For the Sabbath.

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14669, 4 June 1921, Page 10 (Supplement)

For the Sabbath.

THE BIBLE AS A BOOK. The Chief Rabbi, Very Rev. Dr. J. 11. Hertz, who bus been on a tour of the Dominion, has delivered a very instructive lecture on “The Bible as a Book." The following report is taken from the Christchurch Press: — Apart from the historical, theological, homilectio study of the Bible, the bibliographic study of the Bible would wellirepay one for the time spent. It lias been said that really to understand a poet it was necessary to go to the poet’s land and get to know something of it. £o it was with the Bible. One would understand it much more clearly if one got lo learn something of its land, its language, its people. It became necessary to know of the geography of the country, which was unique. Palestine was not larger than Wales. Its length was about 130 miles, its width from 30 to 00 miles. It was in the middle of throe continents, and had always been a centre in the Old World. It was a mountainous country, with a range of mountains in the north which / rose to 9000 feet, descending in 130 miles to 1300 feet below the level of the sea. This was the only portion of the world at such a lo\v level and it was this which had caused the Jordan River. One of the results of such a country was an infinite variety of climate. There were great barren wildernesses in Palestine, and at the same time three thousand varieties of flowers. Palestine was a land that required constant labour; yet It was literally a land flowing with milk and honey. The road that joined the civilisation of the Euphrates with that of the Nile passed through Palestine. Communications from the land of the liittitcs to that of the Sabaeans was also established through Palestine. Its central position made it a place of great importance, a fact which was shown by the number of armies that had passed through the country from the olden limes lo the campaigns carried out by Allenby. Palestine had, at different times, been a part of many empires. It was taken over • V the Turks in 1517, in 1917 General Allenby, who had among the troops under his command a number of New Zealand Mounted Rifles, seized it and added R to the British Empire. The project to recreate Palestine as the home of the Jews was so strongly supported, and had takeri so Arm a hold on the imagination of strong men, that it seemed that it could not but succeed. The people of the country were highlanders of the best type, men of endurance and strongly-developed individuallly. They were sober and practical, and while they put their trust in God, they believed at the same time in keeping their powder dry. <)n various occasion the Semite had changed the fate of nations. The Jews bad been described by Mohammed as “the People of ihe Book,” they had been called a nation of nations by General Smuts. The Language. The Hebrew tongue, said Dr. Hertz, had no written vowels, no compound words, no tenses, no metre, no rhyme, and none of the artificial “trappings" common to other languages. The language was direct, sound, and simple. It was difficult to lie in Hebrew. The language was too simple, direct, and honest for that, and also it did not lend itself to circumnavigation of the truth as was the case with other languages. Such was the language employed in writing the Book of Psalms. The word “Bible,” Dr. Hertz proceeded, was from mediaeval Latin, and simply meant book —“The Book.” It was the book of all ages, and of all countries. “I do not want to go to pious parsons for their opinion of the Bible," said the lecturer, amidst laughter. He would quote from sceptics and scoffers, some of whom lihd referred to the Bible as the book of books, and Hie Epic of thq_Wofld. The influence of a great author was felt in successive generations. The Bible, however, had a greater effect — it created literature. Time after time it had been the flfst hook in a language. English literature began with the Bible*; so also did German, Hungarian and other literatures. No other hook in existence could compare with the Bible, which was marvellous, beautiful, divine. In some instances it had become necessary to make an alphabet so that the Bible might be translated into the language desired. The Bible was unique in that it had been translated into so many different languages. Shakespeare had been translated into forty or so languages. Tolstoy into fifty, whereas the Bible had been written into 425 languages. In the past century alone no less than 200 millions of copies of the English version had been distributed. The 39 books of the Old Testament, said the lecturer, were at the beginning cnly 24, a division Which the Jews had retained. The fourteen books of the Apocrypha, joined with the Bible by the Greeks, but not regarded as belonging to it Rv the Jews,- were in some versions i**J>inecl with those 39 books. The early Christians got their Bible from the Greek version. With regard to the New Testament the lecturer said that he did not intend to touch on this for reasons that were obvious. The members of the Jewish faith did not expect him 10, and no doubt there were many gentlemen present who were belter able to do so than a poor rabbi could expect to do. Teachings and Authenticity. The waitings of the scriptures, said Dr. Hertz, were uniformly strong in Hioir denunciation of Hie world’s cardinal sin, which was man’s inhumanity to man. The teachings of the Bible wore strongly directed against this sin, and taught that Hie people who practised it would perish. No one who read the Bible could fail to sec how it differed from other books. It was Hie vreat book of dcnlocracy. It had been staled by Huxley that it had been the greatest instigator of revolt against oppression. Two thousand years ago Isaiah had denounced war, and General Smuts had spoken of him as the father of the League of Nations. The lecturer dealt with Hie history of Hie addition of books to the Bible from the time it consisted of the Dive Books of Moses until it became to be known as Hie Holy Bible. The original manuscript of Hie Biblical text had not been found, and the earliest knoyvn manuscript of Isaiah was written 1000 years after Isaiah had lived. It was not until 200 years after the Christian ora that Hie third addition was made to the Bible, and its size made it what it is to-day. How did we know, then, that the text of Hie Bible was the same to-day as it was originally. The various fragments of Hie Bible that had been found were at least 1000 years later than Hie original. ' The Jewish people never entrusted their sacred treasures to anything material, such as stone, bronze or paper. They entrusted them lo tribes, who eommil ted them all to memory. These i men wrote the text, but no one was allowed to alter anything lie considered was wrong. Instead, lie made mar i ginal miles. The people of Hie- Easl i had marvellous memories. Personally. I Hie lecturer knew of men who knew 1 ih,. Rooks of Moses word for word, and I oven knew the punctuation of them. ! Tim text must he regarded as correct i because a false text could never have { influenced humanity as the sacred text of Hie Scripture had done.