_The Bible an English Book._
By REV. J. L. HURLBUT, D.D., AND R. S. HOLMES, A.M.
The Divine Revelation, whether spoken or written, has ever been made to
any people in their own language. But as languages change their form
and cease to be spoken, that which is plain to one generation becomes
an unknown tongue to another. Hence arises the need of versions or
translations. In the stages whereby the Bible became an English book,
we notice: 1. The ancient versions; 2. The mediæval versions; 3. The
modern versions. The student will observe concerning each version: 1.
The Scripture included; 2. Language; 3. Date; 4. Place; 5. Authorship;
6. Historical notes.
I. _The Ancient Versions._—Out of many, we select the five most
important:
1. _The Septuagint._—The Old Testament; from the Hebrew into the
Greek, begun at an uncertain date, but completed about 385 B. C., at
Alexandria, the metropolis of the Mediterranean, where a third of
the population were Jews; by unknown writers, said to have numbered
seventy, hence its name Septuagint, “Greek, seventy.” This translation,
though strongly opposed by the Jews of Palestine, became the Bible of
all the Jews of the Dispersion throughout the eastern lands.
2. _The Samaritan._—Containing the Pentateuch only, in a dialect,
the mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic, spoken by the Samaritans, who
worshiped on Mt. Gerizim; perhaps made as early as 100 B. C., perhaps
later; traditionally said to have been translated by the Samaritan
high-priest, Nathanael. For many centuries the existence of this
version was questioned, until a copy was brought to Europe in 1616.
3. _The Peshito._—The whole Bible, in the Aramaic language, the common
dialect (Peshito means “simple” or “common”) of the Syrians, perhaps
that spoken by Jesus and the Apostles, of unknown authorship and date,
perhaps about 175 A. D.; the first translation made under Christian
auspices.
4. _The Targums._—A Hebrew word meaning “interpretations;” a series
of Jewish translations of various parts of the Old Testament; ten
in number, several covering the same books; in the Chaldaic dialect
of Hebrew, dating from Onkelos, A. D. 250 to 1000; arising from the
oral translations handed down in the synagogues, written after the
destruction of Jerusalem.
5. _The Vulgate._—Word meaning “common;” whole Bible, in Latin
language; completed about A. D. 400, at Bethlehem in Judea, by Jerome;
made by revising older Latin translations; at first opposed, but
finally the standard Bible of the Roman Catholic Church.
II. _The Mediæval Versions._—Not many translations were made during
the Dark Ages. 1. _Cædmon_, a monk (died 680), translated the Bible
stories into rude Anglo-Saxon verse. 2. _Aldhelm_ (died 709), a
bishop, translated the Psalms into verse. 3. _Bede_ (died 735), “the
venerable,” translated the gospel of John into Anglo-Saxon, completing
the work on the day of his death. 4. _King Alfred_ (died 901), best of
the kings of England, translated certain portions, as the laws of his
kingdom, called “Alfred’s Dooms.” 5. _Wiclif_ (died 1384), “Morning
Star of the Reformation,” a great scholar and enemy of Rome, translated
the New Testament into English in 1380, and, aided by friends, the Old
Testament in 1384. This great work was in manuscript only, as printing
was not yet invented.
III. _The Modern Versions._—The Reformation brought forth the Bible
from neglect and called out numberless versions, of which we notice
only a few of the greatest in English history.
1. _William Tyndale._—One of the early reformers made the best
translation ever wrought by any one man. This New Testament was issued
in 1525; the Old Testament not until after his martyrdom in 1536.
2. _Miles Coverdale_, a friend of Tyndale, made the first English
version by the consent of King Henry VIII., issued in 1535; made not
from Greek text, but from Luther’s German Bible and the Vulgate; hence,
less literal than Tyndale’s.
3. _The Great Bible_ (1539), made by command of Henry VIII., by the
influence of Thomas Cromwell; the first edition a revision of Coverdale
and Tyndale; second edition 1540, under direction of Archbishop
Cranmer, hence known as “Cranmer’s Bible;” a book of great size,
chained to the reading desk in the parish churches.
4. _The Geneva Bible_ (1560), made at Geneva, Switzerland, by a
number of Puritan exiles from England. Its principal translators were
Whittingham, Gilby, Coverdale (above named), and perhaps John Knox; a
convenient quarto; the best translation of the time; very popular with
the Puritan element in the English Church.
5. _The Bishop’s Bible_ (1568), under direction of Matthew Parker,
Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Elizabeth; mainly a revision of
the Great Bible; prepared as a rival to the Geneva version, but never
as popular among the people, though used among the clergy.
6. _The Douay Bible_, a Roman Catholic version, made not from the
original, but from the Vulgate; the New Testament published at Rheims
in 1582, the Old Testament at Douay in 1609; the version in use among
Romanists, having many notes setting forth their views.
7. _The Authorized Version_ (1611), the translation now in general use,
made by forty-seven scholars under direction of King James I.; begun in
1607, published in 1611.
8. _The Revised Version_ (1881), prepared by a company of English and
American scholars; in the main, much more exact than the authorized
version, and deserving of general adoption.