prophetical of the Messiah, of whom David, the inspired writer of the greater portion of them, was an eminent type, all must allow. But on account of their poetical form, and their use in worship, as also that some of them appeared to have been written so late as the Babylonish captivity, the Jews inserted the whole book in the Hagiographa. The last reason has been thought by some sufficient to account for Daniel being included in the same division. The Law of Moses, then, the Prophets, and the Psalms, which our Lord affirms (Luke xxiv. 44) treat especially of Himself, and which he thus stamps, as it were, with his own divine signet, will include all those books, and those only, which Swedenborg enumerates, as truly constituting the Word of the Old Testament.—See also, Noble's Plenary Inspiration, Appendix ii.; “An attempt to discriminate between the Books of Plenary Inspiration, contained in the Bible, and those written by the Inspiration generally assigned to the whole." plenarily inspired Books, according to Swedenborg, reckoning the Pentateuch one book; the two Books of Samuel, and the two Books of the Kings, as only two, agreeably to ancient usage; and the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations as one book, as Josephus did; they make, in all, twenty-two,-precisely the number required. XI. THE FOUR DIFFERENT STYLES IN WHICH THE WORD OF GOD IS "There are four different styles in which the Word of God is written. The first was in use in the most ancient [or Adamic] church; whose method of expressing themselves was such, that when they mentioned earthly and worldly things, they thought of the spiritual and celestial things which they represented; so that they not only expressed themselves by representatives, but also, reduced their thoughts into a kind of series of historical particulars, in order to give them more light, and in this they found the great The prophets are divided into anterior and posterior. The anterior proph-est delight. This style is meant when ets comprising the books of Joshua, Hannah prophesied, saying, 'Speak ye Judges, the two books of Samuel, and what is high; let what is ancient come the two books of Kings, and were so forth from your mouth' (1 Sam. ii. 3). called because they wrote by inspiration Such representatives are called by David concerning those things which had hap-‘Dark sayings of old' (Ps. lxxviii. 2– pened anterior to their time. The pos- 4). From the posterity of the most terior prophets, comprising the four greater, and twelve lesser prophets, were so called, because they wrote by inspiration concerning those things which were to happen posterior to their time. ancient church, Moses received what he wrote concerning the creation, the Garden of Eden, etc., till the time of Abram [Gen. xi. 27]. The second style is the historical, occurring in the books of Moses from the time of Abram, and The various arrangements of the afterwards in Joshua, Judges, Samuel, canon by the Jews were most probably and the Kings, in which the historical made under the fanciful notion, that facts actually occurred as they are rethe higher degree of inspiration in- lated in the letter, although all and cluded as many books of the Old Testa- each of them contains things altogether ment as there are letters in the Hebrew different in the internal sense. The alphabet,-like the alphabetical divi-third style is prophetical, which took sions of Ps. cxix. and others. It is a its rise from that which was esteemed somewhat singular coincidence that the | as highly in the most ancient church; "That the ancients had a Word, is evident from the writings of Moses, who mentions it, and also gives quotations from it, Numb. xxi. 14, 15, 27–30; and that the historical parts of that Word were called the Wars of Jehovah, and the prophetical parts, Enunciations. From the historical parts of that Word, Moses has given this quotation, 'Where this style, however, is not connected, which was the Word published by the and in appearance historical, like that prophets amongst the children of Isof the most ancient church, but is broken rael. and interrupted, being scarcely ever intelligible except in the internal sense. In this are contained the greatest arcana, succeeding each other in a beautiful and orderly connection, relating to the internal and external man, to the various states of the church, to heaven itself, and in their inmost sense to the Lord. The fourth style is that of the Psalms of David, which is intermediate | fore it is said in the book of the Wars between the prophetic style, and that of Jehovah, I marched into Suph, and of common speech; here, under the the rivers of Arnon, and the channel person of David, as a King, the Lord of the rivers; that turned aside where is treated of in the internal sense."- Ar dwelleth, and stopped at the border A. C. 66. of Moab,' Numb. xxi. 14, 15: by the wars of Jehovah mentioned in that Word, as in ours, the Lord's combats with the hells are meant and described, and his victories over them, when he should come into the world: the same combats are also meant and described in many passages in the historical part of our Word, as in the wars of Joshua with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and in the wars of the judges, and of the kings of Israel. From the prophetical parts of that Word, Moses has given this quotation: 'Wherefore say the Enunciators, Come into Heshbon; the city of Sihon shall be built and strengthened; for there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the possessors of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh! He hath sent his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites; we have shot them with darts. Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba,' Numb. xxi. 27-30: the translators render it, They that speak in proverbs, but they are more properly called Enunciators, and their composi XII. THE ANCIENT WORD. "That previous to the Word which was given by Moses and the prophets to the people of Israel, men were acquainted with sacrificial worship, and prophesied from the mouth of Jehovah, may appear from what is recorded in the books of Moses: Ex. xxxiv. 13; Deut. vii. 5; chap. xii. 3; Numb. xxv. 1, 2, 3; chap. xxii. 40; chap. xxiii. 1, 2, 14, 29, 30; Numb. xxiv. 17; chap. xxii. 13, 18; chap. xxiii. 3, 5, 8, 16, 26; chap. xxiv. 1, 13; Deut. xxxii. 7, 8; chap. xiv. 14-20; Psalm cx. 4. The Word among the ancients was written by mere correspondences. It was used by the natives of the land of Canaan, and its confines, as of Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Chaldea, Assyria, Egypt, Zidon, Tyre, and Nineveh; the inhabitants of all which kingdoms were intiated into representative worship, and consequently were skilled in the science of correspondences. When in process of time that Word began to be generally falsified, it was removed by the divine Providence of the Lord, and at last was lost, and another Word, written by correspondences less remote, was given, tions, Prophetical Enunciations, as may these two sources, religious knowledge appear from the signification of the word was propagated through all parts of Moshalim in the Hebrew tongue, which India, with its islands; through Egypt not only means proverbs, but also pro- and Ethiopia into the kingdoms of Afphetical Enunciations; as in Numb. rica; from the maritime parts of Asia xxiii. 7, 18; chap. xxiv. 3, 15: it is into Greece; and from thence into Italy. there said that Balaam uttered his Enun- But as the Word could not be written ciation, which was also a prophecy con- otherwise than by representatives, which cerning the Lord; his Enunciation is are such earthly existences as correcalled Moshal, in the singular number: spond with heavenly ones, and are conit may be further observed, that the pas- sequently significative of them, theresages thence quoted by Moses are not fore the religious notions of the gentiles proverbs, but prophecies. That that were changed into idolatry, and in Word, like ours, was divinely inspired, Greece were turned into fables: and the is plain from a passage in Jeremiah, divine properties and attributes were where nearly the same expressions oc- considered as so many separate gods, cur: 'A fire shall come forth out of governed by one supreme Deity, whom Heshbon, and a flame from the midst they called Jove, possibly from Jehoof Sihon, and shall devour the corner vah. That they had a knowledge of of Moab, and the crown of the head of Paradise, of the flood, of the sacred fire, the sons of Shaon. Woe be unto thee, of the four ages, beginning with that O Moab! the people of Chemosh perish- of gold, and ending with that of iron, eth; for thy sons are taken away cap- by which in the Word are signified the tives, and thy daughters captives,' chap. four states of the church, as in Daniel, xlviii. 45, 46. Beside these, mention is chap. ii. 31-35, is well known. That also made of a prophetical book, called, the Mahometan religion, which sucThe Book of Jasher, or, the book of the ceeded and destroyed the former religUpright, by David and by Joshua; by ious persuasions of many nations, was David in the following passage: 'David taken from the Word of both Testalamented over Saul, and over Jonathan; ments, is also well known.”—S. S., n. also he bade them teach the children of 177. T. C. R., n. 275. Judah the bow; behold it is written in the book of Jasher,' 2 Sam. i. 17, 18; and by Joshua in this passage; 'Joshua said, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon; is not this written in the book of Jasher,' or the Book of the Upright." Josh. x. 12, 13.-S. S., n. 101, 102, 103. T. C. R. 265. A. R. 21. "In the writings of Moses, chiefly in the beginning of Genesis, where occur documents of a much higher antiquity than Moses' own time.”—Dr. J. Hernigas' Notes to Dr. Seiler's Biblical Hermeneutics, trans. by Rev. Dr. W. Wright, p. 93. "That the book of Genesis was, in part, composed or compiled from previously existing documents, or from true traditionary accounts existing in the church at the time of its composition by Moses, is a point which is now very generally admitted among those who are conversant with Biblical criticism." This was also the opinion of Vitringa, Le Cane, Calmet, and Astruc. Seethe Introduction of Horne, Eichhorn, Jahn, and Berthollet; Dr. Pye Smith's 485. After those first ages of Christianity, there arose thick clouds of darkness, and overspread the whole Christian world, in consequence of the establishment of the Papal dominion. But after "That there was a Bible before our the Reformation, inasmuch as men beBible is indicated in the book before us gan to divide faith from charity, and to [Bunsen's Egypt's Place in Universal worship God under three persons, conHistory], rather than proved as it might sequently three Gods, whom they conbe."-Dr. R. Williams, Essays and Re-ceive to be one, therefore at that time views, 9th ed., p. 62. XIII. WHY WAS NOT THE INTER- heavenly truths were concealed from them; for if they had been discovered they would have been falsified, and would have been abused to the confirImation of faith alone, without being at all applied to charity and love: thus Swedenborg says, that "the spiritual also men would have closed heaven sense of the Word was not revealed against themselves."-S. S., n. 24. before, because if it had been, the church would have profaned it, and thereby have profaned the sanctity of the Word itself: and the case would have been according to what the Lord says in Matthew: 'If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness; if, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness.' vi. 23. By eye, in the spiritual sense of the Word, is meant the understanding."—D. P., n. 264. XIV. THE AUTHORIZED ENGLISH VERSION OF THE BIBLE. It must not be forgotten, what indeed might naturally be expected, and is now generally acknowledged among the learned, that in numerous instances the common English translation of the Holy Word, incorrectly or imperfectly conveys the meaning of the divine original. The translators were not And, again, on the same subject he plenarily inspired men. A literal and says, another ". reason why the science faithful translation of the Word is of correspondences, which is the key now a great desideratum in the New to the spiritual sense of the Word, was Church. For the want of it, the not [fully] disclosed to earlier ages, science of correspondences, when apwas, because the Christians of the prim- plied, frequently fails to educe a just, itive church were men of such great intelligible, and consecutive sense. It simplicity, that it was impossible to will afford some aid to the ordinary disclose it to them; for had it been dis- reader to know, 1st.-That in many closed, they would have found no use instances the marginal readings are in it, nor would they have understood more faithful renderings than the text it. [That the wise among them, how- (exmp. Isa. i. 18; v. 1). 2d.—That ever, have had some perception of its in all those passages where the term existence, is plain from the numerous LORD is printed in the Old Testament extracts we have made from their writ- in capital letters, the original is Jehoings. They moreover considered that vah (exmp. Isa. xliii. 10, 11, 12; it was well to withhold their mysteries Ezek. xxxiii. 11). And 3d.—That from men indiscriminately, and hence the words printed in italics have no their doctrine and duty of reserve.] corresponding expressions in the origi nal, and in many places ought to have been omitted (exmp. Psalm ii. 2; cxxxiii. 3). brew and Greek languages have been much cultivated and far better understood, since the year 1600."-Remarks, etc., 1787, p. 6. The Rev. J. Oxlee, in a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1845, asserts that "Many gross perversions, not to say mistranslations, of the sacred text, have been occasioned by dogmatical prejudices, and sectarian zeal."- Pp. 137, A writer in the Biblioth. Lit. avows that "the common English version has many considerable faults, and very much needs another review."-1723, p. 72. And Pilkington emphatically observes that "Many of the inconsistencies, improprieties, and obscurities, are occasioned by the translators misunderstanding the true import of the Hebrew words and phrases, showing the benefit and expediency of a more correct and intelligent translation of the Bible."-Remarks, 1759, p. 77. Dr. A. Clarke affirms in his Preface to the Bible, that in the Common Version there are 66 many thousand errors in the Italics, which make God to speak what he never did speak." Dr. Trapp writes as follows: "Our English translation of the Bible, though in the main a good one, is in some places intolerably faulty." | 138. Blackwall asserts, that "the former translation, though amended by the present in several places, is yet equal to it in very many, and superior in a considerable number:" and that "innumerable instances might be given of faulty translations of the divine original.”—See Classics (1731), pref. Dr. Waterland says, our present translation is undoubtedly capable of very great improvement.” – Script. Vindic., part iii., p. 64. J. Wesley writes, "I do not say that our common English version is incapable of being brought, in several places, nearer to | the original." Bishop Lowth calls it "a version of second-hand," and speaks of a new translation as a necessary work.”—Prelim. Dissert. to Isaiah, p. 69. Professor Dr. Symonds says, "Whoever exumines our version in present use, will find that it is ambiguous and incorrect, even in matters of the highest importance." -Observations on the Expediency of Revising the Present Version, 1789. 66 Professor Selwyn observes, that "the very fact of the Translators having often placed one interpretation in the text, and another in the margin, and their conscientious practice of distinguishing, by a different type, the words introduced by themselves, as required by a difference of idiom, sufficiently disclaims all assumption of infallibility, and inviter the endeavors of succeeding times to the perfecting of this noble work. . . The importance of this work of improvement is enhanced a hundredfold, by the circumstances of these latter times, by the wonderful extension of the English language over the world, and by the increasing efforts made to multiply trans ... Bishop Marsh says, "We cannot possibly pretend that our authorized version does not require amendment." Durell affirms, that "the version now in use in many places does not exhibit the sense of the text, and mistakes it, besides, in an in-lations of the Scriptures into the tongues finite number of instances."-Crit. on Job, 1772, pref. Dr. Blayney remarks, that "the common version is far from what it should be, and has mistaken the true sense of the Hebrew in not a few places."-Prelim. Disc. to Jeremiah, 1789. And Dr. Kennicott suggests, that "great improvements might now be made, because the He58 * of heathen nations and islands, for which our authorized version forms the general basis. . . . I will mention [among others] one good result to be hoped for, from the undertaking of an authorized revision. It is the quickening impulse that will be given to sacred studies, both in criticism and interpretation. Let us 2T |