HE books of the New Testament were originally written in the Greek language. At a very early date some of these books were translated and copied into the languages spoken by the men and women converted to Christianity who did not know Greek.

      The early versions of the Scriptures thus grew out of the necessities of the case. After our Lord's ascension to heaven, Christianity rapidly spread and took root in many lands. Within thirty years of the day of Pentecost there existed Christian churches with their regular services and officers, in places far removed from each other. They were to be found in Europe and in Asia Minor, and Syria; also at Jerusalem, Cæsarea, Antioch, and in Rome. They existed in Asia Minor, and in the cities along the coast. Churches [59] were found in Philippi, Thessalonica, and at Corinth. Had the people in all these various places spoken the Greek language, their needs would have been met by multiplying copies of the original Greek books of the New Testament. But this was not so. It was necessary that the churches in these places should have records of the revelation which the Lord and His Apostles had made, in such language as they could understand. To meet their needs we know that translations were made. It is not easy to estimate the high value of these ancient versions of the Bible, bringing us back, as they do, to a date long before the oldest of our known manuscripts. They connect us with the Apostles, and form a most valuable chapter in the history of the Bible. If we can show that versions of the inspired books existed in the second century, we shall, of course, by that fact also show that the Scriptures themselves were in existence before that time, or they could not have been translated into those languages.

      Out of the multitude of ancient versions I select two for special examination. These two versions are called the Peshito, used in the Syrian churches, and the Old Latin produced for the North African Christians. They were, so far as we know, the first versions of the Scriptures made. It is thought by some that parts of these two versions were made within the Apostolic age, and that shortly afterwards the [60] translations of the separate parts were collected, and, after

SYRIAC MS. (Exod. xiii. 14-16)--A. D. 464. (British Museum, Add. MS. 14; 425.)       Four books or the Pentateuch, viz: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy according to the Peshito version, in the Estrangela-Syriac characters. Written in the city of Amid A. D. 464: the oldest dated Biblical manuscript in existence. From the monastery of St. Mary Deiyara in Nitrian Desert of Egypt.

careful revision, were put together as completed books. Let us therefore examine the character of these two versions.

      The Peshito, or Syrian Bible, contains the oldest Christian version of the New Testament known to the world. The language in which it was written (the Syro-Chaldaic, or Aramaic) was the common dialect spoken in [61] Palestine at the time of our Lord, though Greek was much used in business.

      It is quite, impossible to fix the exact date of this ancient Syrian Bible. I venture to believe that parts of it were made in Apostolic times, and very likely under Apostolic direction. There is some evidence to show that messengers were sent from Edessa to Palestine to copy the sacred books, and that the Peshito version was made at a time before the last of the Apostles had passed away. We may take it as an admitted fact that the version was completed in the second century, and some time before the year 150, A. D.

      This ancient Syrian Bible is a most important book. It was always regarded with respect, and in the earliest ages was received as an authoritative book. Indeed, we know that several other important versions were made from it into other languages--Arabic, Persian, and Armenian; and when the Syrian Church lost its unity, and split up into several opposing sects, all received this version as of authority, and all used it in their public worship.

      These things all show it to have been of great importance. I venture the supposition that it may not only have been the most complete, but the most reliable collection of the sacred books then known to the world, except such as the church at Jerusalem may have possessed. The fact that it was probably [62] a translation of many original manuscripts and careful copies of original manuscripts gave it an authority almost equal to the originals themselves.

      It is important now that we should note the books which this version contains. It includes the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and fourteen Epistles of St. Paul, 1st John, 1st Peter, and James. You will see that this list very nearly corresponds with our own New Testament. It only omits the second and third Epistles of St. John, the second Epistle of St. Peter, the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Book of Revelation. It is very important to notice that, though this ancient version omits five books contained in our New Testament, it does not include any book which is not to be found there.

      We have seen that the Peshito version was early made for the Eastern churches. We now turn to the Old Latin version, which was made for the Western churches, and which has exerted an influence upon them which can never be told by the pen of mortal man. It was from this version that St. Jerome made his Latin Vulgate, which Vulgate became the Bible authority of the Roman Church, and remains so to this day. And for more than a thousand years it was the chief source of nearly every version of the Scriptures made in the West. [63]

      But though we cannot fix the exact date of this old version, we are in possession of evidence which certainly carries us back to the second century. It was well known to Tertullian and men of his day. He freely uses it, and shows that it was not only known, but current at the time when he was in the midst of his literary activity.

      Tertullian was born about 150 A. D. If we take that date as the year of his birth, and remember that the Old Latin version was in use in the African churches when he was a man and at work, it will not be unreasonable to suppose that it was written before the last quarter of the second century began. It may have been written much earlier, but it could scarcely have been much later.

      The question now comes as to what books this Old Latin version contained. It contained the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen Epistles of St. Paul, three Epistles of St. John, the First Epistle of St. Peter, the Epistle of St. Jude, and the Book of Revelation. It omits the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of St. James, and the Second Epistle of St. Peter. It will thus be seen that it contains all except three of the books which form our own New Testament.

      If these two versions are put together, we shall get a more striking and important fact. We shall find that, with the single exception of the Second Epistle [64] of Peter, which they both omit, they contain all the books which constitute our New Testament, but no others. Respecting these two versions, several things should be noted. They were probably in common use by great bodies of Christians in the last half of the second century. The churches which used them received them as the heritage of a previous age. They represented the New Testament which was known, received, and revered, throughout the Christian Church, including both East and West. [65]

[HWGI 59-65]