The Pulpit Commentary — Daniel — Section 32

chnllengod at the time. At all events, the date assumed by the critical school, viz. n.o. 166, le defioitely to be put aside ae clearly fal!l4'. 8. VerBion1 of Daniel. We have four trauelatione, each of which was completed before the MIIIISOretio text of the Hebrew Scripture8 wu fixed-the Septuagint, Tbeo- dotion, the Peshitta, and the Vulgo.te in Jerome'a edition. There are fragments of the other Greek versions preserved in Field, and fragments of the older Latin versions in the Le.tin Fathers, noticeably in Tertullian. Of the Latin Fathers, the Africans quote from a version made from the Beptne.giot. (1) The Septuagint. The history of the Septuagint version of Daniel ie very singular. It seems to have been excluded from the Septuagint, and its place filled by that of Theodotion, mainly through the overmastering influence of Origen. That Father found that the differences between the Septuagint version of Daniel and the Hebrew in the Palestinian Recension were very great, and came to the conclusion that the Septuagint Version was corrupt. He had, however, retained it in bis Hexapla and Tetrapla, although he put Theodotion in the place of honour in his page which usually the Septuagint Version occupied, It had, however, by the time of the Reformation, utterly disappeared, only in some of the Greek and Latin Fathers there was evidence that they bad used another Greek version in their quotations from Daniel than that preserved to 118 in Theodotion. Most noticeable among these is Justin Martyr, in his' Dialogue with Trypho.' However, nothing was certain until a mannscript was discovered in the library of the Chigi Palace in Rome which contained thi! version of DanieL Magistris the librarian discovered and edited it in 1772. Eight years afterwards a Syriac version of this same version was found in the Ambrosian Library in Milan, by Bngati the librarian. It was found to confirm the authenticity of the Codex Chisianus. Thi.i Syriac version bad been made by Paulus Tellensis, Jacobite Bishop of Tella, in Mesopotamia, in the beginning of the seventh century. Further confirmation, if such were required, was found in the agreement between this new-found vennon and the passages quoted in Justin Martyr. The value of this version has been very differently estimated. The great mass of critics have assumed that all the differences between the Massoretic text of Daniel and the Septuagint Version have been caused by variation from his original on the part of the Septuagint translator. The only writer who has given, as it seems to us, this version even approximately the important place it deserves, is Graetz, in an article in the' Monatschrift rur Geschichte nnd Wissenschaft des Judentbums,' 1871. We ought also to mention Lenormant, 'La Divination.' At the same time, we must notice a most elaborate assault on this vennon which bas been made by Dr. Gwynn. in his article "Theodotion," in Smith'11 • Dictionary of Christian Biography.' His theory is that the Cbi11ian version is produced from the Palestinian text-practically, according to him, the Massoretic-by interpolation and paraphrase. From a coinci- dence in a single phrase it is concluded that the author or this version was also the author of the version of the latter part of 2 Chronicles and Ezra, which goes by the title of 3 Esdras in the Latin Vulgate (1 Esdras of our English Apocrypha). The main reason which seems to induce him to maintain this view is that he regards the apocryphal additions to Daniel as the product of the translator of this version. We think this, however, i11 demonstrably false. The apocryphal additions to Daniel, save the Song of the Three Hebrew Children, are in the Stiptuagint placed away at the end, as if appendices. To make this appear more clearly, there is a note at the end of the twelfth chapter of Daniel in the Chisian Code:s: before the addition which says, "Daniel, according to LXX., bas been copied from an examplar haying the subscription, 'Copied from the Tetrapla, with which it bas been collated."' Then come 'Sus:mna' 11nd 'Bel,' which is entitled "From the prophecy  xxniii INTRODUCTION TO