BIB 



Two copies are preferved at Cambridge, one in the univer- 

 fity library, and another in the library of St. John's college. 

 The text is taken fronn the Polyglotts ; but the editor Solo- 

 man Negri, by order of the focitty, altered it in thofe paf- 

 fages which vary from the reading of our prefent Greek text. 

 The editor, fays Michaelis, has taken the liberty of inferting 

 I John V. 7. without cautioning the reader that it was not 

 taken from any MS. 



An Arabic Bible is faid to have been printed at Bukareft, 

 in 1700, and the gofpels at Aleppo, in 1706. Of thefe, as 

 well as of the complete editions of the Arabic verfioii, a de- 

 fcription is given in Le Long's Bibl. Sacr. ed Mafch. P. ii. 

 vol. i. p. no — 137. For an account of the MSS. of the 

 Arabic veriion of the N. T. preferved in the different libra- 

 ries of Europe, fee Boerner's edition of Le Long's Bibl. 

 Sacr. P. i. p. 234 — 240. or vol. I. p. 120 — 122. Paris ed. 

 1723 ; Uri's Catalogue, N^ 22 — 34 of the Arabic MSS. ; 

 and Note 1 1 to ^ 3. cb. vii. in Marfh's edition of Michaelis's 

 Introduftion to the N. T. In the univerlitv librarv are two 

 Arabic manufcripts of the gofpels, which formerly belonged 

 to Cyrillus Lucaris. 



Bibles, Copl'ic. There are feveral manufcript copies of 

 the Coptic Bible in fome of the great libraries, cfpccially in 

 the library of Paris. The Coptic verfion of the New Tef- 

 tameut mud be regarded as a principal verfion of confide- 

 rable antiquity, becaufe it has given birth to feveral otlitrs 

 in the Arabic language ; for fince Egypt was invaded by 

 the Saracens, who extirpated the old language, the Egyp- 

 tians have generally annexed to the Coptic N. T. an Arabic 

 trandation, which has alrr.oll fuperfeded the original. Nie- 

 bulir, in his Defcription of Arabia (p. 86.'', relates, that 

 though the gofpels are ftill read in the Coptic verfion in the 

 public fervice, it is not underftood even by the priefts ; and 

 that immediately after the leffons have been read in Coptic, 

 the fame are read in Arabic, which is the prefent language 

 both of the Upper and the Lower Egypt. Thomas Mar- 

 fhall had once intended to print the Coptic verfion, and had 

 even prepared the four gofpels for the prefs, but he died be- 

 fore they were printed. Upon which the publication was 

 referved for Dr. D. Wilkiiis, a native of Memel in Pruffia, 

 who, after having ftudied the Coptic, made a journey to 

 Amfterdam with this view ; but induced by feveral advanta- 

 geous circumllances, he removed to Oxford, where his Cop- 

 tic New Tellament was printed in 1716, at the expence of 

 the imiverfity. Befides. a long preface, he added a Latin 

 tranflation of the Coptic text, which Jablonfl<i and La 

 Croze have criticifed with fome feverity. It is faid, how- 

 ever, that Wiikins took great pains to prefent the world 

 with a faithful copy, and that his endeavours were not un- 

 fuccefsful. He alfo printed the Pentateuch, with a Latin 

 tranflation, in 1731. Since his time a great variety of MSS. 

 have been collated ; and if Woide had undertaken the tafk, 

 a more complete edition of the Coptic verfion might have 

 been expefted. The title of Wilkias's edition is " Novum 

 Tellamentum jEgyptiuin vulgo Copticum, ex MSS. Bod- 

 leianis defcriplit, cum Vaticanious et Parifienfibus contulit, 

 et in Latinum fermonem convertit, David Wiikins, Ecele- 

 fix Anglicanx Prefoyter," Oxon 1 7 16, 410. Maj. Mont- 

 faucon, in his Paljeographia Grsca (1. iv. c. 7. p. 31.), fays, 

 that the Coptic MSS. which remain, are not very ancient, 

 and that he has not feen any older than 500 years. Wiikins, 

 in his preface, fupports the antiquity of the Coptic verfion by 

 feveral arguments, the chief of which is drawn from Anto- 

 rius, who began to lead an afcetic life about the year 271, and 

 who, though an Egyptian, and ignorant of Greek, read the 

 New Tellament. To the fame purpofe Woidc (p. 97. of his 

 Ilflay, mentioned below ) maintains, that the Egyptian verfion 

 ufed by Antonius in the third century, was written in Coptic, 



B I B 



becaufe he aiSually read an Egyptian verfion of the Bible, and 

 as he underftood only the dialeft of his own country, he con- 

 cludes that the Coptic verfion exilled before the middle of the 

 third century. Ludovicus Pickius, or Louis Picqtics, w!;o 

 was acquainted with the Copt'c language, refers this verfion 

 to the fifth century. See Mill's Prolegomena, § 1509. 



The readings of the Coptic have a linking affinity with 

 thofe of the Latin verfion, and fometimts v.ith thofe of the 

 Codex Cantabrigienfis. The ftory of the adultcrtfa is fou:;d 

 in fome copies, and omitted in others ; but i Juiiii v. 7. is 

 omitted in all. Wetftcin has alfo obferved, that the Coptic 

 New Tellament has a very gieat fimilarity to the quotations 

 of Origen, Eufebius, Cyril, and to the Alexandrine ma- 

 nufcripts. The bell accounts of tlie Coptic verfion are given 

 in Simon's Hilloire Critique des Verfions du Nouveau Tella- 

 ment, ed. 16. ; in the Preface to Wilkins's edition of the 

 Coptic New Tcftament ; in Le Long's Bibl. Sacr. ed. 

 Mafch. P. ii. vol. i. § 10. ; and particularly by the learned 

 Woide, in a German eflay printed in 1778, in vol. iii. of the 

 K elifthe Beytrage, p. l — 100. See Coptic. 



BiBLK s, Sakidic. The Sahidic verfion of the Old and 

 New Tellament, or that of Upper Egypt, exifled only till 

 of late in MS. ; but in 1778, the learned Woide pubhfhed 

 prnpofals for an edition of feveral fragments of this verfion, 

 comprehending about a third part of the New Tellament, 

 under the following title, " Fragmenta Novi Teilam.enti 

 juxta interpretationem dialcdli fuperioris iEgypti, quae The- 

 baidica feu Sahidica appellatur, MSS.Oxonienfibus defcripta 

 qn^ Latine reddet, et fimul etiam de antiquitate et variis 

 leftionibus hujus interpretationis differet, C. G. Woide." 

 The learned editor lived to continue the work fo far as to 

 print the fragments of St. Luke's gofpel, and to prepare for 

 the prefs the manufcript of the fragments of St. John's gof- 

 pel , but he died in May J780. After his deceafe, the de- 

 legates of the Clarendon prefs entrulted the completion of 

 the work to Dr. Ford ; and under his care it made its ap- 

 pearance, entitled, " Fragmenta Novi Teftamenti, e verfione 

 Egyptiacp. Dialefti Thebaidicae, SahidicK, feu fuperioris 

 Egypti," Oxon. large folio. In an elaborate differtatioa 

 prefixed to this work. Dr. Woide treats of the Coptic verfion 

 of the Old Tellament ; of the Sahidic verfion of the Old 

 Tcftament ; and of the original texts from which thofe ver- 

 fions were made. In his opinion both the verfions were 

 made from the Greek ; they cxprcfs the phrafes of the 

 verfion of the LXX. ; and moft of the addifons, omiflions, 

 and tranfpofitions, which diilinguilh the LXX. from the 

 Hebrew, are difcoverable in both the Coptic and the Sa- 

 hidic verfion. In a fecond fettion the author treats of the 

 Coptic verfion of the New Tcftament, and Wilkins's edition 

 of it ; of the Sahidic verfion of the New Teftament ; and of 

 the antiquity of the verfions of the Old and New Teftament in 

 both dialetls. And in a third feclion. Dr. Woide gives an ac- 

 count of the verfions, in both dialedls, of the apocryphal 

 books of the Old and New Teftament. From his obierva- 

 tions and account, we mav conclude, that the Coptic and 

 ^ahidlc are dillincl and independent verfions ; that the Cop- 

 tic inclines more to the Alexandrian or Weftern edition, than 

 the Sahidic ; that no remarkable coincidence is to be found 

 between the Coptic or Sahidic verfion and the Vulgate ; and . 

 that we have no reafon to fulpecl the former to have been al- 

 tered or made to conform to the latter; and that the age of 

 the Sahidic verfion is not yet afcertnined. Dr. Woide fup- 

 pofes, that it was made in the fecond century ; and in proof 

 of this opinion, he alleges three arguments. The firft argu- 

 ment, deduced from the ufe made of an Egyptian verfion by 

 St. Anthony, who is faid by St. Athanafius to have been 

 ignorant of the Greek language, and yet to have conftantly , 

 read the Scripture, has been mentioned under the preceding 



article. 



