THE SAMARITAN PENTATEUCH. 



185 



should never have dreamed of testing Geseniiis's eighth class : 

 so that my presence in this honoured company is entirely 

 owing to the intiuence of that great and good man, the most 

 accurate scholar, the most absolutely truthful man I have ever 

 known. You will, I am sure, allow me here to make this 

 acknowledgment of my debt to him. 



In spite of the grave delect of this unfounded charge, the 

 debt we owe to Gesenius for his proof of the fact of revision 

 is a great one, for he has made it possible for us to question the 

 revision itself, as to its nature and extent, as to why and when 

 it w^as made. Not only so, but we have a translation which 

 follows most faithfully the Samaritan Pentateuch as we have 

 it, and further, we have an invaluable asset in the Samaritan 

 dialect itself embodied in that translation, and the evidence 

 derived from this, all which combine to form a threefold cord 

 not easily broken. 



We have the fact of a great revision. When, why, and by 

 whom this revision was made form legitimate subjects of 

 inquiry. 



The Samaritan Pentateuch when duly examined should 

 answer these questions. For example, our Kevised Version of 

 the English Bible bears in itself indisputable marks of its date 

 and origin. Stamped upon it is the fact that it is the product 

 of an age of criticism. This has so affected the revision that 

 it has not been popularly accepted even in the age of its 

 production, if it can ever be so accepted. But whatever be 

 the main motive for revising any religious work, that motive 

 is bound to appear in the revision itself. Further, it is bound 

 approximately to be in the language of its day, making due 

 allowance for religious conservatism. 



Now Gesenius has proved beyond dispute that the Samaritan 

 Pentateuch was thoroughly revised grammatically. When we 

 examine the data we find that the Hebrew to which it is brought 

 is that of Hezekiah's time with the tincture of the Northern 

 Kingdom, which we know from the Elijah and Elisha narratives 

 existed in that kingdom. 



These facts of revision agree with the reception by the 

 Samaritan colonists of this copy of the Law when the priest 

 was sent from the exiles to Samaria to teach them " the manner 

 of the God of the land." They do not agree with any other 

 period, as we see when we reflect on the possibility of this 

 having been done at a later time. Not only would we have to 

 account for its being done at all at a later period, the Hebrew 

 of Hezekiah's time must also be explained. 



