To eliminate the differences and imperfections of the Latin copies,

Jerome commenced a revision of the text, as Origen had previously done for

the Greek.  Realizing, however, the need for some more drastic change, he

prepared a translation of the Old Testament in Latin direct from the original

Hebrew, a work which occupied nearly twenty years.  This version of Jerome's

became known afterwards as the Vulgate (or current version), and was the

Bible of Europe until the Reformation.

What light do these versions throw upon the text of the Old Testament

We observe that the Coptic, Ethiopic and Old Latin versions were made

from the LXX, and while helping us to ascertain the true text of that

version, do not throw any light upon the Hebrew original.  The Syriac and

Vulgate, though translated from the Hebrew, can only give us the Massoretic

text, a text which we already possess.

The Septuagint is much the most important of all the versions.

Together with the existing Massoretic text it provides us with sufficient

material for arriving at a fairly clear understanding of the true meaning of

the original Scriptures.  The believer may take comfort in the fact that with

all the mass of textual material available, the divergences are so slight,

and their effect upon the doctrine so negligible, that for all practical

purposes we may say that we possess today the Scriptures as originally given

by inspiration of God.  We should be thankful for the great crowd of

witnesses that gather around the sacred text and testify that we still have

in our hands God's Word written.

We have presented in as concise a form as possible the story of the

manuscripts of the New Testament, together with a survey of some of the most

important versions.  Into the question of textual criticism we do not enter.

The conflicting theories and methods espoused by such critics as Scrivener,

Greisbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott and Hort, will not

submit to a condensed presentation; the whole subject lies outside the scope

of this book.  The interested reader who is already sufficiently advanced to

profit by any remarks that we could make here, is already adequately equipped

to go on alone.  Textual criticism calls for the highest scholarship, acumen

and spiritual insight, and we should be sad indeed if what we have written

should cause any to lay unprepared hands upon so sacred a subject, with

issues so far-reaching.  We therefore leave this sacred science, for such it

is, and turn to the survey of some of the chief manuscripts and versions by

which the Greek text is ascertained.

The mss of the Greek New Testament are divided into two classes, the

uncials and the cursives.  The uncials are written in capital letters, each

letter being formed separately, while the cursives are written in a running

hand, the letters being joined together.  The uncials are the more ancient,

the cursives not appearing until the ninth century.  The chief uncial mss are

the Sinaiticus, the Vaticanus, the Alexandrinus; the cursives are too

numerous to mention here.  In 1896 the number of cursive mss known was 2,429,

besides 1,273 lectionaries, containing the lessons for the year.