1809.] 
in xlvi. 18, and 7f'in xliv. 22—in xviii 32, 
this should not be in Italic:* so likewise 
which in xxxiv. 1. The next are of a 
merely literal and inferior kind: as in 
Genesis xxiv. 66, one for done; xxv. 4, 
a fall point for a comma; xlvil. 15, 
Giveus for Give us; xlix. 29,a full point 
fora semicolon; and Excdus ii. 18, a 
full point for a note of interrogation, 
Dr. Geddes’s Translation must be tak- 
en up cautiously in alleging errors, as it 
is often so widely different, from our 
common Bible; but a few things of this 
sort,which appeared evident to me, I have 
noted, and there were some, of which | 
did not make any memorandum, Thus 
in Genesis ix. 28, and fifty seems omit- 
ted (see vil. 18, and ix. 29) Exodus ix. 
29, rain’ for hail}; xxii. 18, unleavened 
for feavened ; and xxxvi. 25, sixty for 
seventy-five ; (see ver. 28).{ 
Without achieving the task of verify- 
ing every reference in the inimense mass. 
of Parallel Texts given in Bishop Wil- 
son’s Bible,§ my examination has enabled 
me already to detect a great number of 
errors, involving every sort of confusion, 
bothin that and the University Quarto edi- 
tion, A detail of them would be very un- 
interesting and repulsive to your readers: 
it is sufficient to say that these will be 
ail corrected in Mr. Hewlett’s catalogue ; 
and any person who may he in possession 
of either of these two editions, who will 
do me the honor of applying to me pri- 
vately, shall be very welcome to such re- 
marks as I have made upon the subject. 
I shall only mention here as a specimen, 
that in Bishop Wilson, at Genesis xxv. 
18. the texts of two references (p andgq ) 
are entirely omitted; chap. xli. the re- 
ferences of the last paragraph are wrong 
* See the parallel text (Judges vi. 39, 
twice). 
+ According to all my other authorities. 
See Geddes vere 22 to 26, and 28 ; but like- 
wise 33, St. 
{The following instances may be classed 
as oversights 3 asthe Doctor has not (accord. 
ing to his plan) marked either of them as 
authorized by a variety in the original text, 
or distinguished the first by Iialics as supplied 
by himself; Genesis xxvii. 28, and of oil 
added at the end, and xlv. 10, and thy chil- 
dren’s children (which occurs in our common 
Bibles) is omitted after children. 
§ It is from this that the list in Mr. Hew- 
lett’s Bible istaken. Crutwell (asI understand 
him) states the number in the Pretace, atabove 
sigty-six thousand, 
On the Incorrectness of our printed Bibles. 
39 
all together® ; the same with those in the 
text ofchap.xlvi. from verse 26 to the end;f 
and the same at the bottom in Exodus iv. 
21, to the end.f In the University Quar- 
to errors of this latter description occur 
at Genesis xxx. 2to4, and some other 
places. Even the laborious Crutwell 
shrunk from a minute scrutiny of this 
department of his compilation, and makes 
the editors from whom he copied, an- 
swerable for its correctness: and I have 
no doubt that many of its mistakes have 
been handed down implicitly from gene- , 
ration to geveration. Having occasion to 
inspect a reference to the ninth chapter 
of Deuteronomy, that occurs (in all my 
Bibles which have any Parallel Texts) at 
Genesis xli. 57, I perceived it to be 
wrong; and some knowledge of the me- 
chanical process of printing, leading me 
to suspect that the second chapter was 
iatended, I turned to that, and found 
my suspicion confirmed (the resemblance 
indeed is rather fantastical, but that is 
nothing uncemmon):—but the curious 
part of the circumstance is this; that 
the corresponding (or, as [ may call it, 
returning) reference has been blindly 
placed at the ninth chapter! Now this can 
never have been done by the hand that 
originaily assigned the former reference. 
So much for the necessity of a thorough re- 
vision of the Parallel Texts ; a task which 
the University editors alone can be ex- 
pected, and ought to be required, to 
perform.§ 
The marginal Dates are not in a much 
better condition, but I am afraid my 
letter has already becometedious. After 
just therefore mentioning the absurdity 
(which appears in a// my Bibles that have 
any chronology(of continuing a single date 
through a series of events, that must have 
_ occupied many years(as in Genesis XXxviil. 
4, to the end), Ushall only give an exam- 
ple peculiarly ridiculous, which I find in 
‘ s “* 
an eee On eTEEUESEOEEEEEERGREEEEEEERGEnEenmEe arenes eal 
* The easiest way of rectifying them is 
to incorporate the texts at bottom given under 
uandw, toomit the letter qw entirely, and 
then put the letters im the text one step fore 
ward (that is x, y, &c. instead of w, x, &c. 
+ The / shouid be omitted 5 and thie rest, 
instead of m,n, Sc: be made/, m, 8c. 
tu, x, ¥> &@. should bert, w, x, &c. 
t Genesis xxxvi. 39, in the margin of 
my Quarto and Octavo University Bibles, the 
words Hadad Pai stand confusedly: they, 
ought to be referred to sepatately Magar and 
Pau, in different parts of the verse. : 
m¥ 
PS) 
