SOLOMON BENNETT'S BIBLE.
THIS is an important undertaking to biblical scholars, and one deserving of every encouragement. The late SOLOMON BENNETT was " a Hebrew of the Hebrews," profoundly versed in his national literature, and from his vocation continually engaged in translating the Bible. The late Bishop BURGESS, whose Hebrew preceptor he had been, and other literary men, were frequently telling him of the necessity for a revised translation of the Scriptures ; but Sow:mot.: BENNETT, trusting soul! seeing upon most editions "improved and corrected from the original Hebrew," took the statement in good faith, and never examined the authorized version. When DANIEL EATON, in 1812, published Tom PAINE'S works, he sent SOLOMON a copy : and much astonished the Llebraist was at some of the passages which PAINE quotes to make merry with, in the Age of Reason. At first he doubted the correctness of the quotation; but, having satisfied himself of PAINE'S veracity, be then undertook a comparison of the whole version with the original Hebrew. The result was a determination to act upon the suggestion of his friends, and he commenced a task which occupied him for the remainder of his life; and as it lay unpublished at his death, Mr. BARHAM has undertaken the task of seeing the work through the press—let us add, for the benefit of the single-minded and indefatigable translator's family. The plan of SOLOMON BENNETT, in fulfilling his task, was this- " Having once determined to have an insight into the authorized version, and being aided in my design by becoming tutor to my own children, the ori- ginal Hebrew Bible, with a just translation in the vernacular language, (the English,) was my first object; by which I could not deceive myself: I then. took extra pains to examine the text of the lessons I was to give my pupils, and to correct those errors which I met with in the course of their lessons. In this course of proceeding, I discovered corruptions and erroneous translations, not only in single words, but even incongruities and nonsensical versions of whole sentences, of whole verses, of even whole chapters; numerous instances of which I noted on the margins of my English Bible, but mostly I collected
and preserved them in a regular order in a manuscript. • • •
" The method I pursued was this : 1 took the best and the latest copy of an English Bible, (the Oxford quarto edition, 1824,) and a copy of the Great Hebrew Bible, illustrated with the Massorah magna et parva ; and with the most eminent commentators, such as the Targum Onkelos and Jonathan, R. Solomon Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and It. David Kimchi, whom I consulted in the
course of my version. * • • •
" 1 did not alter the standing version at large. It is immaterial to me whether it is of the ancient or of the modern idiom, so long as it does not alter the meaning of the original words of the text, and preserves the sentiments of the original: but there are instances in which the meaning of the word or sen- tence as it at present stands is entirely inconsistent with the meaning of the original text, or out of its grammar and etymology. The whole of the Hagio- graphical volumes are replete with such defects ; nor are the Psalms, Isaiah, or the twelve Lesser Prophets exempted from them : all of which I scrupulously attended to, an as to make the text intelligible to the capacity of every reader. In the next place, I illustrated it in many instances with critical notes, chiefly free from hypotheses and opinions, or typical ideas, which are too common with commentators, and which are admired by common readers, though they perplex the mind with many uncertainties and dull ideas. The objects of my notes have no other tendency, but first to demonstrate the authorities with regard to the alteration of any version, agreeable to the grammar and etymology relative to the subject ; secondly, to illustrate or to enhance the subject at hand, being relevant and indispensable ; and thirdly, to remove queries advanced by modern critics in disparagement of the integrity of the Old Testament ; all of which I have scrupulously examined and weighed, so that it may stand the test of examination by critics of every description, and be serviceable to every class of readers."
The general character of the translator's mind seems to have been one of great primitive simplicity—English words with an old Hebrew tone of thinking. This quaintness, which is not pleasantly perceptible in his common prose, well adapted him for a translator of the Scriptures ; especially as he seems never to have altered for the sake of altering, but preserved the authorized version wherever he deemed that it conveyed the meaning: As an example of the errors of the authorized version, the First Part is hardly a fair specimen ; great care having been taken in the render- ing of Genesis, as indeed is the case with all the books of Moses. What changes there arc are chiefly verbal. For instance, the second verse of the-first chapter in the authorized translation runs—" the earth was without form and void": BENNETT has it—" the earth was waste and void"; which conveys a more striking picture of de- solation, but one less chaotic. Again, in the same verse, the au- thorized version says—" the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters": BENNETT—" the Divine Spirit hovered above the face of the waters"; which is more characteristic of the winged presence under which the Spirit is generally painted. In the origin of matri- mony there is a change of tense, that seems a more natural order— the inference or exposition of the writer, not a command; which, seeing that marriage had been established some thousands of years, was superfluous in MosEs.
" Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife ; and they shall be one flesh."—Authorized Version. " Therefore a man leaveth his father and his mother, and cleaveth unto his wife ; and they become one flesh."—Bennett's Translation.
The Hebrew text used is that of HEIDF.NIIElm; which is printed in parallel columns with the translation, in a bold, clear, and beautiful type, with the points. The notes will be printed to append to each book, but paged so as form a separate volume at the pleasure of the subscribers. Part I., now before us, comes down to the 21st chapter of Genesis.
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