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paffages of the Old Testament; it being a matter of no manner of moment to them, but of great mischeif to them fo to do. For the Old Testament, literally understood, not any where serving the purposes of chriftians; and the Jews rejecting all the alle gorical reafonings and interpretations of christians; and likewife plainly feeing, that the whole Old Testament in any copy, or however translated, or however chang'd by them, was as capable of being allegorically apply'd to prove christianity, as their own vulgar Hebrew, or the copies of the Septuagint in the hands of christians; there was no fenfe nor reason in making the few changes charg'd upon them by fome fathers much lefs thofe vaft changes now charg'd upon them by Mr. W; or indeed in making any changes at all. And befides doing what ferv'd not their purpose, the Jews would therein have been certainly detected and expos'd to the just cenfures of christians; who, as appears, watch'd them, and charg'd them with fuch attempt, even without proper (b) materials to make good the charge. Mr. W. himself should allow the Jews to be under fome restraints, how much foever they were difpos'd to corrupt the bible; when he can fuppofe, that (c)

(b) Simon Hift. Crit. du V. T. p. 6.
Whifton's Esay, p.220.

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in the days of JOSEPHUS, the Jews durft not make any alteration in the facred books, and that (d) direct corruption was in certain cafes by no means practicable.

In fine, ORIGEN himself, one of the most zealous chriftians that ever was; and who, by the time wherein he liv'd, and by his great learning and ability, and by compiling his Hexapla, confifting of the Hebrew text in Hebrew and Greek characters, the verfions of AQUILA, SYMMACHUS, the Seventy, and THEODOTION, in fix columns ; was the most capable of all men to know, whether the Jews had corrupted the Old Teftament in refpect to the citations made from thence in behalf of chriftianity; but yet he never charg'd the Jews, as far as appears, with any fuch corruptions, either in the numerous notes, which he made on his Hexapla, or in any of his other works; which if he had found out, he would not have fail'd to have difcover'd. And this negative argument is the ftronger, inafmuch as ORIGEN has treated of the Jewish corruptions of the bible in a (e) letter to AFRICA Nus; wherein he only charges the Jews M with

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(d) Whifton, Ib. p. 238.

(e) Origenis Epift. ad Africanum. Apud Whifton's Ef Jay, P. 133. It is also printed at the end of WESTEIN's Edition of ORIGEN's Dialogie against the Marcionites

1.

with corrupting fuch places of their holy books as feem'd to derogate from the honour of their Rulers in the eyes of the world. Whereby he fhould feem to fuppose them free from all charge of corruption in refpe&t to all paffages, wherein he, as a christian, was too much concern'd to be filent, at a time when he was treating of their corruption of their holy books in other refpects, and that of corruptions_fuppos'd by him (f) to be made by the Jews, fince the days of the apoftles. Nay, we are inform'd by two (g) learned authors, that ORIGEN has fomewhere in his works particularly vindicated the Jews in this

matter.

VI.

That the Septuagint verfion was not, in the days of Jesus and the apostles, agreeable to the Hebrew text.

MR

R. WHISTON (b) afferts, that the Septuagint verfion was in the days of CHRIST and his apoftles agreeable to the genuine Hebrew text of that age.

But

Apud Whiffon, Ib. p. 139, 140.

(2) Simon Hift. Crit. du V. Teft. p. 6. See alfo Glaffii Philologia Sacra, p. 11.

(b) Whifton's Essay, P. 317.

But for proof of this affertion he produces nothing but mere fuppofitions, all chimerical or improbable, ridiculous commendations of partial and ignorant Jews, and forg'd tales.

He argues fuch agreement (i) to be a natural confequence, from the common state of books tranflated out of one language into another, and efpecially in the cafe of Jacred books, own'd for fuch both by tranflators and copyers. Whereas it is as probable, that books fhould be ill as well tranflated; and it is more probable, that books deem'd facred fhould be ill than well tranflated; for the directors in fuch tranflations, tho' real believers of the facredness of the books, are very capable of finifter views, and being govern'd by them, as having ufually departed in many respects from the original fenfe of their facred books, and having divers illgrounded things receiv'd among them to fupport and maintain; to fay nothing of their ignorance. And accordingly, if we may govern'd in this cafe by feeming fact, the Septuagint seems the work both of ignorant and unfaithful tranflators, as will particularly appear in the fequel of this article.

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(t) IB. p: 4; 9;

He argues that agreement from the Septuagint's reception (k) among Jews and Chriftians, as a faithful verfion; infomuch, that it was made ufe of in their publick worship, where it would be impoffible to introduce a verfion, unless it were known to be a juft and accurate verfion; and he argues, from its reception among the former as an (1) infpir'd verfion. In which laft he might also have join'd the (m) chriftians, who for many ages after the rife of christianity, receiv'd the Septuagint, as an infpir'd verfion; but that fuch junction would have fpoil'd his argument: for Mr. W. dates the corruption of the Septuagint in the hands of chriftians long before the chri ftians quitted their original notion and conftant tradition of the divine infpiration of the Septuagint verfion; and confequently must have fuppos'd them to have look'd on what he deems, a greatly corrupted book, as divinely inspir'd. But nothing feems more cafy, than to get ill verfions of books to be receiv'd as faithful or divine, and to be read as fuch in places of publick worship, where

(k) Ib. p. 5.

(1)-Ib. p. 9.

(m) Simon Hift. Crit. du V. T. 1. 1. c. 18, & 19.

1.2. c. 2.

Fenardentii Annot. in Irenæum, p. 137. Edit. Maffuet.

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