importance, and in its place rose up that of Babylon, agreeing indeed in all essential respects with the others, where other and far more voluminous comments, but still so far varying as to show they come to us making another gemara, were added to the mishna of through different channels. Tiberias. And these make up the second or Babylon talmud—always meant, when the talmud only is mentioned-which was finished about the year A. d. 500.

Now in both these talmuds, written in Aramaic, there are a vast number of quotations from the Bible, which learned men have, with great labour, collected and compared with the Bible itself. They find the discrepancies quite unimportant.

The history of the text of the New Testament is much simpler and shorter than that of the Old. We have the concurrent evidence of churches and congregations, who were scattered over the civilized world, and who preserved the apostolic records with affectionate reverence. We have numberless quotations and references in the christian writings from the second century onwards. We have very ancient translations in Latin When the Arabs conquered those parts of the world and in Syriac, that have a perfectly independent where these learned Jews were chiefly settled, and existence. And we have MSS. reaching up almost to when the earlier Caliphs in the eighth and ninth the days when the books themselves were originally centuries patronized all kinds of learning;-a great written. We know also, that from a very early period impulse was given to the cultivation of the Hebrew the church was divided into several rival factions; each language and literature, and to the critical study of the of whom acted apart from the others; and in each of Bible. A succession of Jewish doctors then flourished whom we possess independent evidence for the text. in the East, who are styled the Masoretes, because their And here, as in the case of the Jews, it is impossible collection of writings is called the masorah or tradition. not to see how wonderfully God brought good out of They directed their attention almost exclusively to the evil. For, by the time the dark ages came in, during text of the Bible, selecting the best manuscripts, and that gloomy period, marked out by the ninth and tenth rejecting what was corrupt. The scrupulous care they centuries, when learning and religion seemed almost took may be judged from the fact that they have lost, and Europe appeared to be lapsing back into counted the number of words, and the number of barbarism;-the Benedictine and Cistercian Abbeys, letters in the Bible or in any particular parts. They founded at a previous happier season, had stored up, have left on record what is the middle word, or the unnoticed and uncared for, the ancient Greek MSS. of middle letter of the entire book; how many words the New Testament, which, when required, were probegin with a particular letter, and many other minute duced by the investigation of the scholars who mainly labours of the same kind, trifling indeed, but still brought about the Reformation. showing most remarkably how careful they were of even words and letters.

When the Turks overpowered Western Asia in the eleventh century, they commenced a systematic persecution against the Jews, broke up their schools, and killed or banished their leaders. The doctors fled chiefly into Spain, where there was still a Caliph at Cordova: and to the adjoining provinces in the South of France. Here Aben-Ezra, Maimonides, Kimchi, and others, preserved the learning of the Eastern Jews. But, when the fierce persecution of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the fifteenth century, drove all the Jews out of Spain, they carried with them, into more favourable countries, the valuable treasures they possessed; and therefore in the next or sixteenth century, when learning revived, and the reformation arose, then the Hebrew MSS. of the Jews were at hand, and were soon put into print, by means of which the Bible was corrected, and brought back, as nearly as possible, to its original condition.

We cannot but admire the providential ordering of events, which overruled the cruel and iniquitous persecutions raised against the learned Jews, first by the Turkish sultans in Asia, and then by the christian sovereigns of Spain, bringing to us the Hebrew MSS. of the Bible, which otherwise we might have sought in vain.

It must be also mentioned that we do not depend solely upon these Asiatic and Spanish Jews for our MSS. There existed from time immemorial in Poland and Germany, another separate community of Jews, whose traditions and schools of learning were quite independent of their brethren; and from them we have MSS.

When Constantinople was taken by the Turks in 1453, and the last remnant of ancient civilization destroyed, many scholars fled to the West of Europe, and brought with them a knowledge of the Greek language, till then almost unknown, at the very time when the dispersion of the Jews from Spain was making public the Hebrew tongue. And contemporaneously with these events, that wonderful discovery of printing was made; putting machinery into the hands of men for the preparation of proper copies of the Bible, which would have been altogether wanting a few generations previously.

Since that epoch, the libraries of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, have been ransacked, and many valuable MSS. discovered which were then unknown; and the settlement of the text, as it is called, has become the subject of the attention of biblical students. A judgment has to be formed from the variety and abundance of materials that exist, and a text produced that shall be as nearly as possible like what it was when it left the hands of the original writers. And in order to accomplish this, not only have the ancient MSS. themselves to be examined, and their comparative value decided, but due weight has to be given to any differences that may appear in the ancient translations, or in quotations made in ancient authors. It frequently happens that the different sources of information vary in particulars, and then a judgment must be exercised as to which is to be preferred.

We shall, in future papers, shew what these various sources of information are. In the mean time, we shall be content with remarking, that the result of these

investigations has been of the very happiest nature. When they were first entered on, great alarm was felt that the faith of many would be unsettled by them; and for that reason the Church of Rome forbade any amendment of the text of the Vulgate, acknowledged on all hands to be corrupt. But, however embarassing the differences may be to the scholar, they are insignifi-known fate of the women and children. Nought was heard but cant to the divine or the christian. They are all really quite unimportant-and the happy result is that we have discovered them to be unimportant. Whereas had we refused to look at them, we might have been harassed by a suspicion that we had been imposed upon; and should not have been certain, as we are now, that for all practical purposes, our ordinary Bibles give us what God originally directed the prophet or the apostle to

reveal.

God sent His book into the world, like all His other blessings, entrusted to human care, and liable to injury from human carelessness. We may be thankful that He has watched over His own gift, and has protected it from all real damage. W. H. J.

People and Land of Israel.

THE JEWS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF
JERUSALEM BY TITUS.*

Ir must be evident to the believer that the Jew is of
the last importance in God's history of the world.
"When the Most High divided to the nations their
inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He
set the bounds of the people according to the number
of the children of Israel." The dispersion of the post-
diluvians was not a casual chance-medley circumstance,
but so ordered of God as to admit Israel as their earthly
centre. This has been verified in their past history,
though suspended at present; but prophecy discloses
that every jot and tittle of the divine scheme is to be
fulfilled in the grand scenes of the last days.

The philosophic infidel does not of course sec-probably may deride-the purpose of God as to His earthly people. Nevertheless, the Jew has haunted many an unbelieving mind, has broken in like a spectre upon his dreamy materialism. The too celebrated Hegel often and long thought upon Hebrew history, often changed his thoughts: "all his life long," says his biographer, "it tormented him as a dark enigma.' If Christ crucified proved to the Jews a stumbling-block, the Jews are to the Gentiles an abiding sign which the wisdom of this world vainly essays to fathom and expound.

Of the history of this people, terrible from their beginning hitherto, Dr. Edersheim has given us some instructive chapters, the firstfruits of his studies in a department full of interest. After an introductory sketch of the Hebrew commonwealth, we are presented with a graphic yet touching picture, the " closing scenes of the Jewish war of independence." Let the reader judge:

"The stars twinkled just as they had done in happier days over History of the Jewish nation after the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. By the Rev. Alfred Edersheim, Ph. D. Old Aberdeen, Edinburgh:

Thomas Constable & Co; London: Hamilton Adams & Co. 1856.

the burning walls of Masada. Beneath rolled the Dead Seathe monument of foreign wrath and war; in the distance, as of the oppressor. Before them was the camp of the Roman, far as the eye could reach, the desolate landscape bore the marks who watched with anxiety for his prey and the morrow. All was silent in Masada. Defence now seemed impossible, and certain death stared the devoted garrison in the face. Despair settled on the stoutest heart, deepened by the presence and the wellthe crackling of burning timbers, and the ill-suppressed moans of the wives and children of the garrison. Then for the last time Eleazar summoned his warriors. In language such as fierce despair alone could have inspired on his, or brook-d on their part, he reminded them of their solemn oath—to gain freedom or to die. One of these alternatives alone remained for them-to die. The men of war around him had not quailed before any enemy, yet they shrank from the proposal of their leader. A low murmur betokened their disapprobation. Then flashed Eleazar's eye. Pointing over the burning rampart to with fearful truthfulness, the fate which awaited them on the the enemy, and in the distance towards Jerusalem, he related morrow:-to be slain by the enemy, or to be reserved for the arena; to have their wives devoted in their sight to shame, and their children to torture and slavery. Were they to choose this alternative, or a glorious death, and with it liberty-a death in obedience to their oath, in devotedness to their God and to their country? The appeal had its effect. It was not sudden madness, nor a momentary frenzy, which seized these men when they brought forth, to immolate them on the altar of their liberty, their wives, their children, their chattels, and ranged themselves each by the side of all that had been dear to him in the world. The last glimmer of hope had died out, and with the determination of despair, the last defenders of Judea prepared to perish in the flames which enveloped its last fortress. First, each heaped together his household gear, associated with the pleasures of other days, and set fire to it. Again they pressed to their hearts their wives and children. Bitter were the tears wrung from these iron men; yet the sacrifice was made unshrinkingly, and each plunged his sword into the hearts of his wife and children. Now they laid themselves down beside death. Cheerfully they presented their breasts to ten of their them, and locked them in tender embrace-now the embrace of number, chosen by lot to put the rest of their brethren to death. Of these ten, one had again been fixed upon to slay the remaining nine. Having finished his bloody work, he looked around to see whether any of the band yet required his service. But all was silent. The last survivor then approached as closely as possible to his own family and fell upon his sword. Nine hundred bodies covered the ground.

"Morning dawned upon Masada, and the Romans eagerly ap. proached its walls-but within was the silence of death. A feint was apprehended, and the soldiers advanced cautiously, raising a shout, as if the defenders on the wall implored the help of their brethren. Then two women, who, with five children, had concealed themselves in vaults during the murderous scene of the preceding evening, came forth from their retreat to tell the Romans the sad story. So fearfully strange did it sound, that advanced; then rushing through the flames, they penetrated their statement was scarcely credited. Slowly the Romans into the court of the palace. There lay the lifeless bodies of the garrison and their families. It was not a day of triumph even to the enemy, but one of awe and admiration. They buried the dead and withdrew, leaving a garrison. 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that killest the prophets,' &c. Therefore, behold, your house is left unto you desolate.'

Thus terminated the war of Jewish nationality. Various causes conspired to make this contest one of the most obstinate ever witnessed. The Roman legions were led by the ablest generals of the empire, and instigated by the recollection of the shameful defeat which they had sustained at the commencement of the war, and by the obstinate resistance now made by a small and unwarlike race whom they had long affected to des. pise. Nor was the issue of the struggle unimportant to the Roman state. been the first step in the decadence of an empire whose provinces Defeat under any circumstances would have

bore so disproportionate a relation to the dominant country. Besides, Roman rule had never been firmly established eastward of Judea, and on that account the latter country presented an important military position. Finally, the triumph of the Jews would have been fatal to the prestige of Rome in the East, and probably become the signal for a general rising in the neighbouring provinces. On the other hand, the Jews fought for national existence, for political and religious liberty, for their lives, for their hearths and homes. Flushed at first by victory, relying on the zeal and enthusiasm of the whole nation, and defending themselves in their own country and among its fastnesses against the foreign invaders, the Jews fought with the despair of men who knew what awaited them in case of defeat. Besides, they relied on promised succours from their brethren in the East, or at least on a diversion in their favour. Nor was this contest merely one for national independence; it was essentially also a religious war. Jerusalem was not only a political but also a religious capital. In fighting for their country, the Jews fought also for their religion, which, indeed, was almost inseparable from the soil of Palestine, and hence, as they sought, for the name and cause of their God. Were it requisite, proofs could readily be adduced of this. Even after they had been defeated, it was stated by the theological expositors of popular sentiment, that since the day of the destruction of the temple, God had mourned for the fate of His people, and that joy had become a stranger in the celestial mansions. Hence they constantly reckoned all along on the Divine assistance. The Maccabees had in former times, with a mere handful of men, defied the Syrian hosts, and why should not similar success be vouchsafed to them under more advantageous circumstances? And even if it turned out otherwise, surely it could only happen in judgment, and for a season, that their God had left His covenant people, His special favourites, for whose sakes even heaven and earth had been created, and who alone fulfilled the end of their being by glorifying their Maker. Whatever, then, might be their divinely appointed fate, to conquer or to die, the Zealots were ready to meet it in such & cause. These views were indeed intimately connected with the whole of the carnal tendency in their religion to which we have already, and shall by and by more fully advert. To belong outwardly to the chosen race, constituted a person a member of the kingdom of God. The place and the rites of the temple were identical with acceptable worship; outward observances and a mere logical development, became substitutes for spiritual apprehension of the truth, for love and devotedness. Thus as the form was being more and more cultivated, to the neglect of the spirit, it appeared also more and more precious, and its final destruction, by an overthrow of the Jewish commonwealth, seemed almost impossible. Nor were the expectations entertained about that time of the sudden appearance of a Messiah, who, long hid, would suddenly come forth to deliver his people from the enemies which threatened them, without their effect on the minds of the people. Though the life and death of the blessed Saviour had too lately taken place for the leaders of the people lightly to risk the safety of the Synagogue, by bringing Messianic views prominently forward, as they did at an after period in the war under Bar-Coch ba, in order to inflame the zeal of their followers, such considerations must no doubt have had some influence. At times these hopes seemed about to be realized. More than once did the balance tremble in favour of the Jews-the Roman generals were in imminent danger-the Roman engines destroyed-the Jews successful-the legions panic-struck or dispirited. Yet the sceptre passed finally and irrevocably from Judah, by the same hand which had at first placed it there. Calculating merely the probabilities of the case, we would say that the war was begun at a most favourable time; and that notwithstanding the various mistakes and disadvantages of the Jews, had there not been treason in the Jewish camp, or had there not been factions and bloody revenge amongst themselves, or had their eastern allies made a diversion in their favour, they would have obtained the object of their desires, or at least have had a greater measure of success in their defence. But true it is that the history of the world is the judgment of the world.' .

attained the climax of her grandeur. Hostile movements had taken place in other provinces, but these had now been suppressed, and Vespasian opened once again the temple of peace. But this prosperity was of short duration. We do not mean to connect the destruction of Jerusalem and the decline of Rome's Empire as cause and effect; but it is certain that the former immediately preceded the latter event. The insurrections in the northern parts of the empire were only quelled for a time, the fire still smouldered under the ashes-it speedily burst forth anew, and destroyed that mighty engine with which the Lord had, in fulfilment of prophecy, punished his people. So it has ever been: the rod of his vengeance, after having served its purpose, has always been speedily broken in pieces." (pp. 42-47.)

Neither our author nor our readers will have reason to regret so long an extract: it is a fair and favourable sample of the volume, and well illustrates both manner, and subject-matter. Chapter iii. furnishes a good deal of curious information as regards the dispersed of Israel. The three following chapters are occupied with the political and religious state of the Jews, and with the history of the synagogue before and subsequent to the destruction of Jerusalem. Next is given a stirring narrative of the last Jewish war under Bar Cochab, with a sketch of the state of the synagogue afterwards. Chapters ix. x. and xi. have evidently involved no little labour and research, and convey much, which cannot be found elsewhere in our language; they are devoted respectively to an account of the social condition, arts and sciences, theology and religious belief of Palestine. The historical thread is again resumed with a notice of the patriarchate under the last pagan Emperors, till its extinction and the final scattering of the Jews. All is wound up with an appendix on these heads:-1 Jewish Calendar, 2 the Wisdom of Ben Sira, 3 Alexandrian Jewish Poetry, 4 Geographical Nations of the Rabbins, and 5 Rabbinical Exegesis.

The following extract from chapter xi. (Theological science and religious belief in Palestine) will show our readers some of the interesting details in which the latter part of Dr. E.'s volume abounds.

"From internal evidence, and from the accordance of the Septuagint translation of the Pentateuch with that of the Samaritans, it has been inferred that both were originally derived from an old Aramean Targum, to which allusions are made in Jewish writings. It has also been argued that the present LXX. was of very gradual origin, while from the frequent variations, the existence of different editions, if not translations, has been inferred. Leaving out of view the mistakes, additions, or emendations by copyists, and its frequent interpolations, there is an internal relationship between the spirit which the LXX. breathes, and that of the version of Onkeloz and of the Targum of Jonathan. Many passages shew clearly that the translation was made under Hagadic influences. The learned reader will notice, that the Greek of Joshua xiii. 22, becomes only intelligible by the Hagada, that Balaam had by magic flown into the air, but that Phinehas had thrown him to the ground and killed him in the fall. The translation of 1 Sam. xx. 30, is explained by the Hagada, that Jonathan's mother was one of those maidens of Shiloh (Judges xxi.) and had of her own accord gone forth to offer herself to Saul. The reading in 1 Sam. xxviii. 19, depends upon the legend that apparitions of ghosts were generally in an inverted posture of body, while that of Samuel had come up in the ordinary or straight position. Numerous similar instances might be quoted. Again we find clear traces in the Halacha,

The Halachas were the traditional ordinances, of which the Mishna was the scientific arrangement, and the Talmud or Gemara the commen"About the same time that the Jewish war terminated, Rometary. The Hagada professed to interpret and apply the sacred text in general.- REV.

testimony; so without any reference to the immediate time of his baptism, but in looking back upon the past, he exclaims (in short) "I knew him not"-was promised I should see himand did see him in the way promised-and bare record, &c. Yours, &c., EPSILON.

[We have inserted Epsilon's reply, though somewhat obscurely expressed; but we confess that we think S.W. has fully and satisfactorily met the difficulty. ED. B. T.]