OLD TESTAMENT REVISION: A Handbook for English Readers. BY ALEXANDER ROBERTS, D.D., Professor of Humanity, St. Andrews, and Member of New Testament AUTHOR OF Company of Revisers; COMPANION TO THE REVISED VERSION OF THE ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT," etc. HODDER London: AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXXXIII. 101 2.701 PREFACE. T seems desirable, in view of the approach IT ing publication of the Revised Version of the Old Testament, to furnish, in popular form, some information on interesting and important points connected with that portion of Scripture. This I have endeavoured to do in the following little volume. From the nature of the case, this work has been constructed on totally different lines from my Companion to the Revised Version of the New Testament." Comparatively little, for instance, requires to be said, or, indeed, can be said, respecting the text and manuscripts of the Old Testament-points which call for the utmost care in dealing with the New Testament. My object in the present work has been to present, in easy, untechnical language, a considerable amount of general information, which may enable ordinary English readers to peruse with greater interest and intelligence the Scriptures of the Old Testament, when these are set before them in the Revised. Version. I willingly acknowledge that I have learned much on the subject of the Old Testament from so-called rationalistic writers. And I trust I am willing to learn more; for whatever commends itself as true ought to be welcomed from any and every quarter. At the same time, I am constrained to say that a tone of dogmatism, and a tendency to onesidedness, may as plainly be discovered in the writers referred to, as among those who belong to the strictly "orthodox" class. The candid seeker after truth must be on his guard in dealing with the statements of extreme men on the one side as well as on the other. I have embodied in the following pages a number of what appear to me improved translations of Old Testament passages, without having the least idea whether or not these have been adopted by the Revision Company. Multitudes of additional emendations will, of course, appear in the Revised Version, although it is to be hoped that the work will not be marked by that amount of minute and really needless change which is one of the greatest weaknesses of the Revised New Testament. My Should my little book fall into the hands of any Biblical scholars, I would respectfully solicit their attention to the argument in behalf of the habitual use of the Greek language by Christ, as set forth in Chapter IX. apology for taking another opportunity of handling this subject is simply that I believe it to be one of the most interesting and important of Biblical questions. Indeed, should the view for which I plead as to the language generally used by Christ be at last accepted, |