Athiae, a Johanne Leusden, denuo recognitam, Recensita variisque notis Latinis Illustrata ab Everardo Van der Hooght, V. D. M. Editio Prima Americana, sine punctis Masorethicis. Philadelphiae: cura et impensis Thomae Dobson, Edita ex Aedibus Lapideis. Typis Gulielmi Fry. MDCCCXIV."

The New Testament in Greek was first printed in America at Worcester, with this title:

H KAINH AIAOHKH. Novum Testamentum. Juxta Examplar Joannis Millii accuratissime impressum. Editio Prima Americana, Wigorniæ, Massachusettensi: Excudebat Isaias Thomas, Jun. Singulatim et numerose eo vendita officinae suae. April, 1800.

The first translation of the "Scriptures" into English by a Jewish scholar in America was that of Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia in 1853, and the first English version prepared by a group of Jewish scholars is that of the Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, 1917. One of the most important and widely used revisions of the Rheims-Douay Version was that of Archbishop Kenrick of Philadelphia, 1851-62.1

1 Reliable information about American editions will be found in Early Bibles in America by Rev. John Wright, 3d. ed. New York, 1894.

CHAPTER XXI

MODERN REVISIONS OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE 1881-1917

PROBABLY the most important addition to the versions of the New Testament prior to the Revised Version of 1881 was that of Dean Alford, 1862 (second edition 1867). This great work had been preceded by a revision of the Gospel of St. John, by Five Clergymen, 1857, and a revision of the Pauline Epistles by the same scholars, who were Dean Alford, Dr. Barrow, Dr. Ellicott, Dr. Moberly and Mr. Humphrey. This was all of it scholarly revision of high character. The second edition of Dean Alford's New Testament contains the following note, which is indicative of what had occurred in the domain of textual criticism since 1611

"Since the First Edition was published, the evidence of the recently-found Sinaitic Manuscript has been added to our ancient testimonies regarding the Sacred Text. This has occasioned many variations, which have been indicated in the margin of this Edition, so as to make it comformable to the last Edition of my Greek Testament. The notes, except where such variations necessitated a change, remain as before."

Owing to the wonderful care of the text by the Massorites the variations in the Old Testament Hebrew are few. The assemblies of the Jewish Rabbis at Jamnia, about 90 A. D., and 118 A. D., after the destruction of Jerusalem, 70 A. D., by the Romans, fixed the Jewish canon and also the text, which was however

revised under the Sopherim and later under the Massorites. No such care seems to have been exercised in the early Church in regard to the text of what was to become the New Testament, hence variations in the ancient manuscripts are not only numerous, but they affect the inclusion, or omission, of whole passages. It was the results of textual criticism, and not merely the fact that its diction was antiquated, and some of its translations not so exact as could be desired, that led to the demand for a revision of the English Bible.

The Codex Sinaiticus was discovered, 1844-59, by Tischendorf, as were other manuscripts, so that it has been said of him and of his labors that he did more for the Bible in Greek than any scholar since Origen.1 He devoted his life to the Greek Bible, and published his New Testament in 1840, and Old Testament in 1850. There were later editions of each. Tregelles, during thirty-five years, 1844-79, was writing works on the Greek Testament, his edition, 1857-72, ranking, with that of Tischendorf, among the great contributions to our knowledge of the text. Before this, Lachmann had in 1831 published a text of the Greek Testament in which, says Dr. Hort, "for the first time a text was construed directly from the ancient documents without the intervention of any printed edition."2 The most important modern work on the Greek text of the New Testament is that of Dr. B. F. Westcott and Dr. F. J. A. Hort, 1882. Increased knowledge of history and archæology made possible the clearer interpretation of the ancient writings, while increased knowledge of the ancient languages made more accurate translation pos

1 See C. A. Briggs, The Study of Holy Scripture, pp. 206–09.

2 B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, The New Testament in the Original Greek, London, 1882, vol. 2, p. 23.

sible. The changes in the text which one finds on comparing the King James with the Revised Version were not made by the translators. They had already been made by the textual critics.

Many Bible manuscripts unknown to the translators of 1611 had come to light since then, including some of the most ancient. The Codex of Beza, while known to the King James translators, seems to have been practically ignored, and almost no scientific textual criticism had been undertaken for the determination of the text when the King James Version of the Bible was put forth, destined to be for three centuries the Bible of English-speaking people. The arrival in England in 1628 of the Codex Alexandrinus caused a few changes in the text of an English edition of 1629. The consideration of these facts led to action by the Convocation of Canterbury on a suggestion, made as early as 1856, by Professor W. Selwyn, and repeated by Bishops Wilberforce, Ellicott and Ollivant in 1870, that a revision of the English Bible be made. A committee was appointed, consisting of eight members from each house of Convocation with authority "to invite the coöperation of any eminent for scholarship, to whatever nation or religious body they may belong." American scholars from nine protestant denominations formed a committee in 1871 to work with the English committee.

THE ANGLO-AMERICAN REVISION

In 1881 appeared the Revised New Testament, in 1885 the Revised Version of the Bible, and in 1894 the Revised Version of the Apocrypha. The new version bore the following titles:

"The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Translated out of the Greek: being the Version set forth A. D. 1611. Compared with the most ancient Authorities and Revised a. d. 1881. Printed for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford, at the University Press, 1881."

"The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments. Translated out of the Original Tongues, Being the Version set forth A. D. 1611. Compared with the most ancient Authorities and Revised. Printed for the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford, at the University Press, 1885."

"The Apocrypha, Translated out of the Greek and Latin tongues; being the Version set forth A. D. 1611, Compared with the most ancient Authorities and Revised A. D. 1894. Oxford, at the University Press, 1894."

By agreement, the changes suggested by the American revisers, but not accepted by the English Committee, were printed as an appendix which was to appear in every copy of the revised Bible for fourteen years, during which the American Committee agreed not to sanction any edition not printed by the University presses of England. In 1885 the English Committee disbanded, but the American continued in existence, and in 1901, published:

"The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments. Translated out of the Original Tongues, Being the version set forth A. D. 1611. Compared with the most ancient Authorities and Revised A. D. 1881-1885 Newly Edited by the American Revision Committee, A. D. 1901, Standard Edition. New York, Thomas Nelson & Sons."

That additions to our knowledge and changes in our language will be made in the future as they have been