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pbecies of Jeremiah m .— [ « Iren. adv. Haeref. 1. 3. c. 25. d Tertuil de Habit. Mulier. e C/«b. ^fflw. ftrom. 1. f %?/, Epirt. ad ChUon. 2. 5 Hieron, contr. Helvid. h Augujkn, de Mirac. Sacr. Script. I. 2. ! 6'/-n/o/?. Homil. 8. in Epift. ad Hebr. k £/rf r . 1. 2. c. 14. ' Gundling. Hiil. Philof. Mo- ral, c. 7. p. So. m Prideaux, lib. cit. p. 474.] Ezra made additions in feveral parts of the book, where any thing appeared neceflary for illuftrating, connecting, or corn- pleating the work ; in which he is fuppofed to have been aflift- ed by the fame fpirit whereby they were firft written. Among fuch additions is to be reckoned the laft chapter of Deutero- nomv, wherein Mofes feems to give an account of his own death and burial, and of the fucccfiion of Jofliua after him. To the fame caufe are to be attributed many other interpola- tions in the bible, which created difficulties and objections to the authenticity of the facred text, no ways to be folved with- out allowing them. Prideaux, lib. cit. p. 491. He changed the old names of feveral places which were grown obfolete, and inftead ot them put their new names, by which they were then called, in the text. Thus it is that Abraham is laid to have purfued the kings who carried Lot away cap- tive as far as Dan ; whereas that place, in Mofes's time, was called Laijb\ the name Dan being unknown, till the Danites, long after the death of Mofes, pofleiled. themfelves of it. Gen. c. 14. v. 14.
Laftly, Ezra wrote out the whole in the Chaklee character, which was now alone in ufe among the Jews fince the capti- vity, the old Hebrew being changed for it, which, fince that time, has only been retained by the Samaritans, where it is ufed to this day.
Whether Ezra, in this review, added the keri-cntib, or various readings, and the vowel points, or whether they be the addi- tion of later days, are queftions which have been much agi- tated.
The books of the bible are divided by the Jews into three clafTes, viz. the law, the prophets, and the hagiographers ; a divifion which they are fuppofed to borrow from Ezra himfelf. Each book is fubdivided into feflions, or parafches ; which fome will have to have been as old as Mofes, though others, with more probability, afcribe it to the fame Ezra. Thefe were fubdivided into verfes, pefuckim, marked in the Hebrew bible by two great points, called fopb pafuch, at the end of each. For the divifion of the bible into chapters, as we now have it, it is of much later date. Prideaux, Connect, P. 1, 1. 5, T. 2. p.479, feq.
Divers of the antient bible-hooks appear to be irrecoverably loft, whether it be that the copies of them perifhed, or that Efdras threw them out of his canon. Hence it is, that, in the books ftill extant, we find divers citations of, and refe- rences to others, which are now no more j as the book of Jafher n , the book of the wars of the Lord °, annals of the kings of Judah and Ifrael p, part of Solomon's three thoufand. proverbs, and his thoufand and five fongs, hefideshis bocks on plants, animals, fifh.es, infecls, &c 1. To which may be added a book of Jeremiah, wherein he enjoined the captives who went to Babylon to take the facred fire and conceal it ; alfo the precepts which that prophet gave the Jews to preferve themfelves from idolatry r , and his lamentations on the death of king Jofiah s . — ["Cited in Jof. c. 10. v. 13. ° Cited Numb. c. zi. v. 14. p Frequently cited in the books of
Kings and Chronicles. 1 1 King. c. 4. v. 32, feq. r 2 Mac- cab, c, 2. v . 1. s Wolf. Bibl. Hebr. T. 2. fee. 4. §. 1. p. an, feq. It. T. 4. fee. 4. p. 47. Calmet, Diet. Bibl. T 1. p. a 9 ,.] ,
The Jewifli canon of fcripture then was fettled by Ezra ; yet not fo but that feveral variations have been fince made in it : Malachi, for inftance, could not be put in the bible by him, fince that prophet is allowed to have liyed after Ezra; nor could Nchcmiab be there, fince mention is made in that book of Jaddua as high-pried, and of Darius Codomannus as king of Perfia, who were, at leaft, an hundred years later than Ezra. It may be added, that, in the firft book of Chronicles, the genealogy of the fons of Zerubbabel is carried down for fo many generations, as muft neceflarily bring it to the time of Alexander ; and confequently this book could not be in the canon in Ezra's days. It is probable the two books of Chro- nicles, Ezra, Nehcmiah, Either, and Malachi, were adopted into the bible in the time of Simon the Juft, the laft of the men of die great fynagogue. Prideaux, Conned!:. P. 1, 1. r. T. 2. p. 477, feq. It. I. 8. p. 816, feq.
The Jews, at fiift, were very referved in communicating their fcriptures to ftrangers l : defpifmg and fhunning the Gentiles, they would not difclofe to them any of the treafures concealed in the bible. We may add, that the people bordering on the Jews, as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Arabs, csV. were not very curious to know the laws or hiftory of a people, whom in their turn they hated and defpifed. Their firft acquaintance with thefe books was not till after the feveral captivities of the Jews, when the Angularity of the Hebrew laws and ceremo- nies induced feveral to denre a more particular knowledge of them. Jofephus feems furprized to find fuch flight footfteps of the fcripture-hiftory interfperfed in the Egyptian, Chal- dean, Phcenician, and Grecian hiftory ; and accounts for it hence, that the facred books were not as yet tranflated into Suppi,. Vol. I.
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Greek or other languages, and confequently not known to -fie writers oi thofe nations ".—[' jo/efh. contra Appion. p 1038 ■ ap. Calmet, Diet. Bibl. T. i. p. 294. » JM ap. Calmeti Joe. cit.J
The firft verfion of the bible was that of the feptuasrint into Greek, in the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, or rather much later ; though the whole feems not to have been then tranflated, but only the pentateuch; between which and the other books in the verfion called of the feventy, the critics find a c rea"t divcrfify in point of ftyle and exprefnon, as well as of accu- racy. Vid. Fabric. Bibl. Grac. 1. 3. c. 1 2. T. 2. p. 315. Du Pin, Diflert. Prelim, fur la Bible, 1. 1 . c. 6. §. I. p. 17 ,, feq. Simon, Hift. Crit. du Vieux Teitam. 1. 2. c. 2. See Septu- agint, Cyd,
Arifteas indeed fpeaks of a tranflation, though an imperfect one, of the Jewifh fcriptures before the time of Ptolemy; but his account is not fupported by any appearance of probability. Vid. Calmet, lib. cit. p. 294. DuPia, loc. cit Divers kinds of books have been cempofed on the bible, either to explain the fenfe, or make its doSrine more obvious and acceflible, or facilitate the remembranceof it; as introductions apparatufes, fummaries, manuals, hiftories, expofitions, com- mentaries, harmonies, C5Y. Vid. JVolf. Bibl'. Hebr. T. 2. %. 5. p. 262. It. T. 4. §. 4. p. 4 S, feq.
Saxon Bibles.— The whole fcripture is faid by fome to have been tranflated into the Angle-Saxon by Bedc, about the year 701 ; though others contend he only tranflated the gofpels. We have certain books or parts of the bible by feveral other tranflators; as, 1°. The Pfalms by Adelm bilfiop of Shire- born, cotemporary with Bede; though by others this verfion is attributed to king Alfred, who lived two hundred years after. Another verfion of the Pfalms in Anglo-Saxon was publithed by Spelman in 1640". 2". "1 he evangclifts, ftill extant, done from the antient vulgate, before it was revifed by St. Jerom, by an author unknown, and publifned by Matth. Parker in 157 1. An old Saxon verfion of feveral books of the bible, made by Elfric abbot of Malmefbury, feveral fra»ments of which were publifhed by Will. Lilly in 1638, the genuine copy by Edm. Thwaites in 1699, at Oxford ».— [» Bibl. Litr. N° 4. p. 1—23. Calmet, Dift. Bibl, T. I. p. 306J feq. x Calmet, loc. cit.]
Englijli Bibles.— The firft Englifti bible we read of was that tranflated by J. Wickliffe about the year 1360; but never printed, tho' there are MS copies of it in feveral of the public libraries. J. de Trevifa, who died about the year 1398, is alfo faid to have tranflated the whole bible ; but whether' any copies of it are remaining, does not appear.
Tinclal's Bible. — The firft printed bible in our language was that tranflated by Will. Tindal, affifted by Joy and Conftantine, printed abroad in I ;26 ; but moft of the copies were bought up and burnt by bifhop Tunftal and Sir Thomas More, It only contained the New Teftament, and was revifed and re- published by the fame perfon in 1530. The prologues and prefaces added to it, refleaing on the biihops and clergy, this edition was alfo fupprefied, and the copies burnt. In 1 532, Tindal and his aflociates finifhed the whole bible, ex- cept the apocrypha, and printed it abroad : but while he was afterwards preparing for a fecond edition, he was taken up, and burnt for herefy in Flanders.
Matthew s Bible. — On Tindal's death, his work was carried on by John Rogers, fuperintendant of an Englifh church in Germany, and the firft martyr in the reign of queen Mary, who tranflated the apocrypha, and revifed Tindal's tranflation, comparing it with the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, and adding prefaces and notes from Luther's bible. He dedi- cated the whole to Henry VIII. under the borrowed name of Thomas Matthews ; whence this has been ufually called Mat- thews'* bible. It was printed at Hamburgh, and licence ob- tained for publifhing it in England by the favour of archbifhep- Cranmer, and the biihops Latimer and Shaxton.
Cranmer s Bible. — The firft bibles printed by authority in Eng- land, and publicly fet up in churches, was the fame Tindal's verfion, revifed, compared with the Hebrew, and in many places amended, by Miles Coverdale, afterwards bilhop of Ex- eter; and examined after him by archbiihop Cranmer, who added a preface to it : whence this was called Cranmer s bible. It was printed by Grafton, of the largeft volume, and publiflied in 1540 ; and, by a royal proclamation, everv pariih was ob- liged to fet one of the copies in their church, under the pe- nalty of forty fhillings a month ; yet two years after, the po- pifh biihops obtained its fuppreflion of the king. It was re- ftorcd under Edward VI. fupprefied again under queen Mary, and reftored again in the firft year of queen Elizabeth ; and a new edition of it given in 1 562.
Geneva Bible. — Some Englifh exiles at Geneva in queen Mary's reign, Coverdale, Goodman, Gilbie, Sampfon, Cole, Whit- tingham, and Knox, made a new tranflation, printed there in 1560; hence called the Geneva bible, containing the vaca- tions of readings, marginal annotations, &V. on account of which it was much valued by the puritan party in that and the following reigns. Bijhofs Bible.— Archbiihop Parker refolved on a new tranfla- tion for the public ufe of the church, and engaged the biihops and other learned men to take each a ihare or portion. Thefe 4 S being
