depths of Slieol." Of the disobedient son in Pioverbs \\ni. 14, "Thou slnlt beat him w ith the tod, and shall deliver his soul from hell," becomes "and deliver his soul from Sheol." THK C'KEvTfOW The account of the Ci cation given in verbes one to five of the Hist chapter of Gcnc&is appeals in one paiagiaph, thus :—: — In the beginning God created the heaAcn and the eiith, ami the caith was waste and void (instead of " without form and void"') ; and daikncss was upon the face of the deep ; and the s,uit of God moved upon the face of the watcis. And God said. Let thoie be light, and theie was light. And God saw the light, that it was good ; and God di\ ided the light from the daikuess. And God called the light day, and the the daikness he c.illrd niL'lit. And theie was evening and theie was moining, one day (which is the new foim for " the evening and the morning ncie the ill st day"); this is kept up throughout. For " great whiles," in the 21st verse, we have now " gieat sea monster.--." The cieation of man in the 27th verse of the fiist chapter, and the moie detailed account of the sijne Div me act in the 7th verse of the 2nd chapter are identical in the Authorised and Revised Vci-ion ; but whereas " the man" become-. "Adam" in the Authoiised Version, in the verse in w Inch the beasts are brought to him to be named, ho does not in the Revised Veision assume the individual and part with the geneiic name until after the Fall. It is "the man and his wife" who hide themselves, it is " the man " who he .us, tne aw fill void 1 calling to him, " Wlieie ai t tliou ?"' Not till the cm so, " Because thou hast hearkened to thy wife," &c , is pionoanecd upon bun do we meet with him under the name of Adam.

THK \LTI U\TIO\S OF AIKAMNC. The account ot the Delano lcmams the same. " Theie were giants in the taitli in those days," is changed into "The Nephelim were in the eaith m these days." A time-honoured taunt ngimst the honesty of the Jews loses mmli of its sting by the substitution of ask foi boriow, in Kvodus xi., v. 2, w line the Isiaulitcs, instead of hoi towing fiom the Egyptians, are tolil, "Let them ask cveiy man of his nci«hboui." The Ten Commandments lenuiu unaltcied With exception of " Thou slialtdo no miudci," which now stands in place of " Thou shalt not kill," a < hango \\ hiuh the Peace Society and the Qu.ikois will not appreciate. Another change, which beats upon current politics, is made in the verse, Leviticus wiii., v. IS, upon which- such leliance has been placed in respect to marriage with a deceased wife's sister :—

01 D VFRSION. M \V MHSION 18. Neither sh.ilt tiiou 18 And ihou slnlt take a wife to her sister, not t.ike a woman to to vex her, 'to unrowr her MMe-, to be a neal her nakedness, beside to her, to unro\er her the other in her life n ikcdne'.s beside the tune, other in her lifetime In the passage in winch Elisha ptopheMes Ha/acl's futtne elevation to the tlnone of Syria, an alteration, sight in itself, lias the effect of placing an rntiicly new construction. Instead of " What, is thy seivanta dog, that he should do tins thing?" the leviserh lead : " What is thy sci van t, who is l>ut a dog, that he should do this thing ?" making 11a/ ml now as if ho were inclined to think that the prophet's message weie a'nio&t too good news to be true. The "tabeinaile of the cruigicgation," as convoying a wiong sense, has been changed niton " the tent of meeting," the s eond deliuitc aitiele bfing coabideied specially objectionable, " Mi at offeiing," of w hicli jlesli foimed no part, becomos inoie appiopi lately " meal" olTering."