ments of the Lord (vers. 84, 86, 87, 110, 115, 116, 134, etc.). Therefore he prays God to become His surety, not simply that it will be well with him, which is not his first concern, but that he will keep the law. If God undertakes to pledge Himself that His servant shall not fall, he will then be secure, the Lord having become his righteousness. But can the corruption of the original reading be accounted for? It is a very ancient one, for the LXX. read as our Hebrew Bibles do (ἔκδεξαι τὸν δοῦλόν σου εἰς ἀγαθόν). Assuming then that the original reading was л, and remembering that in the older forms of the Hebrew alphabet and were very similar, and and almost identical in form, we can easily see how (1) the might be dropped before the which follows, and the more easily as occurs twenty-five times in the psalm, and would therefore be written somewhat hastily and mechanically; and (2) the resultant n be mistaken for an?, the sound of which would naturally suggest ba, the present reading, just as jood would be at once changed to good if we met it in writing or print. The final once dropped, the rest follows almost inevitably. Nothing is commoner than the dropping out of a letter when followed by the same letter; and that and s (the letter which follows) were so much alike as to be readily mistaken for one another may be inferred from such passages as Psalm cxxx. 4, where the received text has n; but there is a well-supported variant dropped before a following may be found in where the text has in, but four MSS. read An instance of 1 Samuel i. 28, in. ; or, more exactly like our own case, in Isaiah lx. 9 the text has, but there is a variant, where has fallen out before, not the same, but a similar letter. The reading having thus become uns, which would make no sense, the scribe would almost automatically read the as, the ancient forms being almost identical, giving an, which he would judge to be meant for 1, and write accordingly, a being an exceedingly familiar word. Such an explanation being possible, it seems easier to believe that it is correct in this case, than to think that the writer of the psalm spoilt its perfection as an artificial composition by intentionally breaking his rule in this one verse. EDWARD H. SUGDEN. INDEX. Rev. Professor T. G. Bonney, Sc.D., F.R.S. The PAGE 104 Rev. Professor T. K. Cheyne, D.D. Brevia: Mr. G. A. Smith's Exposition of Isaiah xl.-lxxvi. 150 The late Professor Franz Delitzsch. The Descent of Christ into Hades. A Correspondence Rev. Professor Marcus Dods, D.D. 241, 361 Rev. G. H. Gwilliam, B.D. Is the Apostolic Liturgy quoted by St. Paul? Professor von Hofmann. The Descent of Christ into Hades. A Correspondence Rev. Professor James Iverach, D.D. The Ministry of Light Rev. Professor J. T. Marshall, M.A. The Aramaic Gospel: Introductory. 63 161 427 401 241, 361 92 1 The New Criterion. 109 Right Rev. J. J. Stewart Perowne, D.D., Bishop of Worcester. Genesis and Science. Notes on Genesis Rev. E. Petavel, D.D. The House of Gethsemane Rev. Professor C. Pritchard, D.D., F.R.S. Genesis and Science. 391 42 125 220 48, 52 Professor W. M. Ramsay, M.A. Glycerius the Deacon. The Story of a Heresy Rev. Professor W. Sanday, D.D. On the Title, "Son of Man" PAGE 321 A Survey of the Synoptic Question: I. Recent Literature II. and III. Points Proved or Probable. IV. and V. New Hypotheses Professor Ramsay on the Geography of Asia Minor Sir G. G. Stokes, M.P., F.R.S. Genesis and Science Rev. E. H. Sugden, B.A. Brevia Critical Note on Psalm cxix. 122. INDEX TO TEXTS. 18 81 179, 302 345, 411 232 42, 50 471 |