50 OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE GENUINESS OF

centuries before Muhammad's time, and of these I shall soon speak. Besides this, we have the Samaritan Pentateuch in Hebrew, but in very ancient characters. This was preserved by the Samaritans, enemies of the Jews, from the time of the Babylonian Captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. The modern Samaritans still keep it safe, and have even an ancient translation 1 of it into a later form of their own spoken language, that is to say, into the language they used to speak hundreds of years ago, before they learned to speak Arabic.

20. M. Have you any other proof that the Bible has not been corrupted since Muhammad's time?

C. Our second proof is afforded by the existence of versions of the Bible which were made ages before Muhammad's birth. These languages have long ceased to be spoken, but we have the translations of the Bible into them, and our learned men can read them all. The principal of these ancient versions are:—

(1) The Septuagint (Greek), which I have already mentioned.

(2) Three versions of the New Testament and one of the Old into Syriac. Of these, two are of especial value. The first of these is called the Curetonian, from the name of the discoverer of the ancient MS. which contains it. This version was made at latest in the second century after Christ:

1 The Samaritan Targum.
THE BIBLE AS IT NOW EXISTS 51

the MS. 1 was written in the fifth century. The second is the Peshitta, made at latest in the third century: the oldest MS. of it which we have was written in the fifth century. Even the third, or Philoxenian version, was made long before Muhammad's time, in 508 A.D.

(3) Three Coptic versions: the Buhairic 2, made in the second or third century; the Sahidic 3, and the Bashmuric or Middle Egyptian, both probably of the same date. The oldest Coptic MSS. belong to the fourth or fifth century. These three Coptic versions are in the three chief dialects of ancient Egypt.

(4) Two Latin versions; one the Old Latin, made in the second century. We have MSS. of its remains which date from the fourth and fifth centuries. The other is the Vulgate, a more correct translation made by Jerome A.D. 383-5. He translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew, whereas the Old Latin was translated from the Greek version. The oldest MS. of the Vulgate was written before A.D. 546 4.

(5) The Ancient Armenian, made by Mesrob and
1 At least 10 Syriac MSS. of the N.T. date from the fifth and 30 from the sixth century (Nestle, p. 96). The Sinai-Syriac (or Lewis-Syriac) MS. is closely related to the Curetonian.
2 Nestle, p. 100. A revision of the Philoxenian, the Harklean or Heraclean, was made in 616-17. (ibid., p. 101) "More than 50 Bohairic MSS. are preserved in the libraries of Europe." (ibid., p. 134.)
3 More properly Sa'idi, from Sa'id or Upper Egypt.
4 This is the Codex Fuldensis, written between 540 and 546 A.D. (Nestle, p. 122.)