II. The SEPTUAGINT Version of the Old Testament is the most ancient and valuable of all the translations of the sacred books; but there is scarcely a subject of sacred literature upon which more has been written, or of which less, with any degree of certainty, is known. The most ancient account of it is written in Greek by Aristeas, who states himself to have been an officer in the guards of Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, at the time it was made. The following is the substance of his narrative:

1. Ptolemy Philadelphus, wishing to establish an extensive library at Alexandria, committed the charge of it to Demetrius Phalereus, a noble Athenian, who collected from various quarters twenty thousand volumes. In the course of his inquiries after curious and valuable books, he was informed of the Law of Moses, in the Hebrew language. This intelligence he communicated to the king, and urged the importance of a translation of it into the Greek language. Ptolemy adopted measures for obtaining it; and accordingly directed that an embassy should be sent to Eleazar, the high-priest at Jerusalem, to request him to transmit a correct copy of the law, and to send a certain number of grave and learned men, who should be capable of translating it out of Hebrew into Greek. Aristeas, Sosibius, and Andreas, three noblemen of Ptolemy's court, and persons friendly to the Jews, embraced the opportunity for soliciting the liberation of the Jewish captives, taken prisoners by Ptolemy Soter, and still detained in slavery. Their suit was successful, and the king ordered twenty drachmas to be paid to their possessors for each of them, whether man, woman, or child. The sum expended in their ransom was six hundred and sixty talents, liberating one hundred and ninety-eight thousand captives. Aristeas and Andreas were afterwards commissioned to carry the official letter from Ptolemy to Eleazar, and their embassy was accompanied with gifts for the temple, and money for the sacrifices there offered, and the general ervice of the sanctuary; viz., one hundred talents; fifty talents in utensils of gold, and twenty talents in utensils of silver, beside the precious stones with which they were adorned, and which were of twice the value of the gold. Their embassy

a copy of the law, written in letters of gold, upon skins of parchment of exquisite fineness and beauty. Six elders out of every tribe, men of acknowledged reputation and learning, were chosen to execute the translation, who returned to Alexandria with the messengers of Ptolemy. On their arrival, the seventy-two elders were graciously received by the king, who not only expressed his satisfaction at receiving the law, and his astonishment at its execution, but also feasted the elders for several days; and during the festival, fully satisfied himself of their wisdom and ability, by proving each of them by seventy-two different questions. The seven days of feasting being ended, each of the elders received three talents as a mark of the royal favour, and was then conducted by Demetrius to a sumptuous habitation, prepared for them in a retired situation in the isle of Pharos, near Alexandria. Here they pursued their important undertaking with the utmost diligence, daily collating their separate versions with each other, and then dictating the approved version to Demetrius, who acted as their scribe. seventy-two days they completed the whole translation, which was afterwards read in the presence of the king, who expressed his approbation in the most decided manner, and rewarded each of the elders with three rich garments, two talents of gold, and a cup of gold of the weight of one talent. He afterwards sent them honourably back to Jerusalem, loaded with the most valuable gifts to Eleazar the high-priest; and commanded the Version itself to be lodged with the utmost care in the Alexandrian library.

In

2. This account, which was in the main adopted by the Christian Fathers, and to which some of them contributed additional circumstances, is now, however, generally exploded. That Demetrius Phalereus was ever librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus is extremely doubtful, and it is by no means to be reconciled with the well-known facts in his life. Besides, it is very unlikely that a peripatetic philosopher, of Demetrius's character. should have paid so much respect to the books of the Jews, as to request such an exertion of the royal authority as this account attributes to him. The prevailing opinion now is, that the Septuagint translation was made at Alexandria, at different times, and by different interpreters. That it was not all the work of the same translator or translators, is manifest from the very great diversity of style, and the various modes of translating, that prevail in it. The Pentateuch, which is the most accurate part of the entire work, was probably executed in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, by some learned Jews, for the use of their brethren

deposited in 1753. It was presented to King Charles I. by Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Constantinople, who obtained it at Alexandria, where it is thought to have been penned. It is written

3. The two most noted MSS. of the Septuagint known to be extant, are the Codex Alexandrinus and the Codex Vaticanus.

marks of aspiration. A fac-simile of the New Testament has been published by Dr. Woide; and a fac-simile of the Old Testament has also been completed, under the superintendence of the Rev. H. H. Baber, late one of the librarians of the British Museum. The following specimen of this precious MSS. will perhaps be acceptable. It

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The date of this MS. has been strongly contested by biblical critics; some referring it to the middle of the fourth century, while others contend that it could not have been executed earlier than the tenth.t

(2) The Codex Vaticanus, so called because preserved in the library of the Vatican at Rome, is a most valuable MS., and is greatly preferred by some critics to the Codex Alexandrinus. It is written in the uncial or capital letters, and originally contained the entire Bible, but is now imperfect in both Testaments. It is supposed to have been written some time in the fourth century, before the time of Jerome; though some refer it to the sixth or seventh century.‡

4. Although the Septuagint Version was originally made for the use of the Egyptian Jews, it at length acquired so high a degree of authority among the Jews of Palestine, who understood the Greek language, that, for a time, it was read in their synagogues instead of the Hebrew; and it is in very many passages quoted by the inspired writers of the New Testament. It was early translated into Latin, and became the text book

The learned Hugh Broughton thought that he discovered, in the larger books of the Septuagint, internal marks of a change in the translator at the close of portions, averaging each about fourteen chapters of the present division. "They were not all," he says, "equally competent. The translators of the Pentateuch have shown much ability, though he who rendered the words of God to Cain (Gen. iv. 7) either intentionally concealed their meaning, or was a mere child in Hebrew. The translators of the historical books were very able, as also those of the Proverbs and Psalms. The translator of Job was a reader of the Greek poets, and was more

of the Western, as well as of the Eastern churches. It was the only copy of the Old Testament Scriptures they generally used; and the only one they appealed to in all their controversies, particularly with the Jews, employing it most advantageously in confuting those from whom they had received it; proving to them from it, by the most irrefragable arguments, that their expected Messiah must have already come, in the person of Jesus Christ. This circumstance at length led the Jews to have it in abhorrence, and a national annual fast was instituted to deplore the same event which they had before commemorated by a solemn festival; so that, by the end of the first century, it was expelled from every synagogue.

III. The Hebrew, however, had become so completely a dead language, not only to the Hellenists, but to the Jews generally, that they could obtain no knowledge of their Scriptures but through the medium of a translation; and therefore, to supply the place of the Septuagint, a new Greek Version was made, about the year 129, by Aquila of Pontus, first a convert from Paganism to Christianity, and then a proselyte to Judaism.

careful to employ classical idioms, than to produce an nni. formly exact version. The translator of Ecclesiastes understood Greek better than Hebrew. The translator of Amos was the best of all; of Ezekiel, very learned-they often abridge rather than translate; as in Esther, and in many places of the Prophets."--See Dr. Pye Smith's Scripture Tes timony to the Messiah, vol. i., pp. 398, 399.

Hug has a good account of this MS. in Introduction, N. T vol. i., p. 267, seq. Dr. Wait's translation.

Ibid., p. 262, et seq.

IV. Towards the end of the same century, or early in the next, appeared another Greek translation, less literal, and much more elegant than either of the former ones. It was the work of Symmachus; who, according to Eusebius, was first a Jew, then a Christian, and lastly an Ebionite. In this last communion, and for the use of its members, he composed his work, which he afterwards seems to have remodelled, in a second edition. The Version of Symmachus is often and deservedly praised by Eusebius and Jerome; and the latter is thought to have made it, in a great measure, the pattern of his Latin trans

lation.

V. Besides these Greek Versions of the Old Testament, there are three others mentioned by the early Christian writers, called the fifth, sixth, and seventh; because their respective authors or editors are unknown. They seem to have comprehended only or chiefly the poetical books of Scripture. Whether they were made by Jews or Christians, it is difficult to say. Dr. Geddes thinks that the sixth, which bears strong marks of Christian extraction, was only an interpolated edition of the Septuagint.

VI. All these Versions were collected by the indefatigable Origen, and placed, together with the Septuagint and original Hebrew text, in his famous Polypla: and this, perhaps, is the last entire copy of them that ever was made; for the Talmudists having gradually excluded all Greek Versions from the synagogues, and the Christians universally adhering to the old translation, the rest were either totally neglected, or only such parts of them copied into the margins of Bibles and commentaries, as were deemed the most worthy of attention.*

1. Thus it was, that the Septuagint Version triumphed, at length, over all its rivals, and remained, for several ages after, the sole Scripture ndard in all the Christian churches.

* Of such fragments Montfaucon composed his Hexapla, in A vols., folio.

assiduous and incessant application that, perhaps, ever was made. His insatiable thirst for learning made him pry into every corner for rare and curious books; and the liberality of his rich friends put it in his power to purchase them.

3. With all these advantages he began, about the year 231, to compile his Tetrapla; which contained, in so many separate columns, and in the following order, the four Greek Versions of Aquila, Symmachus, the Septuagint, and Theodotion.

This pro

4. But the very considerable differences, which Origen could not but observe, between the Septuagint and the three other Versions, so recently made from the originals, and so nearly agreeing with one another, induced him to suspect that it was much more erroneous than he had formerly thought it to be; and suggested the idea of a work which should, both by its magnitude and importance, totally eclipse the former one. duced, in succession, the Herapla, Octapla, and Enneapla; so denominated from the number of columns, which each contained. In the Enneapla, which had nine columns, the last three contained the three anonymous Greek Versions before mentioned; the four immediately preceding them were the same with those of the Tetrapla; and in the first two stood the original Hebrew letters, with the pronunciation by its side in Greek characters.

5. Here it would have been well had the bibli

cal labours of this indefatigable critic terminated; but his judgment was not commensurate with his learning. He now determined upon a revision of the Septuagint Version, for the purpose of making it more conformable to the Hebrew text. The materials which he employed in this undertaking are now utterly unknown, nor is it possible to say in how many respects his revised text differs from the older copies, which have long since been destroyed. But for this evil, to its full extent, Origen himself must not bear the blame. The text itself he left untouched; and only pointed out, by certain marks, the differences between that and the Hebrew text with which he had collated it. His admirers and followers, however, did not show the same respect to the