AGE OF THE EARTH.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLI, Issue 2209, 22 August 1910, Page 7

AGE OF THE EARTH.

FIXED BY NEWLY-DISCOVERED ] BIBLE MANUSCRIPT. The most ancient Hebrew manuscript in the world has just been discovered by Dr. Moses Gaster. It is a copy of the Book of Joshua, in the Samaritan version, and it differs in so many points from the orthodox Jewish version that Biblical scholars all the world over are eagerly awaiting its publication. The age of this manuscript is asserted by Dr. Gaster to be at least 1,100 years ; he places its date as not later than 200 B.C. This is about 1,000 years earlier than the most ancient Hebrew manuscript hitherto known,, which is a version of the Old Testament, now in St.' Petersburg, dating from the eighth century after Christ. Scholars have felt sure that there must be older manuscripts than this famous one at St. Petersburg, but they have searched for them in vain. There is one at Nablus, the present headquarters of the Samaritan sect, which may possibly be even older than this new discovery, but the rabbis who have charge of it have never permitted any one to examine it and scholars give no credence to the statement in it that it was written by Abisha, the great-grand-son of Moses. This manuscript is written in letters of gold upon sheepskin and is rolled upon silver bars, with round knobs at their ends. Its extreme antiquity is doubted by those to whom a glimpse of it has been permitted, and until \ its custodians allow some one to examine it its actual age cannot be determined.

Dr. Gaster is one of the greatest Oriental scholars in the world. He has been for several years on friendly terms with the Samaritan rabbis of Nablus, who allowed him to examine the manuscripts in their library. *He has bought from the High Priest a chronicle of the Samaritans from the entry of the Children of Israel into Palestine under Joshua down to the present day. He also bought from a verger of the temple another manuscript, which he supposed to be similar to that which he had obtained from the High Priest, but closer examination proved it to be of extreme antiquity and an unquestionable copy of the Hebrew ori'ginal. Among the most important features of this manuscript is a specific date —something that is not to be found in the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament. The date is that of the death of Moses, which is given as 2,794 after the creation of the world. The date of Moses's death has been fixed with approximate accuracy, through Egyptian chronology, as 1316 B.C. This would make the date of creation 4,110 years before Christ, or 6,018 years ago. This differs by 350 years from the Jewish reckoning for according to the Hebrew calendar we are living in the 5,668 th year since the creation. Hebrew scholars are anxious to see the entire MSS., because they desire to begin calculations to trace the error—if error it be —in their reckoning, and find out how they come to be 350 years behind time.

The Samaritans, a miserable remnant of whom are still living at Nablus, a village at the foot of their holy Mount Gerizim, are all that remain to-day of the ten tribes of Israel. The Assyrians captured Samaria, capital of the Kingdom of Israel, in 722 8.C., and bore almost all the people away captive. A few of the poorer ones were left behind at Samaria. The King of Assyria sent men from Babylon and other cities to settle among them and allowed one of the priests who had been carried captive to return and teach the new comers the religion of the true God. Howbeit, they made gods of their own which they worshipped along with the God of Israel. The rest of the Israelites never returned from the captivity and are to-day spoken of as "The Lost Ten Tribes," DID JOSHUA COMMAND THE SUN | TO STAND STILL? When the people of Judah returned from the captivity in Persia, under Zerubbabel and Ezra, the Samaritans wanted to join them in rebuilding the temple, but Ezra would not consent to the inter-marriage of Jews with heathen,, which the Samaritans had long been practising, so they quarrelled. Some of the Jewish priests who had taken heathen wives refused to give them up ; Ezra refused to recognise the marriages ; so the offending priests priests fled to Samaria. The resulting quarrel became so bitter that the Samaritans tried in every way to prevent the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, and finally, in 330 B.C. a renegade Jewish priest, named Manasseh, built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim. Henceforth the Samaritan was to the Jew as bad as or worse than, a Gentile or a heathen.

Manasseh managed to take to Samaria a copy of the Pentateuch, and until Dr. Gaster discovered this version of the Book of Joshua, it had always been supposed that the five books attributed to Moses were the only part of the Old Testament which the Samaritans possessed. But the Book of Joshua is really a continuation of the Pentateuch, and scholars declare that it should be considered an integral part of it. Dr. Gaster notes with special, interest that the Samaritan version of the Book of Joshua entirely omits Joshua's command : "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." It also differs in many other respects from the Hebrew versions. "Popular Science Siftings."