Until recently the oldest manuscripts of either the N.T. or the O.T. that were known

were those written on vellum--a material that superseded the use of papyrus in the

fourth century A.D. There has just come to light, however, a group of Greek manuscripts

written upon papyrus, and known as the Chester Beatty Papyri, which are more ancient

than any yet discovered. The collection comprises 44 leaves of Genesis and potions of

other parts of the Law and the Prophets, the Gospels, Acts, epistles of Paul, and the book

of the Revelation. One apocryphal work is included, namely, the book of Enoch. Among

other items that can be appreciated by the non-expert is the fact that the four Gospels,

together as a unit, and distinguished from the many apocryphal Gospels, are proved to

have been already in use, and that the epistle to the Hebrews was included among the

epistles of Paul.

The most important question that is raised in connection with a "find" like this is,

How does the text of these papyri compare with that in use to-day? It is reassuring to

learn that no doctrine of the N.T. is altered in the slightest by any new reading, and the

evidence that we have substantially the text of the originals grows with every discovery.

In our articles entitled "The Volume of the Book" we discuss the pre-eminence given

by Westcott and Hort to the Vatican MSS, and give evidence that the Revisers were not

justified in setting aside the voice of antiquity or for giving unwarranted weight to

manuscripts that accorded with the theory of Westcott and Hort. This theory, namely,

that the Vaticanus and the Sinaiticus give us what Westcott and Hort called the Neutral

text, is by no means substantiated by these earlier manuscripts. This is not the place to

discuss the matter of the text, but we do suggest that readers would be wise, when using

the R.V., to be on their guard when alterations, additions or subtractions of the Greek text

are made or suggested. Sir Frederick Kenyon, G.B.E., K.C.B., says:--