VARIOUS READINGS
725
VARIOUS READINGS
creasing the collection of various readings from MSS. not before or imperfectU' collated. With the labors of Griesbach (^j/mfio/fls Criticce. [1785-93]; Neiv Tent, ['id ed. 1796-1806]) began thestrictlycriticaltreatmentof the text itself, then for the first time corrected throughout from MSS. and other ancient authorities. The labors of Tischendorf (184:1-73) have made a new ajra in the science. By his numerous collations and printed texts of MSS., with elaborate prolegomena, notes, and fac- similes— his discovery of the Codex tSinaiticus and im- perial edition of it, with specimens in fac-simile, prol- egomena, and full notes, in 1862, preceded by its best representative in lithographed fac-simile, the Codex Friderico-A iigiistantis, with prolegomena antl illustra- tive comments, in 1846; his eight critical editions of the iVew Test.— he has far exceeded all who have labored in this field before him, and won for himself the first place among Biblical critics.
On the subject of various readings, see Griesbach, Si/mbolce Critical (1785-93) and Prolegomena ad Nov. Test. (2d ed. 1786) ; Lachmann, Prolegomena ad Nov. Test. ( 1842 ) ; Tregelles, A ccount of the Printed Text of the New Test. (1854) and Introd. 'to the Text. Crit. of the New Test. ( 1856 ) ; Tischendorf, Prolegomena ad Nov. Test. (7th ed. 1859); Scrivener, Plain Introd. to the Criticism of the Neio Test. (2d ed. 1874); Delitzsch, Ilandschriftliche Funde (1861-62) ; Conant, Greek Text of the Apocalypse, in the Baptist Quarterly, 1871 ; Smith, Bible Dictionary (Eng. ed. 1860; Amer. ed. 1870), p. 2125- 2128. (T.J. C.)
VARIOUS READINGS of the Old Test. It is now universally admitted that the text of the Old Test, has not come down to us without mistakes. Like all other ancient books, the Bible has suffered from the errors of transcribers ; and thus, in the course of repeated copying, many small variations crept into the text, and various readings came into existence. These varies lec- tinnes may be assigned to two sources. They were made unintentionally or purposely.
I. Accidental Mistakes. — By far the greater num- ber of existing various readings owe their origin to accident, and may be traced back to the following sources :
1. Transcribers saiv amiss, and therefore they con- founded letters similar in shape. Beth and Kaph. (iimel and Nun, Daleth and Resh, He and Cheth, are so like that they were exchanged. Thus, in Neh. xii, 3 we read ni3Da,but inver. 14 niDSlU; 1 Chron. ix, 15, i-i2T, but Neh. xi, 17, "il3T; Gen. x, 3, nSi-i, but 1 Chron. i, 6, rsin ; Gen. x, 4, D^nin, but 1 Chron. i, 7, nimi ; xviii, 12, alXT3, but 2 Sam. viii, 12, D-iX-a, etc. From the same cause the copyists transposed letters, words, and sentences. Thus we read,
Josh, xxi, 2T, '|ll:3, but iu 1 Chron. vi, 56, '|bl5.
1 Sam. i, 1, inn—p, but iu 1 Chron. vi, 19, mn""!'.
2 Sam. xxiii, Sl.'^'Om^n, but in 1 Chron. xi,33, "i^Tinnn. 1 Kings X, 11, D'^:"2bx, but iu 2 Chron. ix, 10, D-^^iabx. Psa. Iviii, 46, IJ-in"''!, but in 2 Sam. xxii, 46, Tian"^1.
" xviii, 50, mtTi n"'iaa, but in 2 Sam. xsii, 50, mfT^ D"ii:S3.
" 45,123 "IDS lb irT2'j:'i 'IX yorb
"'b-r^^3^ but in 2 Sam. xsii, 45, i:3
'■h ''.s'^'iT"' "|tx yiTa'ob "^b-rrns"! -133.
Comp. also Psa. xcvi, 9-11 with 1 Chron. xvi, 30-32.
From the same cause they omitted letters, words, and sentences, especially when two periods or clauses termi- nated in the same way. Thus Neh. xi, 5, iT'lUSia, but
1 Chron. iv, 36; vi, 15, nilUS; Psa. xviii, 42, n-'mj"', but
2 Sam. xxii, 42, 1 "TIJ". Words were omitted : as in 1 Sam. i, 3, where, after IT^^'O, probably D'^ri^l"']'! (Sept. tK
TToXftiJC avTov i^ 'Apia5aifji) was left out. The omis- sion of clauses or sentences we notice, e. g. 1 Sam. v, 3, where, after mma-a, the words 1N-ii"l "I'.jn n^H 1S3"^T were omitted, for the Sept. reads Kai fial'iX^oi' tig oIkov Aayuii' Kai dSov. The last two examples of omission bear the technical name of ofioioTeXevroj'.
2. Transcribers heard amiss, and fell into mistakes. Here the same observations can be made as above. Thus—
1 Sam. xvii, 34, we And llT, as in several codd., instead
ofniy.
" xxii, IS, 5111, but the Keri, 5X1. 2Kingsxx, 4, iiyn, " " " i:in. Psa. xcvi, 12, tbsi, but 1 Chron. xvi, 32, rbs^. Isa. Ixv, 4, pis, but Keri, p"l^.
To this cause must be ascribed the seventeen identifica- tions of xb with lb noted in the margin of the Bible.
3. Transcribers made mistakes from memory. Where the copyist trusted too much to his memory, he con- founded synonymous terms, as in Lev. xxv, 36, bx with bn; in 2" Kings i, 10, '^\^21■^^ with I'OXi'l, and mni with iSnX; or he altered the word, after the more fre- quent forms, in parallel passages. Thus, in Isa. Ixiii, 16, some have "na 'Voh instead of "^-aa cbl3.-?3, be- cause the former is the more common.
4. Transcribers made mistakes in judgment. They misapprehended the text before them, and therefore di- vided words badly, misunderstood abbreviations, and blundered with regard to the letters called custodes line- arum, as well as marginal notes. One word was im- properly separated into two, or two combined into one. An example occurs in Psa. xlviii, 16, where the text has mT3 hs instead of ^\^'Qhy, unto death instead of fo?- ever. The latter reading is found in many MSS. and editions; Sept. tig tocq aloJvaQ; Vulg. in soecula. On the contrary, Iv, 16, ni^iHUi, the textual reading, denot- ing desolations, is directed by the Keri to be divided into rTD mji, let death seize. This is adopted by many MSS., editions, and old translators, as Sept., Vulg., Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, Arabic, Jerome.