1st. Ancient manuscripts. The oldest and most authorita- tive Greek manuscripts now extant : (1.) The Codex Alexandri- nus of the fifth century, (called A.) now in the British Museum. (2.) The Codex Vaticanus of the fourth century, (called B.) now in the Vatican Library at Rome. (3.) Codex Regius of the sixth century, (called C.) now in the Royal Library, Paris. (4.) The Codex Bezse of the sixth century, (called D.) now in the Univer- sity Library, Cambridge. Manuscripts succeeding these in age, up to the end of the fifteenth century, abound all over Europe. Upwards of six hundred have been diligently collated in prepara- tion for recent editions of the Greek Testament. The results of the most thorough investigations is uniformly declared by the most competent scholars to establish beyond question the integ- rity of the sacred text.
2d. The numerous and accurate quotations of the Scriptures preserved in the writings of the early Christians. " In not less than one hundred and eighty ecclesiastical writers, whose works are still extant, are quotations from the New Testament intro- duced, and so numerous are they, that from the works of those that flourished before the seventh century the whole text of the New Testament might have been recovered, if the originals had perished."
3d. Early translations into other languages. (1.) The Peshito or ancient Syriac version about A .D. 100. (2.) The Latin Yulgate of Jerome A. D. 385. (3.) The Coptic of the fifth century, and others of less critical value. — Home's Intro., and Angus' Bible Hand-Book,
CHAPTER VII.
THE ATTKIBUTES OF GOD.
As the result of the argument for the being of God presented in the first chapter, we found (Chap. I., question 20) that even the light of nature surely discovers that there is a God, and that he is a personal spirit, infinite, eternal, self-existent, the first cause of all things, infinitely intelligent, powerful, free of will, righteous, and benevolent. It remains for us in the present chapter to attempt to collect and present that additional and clearer knowl- edge of the divine nature which the Scriptures make known to us by means of his names and his attributes.
1. State the etymology and meaning of the several names ap- propriated to God in the Scriptures.
1st. Jehovah, from the Hebrew verb rnn, to he. It expresses self-existence and unchangeableness ; it is the incommunicable name of God, which the Jews super stitiously refused to pro- nounce, always substituting in their reading the word Adonai, Lord. Hence it is represented in our English version by the word Lokd, printed in capital letters.
Jah, probably an abbreviation of the name Jehovah, is used principally in the Psalms. — Ps. lxviii., 4. It constitutes the con- cluding syllable of hallelujah, praise Jehovah.
God gave to Moses his peculiar name, " I am that I am/' Ex. iii., 14, from the same root, and bearing the same funda- mental significance as Jehovah.
2d. El, might, power, translated God, and applied alike to the true and to the false gods. — Isa. xliv., 10.
3d. Elohim and Eloah, the same name in its singular and plural form, derived, from nVa, to fear, reverence. "In its singular form it is used only in the latter books and in poetry." In the
102 THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD.
plural form it is sometimes used with a plural sense for gods, but more commonly as a pluralis excellentige, for God. It is applied to false gods, but preeminently to Jehovah as the great object of adoration.
4th. Adonai, the Lord, a pluralis excellentice, applied ex- clusively to God, expressing possession and sovereign dominion, equivalent to nvgwg, Lord, so frequently applied to Christ in the New Testament.
5th. Saddai, almighty, a pluralis excellentia3. Sometimes it stands by itself. — Job v., 17 ; and sometimes combined with a preceding El. — Gen. xvii., 1.
6th. Elyon, Most High, a verbal adjective from nVs, to go up, ascend. — Ps. ix., 3; xxi., 8.
7th. The term Tzebaoth, of hosts, is frequently used as an epithet qualifying one of the above-mentioned names of God. Thus, Jehovah of Hosts, God of Hosts, Jehovah, God of Hosts. — Amos iv., 13; Ps. xxiv., 10. Some have thought this equivalent to God of Battles. The true force of the epithet, however, is " sovereign of the stars, material hosts of heaven, and of the an- gels their inhabitants." — Dr. J. A. Alexander, Com. on Ps. xxiv., 10, and Gesenius' Heb. Lex.
8th. Many other epithets are applied to God metaphorically, to set forth the relation he sustains to us and the offices he ful- fills, e. g., King, Lawgiver, Judge. — Isa. xxxiii., 17 ; Ps. xxiv., 8 ; 1., 6. Kock, Fortress, Tower, Deliverer. — 2 Sam. xxii., 2, 3 ; Ps. lxii., 2. Shepherd, Husbandman. — Ps. xxiii., 1; John, xv., 1. Father, Matt, vi , 9 ; John xx., 17, etc.
2. What are the divine attributes ?