Religious Books
The Old Testament Anew
By THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK rTHERE are those who would jettison the Old I Testament. It has had its day. It has been superseded. Let it go. There are various reasons for such an attitude of rashness. Sometimes it is due to sheer ignorance of what is contained in that strange collection of thirty-nine books. Sometimes it is an admission of defeat—the thought-forms, the language, are just too diffi- cult to grapple with. Sometimes it is because the element of battle and slaughter has dulled the reader's alertness to the elements of beauty, of tenderness and of love which are there in abun- dance if we have but eyes to see them.
Two things at least are necessary if the average intelligent Englishman is to begin to appreciate what the Old Testament is about. He must have a good translation of the books; and he must have a straightforward guide or companion.
The truth is that there are both—in plenty. Of translations into English, one thinks of the Re- vised Standard Version, of Moffatt, of Knox, of many others. Of guides and companions, there are legion—from learned critical commentaries for the linguists and the theologians, to children's Introductions. But there are never enough; and each generation must keep on tackling the task anew, as fresh knowledge becomes available and a fresh reading public looks for an up-to-date presentation of the theme.
The name of J. B. Phillips is a name to conjure with in the realm of New Testament translation. His Letters to Young Churches (with its intro- duction by C. S. Lewis) was the forerunner of translations of the rest of the New Testament which have lit up those books for tens of thou- sands of our contemporaries. Now he has turned his hand to the Old Testament.* He has begun with some of the prophets—Amos, Hosea, Isaiah (1-39) and Micah. Will he go on to the rest of the prophets or, indeed, of the Old Testament? He does not tell us. We hope he may—mean- while, he 'keeps us guessing. What he has given us is good. He has had his problems—what trans- lator does not?—untranslatable puns, defective texts, and the sheer 'terse craggy characters' of that powerful language, Hebrew. My own feel- ing, as I have read his translation, is that he bas captured much of the heat and passion of Hebrew prophetic poetry—and it takes some catching! The very way in which he has set out his work —the poetry, the interspersed prose, the descrip- tive captions, the introductions to each book— has helped. Clear type and an altogether attrac- tive format invite us to read what the prophets wrote, in a way that our childhood's Bibles never did, with their funereal covers and small type. I suspect—and I hope—that many will find, as they read Phillips's translation, that the message of the prophets is still a living one, and that the message of the judgment and mercy of God rings out clearly from these attractive pages.
Mary Ellen Chase is a novelist as well as a writer on Biblical subjects. In addition to her novels, she has already written The Bible and the Common Reader and Life and Language in the Old Testament. Now, in The Psalms for the Com- mon Readert she has given us a useful introduc- tion devoid of the technicalities of the scholars but by no means unappreciative of the scholars' work. It is clear that she has read widely in the very extensive literature which has grown up round the Psalter. It is equally clear that she writes as one who has an intense, though by no means undiscriminating, love for the Psalms. She bases her work on the 1611 Authorised, or King James Version—which is perhaps a pity, for we now know so much better than did that fine band of scholars who produced the Authorised Ver- sion what the Psalmists really were saying. But the argument is that this is the best known ver- sion, and on that' the authoress has worked. So be it.
Here is a writer who comes to meet the ordin- ary reader just where he needs to be met. Is he a bit shaky about the historical background of the people of Israel—a background without some knowledge of which it is very difficult to under- stand the Psalms? Then there is 'A Short Account of the History of Israel,' forty-four pages of it, there ready for him in a Supplement. Does he want to know what books have been most forma- tive in the thinking of the authoress? There is a List of Recommended Books for his guidance. And the main body of the book is given to such themes as the origin and authorship, thy collec-
* FOUR PROPHETS. By J. B. Phillips. (Geoffrey Bles, 15s.) t THE PSALMS FOR THE COMMON READER. By Mary Ellen Chase. (Michael Joseph, 21s.) tion and use, the various types, the poetic struc- ture, the thoughts and ideas, and the literary devices of the Psalms. I think that many will find the Psalms less fortnidable, more meaningful and far more stimulating to their own public and private worship when they have worked their way through Mary Ellen Chase's book.
The Archbishops' Commission on the revision of 'the Psalter has recently completed its work, which has occupied between four and five years. Its members included T. S. Eliot and the late C. S. Lewis to watch over the English, Gerald H. Knight and J. Dykes Bower to care for the musical interests, and Professor D. Winton Thomas to keep guard over matters of Hebrew scholarship. Bishop G. A. Chase, lately Bishop of Ripon, was, if not officially the 'Secretary' of the Commission, then the overall adviser whose vigilance saved us from many an error and in- accuracy. As our work proceeded, the Bishop became convinced that a small 'Companion' was• called for, intended for the general reader and worshipper, not for the linguistic specialist. (This latter need has been admirably provided for by Professor D. Winton Thomas's The Text of the Revised Psalter, S.P.C.K., 15s,) The terms of reference given to the Commis- sion were as follows: 'To produce for the con- sideration of the Convocations a revision' of the text of the Psalter designed to remove obscurities and serious errors of translation yet such as to retain, as far as possible, the general character in style and rhythm of Coverdale's version and its suitability for congregational use.' These by no means easy terms of reference called for the use of all the linguistic, musical and theological re- sources which were available to the members of the Commission. It was a source of gratification to them when the Convocations commended their work, and it is their hope that before long the Revised Psalter may be authorised for use in the Church, and indeed become universally used in England. A printed edition is now being pre- pared, and it is much to be desired that one uni- form method of pointing should be in general use.
Bishop Chase's admirable little book$ gives a clear indication of the reasons which led the re- visers to make the changes that they did. But it does much more than this—it provides the wor- shipper who says or sings the Psalms in private or in public with a kind of 'intelligent man's guide to their use.' Each Psalm has a short introduc- tion and notes which state the purpose of the Psalm and clarify its main difficulties. There is a little Glossary which explains such frequently obscuring and often partially understood words as ashamed, fool, grave, saints, soul, unicorn. The book concludes with Introductions, one for each Psalm, hardly ever more than three lines, providing the leader of the service with a sen- tence or two with which he can tell the congre- gation what the Psalm is about.
Let the reader arm himself with one or all of these books, and he will have less reason to com- plain that the Bible is dull or Christian worship unintelligible.
A COMPANION TO THE REVISED PSALTER. By G. A. Chase. (S.P.C.K., 7s. 6d.)
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