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"The qualities which the authors of the Syrian text seem to have most desired to
impress on it are lucidity and completeness . . . . . both in matter and in diction the Syrian
text is conspicuously a full text."
As time went on, these labours of many Christian scholars, while they had their
distinctive spheres of influence, gradually merged, so that to-day what is called "The
Septuagint" has a substratum of the original Alexandrian version with a fusion of the
attempts of Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, Hesychius, Lucian and the labours of
Origen.
We cannot contemplate the work of these men, many of whom sealed their testimony
with their blood, without feeling somewhat ashamed of ourselves and of our generation
for the lack of interest, ignorance, and apathy exhibited towards the sacred oracles. We
trust that every reader of this series will feel impelled to a personal study of the Word
afresh, using all these helps that have come down to us from the past, and which were
produced in an atmosphere not far removed from that with which we lovingly associate
the great prison ministry of the apostle Paul.
#16.
The Septuagint.---The manuscripts.
pp. 155 - 159
We have traced the story of the LXX down to the labours of Origen and the editions of
Eusebius of Caesarea, Lucian of Antioch, and Hesychius of Egypt. After the appearance
of these editions it seems that the LXX underwent no further serious revision, and so far
as these articles are concerned, we have no need to trace its history further.
We must now look at the Greek version as it has reached us to-day, considering the
form in which it is represented, and the question as to how far we may reasonably expect
to get back to the original version.
Perhaps at this point we should make it quite clear that all the translating,
re-translating, editing and comparing that we are considering has nothing to do with the
text of the inspired originals of the O.T. However faulty the present Greek version may
be, the Hebrew has providentially been shielded from interference. Origen did not alter a
word of the Hebrew which was before him; he altered the LXX to correspond with it.
This note may perhaps reassure any who, through not distinguishing between the Hebrew
originals and the Alexandrian translation, may have felt somewhat disturbed.
The edition of the LXX published by Holmes and Parsons in 1850, 1860 & 1869,
and, under the editorship of Dr. Nestle, in 1880 & 1887, gives a complete list of the
MSS which were used in making the edition. The nature of these articles precludes
anything like elaboration of this list, which contains altogether 311 codices. Twenty-two
of these written in uncials, while the rest are in cursive hands.