©Forever Settled
A Survey of the Documents and History of the Bible
Part Five : A Survey of English Bible History
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Contents of Part Five : First Section - Page 129 to 185
- page 129 -
The ten early versions listed above [in Part 4] will give
you a good picture of how God dispersed His word to the population centers of that day.
But the most important later developments in Bible History center in England and the
Continent. The following pages survey the major epochs in England and Europe leading up to
the translation of the Authorized Version of 1611.
XXVII - A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF THE ENGLISH PEOPLE
AND THERE LANGUAGE
In order to trace the history of the English Scriptures, it is necessary to remember a
little of the history of the English people and their language.
1. THE EARLY SETTLERS
In the millenniums BC, people from Spain and Brittany in north western France settled
on hilltops in southern England. These were followed by settlers from the Rhine and Danube
river regions of mainland Europe. This latter group built large circular monuments with
stones, of which Stonehenge is an example.
2. THE FIRST INVADERS
The first invaders of England were the Celts. They began crossing the English Channel
in the 700's BC. The Celts, a warlike people, were divided into various tribes, and
invaded in several waves. The earliest invading tribe, the Gaels, settled in the western
and northern areas of tire island. The second wave the Britons, or Brythons, occupied most
of what is now England and Wales. The Celts worshipped native gods through priests known
as Druids. They used iron and mined tin. They traded with the Gauls in what is now France.
3. THE ROMAN CONQUEST
In 55 BC Julius Caesar conquered the Gauls in France and then a year later invaded
Britain and defeated some of the Celts. He withdrew after forcing the Celts to give him
money.
In AD 43 Claudius conquered Britannia (as the island was then called). The Celtic
tribes were easily defeated, and Rome ruled England for 400 years. History records how
England prospered under Roman rule. It was a Roman province and protected from tile
warlike peoples of Scotland by forts and wails.
4. THE GERMANIC INVASIONS
The Roman soldiers left England in the early 400's to help defend Rome against
barbarian invaders. With the Romans gone, the Britons could not protect themselves against
invasion by tribesmen from Scotland called Picts and people from Ireland called Scots. But
the greatest danger came from seafaring
- page 130 -
Germanic tribes, especially the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. They first raided the coast.
In the mid 400's, they began to establish permanent settlements. The Jutes settled in
south eastern England. The Angles and Saxons set up kingdoms throughout southern and
eastern England. The whole country became known as Angle-land. The native Britons held
only the mountain areas of extreme western and northern England.
In 596 Pope Gregory I sent Augustine to Kent, thousands were "converted",
including Ethelbert, King of the Jutes. Augustine built a monastery near Canterbury, and
became the first archbishop of Canterbury - the religious center of England. The Picts and
Scots in the north were also converted to this Roman type of Christianity. The Latin
Vulgate became their Bible. From this point onward until 1534, England was officially a
Catholic nation.
However, as we saw earlier, the native Britons (Celts) had had a different and truer
form of Christianity and purer Bible - the Old Latin. Stanley in "Historic Memorials
of Canterbury" records on pp. 33, 34 how Augustine treated with contempt the early
Christian Britons and connived with the Angles and Saxons in their frightful
extermination. However, after Augustine's death, when these same Anglo-Saxons began to
terrify the papal leaders in England to the extent that they fled back to Rome, it was the
British or Celtic Christians of Scotland who occupied the forsaken fields. It is evident
from this that the original roots of British Christianity was not Rome but the
missionaries who came into that land in the early centuries from Judea or Asia Minor.
5. ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
The Saxons occupied four separate "nations" in the south, and the Angles
three in the north and east. These seven kingdoms became known as the
"Heptarchy". From 500 to 800 in successive stages, one of the seven would rule
the other six.
King Egbert of Wessex (West Saxon), the last "nation" to control the
Heptarchy, is often considered to be the first king of England.
During the 800's, Danish raiders attacked England and easily conquered all the Angles-
Saxon kingdoms except Wessex. 'Their King Alfred the Great resisted and then in 886
defeated the Danes and forced them to withdraw to the northeastern third of England. This
became known and Danelaw. However, in the 100 years after Alfred's death in 899, Danish
power increased. In 1016 Canute, a brother of the King of Denmark defeated the king of
Wessex (Ethelred II) and became king of England. Danish rule collapsed though after his
death in 1035.
Under Edward the Confessor, the son of Ethelred II the Saxons again came to power, but
it was to be short-lived. He built the first church building on the site of what is now
Westminster Abbey.
6. THE NORMAN CONQUEST
Edward the Confessor died without a direct heir to the throne. The English nobles chose
Harold of Wessex as king. But a French nobleman, William Duke of Normandy, claimed that
Edward had promised him the throne. William awarded England and defeated the forces of
Harold in the Historic Battle of Hastings. On Christmas Day, 1066, William the Conqueror
was crowned king of England.
- page 131 -
He divided England among the Normans and forced most of the Anglo-Saxons to become
serfs. His survey of land and property owners to determine taxes is known as the Domesday
Book.
The Normans spoke French at first, but gradually their language blended with that of
the Anglo-Saxons. In time they became a united people.
This brings us to the matter of the English language itself.
7. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The history of the English language is divided into three periods.
(1) OLD ENGLISH OR ANGLO-SAXON UNTIL C.1100
As we have seen, until about AD 450, England was not called England, nor was english
spoken there. Before that time, the country was called Britain, and the people were known
as Britons. Most of these spoke Celtic. The Celtic dialects include Breton, Irish,
Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. Being under Roman rule for 400 years, Latin was also spoken.
The basis and origin of the actual English language is to be found with the Germanic
invaders - Angles, Saxons and Jutes. As we have seen, the very word England is from Angle.
The language developed with many words evolving from Latin but few from Celtic. The Danish
invaders also contributed to the language's development. Also through Latin, many Greek
words have come into English.
(2) MIDDLE ENGLISH C.1100 TO 1450
With William the Conqueror, almost overnight Normans replaced Englishmen as the chief
landowners and church leaders. The Norman dialect of French became the language of tile
ruling class, and the literary language, whereas English continued as the language of the
common people.
Three hundred years later, during the mid-1300's, English again became the chief
literary language and the usual language of the ruling class. But by that time, it had
changed greatly, thousands of French words had conic into the English language. This
transference of French into English continued into the 1400’s.
(3) MODERN ENGLISH C. 1450 TO PRESENT
Words still were and are borrowed from other languages. But with the advent of
so-called Modern English, the period of rapid change and development had ended and the
language had stabilized into the basic form that we know it today.
The believer should also see the hand of God in this development of the English
language, for beside being the most prominent form of Communication in the world, it has
been he foremost vehicle of God spreading His Word.
With this summery of the origins of the English peoples and language it will only be
necessary to list the further important dates of English History.
- page 132 -
8. FURTHER IMPORTANT DATES OF ENGLISH HISTORY
| 1215 |
English barons force King John to agree to the Magna
Carta. |
| 1282 |
England conquers Wales. |
| 1295 |
Edward I calls together the Model Parliament. |
| 1314 |
Scotland is assured of its independence from England by winning the Battle of
Bannockburn. |
| 1337-1453 |
England fights the Hundred Years' War with France and loses its lands on the European
mainland. |
| 1455-1485 |
Two royal families fight for the throne in the Wars of the Roses. |
| 1534 |
Henry VIII has Parliament pass a law decreeing that the King and not Pope
is head of the church in England. This ended the thousand year reign of Catholicism and
led to the formation of the Church of England as we now know it. |
| 1588 |
The English fleet defeats the Spanish Armada. |
| 1603 |
England and Scotland are joined in a union under one king, James I. |
| 1649-1659 |
England becomes a Commonwealth and then a Protectorate. |
(The above is taken mainly from the world Book Encyclopedia.)
XXVIII - IMPORTANT DATES IN. THE HISTORY OF BIBLE
TRANSLATION
(From "Which Bible")
| AD 35-65 |
Date of the Copper Scroll from Cave III at Qumran |
| 70 |
Romans destroy Jerusalem |
| 73 |
Masada falls |
| 73 |
Latest date possible of a scroll found at Masada, counting
some Psalms |
| 100 |
Death of John |
| 100 |
Birth of Justin Martyr |
| 120 |
Birth of Italic Church |
| 135 |
Death of Rabbi Aquiba |
| 150 |
Irenaeus (circa) |
| 150 |
Date of Peshitta, the Syrian Bible |
| 157 |
Date of the Italic Bible |
| 170 |
Irenaeus (circa) |
| 175-225 |
Assigned date of P75 |
| 177 |
Heathen massacre of Gallic Christians |
| 190 |
Date of Clement of Alexandria |
| 200 |
The tract Yoma |
| 200 |
Date of some Aramaic words claimed couldn't have been used
400-700 years earlier |
| 200 |
Vast mutilations in many copies of Scriptures have already
occurred |
| 200 |
Date of Clement of Alexandra |
| 200-450 |
Date of active use of Codex B |
| 250 |
Earliest date that Rome sent missionaries toward the West |
| 302-312 |
Dates of Diocletian, last pagan emperor of Rome |
| 312 |
Constantine becomes emperor of Rome |
| 312-1453 |
Byzantine Period |
| 321 |
Constantine Sunday Law |
|
- page 133 - |
|
| 331 |
Constantine orders and finances a Rival Greek Bible |
| 350-400 |
Texas Receptus is dominant Graeco-Syrian text (same period
that of the production of "B" and "Aleph") |
| 363 |
Council of Laodicea |
| 363 |
Council names the 39 books as canonical |
| 380 |
Jerome's Vulgate |
| 383 |
Received (Traditional) Text is still called the Vulgate |
| 400 |
Church Fathers up to this date testify that the
Traditional Text was in existence and that it was the predominant one |
| 400 |
Augustine prefers the Italic Text |
| 400 |
Date of Jerome |
| 400 |
Roman Empire is breaking up into modern kingdoms;
diffusion of pure Latin |
| 450 |
Codex B falls into discredit and disuse |
| 476-1453 |
Dark Ages |
| 500-1881 |
Codex B Abandoned |
| 540 |
Benedictines founded |
| 600 |
Rome sends missionaries to England and Germany |
| 600 |
Gregory I begins to destroy Waldensian records |
| 1100 |
"The Noble Lesson" written |
| 1175 |
Peter Waldo begins his work |
| 1179 |
Lateran Council |
| 1229 |
Council of Toulouse |
| 1229 |
Pope orders crusade against those of Southern France and
Northern Italy who won't bow to him |
| 1229 |
Council condemns the Waldensian New ,Testament |
| 1280 |
Asserted date that Latin Vulgate (Traditional) still held
its own against Jerome's Vulgate |
| 1300 |
Jesuits translate the Vulgate into Italian |
| 1400 |
Jesuits translate the Vulgate into French |
| 1450 |
Printing is invented |
| 1453 |
End of Dark Ages |
| 1453 |
Constantinople falls; thousands of MSS (Greek) taken to
Europe |
| 1510-1514 |
Erasmus reaches at Cambridge Tyndale studies Greek with
him |
| 1516 |
Erasmus’ Greek New Testament printed Erasmus' Greek
New Testament is first in 1000 years |
| 1521 |
Loyola wounded at the siege of Pampeluna |
| 1522 |
Erasmus' third edition is printed: foundation for Textus
Receptus |
| 1525 |
Tyndale's New Testament is published |
| 1530 |
Tyndale's Pentateuch is published |
| 1533 |
Erasmus rejects a number of selected readings from Codex B |
| 1534 |
Tyndale's amended edition of New Testament is printed |
| 1536 |
On August 6. Tyndale is burned |
| 1537 |
Olivetan's French Bible |
| 1545 - 1563 |
Council of Trent |
| 1546 |
Council decrees that apocryphal books plus unwritten
tradition arc on equal ground with the Word of God |
| 1550 |
Stephen's Greek NT printed |
| 1557 |
The Geneva NT in English |
| 1558-1642 |
The Elizabethan period; generally regarded as most
important era in English literature |
| 1560 |
The Geneva Bible in English |
| 1563 |
Council of Trent closes |
| 1568-1638 |
Dates of Cyril Lucar |
|
- page 134 - |
|
| 1582 |
Jesuit Bible is printed in English at Rheims, France
"to shake out of the deceived people's hand, the false heretical translation of a
sect called Waldenses."
"In the preface they state that it was not translated into English because it was
necessary that the Bible should be in the mother tongue or that God had appointed the
Scriptures to be read by all; . . |
| 1582 |
Jesuits dominate 287 collages and universities in Europe |
| 1583 |
Jerome's Vulgate was full of errors almost innumerable - a
monk of Casine |
| 1587 |
OT of the Vaticanus is printed; third edition is called
"Sixtine". being published at Rome under Pope Sixtus V |
| 1588 |
Spanish Armada destroyed |
| 1590 |
Date of Beza, associate of Calvin |
| 1593 |
Jesuit University moves back to Douay from Rheims, France |
| 1598 |
Beza's Greek New Testament is printed |
| 1600 |
The "Douay of 1600 and that of 1900 age not the same
in many WAYS." |
| 1602 |
Cyril becomes patriarch of Alexandria |
| 1603 |
Queen Elizabeth dies |
| 1607 |
Diodati's Greek New Testament appears at Geneva |
| 1609-1610 |
Complete Jesuit Bible is published at Douay |
| 1611 |
King James Version is printed Waldensian
influenceOpportune condition of English language Vast Store Of manuscripts available
Triumph of the King James Version same problems and evidence as those of 1881 Abilities of
the translators |
| 1620 |
Puritans leave England with KJV |
| 1620 |
Mayflower lands in Plymouth in Dec. |
| 1624 |
Elzevir's Greek New Testament printed |
| 1627 |
Alexandrinus Manuscript arrives in London Cyril starts his
Confession of Faith |
| 1628 |
Alexandrinus is presented to King Charles 1 |
| 1629 |
Cyril Confession of Faith printed At Geneva |
| 1638 |
Cyril Lucar dies by Jesuits |
| 1655 |
Terrible massacres of Waldenses |
| 1657 |
Date of Walton |
| 1669 |
Leger publishes General History of the Evangelical
Churches of the Piedmontese Valleys |
| 1675 |
Date of Fell |
| 1707 |
Date of Mill |
| 1734 |
Melanchthon's Latin grammar ran for fifty-one editions
until this date |
| 1734 |
Date of Bengal |
| 1745-1812 |
Date of Griesbach |
| 1749-1752 |
Douay's revision by Bishop Challoner |
| 1751 |
Date of Wetstein |
| 1773 |
European nations demand that the pope suppress Jesuits order |
| 1789 |
French Revolution |
| 1793-1851 |
Dates of Lachmann |
| 1796-1838 |
Dates of Mohler |
| 1812 |
Napoleon is taken prisoner |
| 1813 |
John William Burgon is born August 21 |
| 1813-1875 |
Date of Tregelles |
| 1814 |
Jesuits restored by the pope |
| 1815-1874 |
Dates of Tischendorf |
| 1823 |
Gilly's sad findings at Cambridge |
| 1825 |
Leger's book is Called "scarce" |
| 1825-1901 |
Dates of Westcott |
| 1825-1892 |
Dates of Hort |
| 1832 |
Great crowds assemble to hear Edward Irving |
| 1833 |
The issue: Premillenarianism or Liberalism (literalism or allegorism) |
| 1833-1883 |
Years of terrific Romanizing campaigns |
|
- page 135 - |
|
| 1841 |
Burgon matriculate at Oxford |
| 1844 |
Sinaiticus is deposited in a wastepaper basket |
| 1845 |
Tregelles goes to Rome to see Vaticanus |
| 1847 |
Westcott writes to fiancee shout Pieta |
| 1847 |
Westcott writes of the possibility of his being called a
"heretic" |
| 1848 |
Burgon receives his M. A. from Oxford |
| 1848 |
On July 6, Hort writes, "The pure Romish view seems to be nearer
and more likely to lead to, the truth thin the Evangelical. . . ." |
| 1849 |
Bishop Kenrick publishes an English translation of the Catholic Bible |
| 1850 |
Newman is considered the most distinguished Roman Catholic theologian |
| 1851 |
Hort writes: "Think of that vile Textus Receptus" |
| 1953 |
Westcott and Hort start their Greek Text |
| 1854 |
Pantheism is strong, even among key Protestants |
| 1856-1930 |
Dates of Robert Dick Wilson |
| 1856 |
In May the Earl of Shaftesbury states: "[With all the
versions, you must go to some learned pundit in whom you reposed confidence, and ask him
which version he recommended; and when you had taken his version you must be bound by his
opinion." |
| 1857 |
First efforts to secure a revision |
| 1857-1872 |
Tregelles' edition of the Greek NT |
| 1858 |
On Oct. 21, Hort writes: "Evangelicals seem to me perverted rather
than untrue." |
| 1859 |
Titchendorf's seventh edition of his Greek NT. |
| 1859 |
Titchendorf's discovery of Sinaiticus on February 4 |
| 1859 |
Darwin's Origin of Species is published |
| 1860 |
Burgon examines Cortex B |
| 1860 |
On April 3, Hort writes: "The book which has most changed me is
Darwin .... It is a book that one is proud to he contemporary with" |
| 1860 |
On Oct. 15 Hort writes to Westcott: "The popular doctrine of
substitution is an immoral and material counterfeit." |
| 1862 |
Burgon examines the treasures of St. Catherine's Convent on Mt. Sinai |
| 1862 |
In Oct.. Tischendorf publishes his edition of the Sinaitic Manuscript |
| 1864 |
Privy Council of England permits seven Church of England clergymen, who
had attacked inspiration of (lie Bible. to retain their position |
| 1864 |
Dr. Scrivener publishes A Full Collation of the Codex Sinaiticus |
| 1864 |
On Sept. 23, Hort writes to Westcott: " 'Protestantism' is only
parenthetical and temporary." |
| 1864-1938 |
Dates of Herman C. Hoskier |
| 1865 |
On Good Friday, Westcott writes: "[I] regard the
Christian as in Christ-absolutely one With Him, and he does what Christ has done." |
| 1865 |
On Oct. 17. Hort writes to Westcott: "Mary-worship and
'Jesus'-worship have very much in common." |
| 1865 |
On Nov. 17, Westcott writes: "I wish I could see to what forgotten
truth Mariolatry bears witness." |
| 1867 |
Tischendorf studies the Vatican Cortex for 42 hours |
| 1867 |
On Oct. 26, Hort writes to Lightfoot: "But you know I am a staunch
sacerdotalist." |
| 1870 |
Oxford Movement is powerful in England |
| 1870 |
Papal declaration of infallibility |
| 1870 |
Westcott and Hort print a tentative edition of their Greek New
Testament |
| 1870 |
On Feb. 10, resolution appears which expresses the desirability of
revision of the KJV |
| 1870 |
On May 28. Westcott writes to Hort: "I feel that as
we three' are together it would be wrong not to 'make the best of it' as Lightfoot
says." |
| 1870 |
On June 4. Westcott (writes to Lightfoot: "Ought we not to have a
conference before the first meeting fur Revision?" |
|
- page 136 - |
|
| 1870 |
Committee is established to produce a Revised Version |
| 1870 |
On June 22, Vance Smith. Unitarian receives Holy Communion but does not
recite Nicene Creed |
| 1870 |
Vatican and Sinaitic Manuscripts become king |
| 1870-1881 |
Dates of Revision |
| 1871 |
Burgon writes The Last Twelve Verses of Mark |
| 1871 |
On May 24, Westcott writes: 'We have had hard fighting during these
last two days." |
| 1871 |
On July 25, Hort writes: "I felt how impossible it would be for me
to absent myself." |
| 1872 |
Tischendorf publishes his eighth edition based for the first time on
Vaticanus and Sinaiticus |
| 1875 |
On July. 27. Westcott writes: "Our work yesterday was positively
distressing." |
| 1876 |
R. D. Wilson graduate from Princeton |
| 1881 |
Dr. Ellicot submits the Revised Version to the Southern Convocation |
| 1881 |
In May, the Revised Version is published |
| 1881 |
On May 20. The Revised Version is published in America; it has
immediate success in both England and America |
| 1881 |
On May 22, the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Times published the
entire New Testament. |
| 1881 |
Westcott-Hort Theory hawed as final |
| 1881 |
Burgon writes three articles in the Quarterly Review against the
Revised Version |
| 1881 |
Popularity of RV doesn't spread to the masses |
| 1881 |
MSS of RV had been abandoned since 500 AD |
| 1881 |
Revisers of RV disagree basically with KJV scholars |
| 1883 |
Burgon publishes the Revision Revised |
| 1885 |
On June 7. Dr. George Sayles Bishop preaches a discourse concerning
"the new version and just in what direction it tends." |
| 1886 |
On March 22, Westcott writes: "[Textual criticism] is a little
gift which from school days seemed to be committed to me," |
| 1887 |
In June. John Fulton writes: "It was not the design of the Divine
Author to use classical Greek as the medium of His revelation." |
| 1888 |
On August 4, Burgon dies |
| 1890 |
On &larch 4, Westcott writes: "No one now, I
suppose. holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal
history- I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they
did." |
| 1893 |
Chicago World's Fair |
| 1896 |
L. Miller, using fragments of Burgon's. publishes The Traditional Text
of the Holy Gospels and The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text |
| 1901 |
American Revised Version is published |
| 1903 |
Westcott's son comments in defense of his father |
| 1908 |
Date of Harris |
| 1908 |
"Conscious agreement with [Westcott-Hort theory] or conscious
disagreement and qualification mark all work in this field since 1881." |
| 1910 |
Date of Conybeare |
| 1910 |
Ferrar Fenton publishes his translation |
| 1914 |
Huskier writes: "[Burgon] maintained that Aleph and B had been
tampered with and revised." |
| 1914-1918 |
World War 1 |
| 1920 |
In Dec., in one week the front page of one of great New
York dailies has scarcely space free fur anything except reports of murders. burglaries,
and other crimes |
| 1921 |
On Dec. 22. the United Presbyterian gives a description of the
"Shorter Bible" |
| 1924 |
On July 16, the Herald and Presbyter state: The Revisers
had a wonderful opportunity. They might have made a few changes and removed a few archaic
expressions, and make the AV The most acceptable and beautiful and wonderful book of all
time to come." |
| 1928 |
Article entitled "Who Killed Goliath?" |
| 1929 |
On Dec. 29, it is reported: "Every seminary of standing in this
country has been teaching ... almost everything contained in the new Commentary." |
| 1929 |
Article entitled: "The dispute about Goliath" |
| 1929 |
Liberalism takes over Princeton |
| 1930 |
Robert Dick Wilson dies |
| 1930 |
Our Authorized Bible Vindicated Is published by Dr. Benjamin G.
Wilkinson |
| 1941 |
Date of Lake |
| 1948 |
War of Liberation (Israel) |
| 1951 |
Dr. Alfred Martin's dissertation for his Doctor of
Theology is titled: "A Critical Examination of the Westcott-Hort Textual Theory" |
- Page 137 -
XXIX - IMPORTANT EVENTS IN ENGLISH AND EUROPEAN BIBLE
TRANSLATION HISTORY
1. EARLY VERSIONS
Ungers Bible Dictionary says, "There were portions of the Bible, and possibly the
entire work, rendered into the English vernacular very early in the history of the
language. Gildas states that 'When the English martyrs gave up their lives in the 4th
century, all the copies of the Holy Scriptures which could be found were burned in the
street."
Now, in view of what we have seen above, that English was not spoken on the island of
Britain until the arrival of the Germanic tribes in the mid-5th century, these Bibles most
certainly were copies of the Old Latin in the hands of the Celts.
With this assessment Bruce agrees:
Christianity was planted in Britain by the beginning of the 4th century at the latest.
In A.D. 314, we have the record of three British bishops (those of York, London and
Lincoln) attending the Council of Arles. The earliest British writer was one of the
outstanding figures in early Christian literature - Pelagius (c. 370-450), who in the
first decade of the 5th century produced at Rome commentaries on the thirteen epistles of
Paul. About the end of the 4th century Ninian, appointed bishop of the district now known
as Galloway and Dumfries, evangelised the southern Picts, and established a monastery at
Whithorn (Ad Candidam Casam) from which the Gospel was carried farther afield, in
particular to Northern Ireland. [This view is not discerning enough! See XXVI.1.(3) in
Part 4 Section 2.]
But there is no evidence of Bible translation having been carried out at this time in
the languages of Britain and Ireland. Pelagius wrote in Latin, as did all the other
churchmen of Western Europe. And even if the Bible had been translated into the native
languages in those days, such translations would have had no place in the history of the
English Bible. That history has as its starting point the arrival in Britain of the
Germanic-speaking Angles and Saxons and Jutes in the course of the 5th century and their
evangelisation in the 6th and 7th centuries.
The following are the earliest known portions of the Scripture in the Angle Saxon
vernacular (from Unger).
- Caedmon's versifications (689).
- Cuthbert's Evangelistarium (689). A portion of the Latin Vulgate with an interlinear
English translation.
- Aldhelms translation of the Psalms (early 8th century).
- Eadfurths translation of the Gospels (720).
- The Venerable Bedes translation of John (735).
- King Alfred's translation of the Psalms (901).
- Archbishop Aelfric and others endeavoured to provide translations which could be read in
churches (late 10th century).
Each of the above translations were apparently based on the Latin Vulgate.
The Venerable Bede spoke of the heavenly endowment granted to the herdsman Caedman in
the latter part of the 7th century, which enabled him to sing in English verse the
substance and themes of Scripture.
- Page 138 -
"He sang the creation of the wolrd, the origin of man, and all the history of
Genesis, and made many verses on the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, and
their entering into the promised land, with many other histories from Holy Writ; the
Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection of our Lord, and His ascending into heaven; the
coming of the Holy Ghost, and the preaching of the apostles; also the terror of judgement
to come, the horror of the pains of hell, and the joys of heaven" (Bruce).
Of the venerable Bede himself, Terrence Brown records:
In A.D. 735, Bede laboured at Jarrow on his translation of the Gospel. A letter written
by one of his pupils decribes how the aged scholar pressed on with his work of translating
the Scriptures up to the last moment of his life. Early in the morning of "Ascension
Day" in A.D. 735, he summoned his helpers to continue with the task and dictated to
them the translation of John's Gospel from the words, "What are they among so
many?" As the sun was setting, one of the scribes told him there was only one more
chapter, but it seemed hard for Bede to speak. He replied, "Nay, it is easy, take up
thy pen and write quickly."
The young scribe wrote on until he could tell his master that only one sentence was
wanting, when Bede dictated it the young man exclaimed, "It is finished,
master!" Bede replied, "Aye, it is finished! lift me up and place me by the
window where I have so often prayed to God." Then with the Name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit upon his lips, he passed into the presence of the Lord.
[graphic -The Rushworth Gospels - eighth century, with tenth century
Interlinear Gloss]
the above Interlinear English is based on Cuthbert's version
- Page 139 -
2. WYCLIFFE'S BIBLE
The next four hundred years were an important period in the development of the English
language. It is not possible to give precise dates but from A.D. 1066 to about 1150 Saxon
and Norman French were in use side by side. From about 1150 the gradual fusion of the two
peoples caused their languages to mingle and merge with one another, producing what has
been described as "semi-Saxon." The old Saxon and the Norman French fell into
disuse, and from about 1250 "English" emerges to pass through a century or more
of development before being used as the vehicle of Wycliffe's English Bible of A.D. 1382
(Brown).
Leading up to Wycliffe, about 1300, a metrical version of the Psalms was made. It was
followed by several prose translations, one of which was by Richard Rolle. Portions of the
New Testament were also translated (New Bible Dictionary).
The crowning achievement of the latter part of the Middle English period was the
translation associated with John Wycliffe. (See also above in the section dealing with the
Latin Vulgate, page 113,114).
John Wycliffe is justly styled the Morning Star of the Reformation. In Roman Catholic
England he spoke out forcibly on the use of Scripture. He constantly appealed to Holy
Scripture as the primary and absolute authority in matters of faith and morals, and
maintained the desirability of its being made generally accessible to Christians. The idea
that Wycliffe himself translated the Bible into English rests on a statement of his great
Czech disciple, Jan Hus; it is certain, at any rate, that the Wycliffite versions are
rightly so called, whether he actually did much translation himself or not, as the work
was carried out under his influence and in accordance with his policy. Whatever be the
final verdict on the subject, Wycliffe's Biblical scholarship cannot be gainsaid.
There are two Wycliffite versions of the Bible which must be distinguished from each
other. One of these was the work of Nicholas of Hereford, a follower of Wycliffe, so far
as the Old Testament translation as far as Baruch 3:20 is concerned, (thus unfortunately
it had the Apocrypha); the rest of that version is the work of another, who may have been
Wycliffe. This version followed the Latin very literally. A more idiomatic 'Wycliffite'
version, a revision of the earlier one, was produced towards the end of the 14th century
by John Flurvey, another associate of Wycliffe (who himself was dead by now). Purvey's
prologue to his version is interesting and part of it is worth quoting:
"A simple creature hath translated the Bible out of Latin into English. First,
this simple creature had much travail, with divers fellows and helpers, to gather many old
Bibles, and other doctors, and common glosses, and to make one Latin Bible some deal
true…
A translator hath great need to study well the sense both before and after, and then
also he hath need to live a clean life and be full devout in prayers, and have not his wit
occupied about worldly things, that the Holy Spirit, Author of all wisdom and cunning and
truth, dress him for his work and suffer him not to err.
God grant to us all grace to know well and to keep well Holy Writ, and to suffer
joyfully some pain for it at the last" (Bruce).
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The following will give you an idea of the late Middle English of Wycliffe's Bible. The
portion is John 11.
"The disciplis scien to hum, Maister now the Jewis soughten for to stoone thee,
and est goist thou thidir? Jheus answered whether ther ben not twelve ouris of the dai? If
any man wandre in the night he stomlish, for light is not in him. He saith these thigis
and aftir these thingis he seith to hem Lazarus oure freene slepith but Y do to reise hym
fro sleep therfor hise disciplis seiden: Lord if he slepith he schal be saaf."
[graphic of The Later Wycliffite Bible - early fifteenth century
British Museum - Actual Size 15in. x 10in.]
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Millers Church History gives us a challenging summary of Wycliffe and his great work:
Without following more minutely the general labours of Wycliffe, or the plottings of
his enemies to interrupt him, we will now notice that which was the great work of his
useful life - the complete English Version of the Holy Scriptures. We have seen him boldly
and fearlessly assailing and exposing the countless abuses of Popery, unfolding the truth
to the students, and zealously preaching the Gospel to the poor; but he is now engaged in
a work which will a thousand times more enrich his own soul. He is yet more exclusively
engaged with the Sacred Writings. It was not until he became more fully acquainted with
the Bible that he rejected the false doctrines of the Church of Rome. It is one thing to
see the outward abuses of the hierarchy, it is quite another to see the mind of God in the
doctrines of His Word.
As soon as the translation of a portion was finished, the labour of the copyists began,
and the Bible was ere long widely circulated either wholly or in parts. The effect of thus
bringing home the Word of God to the unlearned to citizens, soldiers, and the lower
classes - is beyond human power to estimate.
Minds were enlightened, souls were saved and God was glorified. "Wycliffe,"
said one of his adversaries, "has made the Gospel common, and more open to laymen and
to women who can read than it is wont to be to clerks well learned and of good
understanding; so that the pearl of the Gospel is scattered and is trodden under foot of
swine." In the year 1380 the English Bible was complete. In 1390 the bishops
attempted to get the version condemned by Parliament, lest it should become an occasion of
heresies; but John of Gaunt declared that the English would not submit to the degradation
of being denied a vernacular Bible. "The Word of God is the faith of His
people," it was said, "and though the Pope and all his clerks should disappear
from the face of the earth, our faith would not fail, for it is founded on Jesus alone,
our Master and our God." The attempt at prohibition having failed, the English Bible
spread far and wide, being diffused chiefly through the exertions of the "poor
priests," like "the poor men of Lyons" at an earlier period.
The Christian reader will not fail to trace the hand of the Lord in this great work.
The grand, the Divine, instrument was now ready and in the hands of the people, by means
of which the Reformation in the sixteenth century was to be accomplished. The Word of God
which liveth and abideth for ever is rescued from the dark mysteries of scholasticism,
from the dust-covered shelves of the cloister, from the obscurity of ages, and given to
the English people in their own mother-tongue. Who can estimate the blessing? Let the ten
thousand times ten thousand tongues which shall praise the Lord for ever give the answer.
But, oh! the wickedness - the soul-murdering wickedness of the Romish priesthood in
keeping the Word of Life from the laity! Is the glorious truth of God's love to the world
in the gift of His Son - of the efficacy of the blood of Christ to cleanse from all sin -
to be concealed from the perishing multitude, and seen only by a privileged few? There is
no refinement in cruelty on the face of the whole earth to compare with this. It is the
ruin of both soul and body in Hell forever.
Having received many warnings, many threatenings, and experienced some narrow escapes
from the loathsome dungeon and the burning pile, Wycliffe was allowed to close his days in
peace, in the midst of his flock and his pastoral labours at Lutterworth. After a
forty-eight hours' illness from a stroke of paralysis, he died on the last day of the year
1384.
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The humble Christian, the bold witness, the faithful preacher, the able professor, and
the great reformer has passed off the scene. He has gone to his rest and his reward is on
high. But the doctrines which he propagated with so much zeal can never die. His name in
his followers continued formidable to the false priests of Rome. "Every second man
you meet in the way," said a bitter adversary, "is a Wycliffite." He was
used of God to give an impulse to Christian inquiry which was felt in the most distant
corners of Europe.
3. THE INVENTION OF PRINTING
About twenty years after Wycliffe's death, a boy named Gensfeisch
("Gooseflesh") was amusing himself cutting out the letters of his name from a
piece of bark. He dropped one of these accidentally in a pot of hot dye, snatched it out
and dropped it on a piece of white skin on a bench near the fire and was intrigued to see
the pattern of the letter was impressed on the skin. It is possible that this experience
lingered in his mind and suggested the idea of printing. Thirty years afterwards he set up
his famous press at Menz under the name of Gutenberg, his mother's family name. This was
an epoch-making invention and was to contribute greatly towards the rapid reproduction of
the Scriptures and the establishment of the Reformation in Europe (Brown).
Again to quote the stirring words of Andrew Miller.
Just at this period the Lord was making "all things work together for good,"
in a most remarkable way. Two silent agents of immense influence and power were ordained
to precede the living voices of His Gospel preachers - the invention of printing and the
manufacture of paper. These harmonious inventions were brought to great perfection during
the latter half of the 15th century, for which we can lift up our hearts in praise and
thanksgiving to God.
We have now reached a turning point in our history; and not only in the history of the
Church, but of civilisation, of the social condition of the European states, and of the
human family. It is well to pause on such an eminence and look around us for a moment. We
see a Divine hand for the good of all gathering things together, though apparently
unconnected. The falling of an empire, the flight of a few Greeks, with their literary
treasures, the awakening of the long dormant mind of the western world, the invention of
printing from movable types, and the discovery of making fine white paper from linen rags.
Incongruous as "linen rags" may sound with the literature of the Greeks, and the
skill of Gutenberg, both would have proved of little avail without the improved paper.
Means, the most insignificant in man's account, when used of God, are all sufficient. By
miraculous power, a dry rod in the hand of Moses shakes Egypt from centre to
circumference, divides the Red Sea, and gives living water from the flinty rock; a smooth
pebble from the brook, or an empty ram's horn, accomplishes great deliverances in Israel.
The power is of God, and faith looks only to Him.
It is a deeply interesting fact to the Christian, that the first complete book which
Gutenberg printed with his cut metal types was a folio edition of the Bible in the Latin
Vulgate, consisting of six hundred and forty-one leaves. Hallam, in his Literary History
beautifully observes: "It is a very striking circumstance, that the high-minded
investors of the great art tried at the very outset so bold a flight as the printing of an
entire Bible, and executed it with great success…We may see in imagination this
venerable and splended volume leading up the crowded myriads of its followers, and
imploring, as it were, a blessing on the new art, by dedicating its firstfruits to the
service of heaven."
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From an early period the mode of printing from blocks of wood had been practised.
Sometimes the engravings, or impressions, were accompanied by a few lines of letters cut
in the block. Gradually these were extended to a few leaves and called blockbooks. An
ingenius blacksmith, it is said, invented in the 11th century separate letters made of
wood. The celebrated John Gutenberg, who was born at a village near Mentz, in the year
1397, substituted metal for the wooden letters; his associate, Schoeffer, cut the
characters in a matrix, after which the types were cast, and thus completed the art of
printing as it now remains.
Parchment, preparations of straw, the bark of trees, papyrus, and cotton had sufficed
for the printer and transcriber till the 14th century. But these preparations would have
been utterly inadequate to supply the demand of the new process. Happily, however, the
discovery of making paper from rags coincided with the discovery of letterpress printing.
The first paper-mill in England was erected at Dartmouth, by a German named Spielmann, in
1588.
(1) THE FIRST PRINTED BIBLE
All historians seem to agree, that Gutenberg, having spent nearly ten years in bringing
his experiments to perfection, had so impoverished himself that he found it necessary to
invite some capitalist to join him. John Faust, the wealthy goldsmith of Mentz, to whom he
made known his secret, agreed to go into partnership with him, and to supply the means for
carrying out the design. But it does not appear that Gutenberg and his associates,
Schoeffer and Faust, were actuated by any loftier motive in executing this glorious work,
than that of realising a large sum of money by the enterprise. The letters were such an
exact imitation of the best copyists, that they intended to pass them off as fine
manuscript copies, and thus to obtain the usual high prices. Those employed in the work
were bound to the strictest secrecy. The first edition appears to have been sold at
manuscript prices without the secret having transpired. A second edition was brought out
about 1462, when John Faust went to Paris with a number of copies. He sold one to the king
for seven hundred crowns and another to the archbishop for four hundred crowns. The
prelate, delighted with such a beautiful copy at so low a price, showed it to the king.
His majesty produced his, for which he had paid nearly double the money; but what was
their astonishment on finding they were identical even in the most minute strokes and
dots. They became alarmed, and concluded they must be produced by magic, and the capital
letters being in red ink, they supposed that it was blood, and no longer doubted that he
was in league with the Devil and assisted by him in his magical art.
Information was forthwith given to the police against John Faust. His lodgings were
searched, and his Bibles seized. Other copies which he had sold were collected and
compared; and finding they were all precisely alike, he was pronounced a magician. The
king ordered him to be thrown into prison, and he would soon have been thrown into the
flames, but he saved himself by confessing to the deceit, and by making a full revelation
of the secret of his art. The mystery was now revealed, the workmen were no longer bound
to secrecy, printers were dispersed abroad, carrying the secret of their art wherever they
found a welcome, and the sounds of printing presses were soon heard in many lands. About
1474, the art was introduced into England by William Caxton; and in 1508 it was introduced
into Scotland by Walter Chepman.
Before the days of printing, many valuable books existed in manuscript, and seminaries
of learning flourished in all civilised countries, but knowledge was necessarily confined
to a comparatively small number of people. The manuscripts were so scarce and dear that
they could only be purchased by kings and nobles, by collegiate and ecclesiastical
establishments. A copy of the Bible cost from forty to fifty pounds for the writing only,
for it took an
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expert copyist about ten months labour to make one. Although several other books issued
from the new presses, the Latin Bible was the favourite book with all the printers. They
usually commenced operations, wherever they went, by issuing an edition of the Latin
Bible. It was most in demand, and brought high prices. In this way Latin Bibles multiplied
rapidly. Translators now began their work; and by individual reformers in different
countries, the Word of God was translated into various languages in the course of a few
years. Thus an Italian version appeared in 1474, a Bohemian in 1475, a Dutch in 1477, a
French in 1477, and a Spanish in 1478; as if heralding the approach of the coming
Reformation.
(2) ROME'S OPPOSITION TO THE RAPIDLY SPREADING WORD
But, as usual, the great enemies of truth and light and liberty took the alarm. The
Archbishop of Mentz placed the printers of the city under strict censorship. Pope
Alexander VI issued a Bill prohibiting the printers of Mentz, Cologne, Treves and
Magdeburg from publishing any books without the express licence of their archbishops.
Finding that the reading of the Bible was extending, the priests began to preach against
it from their pulpits. "They had found out," said a French monk, "a new
language called Greek: we must carefully guard ourselves against it. That language will be
the mother of all sorts of heresies. I see in the hands of a great nunber of persons a
book written in this language called, 'The New Testament'; it is a book full of brambles,
with vipers in them. As to the Hebrew, whoever learns that becomes a Jew at once."
Bibles and Testaments were seized wherever found, and burnt; But more Bibles and
Testaments seemed to rise as if by magic from their ashes. The printers also were seized
and burnt. "We must root out printing, or printing will root out us," said the
Vicar of Croydon in a sermon preached at Paul's Cross. And the university of Paris,
panic-stricken, declared before the Parliament: "There is an end of religion if the
study of Greek and Hebrew is permitted."
The great success of the new translations spread alarm throughout the Romish Church.
She trembled for the supremacy of her own favourite Vulgate. The fears of the priests and
monks were increased when they saw the people reading the Scriptures in their own mother
tongue, and observed a growing disposition to call in question the value of attending
mass, and the authority of the priesthood. Instead of saying their prayers through the
priests in Latin, they began to pray to God direct in their native tongue. The clergy,
finding their revenues diminishing, appealed to the Sorbonne, the most renowned
theological school in Europe. The Sorbonne called upon Parliament to interfere with a
strong hand. War was immediately proclaimed against books, and the printers of them.
Printers who were convicted of having printed Bibles were burnt. In the year 1534, about
twenty men and one woman were burnt alive in Paris. In 1535 the Sorbonne obtained an
ordinance from the King for the suppression of printing. "But it was too late,"
as an able writer observes; "the art was now full born, and could no more be
suppressed than light, or air, or life. Books had become a public necessity, and supplied
a great public want; and every year saw them multiplying more abundantly."
While Rome was thus thundering her awful prohibitions against the liberty of thought,
and lengthening her arm to persecute wherever the Bible had penetrated and found
followers, at least all over France, God was hastening by means of His own Word and the
printing press, that mighty revolution which was so soon to change the destinies of both
Church and State.
The darkness of the middle ages is rapidly passing away. The rising sun of the
Reformation will ere long dispel the gloom of Jezebel's long reign of a thousand years.
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4. THE RECEIVED TEXT IS PRINTED
(1) THE MAN ERASMUS
Quoting Mlller.
Reuchlin and Erasmus - these famous names - may be conveniently and appropriately
introduced here. Although not reformers, they contributed much to the success of the
Reformation. They were called "Humanists" - men eminent for human learning. The
revival of literature, but especially the critical study of the languages in which the
Holy Scriptures were written Hebrew, Greek and Latin - rendered the highest service to the
first reformers. As in the days of Josiah, Ezra and Nehemiah, the great Reformation was an
immediate connection with the recovery and study of the written Word of God. The Bible,
which had lain so long silent in manuscript beneath the dust of old libraries, was now
printed, and laid before the people in their own tongue. This was light from God, and that
which armed the reformers with invincible power. Down to the days of Reuchlin and Erasmus
the Vulgate was the received text. Greek and Hebrew were almost unknown in the West.
Reuchlin studied at the University of Paris. Happily for him, the celebrated Wesselus
was then teaching Hebrew at that renowned school of theology. There he received, not only
the first rudiments of the language, but a knowledge of the Gospel of the grace of God. He
also studied Greek, and learned to speak Latin with great purity. At the early age of
twenty he began to teach philosophy, Greek and Latin at Basle; "and," says
D'Aubigne "What then passed for a miracle, a German was heard speaking Greek."
He afterwards settled at Wittenberg - the cradle of the Reformation - instructed the young
Melanchthon in Hebrew and prepared for publication the first Hebrew and German grammar and
lexicon. Who can estimate all that the Reformation owes to Reuchlin, though he remained in
the communion of the Romish Church!
Erasmus, who was about twelve years younger than Reuchlin, pursued the same line of
study, but with still higher powers and greater celebrity. From about 1500 to 1518, when
Luther rose into notice, Erasmus was the most distinguished literary person in
Christendom. He was born at Rotterdam, in 1465; was left an orphan at the age of thirteen;
was robbed by his guardians, who, to cover their dishonesty, persuaded him to enter a
monastery. In 1492, he was ordained a priest, but he always entertained the greatest
dislike for a monastic life, and embraced the first opportunity to regain his liberty.
After leaving the Augustinian convent at Stein, he went to pursue his favourite studies at
the University of Paris.
With the most indefatigable industry he devoted himself entirely to literature and soon
acquired a great reputation among the learned. The society of the poor student was courted
by the varied talent of the time. Lord Mountjoy, whom he met as a pupil at Paris, invited
him to England. His first visit to this country, in 1498, was followed by several others,
down to the year 1515, during which he became acquainted with many eminent men, received
many honours, formed some warm friendships, and spent most of his brightest days. He
resided at both the Universities, and, during his third and longest visit, was professor
of Greek at Cambridge. All acknowledged his supremacy in the world of letters, and for a
long time he reigned without a rival. But our object at present is rather to inquire,
"What was his influence on the Reformation?"
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Under the gracious, guiding hand of Him who sees the end from the beginning, Erasmus
bent all his great mental powers, and all his laborious studies to the preparation of a
critical edition of the Greek Testament. This work appeared at Basle in 1516, one year
before the Reformation, accompanied by a Latin translation in which he corrected the
errors of the Vulgate. This was daring work in those days. There was a great outcry from
many quarters against this dangerous novelty. "His New Testament was attached,"
says Robertson; "why should the language of the schismatic Greeks interfere with the
sacred and traditional Latin? How could any improvement be made on the Vulgate
translation?" There was a college at Cambridge, especially proud of its theological
character, which would not admit a copy within its gates. But the editor was able to
shelter himself under the name of Pope Leo, who had accepted the dedication of the volume.
To question the fidelity of the Vulgate, was a crime of the greatest magnitude in the
eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vulgate could no longer be of absolute exclusive
authority; the Greek was its superior not only in antiquity, but yet more as the original
text. At this time Erasmus stood at the head of scholars and men of letters. He was
patronised by the Pope, many prelates, and by the chief princes of Europe. Sheltered
behind such an ample shield, he was perfectly secure, and, knowing this, fearlessly went
on with his great work.
To give the reader some idea of the popularity of this singularly great, yet in some
respects weak man, we may just notice that his book, entitled "Praise of Folly,"
went through twenty-seven editions during his lifetime; and his "Colloquies"
were so eagerly received that in one year, twenty-four thousand copies were sold. In these
books, he assailed with great power, and the most bitter satire, the inconsistencies of
the monks - their intrusiveness and rapacity in connection with deathbeds, wills and
funerals - and thus indirectly served the cause of the Reformation.
Erasmus had many tempting offers as to pensions and promotion, but his love for his
learned labours led him to prefer comparative poverty with perfect liberty. In 1516, he
took up his abode at Basle, where his works were printed by Froben, and he diligently
laboured in correcting proofs, and otherwise assisting that learned printer with his fine
editions of classical works.
But the great work for which he seems to have been specially fitted by God was his
Greek New Testament. "Erasmus," says D'Aubigne, "thus did for the New
Testament what Reuchlin had done for the Old. Henceforward divines were able to read the
Word of God in the original languages, and at a later period to recognise the purity of
the reformed doctrines. Reuchlin and Erasmus gave the Bible to the learned; Luther gave it
to the people."
The chain of witnesses was now complete. Wesselus, Reuchlin, Erasmus and Luther were
linked together.
We allow Wilkinson to describe further this man God used at this most important epoch:
The Revival of Learning produced that giant intellect and scholar, Erasmus. It is a
common proverb that "Erasmus laid the egg and Luther hatched it." The streams of
Grecian learning were again flowing into the European plains, and a man of calibre was
needed to draw from their best and bestow it upon the needy nations of the West. Endowed
by nature with a mind that could do ten hours
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work in one, Erasmus, during his mature years in the earlier part of the 16th century,
was the intellectual giant of Europe. He was ever at work, visiting libraries, searching
in every nook and corner for the profitable. He was ever collecting, comparing, writing
and publishing. Europe was rocked from end to end by his books which exposed the ignorance
of the monks, the superstitions of the priesthood, the bigotry and the childish and coarse
religion of the day. He classified the Greek Manuscripts and read the Fathers.
It is customary even today with those who are bitter against the pure teachings of the
Received Text, to sneer at Erasmus. No perversion of facts is too great to belittle his
work. Yet while he lived, Europe was at his feet. Several times the King of England
offered him any position in the kingdom, at his own price; the Emperor of Germany did the
same. The Pope offered to make him a cardinal. This he steadfastly refused, as he would
not compromise his conscience. In fact, had he been so minded, he perhaps could have made
himself Pope. France and Spain sought him to become a dweller in their realm; while
Holland prepared to claim him as her most distinguished citizen.
[graphic - Erasmus’ New Testament - 1516
Actual size as reproduced, without margins 9 ½ in. x 6 ½ in.]
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Book after book came from his hand. Faster and faster came the demands for his
publications. But his crowning work was the New Testament in Greek. At last after one
thousand years, the New Testament was printed (1516 A.D.) in the original tongue.
Astonished and confounded, the world, deluged by superstitions, coarse traditions, and
monkeries, read the pure story of the Gospels. The effect was marvellous. At once, all
recognized the great value of this work which for over four hundred years (1516 to 1931)
was to hold the dominant place in an era of Bibles. Translation after translation has been
taken from it, such as the German, and the English and others. Critics have tried to
belittle the Greek manuscripts he used, but the enemies of Erasmus, or rather the enemies
of the Received Text, have found insuperable difficulties maintained their attacks.
Writing to Peter Baberius August 13, 1521, Erasmus says:
"I did my best with the New Testament, but it provoked endless quarrels. Edward
Lee pretended to have discovered 300 errors. They appointed a commission, which professed
to have found bushels of them. Every dinner table rang with the blunders of Erasmus. I
required particulars, and could not have them."
There were hundreds of manuscripts for Erasmus to examine, and he did; but he used only
a few. What matters? The vast bulk of manuscripts in Greek are practically all the
Received Text. If the few Erasmus used were typical, that is, after he had thoroughly
balanced the evidence of many and used a few which displayed that balance, did he not,
with all the problems before him, arrive at practically the same result which only could
be arrived at today by a fair and comprehensive investigation?
Moreover, the text he chose had such an outstanding history in the Greek, the Syrian,
and the Waldensian Churches, that it constituted an irresistible argument for and proof of
God's providence. God did not write a hundred Bibles; there is only one Bible, the others
at best are only approximations. In other words the Greek New Testament of Erasmus, known
as the Received Text, is none other than the Greek New Testament which successfully met
the rage of its pagan and papal enemies.
We are told that testimony from the ranks of our enemies constitutes the highest kind
of evidence. The following statement which I now submit, is taken from the defense of
their doings by two members of that body so hostile to the Greek New Testament of Erasmus
- the Revisers of 1870-1881. This quotation shows that the manuscripts of Erasmus coincide
with the great bulk of manuscripts.
"The manuscripts which Erasmus used, differ, for the most part, only in small and
insignificant details from the bulk of the cursive manuscripts. The general character of
their text is the same. By this observation the pedigree of the Received Text is carried
up beyond the individual manuscripts used by Erasmus to a great body of manuscripts of
which the earliest are assigned to the 9th century."
Then after quoting Doctor Hort, they draw this conclusion on his statement: "This
remarkable statement completes the pedigree of the Received Text. That pedigree stretches
back to a remote antiquity. The first ancestor of the Received Text was, as Dr. Hort is
careful to remind us, at least contemporary with the oldest of our extant manuscripts, if
not older than any one of them."
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(2) PARTICULARS OF THE GREEK TEXT EDITED BY ERASMUS
Strouse states that Erasmus primarily used the following five MSS in the first edition
(1516).
11th Century MS of the Gospels, Acts and Epistles
15th, Century MS of the Gospels
12th-14th MS of Acts and Epistles
15th Century MS of Acts and Epistles
12th Century MS of Revelation
Erasmus had translated the Greek into a Latin Version in 1505-6 and presumably had
other MSS than these five.
These are the manuscripts to which F.J.A. Hort referred when he wrote to a friend,
"Think of that vile Textus Receptus leaning entirely on late MSS." But as shown
above, Erasmus knew that they were representative of the overwhelming majority of MSS.
Subsequent investigation since has shown that Erasmus' judgement was correct. The Bible
believer resting on the promises of Christ to preserve His Word can see the guiding hand
of God in the choice of these MSS.
Erasmus produced five editions in which there were a number of refinements and
corrections.
| 1516 |
Dedicated to Pope Leo X. Remember all of Europe was still under
Catholicism. Luther posted his Ninetyfive Theses on 31 October 1517. Erasmus welcomed it
and sent copies to his friends in England. |
| 1519 |
Revision of Greek and Latin |
| 1522 |
Includes 1 John 5:7 |
| 1527 |
Three columns (Greek,, Vulgate,, Erasmus' Latin) |
| 1535 |
Omitted Vulgate |
(3) THE ANALYSIS BY EDWARD F. HILLS
Possibly the most penetrating analysis ever written on the early publication of the
Received Text is the following by Edward F. Hills:
One of the leading principles of the Protestant Reformation was the sole and absolute
authority of the holy Scriptures. The New Testament text in which early Protestants placed
such implicit confidence was the Textus Receptus (Received Text) which was first printed
in 1516 under the editorship of Erasmus and only slightly modified in subsequent editions
during the 16th and 17th centuries. The more important of these later editions of the
Textus Receptus include the second edition of Erasmus (1519), which formed the basis of
Luther's German Version, the third edition of Stephanus (1550), which is that form of the
Textus Receptus generally preferred by English scholars, the fifth edition of Beza (1598),
on which the King James Version was mainly based, and the second Elzevir edition (1633),
which was generally adopted on the European Continent and in which the term Textus
Receptus first appeared.
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The Textus Receptus is virtually identical with the Traditional text found in the
majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts. Kirsopp Lake and his associates (1928)
demonstrated this fact in their intensive researches in the Traditional (Byzantine) text.
Using their collations, they came to the conclusion that in the eleventh chapter of Mark
"the most popular text in manuscripts of the 10th to 14th century" differed from
the Textus Receptus only four times. This small number of differences seems almost
negligible in view of the fact that in this same chapter Aleph, B, and D differ from the
Textus Receptus 69, 71 and 95 times respectively. Also add to this the fact that in this
same chapter B differs from Aleph 34 times and from D 102 times and that Aleph differs
from D 100 times.
(a) The Received Text and the Providence of God
The Textus Receptus, then, is that form of the Greek New Testament text which God in
His providence provided for His people during the days of the Protestant Reformation and
which still remains, in spite of the detractions of naturalistic critics, the best printed
text of the Greek New Testament that has yet been produced. Back of the labours of Erasmus
and the other early editors who brought the Textus Receptus into being stood the guiding
providence of God. The more we consider the factors involved in this process, the more we
see that this is so.
The Greek Manuscripts used by Erasmus
When Erasmus came to Basle in July, 1515, to begin work on the first edition of his
printed Greek New Testament, he found five Greek New Testament manuscripts ready for his
use. These are now designated by the following numbers: 1 (an llth century manuscript of
the Gospels, Acts and Epistles); 2 (a 15th century manuscript of the Gospels); 2ap (a
12-14th century manuscript of Acts and the Epistles); 4ap (a 15th century manuscript of
Acts and the Epistles); and 1r (a 12th century manuscript of Revelation). Of these
manuscripts Erasmus used 1 and 4ap only occasionally. In the Gospels, Acts and Epistles,
his main reliance was on 2 and 2ap.
The fact that the Textus Receptus was based only on the few late manuscript which
Erasmus found at Basle is usually held against it. In the opinion of naturalistic critics
this was just an unhappy accident. "Erasmus used only a handful of manuscripts, which
happened to be at Basle." So Kenyon (1937) observes. But those that take this
attitude do not reckon sufficiently with the providence of God. When we view this
circumstance in its proper perspective, we see the divine plan behind it all. The text
which Erasmus published was not his own but was taken, virtually without change, from the
few manuscripts which God, working providentially, had placed at his disposal. These
manuscripts were of the Traditional type, and thus in the providence of God it came about
that during the Protestant Reformation and ever since, God's people have been provided
with the Traditional (true) New Testament text found in the vast majority of the New
Testament manuscripts.
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The Human Aspects of the Received Text
God works providentially through sinful and fallible human beings, and therefore His
providential guidance has its human as well as its divine side. And these human elements
were very evident in the first edition (1516) of the Textus Receptus. For one thing, the
work was performed so hastily that the text was disfigured with a great number of
typographical errors. These misprints, however, were soon eliminated by Erasmus himself in
his later editions and by other early editors and hence are not a factor which need be
taken into account in any estimation of the abiding value of the Textus Receptus.
But the thing for which Erasmus has been most severely criticized is his handling of
the book of Revelation. His manuscript of Revelation (1r) had been mutilated at the end
with the consequent loss of verses 16-21 of chapter 22, and its text in other places was
sometimes hard to distinguish from the commentary of Andreas of Caesarea in which it was
embedded. Erasmus endeavoured to supply these dificiencies in his manuscript by
retranslating the Latin Vulgate into Greek. In his fourth edition of his Greek New
Testament (1527), Erasmus corrected much of this translation Greek on the basis of a
comparison with the Complutensian Polyglot (1522), but he overlooked some of it, and this
still remains in the Textus Receptus. (Did Stephanus or Beza make changes here?)
It is customary for naturalistic critics to make the most of these and to sneer at it
as a mean and almost sordid thing. These critics picture the Textus Receptus merely as a
money-making venture on the part of Froben the publisher. Froben, they say, heard that the
Spanish Cardinal Ximenes was about to publish a printed Greek New Testament as part of his
great Complutensian Polyglot Bible. In order, therefore, to get something on the market
first, it is said, Froben hired Erasmus, at a good salary, as his editor and rushed a
Greek New Testament through his press in less than a year's time. But those who
concentrate in this way on the human factors involved in the production of the Textus
Receptus are utterly unmindful of the providence of God. God had a deadline to meet as
well as Froben. For in the very next year the Reformation was to break out in Wittenberg,
and it was important that the Greek New Testament should be published first in one of the
future strongholds of Protestantism rather than in Spain, the land of the Inquisition.
Latin Vulgate Readings in the Received Text
The God who brought the New Testament text safely through the ancient and medieval
manuscript period did not fumble when it came time to transfer this text to the modern
printed page. This is the conviction which guides the believing Bible student as he
considers the relationship of the printed Textus Receptus to the Traditional New Testament
text found in the majority of the Greek manuscripts. As has been stated, these two texts
are virtually identical. There are a few places, however, in which they differ, though not
seriously. The most important of these differences are due to the fact that Erasmus,
influenced by the usage of the Latin-speaking Church in which he was reared, sometimes
followed the Latin Vulgate rather than the Traditional Greek text that lay before him.
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Are the readings which Erasmus thus introduced into the Textus Receptus necessarily
erroneous? To the believing Bible student this is a most unlikely supposition. It is
hardly possible that the divine providence which had preserved the New Testament text
during the long ages of the manuscript period would blunder when at last this text was
committed to the printing press. Surely it is much more probable that the Textus Receptus
was a further step in God's providential preservation of the New Testament text and that
these few Latin Vulgate readings which were incorporated into the Textus Receptus were
genuine readings which had been preserved in the usage of the Latin-speaking Church.
Erasmus, we may well believe, was guided providentially by the usage of the Latin Church
to include these readings in this printed Greek New Testament text. In the Textus Receptus
God corrected the few mistakes of any consequence which yet remained in the Traditional
New Testament text of the majority of the Greek manuscripts.
Hence, we may conclude, it was in the special providence of God that the text of the
Greek New Testament was first printed and published not in the East but in Western Europe
where the influence of the Latin usage and of the Latin Vulgate was very strong. Through
the influence of the usage of the Latin-speaking Church Erasmus was providentially guided
to follow the Latin Vulgate here and there in those few places in which the Latin Church
usage rather than the Greek Church usage had preserved the genuine reading. Thus the
Textus Receptus was not a blunder or a setback but a further step in the providential
preservation of the New Testament text. In it the few errors of any consequence which yet
remained in the Traditional Greek text were corrected by the providence of God operating
through the usage of the Latin-speaking Church of Western Europe.
The following are the most familiar and important of those relatively few Latin Vulgate
readings which, though not part of the Traditional Greek text, seem to have been placed in
the Textus Receptus by the direction of God's special providence and therefore are to be
retained. The reader will note that these Latin Vulgate readings are also found in other
ancient witnesses, namely, old Greek manuscripts, versions and Fathers.
Matthew 10:8, raise the dead, is omitted by the majority of the Greek
manuscripts. This reading is present, however, in B, Aleph, C, D, 1, the Latin Vulgate,
and the Textus Receptus.
Matthew 27:35, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They
parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots: present in
Eusebius (c. 325), 1 and other "Caesarean" manuscripts, the Harelean Syriac, the
Old Latin, the Vulgate, and the Textus Receptus; omitted by the majority of the Greek
manuscripts.
John 3:25, Then there arose a questioning between some of John's disciples and the
Jews about purifying: Papyrus 66, Aleph, 1 and the other "Caesarean"
manuscripts, the Old Latin, the Vulgate, and the Textus Receptus read the Jews; Papyrus
75, B, the Peshitta, and the majority of the Greek manuscripts read a Jew.
Acts 8:37, And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And
he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. This reading is
absent from the majority of the Greek manuscripts, but it is present in some of them,
including E (6th or 7th century). It is cited by Irenacus (c. 180) and Cyprian (c. 250)
and is found in the Old Latin and the Vulgate. In his notes Erasmus says that he took this
reading from the margin of 4ap and incorporated it into the Textus Receptus.
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Acts 9:5, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks: This reading is absent
here from the Greek manuscripts but present in Old Latin manuscripts and in the Latin
Vulgate known to Erasmus. It is present also at the end of Acts 9:4 in E, 431, the
Peshitta, and certain manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate. In Acts 26:14, however, this
reading is present in all the Greek manuscripts. In his notes Erasmus indicates that he
took this reading from Acts 26.14 and inserted it here.
Acts 9:6, And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?
and the Lord said unto him: this reading is found in the Latin Vulgate and in other
ancient witnesses. It is absent, however, from the Greek manuscripts, due, according to
Lake and Cadbury (1933), "to the paucity of Western Greek texts and the absence of D
at this point." In his notes Erasmus indicates that this reading is a translation
made by him from the Vulgate into Greek.
Acts 20:28, Church of God: Here the majority of the manuscripts read, Church of
the Lord and God. The Latin Vulgate, however, and the Textus Receptus read, Church of God,
which is also the reading of B, Aleph, and other ancient witnesses.Romans 16:25-27: In the
majority of the manuscripts this doxology is placed at the end of chapter 14. In the Latin
Vulgate and the Textus Receptus it is placed at the end of chapter 16, and this is also
the position it occupies in B, Aleph, C, and D.
(b) Should 1 John 5:7 be in our Bible?
In the Textus Receptus 1 John 5:78 reads as follows:
7 For there are three that bear witness IN HEAVEN, THE FATHFR, THE WORD, AND THE
HOLY SPIRIT; AND THESE THREE ARE ONE.
8 AND THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR WITNESS IN EARTH, the spirit, and the water, and the
blood: and these three agree in one.
The words printed in capital letters constitute the so-called Johannine comma, the best
known of the Latin Vulgate readings of the Textus Receptus, a reading which, on believing
principles, must also be regarded as possibly genuine. This comma has been the occasion of
much controversy and is still an object of interest to textual critics. One of the more
recent discussions of it is found in Windisch's Katholischen Briefe (revised by Preisker,
1951); a more accessible treatment of it in English is that provided by A.E. Brooke (1912)
in the International Critical Commentary. Metzger (1964) also deals with this passage in
his handbook, but briefly.
How 1 John 5:7 entered the Received Text
As has been observed above, the Textus Receptus has both its human aspect and its divine
aspect, like the Protestant Reformation itself or any other work of God's providence. And
when we consider the manner in which the Johannine comma entered the Textus Receptus, we
see this human element at work. Erasmus omitted the Johannine comma from the first edition
(1516) of his printed Greek New Testament on the ground that it occurred only in
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the Latin version and not in any Greek manuscript. To quiet the outcry which arose, he
agreed to restore it if but one Greek manuscript could be found which contained it. When
one such manuscript was discovered soon afterwards, bound by his promise, he included the
disputed reading in his third edition (1522), and thus it gained a permanent place in the
Textus Receptus. The manuscript which forced Erasmus to reverse his stand seems to have
been 61, a 15th or 16th century manuscript now kept at Trinity College, Dublin. Many
critics believe that this manuscript was written at Oxford about 1520 for the special
purpose of refuting Erasmus, and this is what Erasmus himself suggested in his notes.
The Johannine Comma is also found in Codex Ravianus, in the margin of 88, and in 629.
The evidence of these three manuscripts, however, is not regarded as very weighty, since
the first two are thought to have taken this disputed reading from early printed Greek
texts and the latter (like 61) from the Vulgate. (Since Hills wrote this, the latest
United Bible Society Greek Testament lists six Greek cursive MSS which contain it - 61, 88
mg, 429 mg, 629, 636 mg, 918. Moreover D.A. Waite cites evidence of some fourteen others
containing it. Tom Strouse, from whom this information is taken was able to confirm in
addition to the above - 634 mg, omega 110, 221 and 2318; along with two lectionaries - 60,
173; and four Fathers - Tertullian, Cyprian, Augustine and Jerome).
But whatever may have been the immediate cause, still, in the last analysis, it was not
trickery which was responsible for the inclusion of the Johannine comma in the Textus
Receptus but the usage of the Latin-speaking Church. It was this usage which made men feel
that this reading ought to be included in the Greek text and eager to keep it there after
its inclusion had been accomplished. Back of this usage, we may well believe, was the
guiding providence of God, and therefore the Johannine comma ought to be retained as
genuine.
The Early Existence of 1 John 5:7
Evidence for the early existence of the Johannine Comma is found in the Latin versions and
in the writings of the Latin Church Fathers. For example, it seems to have been quoted at
Carthage by Cyprian (c. 250), who writes as follows: "And again concerning the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit it is written: and the Three are One." It is true
that Facundus, a 6th century African bishop, interpreted Cyprian as referring to the
following verse, but, as Scrivener (1883) remarks, it is "surely safer and more
candid" to admit that Cyprian read the Johannine comma in his New Testament
manuscript "than to resort to the explanation of Facundus."
The first undisputed citations of the Johannine comma occur in the writings of two 4th
century Spanish bishops, Priscillian, who in 385 was beheaded by the Emperor Maximus on
the charge of sorcery and heresy, and Idacius Clarus, Priscillian's principal adversary
and accuser. In the 5th century the Johannine comma was quoted by several orthodox African
writers to defend the doctrine of the Trinity against the gainsaying of the Vandals, who
ruled North Africa from 439 to 534 and were fanatically attached to the Arian heresy. And
about the same time it was cited by Cassiodorus (480-570) in Italy. The comma is also
found in r, an Old Latin manuscript of the 5th or 6th century, and in the Speculum, a
treatise which contains an Old Latin text. It was not included in Jerome's original
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edition of the Latin Vulgate, but around the year 800 it was taken into the text of the
Vulgate from the Old Latin manuscripts. It was found in the great mass of the later
Vulgate manuscripts and in the Clementine edition of the Vulgate, the official Bible of
the Roman Catholic Church.
Is 1 John 5:7 an Interpolation?
Thus on the basis of the external evidence it is at least possible that the Johannine
comma is a reading that somehow dropped out of the Greek New Testament text but was
preserved in the Latin text through the usage of the Latin-speaking Church, and this
possibility grows more and more toward probability as we consider the internal evidence.
In the first place, how did the Johannine comma originate if it be not genuine, and how
did it come to be interpolated into the Latin New Testament text? To this question modern
scholars have a ready answer. It arose, they say, as a trinitarian interpretation of 1
John 5:8, which originally read as follows: For there are three that bear witness, the
spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. Augustine was one of
those who interpreted 1 John 5:8 as referring to the Trinity. "If we wish to inquire
about these things, what they signify, not absurdly does the Trinity suggest Itself, who
is the one, only, true, and highest God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, concerning whom it
could most truly be said, Three are Witnesses, and the Three are One. By the word spirit
we consider God the Father to be signified, concerning the worship of whom the Lord spoke,
when He said, God is a spirit. By the word blood the Son is signified, because the Word
was made flesh. And by the word water we understand the Holy Spirit. For when Jesus spoke
concerning the water which He was about to give the thirsty, the evangelist says, This He
spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those that believed in Him would receive."
Thus, according to the critical theory, there grew up in the Latin-speaking regions of
ancient Christendom a trinitarian interpretation of the spirit, the water, and the blood
mentioned in 1 John 5:8, the spirit signifying the Father, the blood the Son, and the
water the Holy Spirit. And out of this trinitarian interpretation of 1 John 5:8 developed
the Johannine comma, which contrasts the witness of the Holy Trinity in heaven with the
witness of the spirit, the water, and the blood on earth.
But just at this point the critical theory encounters a serious difficulty. If the
comma originated in a trinitarian interpretation of 1 John 5:8, why does it not contain
the usual trinitarian formula the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Why does it
exhibit the singular combination, never met with elsewhere, the Father, The Word, and the
Holy Spirit? According to some critics, this unusual phraseology was due to the efforts of
the interpolator who first inserted the Johannine comma into the New Testament Text. In a
mistaken attempt to imitate the style of the Apostle John he changed the term Son to the
term Word. But this is to attribute to the interpolator a craftiness which thwarted his
own purpose in making this interpolation, which was surely to uphold the doctrine of the
Trinity, including the eternal generation of the Son. With this as his main concern it is
very unlikely that he would abandon the time-honoured formula, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit, and devise an altogether new one, Father, Word, and Holy Spirit.
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In the second place, the omission of the Johannine coma seems to leave the passage
incomplete. For it is a common scriptural usage to present solemn truths or warnings in
groups of three and four, for example, the repeated three things, yea four of Proverbs 30,
and the constantly recurring refrain, for three transgressions and for four, of the
prophet Amos. In Genesis 40 the butler saw three branches, and the baker saw three
baskets. And in Matthew 12:40 Jesus says, As Jonas was three days and three nights in the
whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
earth. It is in accord with biblical usage, therefore, to expect that in 1 John 5:7-8 the
formula, there are three that bear witness, will be repeated at least twice. When the
Johannine comma is included the formula is repeated twice. When the comma is omitted, the
formula is repeated only once, which seems very strange.
In the third place, the omission of the Johannine comma involves a grammatical
difficulty. The words spirit, water, and blood are neuter in gender, but in 1 John 5:8
they are treated as masculine. If the Johannine comma is rejected, it is hard to explain
this irregularity. It is usually said that in 1 John 5:8 the spirit, the water, and the
blood are personalised and that this is the reason for the adoption of the masculine
gender. But it is hard to see how such personalisation would involve the change from the
neuter to the masculine. For in verse 6 the word Spirit plainly refers to the Holy Spirit,
the Third Person of the Trinity. Surely in this verse the word Spirit is
"personalised," and yet the neuter gender is used. Therefore, since
personalisation did not bring about a change of gender in verse 6, it cannot fairly be
pleaded as the reason for such a change in verse 8. If, however, the Johannine comma is
retained, a reason for placing the neuter nouns spirit, water and blood in the masculine
gender becomes readily apparent. It was due to the influence of the nouns Father and Word,
which are masculine. Thus the hypothesis that the Johannine comma is an interpolation is
full of difficulties.
Possible Reasons for the Omission of 1 John 5:7 in Greek MSS
For the absence of the Johannine coma from all New Testament documents save those of
the Latin-speaking West the following explanations are possible:
In the first place, it must be remembered that the comma could easily have been omitted
accidentally through a common type of error which is called homoioteleuton (similar
ending). A scribe copying 1 John 5:7-8 under distracting conditions might have begun to
write down these words of verse 7, there are three that bear witness, but have been forced
to look up before his pen had completed this task. When he resumed his work, his eye fell
by mistake on the identical expression in verse 8. This error would cause him to omit all
of the Johannine comma except the words in earth, and these might easily have been dropped
later in the copying of this faulty copy. Such an accidental omission might even have
occurred several times, and in this way there might have grown up a considerable number of
Greek manuscripts which did not contain this reading.
In the second place, it must be remembered that during the second and third centuries
(between 220 and 270, according to Harnack) the heresy which orthodox Christians were
called upon to combat was not Arianism (since this error had not yet arisen) but
Sabellianism (so named after Sabellius, one of its principal promoters), according to
which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were one in the sense that they were
identical. Those that advocated this heretical view were called Patripassians (Father-
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sufferers), because they believed that God the Father, being identical with Christ,
suffered and died upon the cross, and Monarchians, because they claimed to uphold the
Monarchy (sole government) of God.
It is possible, therefore, that the Sabellian heresy brought the Johannine comma into
disfavour with orthodox Christians. The statement, these three are one, no doubt seemed to
them to teach the Sabellian view that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were
identical. And if during the course of the controversy manuscripts were discovered which
had lost this reading in the accidental manner described above, it is easy to see how the
orthodox party would consider these mutilated manuscripts to represent the true text and
regard the Johannine comma as a heretical addition. In the Greek-speaking East especially
the comma would be unanimously rejected, for here the struggle against Sabellianism was
particularly severe.
Thus it is not impossible that during the 3rd century, amid the stress and strain of
the Sabellian controversy, the Johannine comma lost its place in the Greek text but was
preserved in the Latin texts of Africa and Spain, where the influence of Sabellianism was
probably not so great. To suppose this, at any rate, is strictly in accord with the
principles of believing Bible study. For although the Greek New Testament text was the
special object of God's providential care, nevertheless, this care also extended, in
lesser degree, to the ancient versions and to the usage not only of Greek-speaking
Christians but also of the other branches of the Christian Church. Hence, although the
Traditional text found in the vast majority of the Greek manuscripts is a fully
trustworthy reproduction of the divinely inspired original text, still it is possible that
the text of the Latin Vulgate, which really represents the long-established usage of the
Latin Church, preserves a few genuine readings not found in the Greek manuscripts. And
hence, also, it is possible that the Johannine comma is one of these exceptional readings
which, we may well believe, were included in the Textus Receptus under the direction of
God's special providence.
(4) ERASMUS REJECTED THE READINGS OF VATICANUS AND SIMILAR
As we have seen Vaticanus is the primary pillar of our modern versions. This is the
manuscript that is supposed to be so much better and ancient that those used by Erasmus.
However, according to Wilkinson, Erasmus, through a certain Professor Paulus Bombasius at
Rome, had access to, and received from his "such variant readings as he wished."
And in 1533 a correspondent of Erasmus sent him "a number of selected readings from
Codex B as proof of its superiority to the Received Greek Text." Erasmus, however,
rejected these varying readings because he considered from the massive evidence of his day
that the Received Text was correct. Therefore, modern Bibles are built upon a foundation
that Erasmus rejected. And we can see the guiding hand of God in this rejection.
With the Received Text now in print, we come to the next major epoch in the history of
the Bible.
LUTHER'S GERMAN BIBLE
Continuing with Miller:
When peace was established he turned to his favourite object - the translation of the
New Testament; and after it had undergone the more critical revision of Mlanchthon, he
published it in the September of 1522. The appearance of such
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a work, and at a time when the minds of all men were in a most excited condition,
produced, as might be supposed, the most extraordinary effects. As if carried on the wings
of the wind, it spread from one end of Germany to the other, and to many other countries.
"It is written," according to D'Aubigne, "in the very tone of the Holy
Writings, in a language yet in its youthful vigour, and which for the first time displayed
its great beauties; it interested, charmed, and moved the lowest as well as the highest
ranks." Even the Papal historian, Maimbourg, confesses that "Luther's
translation was remarkably elegant, and in general so much approved, that it was read by
almost everybody throughout Germany. Women of the first distinction studied it with the
most industrious and persevering attention, and obstinately defended the tenets of the
Reformer against bishops, monks and Catholic doctors." It was a national book. It was
the book of the people - the Book of God. This work served more than all Luther's writings
to the spread and consolidation of the reformed doctrines. The Reformation was now placed
on its own proper foundation - the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
The following statistics show the wonderful success of the work: "A second edition
appeared in the month of December; and by 1533 seventeen editions had been printed at
Wittemberg, thirteen at Augsburg, twelve at Basle, one at Erfurt, one at Grimma, one at
Leipsic, and thirteen at Strasburg."
Meanwhile Luther proceeded in the accomplishment of his great work - the translation of
the Old Testament. With the assistance of Melanchthon and other friends, the work was
published in parts as they were finished, and wholly completed in the year 1530. Luther's
great work was now done. Hitherto he had spoken, but now God Himself was to speak to the
hearts and consciences of men. Vast, wonderful, mighty thought! The Divine testimonies of
truth presented to a great nation, which had hitherto been "perishing for lack of
knowledge." The Divine Word no longer to be concealed under an unknown tongue; the
way of peace no longer to be obscured by the traditions of men; and the testimony of God
Himself concerning Christ and salvation rescued from the superstitions of the Romish
system.
Hills states that Luther's version was based on Erasmus' second edition which appeared
in 1519. It is with sadness though that we must inform the reader that Luther
"segregated Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation at the end of his New Testament as
books of lesser value." (Kenyon).
We now come to the second mighty translation based upon the Received Text of Erasmus.
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6. THE ENGLISH BIBLE OF WILLIAM TYNDALE
[graphic of Tyndale’s New Testment - 1525
not reduced; actual size of whole page 7 1/2in. x 5 ½ in.]
Benjamin Wilkinson says:
God, who foresaw the coming greatness of the English-speaking world, prepared in
advance the agent who early would give direction to the course of its thinking. One man
stands out silhouetted against the horizon above all others, as having stamped his genius
upon English thought and upon the English language. That man was WiIliam Tyndale.
The Received Text in Greek, having through Erasmus reassumed its ascendancy in the West
of Europe as it had always maintained it in the East, bequeathed its indispensable
heritage to the English. It meant much that the right genius was engaged to clamp the
English future within this heavenly mould. Providence never is wanting when the hour
strikes. And the world at last is awakenin
