Because it is the judgment of some, that yet other objections may be raised against the thesis pleaded for, from what is affirmed in the Prolegomena about gathering various lections by the help of trans- lations, and the instances of that good work given us in the Appen- dix, I shall close this discourse with the consideration of that pre- tence.
The great and signal use of various translations, which hitherto Ave have esteemed them for, was the help afforded by them in expo- sitions of the Scripture. To have represented unto us in one view the several apprehensions and judgments of so many worthy and learned men as were the authors of these translations, upon the origi- nal words of the Scripture, is a signal help and advantage unto men inquiring into the mind and will of God in his word. That transla- tions were of any other use formerly was not apprehended. They are of late presented unto us under another notion, — namely, as means and helps of correcting the original, and finding out the corrup- tions that are in our present copies, showing that the copies which their authors used did really differ from those which we now enjoy
OF LECTIONS GATHERED OUT OF TRANSLATIONS. 407
and use ! For this rare invention we are, as for the former, chiefly beholden to the learned and most diligent Cappellus; who is fol- lowed, as in sundry instances himself declares, by the no less learned Grotius. To this purpose the scene is thus laid : It is supposed [that] of old there were sundry copies of the Old Testament differing in many things, words, sentences, from those we now enjoy. Out of these copies some of the ancient translations have been made. In their translations they express the sense and meaning of the copies they made use of. Hence, by considering what they deliver, where they differ from our present copies, we may find out (that is, learned men, who are expert at conjectures, may do so) how they read in theirs. Thus may we come to a further discovery of the various corruptions that are crept into the Hebrew text, and by the help of those trans- lations amend them. Thus Cappellus. The learned author of our Prolegomena handles this business, Proleg. 6. I do not remem- ber that he anywhere expressly affirms that they had other copies than those we now enjoy; but whereas (besides the Keri and Ketib, the various readings of Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali, of the eastern and western Jews) there are, through the neglect, oscitancy, and frailty of the transcribers, many things befallen the text, — not such failings as, happening in one copy, may be easily rectified by others, which are not to be regarded as various lections, nor such as may be collected out of any ancient copies, but faults or mistakes in all the copies we enjoy, or that have ever been known, — by the help and use of translations, conjecturing how they read in their books, either with other words or letters, consonants or points, we may collect various lections as out of the original. What this opinion upon the matter differeth from that of Cappellus I see not, for the difference between our copies and those of old are by him assigned to no other original ; nor doth Cappellus say that the Jews have voluntarily corrupted the text, but only that alterations are befallen it by the means and ways recounted in the Prolegomena. To make this evident by in- stances, we have a great number of such various lections, gathered by Grotius, in the Appendix. The truth is, how that volume should come under that name, at first view I much wondered. The greatest part of it gives us no various lections of the Hebrew text, as is pretended, but various interpretations of others from the Hebrew. But the Prolegomena solve that seeming difficulty. The particulars assigned as various lections are not different readings, collected out of any copies extant, or ever known to have been extant, but critical con. jectures of his own for the amendment of the text, or at most conjec- tures upon the reading of the words by translators, especially the LXX. and Yulgar Latin.
Let us now consider our disease intimated, and the remedy pre-
408 INTEGRITY AND PURITY OF THE HEBREW AND GREEK TEXT.
scribed, together with the improbability of the one and the unsuit- ableness of the other as to the removal of it, being once supposed. The distemper pretended is dreadful, and such as may well prove mortal to the sacred truth of the Scripture. The sum of it, as was declared before, is, "That of old there were sundry copies extant, dif- fering in many things from those we now enjoy, according to which the ancient translations were made, whence it is come to pass that in so many places they differ from our present Bibles, even all that are extant in the world;" so Cappellus; — or, " That there are corrup- tions befallen the text (varieties from the ahroypafa) that may be found by the help of translations;" as our Prolegomena.
Now, whereas i\iQ first translation that ever was, as is pretended, is that of the LXX., and that, of all others, excepting only those which have been translated out of it, doth most vary and differ from our Bible, as may be made good by some thousands of instances, we cannot but be exceedingly uncertain in finding out wherein those copies which, as it is said, were used by them, did differ from ours, or wherein ours are corrupted, but are left unto endless uncertain conjectures. What sense others may have of this distemper I know not ; for my own part, I am solicitous for the ark, or the sacred truth of the original, and that because I am fully persuaded that the remedy and relief of this evil provided in the translations is unfitted to the cure, yea, fitted to increase the disease. Some other course, then, must be taken; and seeing the remedy is notoriously insuffi- cient to effect the cure, let us try whether the whole distemper be not a mere fancy, and so do what in us lieth to prevent that horrible and outrageous violence which will undoubtedly be offered to the sacred Hebrew verity, if every learned mountebank may be allowed to practise upon it with his conjectures from translations.