Among the MSS. of the New Testament, the oldest are not traced back further than the 4th c., and are written in the so-called uncial characters. • The modern MSS.. dating from the 10th c. downwards, are distinguished by.the eursire characters in which are written. The most important MSS, are the Codex Sinaitieus (at St. Petersburg), the Codex Alexandrinus (in the British museum), C. Vatieanvs (in shevatican at Rome), C. (in the imperial library at Paris—a facsimile of which was edited by Tischen dorf, Leip. 1843), and C. Cantabrigiensis, or C. Beat (given by Beza to the university of Cambridge, a fac-simile being issued by Th. Kipling. 1793). Of these, the Codex f'ai'r r:Intl* was long considered to bethe oldest, but the discovery of the Codex Sinaineus by Tischendorf at the monastery of St. Catharine, 31t. in 1859, has now transferred the honor to that invaluable document, the age of which cannot be older than the mid dle of the 4th century. A fuse-simile of the Codex Vaticanus, edited by cardinal Mai, was published at Rotne in 1858.
The earliest division of the New Testament into verses of which we read is that made by Enthalins, deacon of Alexandria, 462 A.D. Ile arranged those words that were related to each other by the sense into 4iehoi or lines. Subsequently, to save space, a colon or point was substituted, until, finally, a complete system of punctuation arose. In the 13th c., as we have already seen, the division into chapters took place, and in the 16th the versieular division was perfected by Stephens. The arguments or contents prefixed to the several chapters arc also of modern origin.
B. Versions or Translation-R.—These may be divided into ancient and modern. The neient translations of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew may he classed as follows: 1. Greek—The earliest of these is the Alexandrine or Septuagint* (q.v.), after which come respectively the translations by Aquila (q.v.), Theodotion. and Symmachus. The whole of these, with fragments of others by unknown authors, were given by Origen in his Hexapla (q.v.). The Versio Veneta, it Greek translation of several books of the Old Testament, made in the 14th c., and preserved in the St. Mark's library, Venice, was published by Villoison at Strasburg, in 1784. Several early versions were, also based on the Septuagint; but for that reason do not possess an independent value, being for the most part simply translations of a translation. Among these may be mentioned the old Latin version or Italic (q.v.). though the term Attic is strictly applicable to the New Testament only, improved by Jerome (382 A.D.): the Syriac, including the Yersio Piga rata, partially preserved and collated by Jacob of Edessa, in thelitigianing of the 8th c. ; , .
and that by Paul, bishop of Tele (617 A.n.): the Ethiopic, made by Certain Christians in the 4th c.: the threefold Egyptian (3d or 4th c.), one being in the language of lower Egypt, and termed the Coptic or Nemphiti ; another in the language of upper Egypt, and termed the Sakidic or Thcbaic ; and a third, the Basmuric, whose locality is uncer tain: the Arnleiliall, by Miesrob and his pupils in the btli c.; the Georgian, of the 6th
the Slavonian, commonly ascribed, but for unsatisfactory reasons, to the missionaries 3lethodilis and Cyrillus in the 9th c.: the Gothic, ascribed to Ulphilas, and executed in the 4th c., only some few fragments of which are extant: lastly, several Arabic transla tions of the 10th and 11th centuries.-2. The Chaldaic translations or Targums. These had an early origin; but, with the exception of those of Onkelos and Ben Uzziel, are unsatisfactory in a critical point of view. See Tratooxi.-3. The remarkably literal translation into the Aramaic dialect of the later Samaritans, of the ancient copy of the Pentateuch, possessed by the Samaritans (see SAMARITAN RicsTATRucii).-4. The church translation, known as the Pcshito (q.v.), received by all the. Syriac Christians. It was undoubtedly executed from the original Hebrew text, to which it closely adheres. Sev eral Arabic versions were founded on the Peshita.-5. The later Arabic versions, executed during the middle ages, partly from the Hebrew text, and partly from the Samaritan Pentateuch.-6. The Persian translation of the Pentateuch, made by a Jew named Jacob, not earlier than the 9th century.-7. The Latin Vulgate (q.v.), from which a con siderable number of fragmentary versions were made into that form of English commonly called Anglo-Saxon, the most noted translators being Adbelm, bishop of Sherborne, and Bede (8th c.); Alfred (9th c.); and 2Elfrie (10th c.).
Among ancient versions of the New Testament we may notice three in Syriac: the first is the Pcshito, with a twofold secondary translation of the four gospels into Arabic and Persian. It does not, however, contain 2d Peter, 2d and 3d John, Jude. or the Apocalypse, which at a later period were classed among the antilegomena, or disputed books. The second, or PhilArenian, prepared in 508 muter the direction of Philoxenius, bishop of Hierapolis. It no longer exists, but a counterpart of it does, in the translation made in the following century (616 A.D.) by Thomas of Harkel or Heraclea, the successor of Philoxenius. The best MS. of this version is one which belonged to Ridley, and is now in the archives of the New college, Oxford. It includes all the books of the New Testament excepting the Apocalypse. The style is slavishly literal. It was edited by White, Oxford, 1778. The third, or Jerusalem-Syriac version, preserved in a Vatican MS., and, according to the subscription annexed to it, executed at Antioch in 1031. With the above Syriac version we may class the Ethiopic translation; the Egyptian threefold version, made probably in the latter part of the 3d c., and of considerable critical value; the Armenian, Georgian, Persian, and Coptic-Arabic. Besides these may be mentioned the old Italic; the Vulgate by Jerome; the Gothic translation by Ulphilas (about the middle of the 4th c.), of which the most famous MS. is preserved in the lib rary of Upset, in Sweden (this has only the four gospels, and not even these in perfect condition); the various Anglo-Saxon versions already mentioned in connection with versions of the Old Testament; and the Slavonic.