_Books Owned as Canonical at all times and by all Christians._
The Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
The Acts of the Apostles.
Thirteen Epistles of St. Paul.
The First Epistle of St. Peter.
The First Epistle of St. John.
_Books Questioned, but afterwards Admitted by the Church as Canonical._
The Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Epistle of St. James.
The Second Epistle of St. Peter.
The Second and Third of St. John.
The Epistle of St. Jude.
The Apocalypse, or Revelations of St. John, which was a long time
before it was admitted as Canonical.
The history of the angel and the agony of our Saviour related (Luke
xxii.).
The end of the last chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel.
The history of the woman taken in adultery, related in the eighth
chapter of St. John’s Gospel.
The end of St. John’s Gospel.
The passage concerning the Trinity, taken out of the fifth chapter of
the First Epistle of St. John.
_Apocryphal Writings which are not Full of Errors._
The letter of Jesus Christ to Abgarus.
The letter of the Blessed Virgin.
The Gospel according to the Egyptians.
The Gospel according to the Hebrews.
Additions to the Gospel of St. Matthew and St. Luke, in the Cambridge
Manuscript.
The Proto-Evangelicum of St. James.
The Gospel of Nicodemus.
The Ancient Acts of Paul and Thecla.
The Epistle of the Laodicæans.
The Epistle of St. Paul to Seneca.
The Epistle of St. Barnabas.
The Liturgies of St. Peter.
The Liturgies of St. Mark.
The Liturgies of St. James.
The Liturgies of St. Matthew.
The Canons and Constitutions of the Apostles.
The Treatise of Prochorus.
The Books of St. Linus.
The Treatise of Abdias.
The Acts of the Passion of St. Andrew.
_Books Full of Errors; almost all of them Lost._
The Gospel of St. Peter.
The Gospel of St. Thomas.
The Gospel of St. Matthias.
The Gospel of St. Bartholomew.
The Gospel of St. Philip.
The Gospel of Judas Iscariot.
The Gospel of Thaddæus.
The Gospel of Barnabas.
The Gospel of Truth by the Valentinians.
The Gospel of Perfection by the Gnostics.
The Gospel of Eve by the Gnostics.
A Book concerning the Infancy of Jesus Christ.
A Treatise concerning the Birth of our Saviour, the Virgin Mary, and
her Midwife.
A Treatise concerning the Virgin’s Lying-in, and the questions she
asked.
A Treatise of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, cited by St. Jerome.
The Apocryphal Treatise of the Life of the Virgin, cited by St.
Gregory Nysene.
Another Apocryphal Book on the Virgin, cited by Faustus.
The Writings of Jesus Christ about Miracles.
The Acts of St. Peter.
The Acts of St. Paul.
The Acts of St. Andrew.
The Acts of St. John.
The Acts of the Apostles.
The Acts of St. Philip.
The Acts of St. Thomas.
The Doctrine, Preaching, and Itinerary of St. Peter.
The Rapture of St. Paul.
The Memoirs of the Apostles.
The Lots of the Apostles.
The Itinerary of the Apostles.
The Treatise concerning the Priesthood of Jesus Christ.
The Apostolical Tract.
The Treatise of the Death and Assumption of the Virgin.
The Apocalypses or Revelations of St. Peter.
The Revelations of St. Paul.
The Revelations of St. Thomas.
The Revelations of St. Stephen.
The Revelations of the Great Apostle.
The Revelations of Abraham.
The Revelations of Seth.
The Revelations of Noriah.
In addition to those already named there were a number of lost books
referred to and quoted from by the authors of the various canonical
books, such as:—
The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers xxi. 14).
The Book of the Covenant (Exodus xxiv. 7).
The Book of Jasher, or the Upright (Joshua x. 13, 2 Samuel i. 18).
The Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings xi. 41).
The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (1 Kings xiv. 19,
and eighteen other places in the Books of Kings; also 2 Chron. xx. 34
and xxxiii. 18).
The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (1 Kings xiv. 29, and twelve
other places in the Books of Kings).
The Book of Samuel the Seer (1 Chronicles xxix. 29).
The Book of Nathan the Prophet (1 Chronicles xxix. 29).
The Book of Gad the Seer (1 Chronicles xxix. 29).
The Chronicles of King David (1 Chronicles xxvii. 24).
The Book of Nathan the Prophet (2 Chronicles ix. 29).
The Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilomite (2 Chronicles ix. 29).
The Visions of Iddo the Seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat (2
Chron. ix. 29).
The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet (2 Chronicles xii. 15).
The Book of Iddo the Seer concerning Genealogies (2 Chronicles xii.
15).
The Story of the Prophet Iddo (2 Chronicles xiii. 22).
The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel (2 Chronicles xvi. 11, and
six other places in the same Book).
The Book of Jehu (2 Chronicles xx. 34).
The Memoirs of Hircanus (mentioned in 1 Maccabees).
The Books of Jason (mentioned in 2 Maccabees ii.).
The Acts of Uriah (mentioned in 2 Chronicles xxvi. 22).
Three thousand Proverbs of Solomon (mentioned in 1 Kings iv. 32).
A thousand and five Songs (mentioned in ibid).
Several other volumes by the same author (mentioned in ibid).
The Prophecy of Jeremiah, torn in pieces by Jehoiakim (cited in
Jeremiah xxxvi.).
Another Prophecy of his upon the city of Babylon (mentioned in
Jeremiah li.).
Memoirs or descriptions of the same author (mentioned in 1 Maccabees
ii.).
The Prophecy of Jonah (mentioned in the Book of Jonah).
We can readily imagine what trouble our pious ancestors must have
experienced in deciding which of these writings really emanated from
the ghost of God and which were fraudulent productions, for the style
in which most of them were written rendered it almost impossible
to decipher them: written on rough skins, in ink which had become
obliterated by age, many of them had fallen into the hands of monks and
other rogues, who appeared to have suffered severely from _cacoëthes
scribendi_, and who recorded events connected with their own persons
or surroundings over the original writing, like a lady “crosses” her
letters, so that the whole manuscript became a complete jumble. In
most cases the original or ground language was Hebrew or Greek in
ill-formed and continuous capitals, undivided into words, and without
accents, points, or breathings, while the “crossing” was in Arabic,
Latin, or some other different dialect, badly written and accompanied
with ink spots and senseless dashes. Out of this heterogeneous mass of
scribblings the pious divines of the Reformation period compiled our
authorised version of the Bible, the translation into English being
made, in the case of the Old Testament, from the modern Hebrew text,
and in that of the New Testament from Beza’s fifth edition of the Greek
text.
There are three different versions of the complete Old Testament—viz.,
the Hebrew, the Greek Septuagint, and the Latin Vulgate, and two
Samaritan versions of the Pentateuch, one written in Aramæn and the
other in Arabic. The MSS. of the Hebrew version are all written in
modern or Masoretic Hebrew, which dates from about the year 1,000
A.D. The original language of the Hebrews, which was derived from the
Egyptians and afterwards modified by contact with the Chaldeans, was
very different from that we are accustomed to read to-day in Hebrew
Bibles: instead of each word being separated from its neighbour, and
vowel points being subscribed to assist in the reading, sentences,
paragraphs, and even pages were written as though the whole formed
but one long word; and, considering that the Hebrew alphabet consists
of consonants only, the absence of the vowel points and final letters
afterwards introduced rendered the meaning of the writer most
obscure. For instance, the first verse of Genesis would have been
written as follows in ancient Hebrew, but in letters more nearly
approaching the cuneiform type, בראשיתבראאלהימאתהשמימואתהארצ. The
equivalent letters in English are (reading from right to left, as in
Hebrew) TS.R.A.H.T.A.V.M.Y.M.SH.H.T.A.M.Y.H.L.A.A.R.B.T.Y.SH.A.R.B
and the translators tell us that they signify, “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.” Now, as they stand, it is utterly
impossible to pronounce the words; and, even supposing that vowels
were added, this could be done in such a variety of ways that hundreds
of different pronunciations might result; so also might the sense
be varied by many different renderings. Suppose we wrote down the
authorised translation, using consonants only, and leaving entirely
out the vowels, the result would be as follows (reading from left to
right, as in English), NTHBGNNGGDCRTDTHHVNSNDTHRTH, which would be
entirely unpronounceable unless we added vowels; and, by adding vowels
indiscriminately, a variety of renderings would result. The absurdity
of a written language composed only of consonants is thus made very
apparent. This difficulty opposed itself to the Jewish priests, and
was obviated by the introduction of vowel points, the manufacture of
five final letters, and the division of sentences into words according
to the arbitrary rendering of the introducers of the vowel points; so
that now we possess a Hebrew language which may be, and probably is, as
unlike the ancient Hebrew dialect as chalk is unlike cheese.
By slightly altering the vowel points of a sentence or a word,
the whole sense may be entirely destroyed; and that this has been
frequently enough done requires no proof here, for it has been
abundantly shown elsewhere. Certain priests have attempted to prove
that the vowel points and final letters were in use in Ezra’s time;
but it is now generally admitted by scholars that they were inventions
of the middle ages. Hear what the learned Christian Dupin, Doctor of
the Sorbonne, says:—“The Hebrew alphabet is composed of twenty-two
letters, like those of the Samaritans, Chaldeans, and Syrians.
But, of these letters, _none are vowels_, and, in consequence, the
pronunciation cannot be determined. The Hebrews have invented _points_,
which, being put under the letters, answer the purpose of vowels.
Those vowel-points serve not only to fix the pronunciation, _but also
the signification of a word, because, many times, the word being
differently pointed and pronounced alters the meaning entirely_. This
is the consideration which has made the question as to the antiquity
of the points of so much importance, and has, consequently, had such
elaborate treatment. Some have pretended that these points are as
ancient as the Hebrew tongue, and that Abraham made use of them. Others
make Moses the author of them. But the most common opinion among the
Jews is that, Moses _having learnt of God the true pronunciation of
Hebrew words_, this science was preserved in the synagogue by oral
tradition till the time of Ezra, who invented the points and accents
to fix the meaning. Elias Levita, a German Jew of the last generation,
and deeply learned in Hebrew grammar, has rejected this opinion, and
contended that the invention of points took place in much more recent
times. He ascribes the invention to the Jews of Tiberias and to the
year 500 A.D., and alleges that the invention was not perfected till
about the year 1040 A.D., by two famous Maserites, Ben-Ascher and
Ben-Naphtali.”
Hear, also, what the learned and pious Dr. Prideaux says:—“The sacred
books made use of among the Jews in their synagogues have ever been,
and still are, _without the vowel-points_, which could not have
happened had they been placed there by Ezra, and had, consequently,
been of the same authority with the letters; for, had they been so,
they would certainly have been preserved in the synagogues with the
same care as the rest of the text.” He then goes on to say that no
mention is made of the points in either the Mishna or Gemara, and
continues: “Neither do we find the least hint of them in Philo-Judæus
or Josephus, who are the oldest writers of the Jews, or in any of the
ancient Christian writers for _several hundred years after Christ_.
And, although among them Origen and Jerome were well skilled in the
Hebrew language, yet in none of their writings do they speak the least
of them. Origen flourished in the third, and Jerome in the fifth,
century; and the latter, having lived a long while in Judæa, and there
more especially applied himself to the study of the Hebrew learning,
and much conversed with the Jewish rabbis for his improvement herein,
it is not likely that he could have missed making some mention of
them through all his voluminous works, if they had been either in
being among the Jews in his time, or in any credit or authority with
them, and that especially since, in his commentaries, there were so
many necessary occasions for taking notice of them.” The Doctor then
declares that after the Babylonish Captivity “the Hebrew language
ceased to be the mother tongue of the Jews,” Aramæn, as we know, being
the dialect of Judæa at the time of Herod.
We may, then, safely fix the date of our earliest Hebrew MS. at a
later period than 1000 A.D., for there does not exist one single
ante-Masoretic or unpointed Hebrew MS. of the Bible. The Greek
Septuagint was also written in Greek capitals, without accents and
breathings and without divisions between the words, and continued thus
until the eighth century, when accents and breathings came into use,
which were followed, in the tenth century, by small letters, as we have
them now in our Greek Bibles. The very same may be said about the New
Testament MSS., all of which are written in continuous Greek capitals.
The oldest MS. of the New Testament is the Codex Sinaiticus,
discovered by Tischendorf at the convent of St. Catherine, on Mount
Sinai, in 1859, and supposed to belong to the fourth century. The
Codex Vaticanus is also supposed to belong to the fourth century,
and was first published at Rome by Vercellone, in 1858. The Codex
Alexandrinus, containing both Old and New Testaments, is supposed
to belong to the fifth century, and was first published by Woide,
in 1786, and afterwards by Cowper, in 1860. Of the Old Testament it
contains, besides the canonical and most apocryphal books found in
our editions, the third and fourth books of the Maccabees, Epistle of
Athanasius to Marcellinus (prefixed to the Psalms), and fourteen hymns,
the eleventh in honour of the Virgin. Ecclesiasticus, the Song of the
Three Children, Susannah, and Bell and the Dragon do not appear. Of the
New Testament there is, in addition to the received books, the First
Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians and part of the Second. The Codex
Ephraemi is supposed to belong to the fifth century, and was published
by Tischendorf in 1843. The Codex Bezæ is a Græco-Latin MS., said to
belong to the sixth century, and first published by Kipling, in 1793,
and afterwards by Scrivener, in 1864. All these MSS. are written in
continuous capitals, so badly formed, and so jumbled together, as to be
almost illegible.
According to the showing of those most interested in proving the
antiquity of sacred writings, the very earliest MS. cannot lay claim
to an earlier date than the fourth century; and, if the authors to
whom the Church has attributed the various writings in the Bible wrote
the said records, it is clear that the latest originals must date
from the first century. But the originals do not anywhere exist, and
consequently it is utterly impossible for anybody to know who wrote
any one of the books of the Bible, which is, therefore, a compilation
of anonymous writings, and, as such, is of no authority whatever. So
far from being a divinely-inspired record, it is, as we have seen,
a product of the cunning and ingenuity of knaves and fanatics, who
deserve credit for only one thing, and that is that they managed to
make any sense whatever out of the wretched scribble and scrawl from
which they derived their information.