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Introduction to the Knowledge of Holy Scripture
Introduction to the Knowledge of Holy Scripture Author:Samuel Green General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1873 Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million book... more »s for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER V. . ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE. The Septuagint -- Syriac Versions -- The Itala -- All confirm our faith in the Bible. FULL account of ancient versions of Scripture, whatever its value, would require more space titan the present work can give; and it would not greatly contribute to the useful study of the Bible. A few facts, however, concerning some of these early translations may be given. Mention has already been made of the first version of the whole of the Old Testament -- the Septuagint. It was made about 285 years before Christ's appearance. The Saviour and his Apostles constantly employed it in their intercourse with the people, and from it almost all the Old Testament quotations in the New are made. Till Christians began to employ the Septuagint in support of Christianity against Judaism, this version was held by the Jews in high esteem. But when the arguments so employed became pressing, the correctness of the translation was questioned, and other versionswere called for. Symmachus, Aquila, and others of the second or third century produced the chief of these versions, which were . collated by Origen, a Christian writer of A. D. 228. His work is still extant. See, on this point, the beginning of chapter viii., page 3" None of these versions equals the Septuagint. Their design taints them. The more perfect knowledge of both Hebrew and Greek which has been acquired in modern times increases the esteem in which the Septuagint is held, though no competent judge can be blind to its imperfections. Syriac translations next followed; the earliest mention of which occurs in the writi...« less