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 QprofeBBor ^amuef (giiffet 
 
 in (gtemori? of 
 
 3ubge ^dntuef (ttttffer (jBrecfeintibge 
 
 ^tegenteb 6i> 
 
 ^dtnuef Otiffer (grecftinribge &ong 
 
 to t^ feifitatij of 
 
 (Princeton C^eofogicaf ^emtnarj 
 
 ScS 
 
194 THE IMPORTANCE OF, &C. 
 
 pear before the judgrnent seat of Christ to render an ac- 
 count of your stewardship. When that solemn hour 
 shall have come, the advantages of eminent piety will be 
 most conspicuous. The difference between the faithful 
 and diligent, and the wicked and slothful servant will 
 be manifest to all ; the one will be for ever comforted, and 
 the other tormented. To the one, the Lord will say, 
 " Well done good and faithful servant enter into the joy 
 of thy Lord ; " to the other, " Depart from me, I never 
 knew you." Through eternity shall the pious and de- 
 voted Minister rejoice in the presence of God, with those 
 redeemed spirits, whom he has been the instrument of 
 rescuing from hell and conducting to heaven. But who 
 can describe the anguish and the wailings of unfaithful 
 Ministers, when, with Judas, they lift up their eyes in 
 the deepest regions of despair. " Hell," said one of the 
 fathers, " is paved with the sculls of ungodly Ministers." 
 O, then, be in earnest about your work. Let divine love 
 glow in your own bosom. Regard not the world nor the 
 things in the world. Be instant in season and out of 
 season. Live near to God, and keep up a lively sense of 
 divine things on your minds. Exert every facultj^ and 
 employ every talent and opportunity in promoting the 
 glory of God and the salvation of men. Be faithful unto 
 death, and ye shajl receive the crown of life,. 
 
i3 
 
 ON THE 
 
 NECESSITY OF A KNOWLEDGE 
 
 ORIGUrikZi i:.ilNGUil.GES 
 
 SCRIPTURES. 
 
 y 
 
 BY REV. CHARLES HODGE, 
 
 Professor of Oriental and Biblical Literature in the Theological 
 Seminary at Princeton, N. J, 
 
ON 
 
 THE NECESSITY, &c. 
 
 The clergy have ever been one of the most influen- 
 tial classes in society. They address themselves to the 
 most powerful and universally operative feelings of the 
 human heart. As the great dispensers of moral and re- 
 ligious truth, their power over the opinions and princi- 
 ples of their fellow-men, is such as to involve the most 
 solemn responsibility. In the dark ages and portions of 
 the Church, this influence was, and still is, mainly offi- 
 cial. The fact that a man is a minister of religion, with 
 the ignorant and superstitious, secures for him respect, 
 and often reverence and submission. This is not the 
 case where the people are enlightened; and especially, 
 where they have been taught to revolt at all kinds of 
 authoritative dictation. Under such circumstances, the 
 influence of the clergy depends much more upon their 
 personal qualifications, than mere respect for their of- 
 fice. An ignorant or immoral man can pretend to no 
 right, and has no prospect of being able, to guide the 
 opinions, and form the character of men, superior to him- 
 self, merely because he may be invested with the sacred 
 
198 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 office. It is only by being superior in intellectual and 
 moral culture, that he can secure any salutary influence 
 over his fellow-men. The usefulness of the clergy, the 
 progress of religion, and the best interests of the Re- 
 deemer's kingdom, depend, therefore, under God, in a 
 great measure on the intellectual and moral character 
 of the Ministers of the Gospel. That this is really the 
 case, experience abundantly proves. Wherever Minis- 
 ters of the Gospel have been ignorant, religion has de- 
 generated into superstition or fanaticism. The unedu- 
 cated have been the victims of one or other of these 
 forms of error ; and the cultivated portions of society 
 have fallen a prey to infidelitj''. On the other hand, 
 wherever the teachers of religion have taken the lead in 
 intellectual and moral excellence, there piety has flour- 
 ished. How solemn, then, is the responsibility which 
 rests on every candidate for the sacred office, to attend 
 to the cultivation of his mind. It is not for his personal 
 advancement, for his own happiness or honour, that he 
 is bound to labour in this vocation, but it is because by 
 becoming a Minister he identifies himself with the cause 
 of religion, and he has no right to degrade that cause 
 by allying it, in his own person, with imbecility and ig- 
 norance. 
 
 There are many who endeavour to free themselves 
 from this responsibility, as to mental improvement, by 
 saying they expect to spend their days among the poor, 
 where much learning will not be requisite. But who 
 has revealed to these men where they are to spend their 
 days ? The providence of God may cast their lot among 
 
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 199 
 
 the most educated and refined classes of society. A 
 friend of the writer, who made this the excuse for ne- 
 glecting a regular and faithful course of theological 
 study, has had a succession of charges in which intel- 
 lectual culture was peculiarly desirable. His usefulness 
 and respectability have suffered materially, and for life, 
 from the false step of his youth. Besides, in our coun- 
 try, the rich and poor, the educated and ignorant, are so 
 intermingled, that a congregation or community formed 
 exclusively of either class is not to be met with. Where- 
 ever you may go, you will find your usefulness depend- 
 ing, next to piety and zeal, mainly on your knowledge. 
 The candidate for the Ministry, therefore, cannot but 
 be regarded as criminally negligent of his duty to his 
 Master, who neglects any opportunity of intellectual im- 
 provement. 
 
 As to the kinds of knowledge which a minister should 
 cultivate, they ought undoubtedly to be principally pro- 
 fessional; and in this class are included subjects of suffi- 
 cient compass and importance, to occupy the most de- 
 voted attention and comprehensive talents. But among 
 professional subjects, there is ground of preference. 
 Some are intrinsically more important than others ; and 
 some become especially important on account of the pe- 
 culiar character of the age, or state of the church. On 
 the ground of intrinsic value, and peculiar adaptation 
 to the circumstances of the candidates for the Ministry 
 of the present day, there is no department of knowledge 
 which more imperiously demands their attention, than 
 
 THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES. 
 
 R 
 
200 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 To evince the justice of this assertion, let the following 
 considerations be duly weighed. 
 
 I. No translation can make a full and fair exhibition 
 of its original. This inadequacy results from the ne- 
 cessary difference which exists between different lan- 
 guages, which renders it impossible that words can be 
 put for words, so that the meaning, force, and beauty 
 should be unchanged. This difference includes a va- 
 riety of particulars. In the first place, there is a gene- 
 ral disparity, which it may be difficult to define, yet is 
 sensibly felt. Any person acquainted with more than 
 one language, needs no other proof of this than his own 
 experience. He is constantly sensible that there is 
 something in the original which his translation does not 
 reach. And it is evident this must be the case, be- 
 cause, much of the excellence of every writer depends 
 on his style — ^all this is lost in the version. You have, 
 necessarily, the style of the translator, not that of his 
 author. If the former be on a par in the talent for 
 writing with the latter, and if the two languages be in 
 all respects equal, the translation may, as a composi- 
 tion, be equal to the original. But even if the advan- 
 tage in each respect was on the side of the translator, 
 it. does not affect our position. The version is not, and 
 cannot be an exact representation of the original. It 
 may be better, or worse, but it is not the same. It is 
 with the mind of the translator we have to do, in every 
 translation. Who knows any thing of Homer from 
 Pope, or Cowper, or Voss, or Sotheby ? It is not the 
 
OP THE SCBIPTURES. 201 
 
 Grecian poet we learn by reading these versions. They 
 are indeed all excellent, all, to a sufficient extent, faith- 
 fijl; yet each and all fail of bringing- us acquainted with 
 the father of profane poetry. We learn what Pope, and 
 Cowper, and Sotheby were as poets, but we are ignorant 
 of Homer. The facts, indeed, of his story are retained, 
 but he is not the narrator. We have, as it were, the 
 body without the soul. This is a point at once so ob- 
 vious, and so important, that it has ever been acknow- 
 ledged and regarded in respect to classic authors. No 
 one pretends to an acquaintance with these writers, 
 who is indebted for his knowledge to translators. It 
 seems to be on all hands conceded, that a knowledge of 
 what the author has himself written, is necessary to 
 qualify any man, in that department, to speak of the 
 merits of an author, and much more to authorize any 
 one to expound his meaning. But why should this be 
 conceded in reference to the writers of Greece, and not 
 to those of Palestine ? Why should the lecturer on the 
 classics, who could not read a word of them, be an ob- 
 ject of ridicule, and the equally ignorant lecturer on the 
 Bible, an object of respect? 
 
 There is therefore such an acknowledged difference 
 between languages, that all translations must differ ma- 
 terially from their originals. The vital characteristic 
 spirit of the one, cannot be infused into the other. The 
 mind of the translator is interposed between the reader 
 and the original author. The thoughts and sentiments 
 are transmuted by the process of translation; divested of 
 their characteristic impress, they fall chilled and enfeebled 
 
202 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 on the heart of the reader. If this were the only evil of 
 a translation, and if the only advantage of a knowledge of 
 the original was, that it secured us immediate access to the 
 minds of the sacred writers, it would be enough to com- 
 pensate for all the time and labour which the acquisition 
 requires. To have their language a direct medium of 
 thought, and to be admitted to immediate communion with 
 minds " moved by the Holy Ghost," is a pleasure and a 
 benefit sufficient to recompense the severest toil. 
 
 But this, which may be considered as merely a mat- 
 ter of enjoyment, is not all. There are more solid bene- 
 fits to be derived from reading the Scriptures in their 
 original languages, than the vividness of impression, 
 and the freshness of the truth as it comes from the lips 
 of the servants of God. The difference between lan- 
 guages extends beyond the attributes of style. It per- 
 tains to their general character and structure, to the 
 precision and compass of the meaning of terms ; and is 
 BO serious as to render every translation defective as 
 to its meaning as well as its manner. Some languages 
 are rude, others polished ; some are highly figurative, 
 and others the reverse ; some remarkably precise in the 
 use of words, in the force of particles, in the use of the 
 tenses and other grammatical forms; others the reverse 
 in all these particulars. It is obvious, therefore, that 
 the translator must often express, literally, what is con- 
 veyed by figure ; must render definite, what is ambigu- 
 ous ; must use a form which may express various modi- 
 fications of the meaning of a word, for one which 
 ladmits of no such latitude. He may be right or wrong 
 
OF THE SCKIPTURES. 203 
 
 as to the sense which he expresses, but whether right 
 or wrong, he is different from his author ; for he ren- 
 ders definite what was left undeterminate, or makes 
 ambiguous what admits of but one interpretation. 
 Again, all tho characteristic peculiarities of a language 
 must be passed over, or very inadequately expressed. 
 The particles, which add eo much, not only to the 
 grace, but also to the precision and force of the Greek 
 writers, must, in Latin and English, be almost entirely 
 neglected. Phrases properly idiomatic, must be new 
 modified, or remain uncouth deformities in the version, 
 and often lead the reader into error. Again, very few 
 words belonging to different languages are precisely 
 synonymous. Some classes of terms, of course, more 
 nearly correspond than others. In a few, the corres- 
 pondence may be considered as complete ; as in those 
 which express simple ideas, or natural objects, or the 
 necessary relations of life. But beyond these, and 
 a few other classes, it will be almost impossible to 
 find any two words belonging to different languages 
 which exactly agree. The one either expresses more or 
 less than the other, or admits of applications which the 
 other does not allow. Hence we see foreigners con- 
 stantly making the mistake of using our terms in all 
 the extent of meaning, and variety of application, which 
 the nearest corresponding word of their own language 
 admits. This too is a source of endless error to the 
 readers of mere translations of the Scriptures. Because 
 the word " hell," for example, in a certain connexion, 
 may mean the abode of lost spirits, how natural the in- 
 R 2 
 
204 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 ference that the Hebrew or Greek word which it repre- 
 sents, may, in the same connexion, have the same mean- 
 ing; and yet this, to any reader of the original, may be 
 seen to be impossible. And how often are arguments 
 and doctrines built upon the assumption, that the origi- 
 nal will bear every interpretation which the version 
 admits. This therefore is a point of vital importance. 
 Translations must, to a greater or less extent, make a 
 false representation. We might submit to a loss of 
 beauty or force, but it appears we cannot have in all 
 cases the precise sense. There can be no doubt that 
 languages do so differ in their general structure, in 
 their peculiar expressions and idioms, in the extent of 
 meaning and variety of application of their nearest cor- 
 responding terms, that no version can be a faithful ex- 
 hibition of its original. It will either say more or less, 
 it will make what is figurative, literal, or literal figura- 
 tive ; what is definite, ambiguous, or ambiguous, definite. 
 If this be so, need the question be asked. Whether 
 preachers and expounders of the Word of God, are not 
 bound to go to what He has himself said, and not trust in 
 the inadequate and faulty reports of others ? 
 
 II. A second consideration, which should impress on 
 the mind of every candidate for the Ministry a sense of the 
 importance of studying the original languages of Scrip- 
 ture, is but an inference from the preceding. He cannot 
 otherwise be qualified to explain the Word of God. The 
 gtand official duty of the minister of the Gospel is, "right- 
 ly to divide the word of God," and by the presentation of 
 
OP THE SCRIPTURES. 205 
 
 the truth to instruct, rebuke, and exhort with all long 
 suffering and meekness. How is this to be done, unless 
 he himself knows the truth; and how is this knowledge 
 to be obtained ? He finds it revealed through the me- 
 dium of a written language, which he is to understand, 
 not by inspiration or miracle, but by applying to its in- 
 terpretation those simple rules of exegesis which govern 
 the exposition of all language. He must examine ac- 
 curately the meaning of the words and phrases used by 
 the sacred writers, by ascertaining how these writers 
 themselves employ them in other passages, and in what 
 way they were used by the persons to whom they were 
 addressed ; and by investigating the etymology as well 
 as usage of every important term. The application of 
 these, and other equally obvious rules of interpretation, 
 of course, suppose a knowledge of the language used 
 by the sacred penman. It may indeed be said, that 
 this process has all been gone through by the translator, 
 who furnishes us with the result. But we are bound to 
 verify his report for ourselves. It has already been re- 
 marked, that the best translation cannot be an exact ex- 
 hibition of the original. Even when most correct, it 
 may be the source of error to the ignorant. The words 
 of the version may answer to the original in one of the va- 
 rious senses which those words will bear, but not in others. 
 The translator may be right, and yet we, by concluding 
 that the original admits of every interpretation which 
 his version allows, may be seriously wrong. We can- 
 not be sure, with any enlightened confidence, when ex- 
 pounding a translation, that we are not wandering far 
 
206 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 from the text which it proposes to represent. But ver- 
 sions are very often positively incorrect. Among the 
 thousand translations by churches and individuals, no 
 two precisely agree. Some are so loose and inaccurate, 
 that important doctrines are obscured, and important 
 errors inculcated. Which version shall we choose? 
 Who shall insure us from error in this choice ? It is 
 however self-evident, that no man can be qualified to ex- 
 plain an ancient document of which he knows nothing 
 but a translation. He is unavoidably exposed to ludi- I 
 
 crous or fatal mistakes, by the faultiness or insuffici- . ' 
 
 ency of his guide. This, as we before remarked, is a 
 matter universally admitted with regard to every other 
 document, than the Word of God. That is, it is uni- 
 versally admitted in every case, except precisely the 
 one in which it is most evident and most important. 
 We do not of course deny that the most faulty of the 
 translations of the sacred Scriptures, contain much of 
 their genuine sense, and consequently may convey this 
 saving knowledge to those who peruse them. But the 
 question now is, whether the man, who must expound 
 the Scriptures to the people, is not bound to do all that 
 he can to understand them fully and accurately ; and 
 whether the knowledge of something better than a 
 faulty and inadequate translation, is not, of all qualifica- 
 tions, one of the most obvious and important for the dis- 
 charge of this duty. If this be admitted, (and who will 
 deny it ?) — then is it admitted that few obligations are 
 more solemn and imperious, than that which binds the 
 
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 207 
 
 ministers of the Gospel to study the Scriptures in theilr 
 original languages. 
 
 III. Another of the most important duties of the min- 
 ister of the Gospel, is to defend the faith, to resist and 
 put to silence gainsayers — for the proper discharge of 
 tliis duty, a knowledge of the original Scriptures is es- 
 sential. This is evident, not only from the considera- 
 tion that this knowledge is necessary to any accurate 
 and well grounded acquaintance with the contents of 
 the sacred volume, but it alone can enable us to meet 
 and answer that large class of objections founded on 
 the misapprehensions or mistakes of translators. Many 
 arguments in which the opponents of the truth most 
 confidently rely, have no better foundation than such 
 mistakes. How then are these to be detected or an- 
 swered, if we know nothing of the original? Besides, no 
 version is acknowledged by all parties as the standard 
 of divine truth. If we are brought into collision with 
 Roman Catholics, we shall find that they not only deny 
 the authority of our version of the Word of God, but 
 charge its authors with wilfully perverting and mis- 
 representing the sacred text. Are our lips to be closed 
 by such an assertion ? Are those whose duty it is to 
 defend and uphold the truth, to be thus easily vanquish- 
 ed ? And yet what can we say. The accomplished 
 Catholic appeals to the original; he affirms that it 
 teaches all the peculiarities of his own faith, and over- 
 turns the doctrines of Protestants; and must we sit silent, 
 with the seal of ignorance upon our lips ? Is this the 
 
208 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 way we are to clear our conscience of the solemn duty 
 of defending the truth on which the salvation of men de- 
 pends ? The common Catholic will show us in his 
 Douay Bible, the frequently reiterated command " to do 
 penance." The Saviour is made to say to men, " Un- 
 less ye do penance ye shall all perish." How are we 
 to answer his argument in favour of penances, founded 
 on such passages ? Not by appealing to our transla- 
 tion, for to him, it is of no authority. The only possible 
 method is to turn to the original, and satisfy every one, 
 capable of understanding it, that no such doctrine is 
 contained in the Word of God. But this, if ignorant of 
 the sacred languages, we, of course, shall not be able to 
 do. If it is our lot to encounter Socinians, all our argu- 
 ments are met and answered by the easy assertion, 
 that they rest on false translations. However unfound- 
 ed the assertion, it is sufficient to silence the ignorant 
 advocate of orthodoxy. Let any candidate for the sa- 
 cred Ministry put it to his conscience, whether this is 
 the kind of defence which the truth merits at his hands ; 
 whether he can justify himself either in the sight of 
 God or man, in' assuming the responsibility of a de- 
 fender of the faith delivered to the saints, and yet be no 
 better prepared for his work. 
 
 It is not, however, only in controversy with those 
 who differ thus seriously from us in matters of belief, 
 that the knowledge in question is essential. The Eng- 
 lish version is not the standard to which appeal is made 
 in any doctrinal discussion. On every subject, the 
 original alone is regarded as authoritative. Any dis- 
 
OP THE SCRIPTURES. 209 
 
 putant, therefore, can at once carry the controversy be- 
 yond our depth, and inflict on us and our cause the dis- 
 grace and injury of defeat, at pleasure. Will it not then 
 be admitted that a knowledge of the original languages 
 is essential to qualify us for the discharge of one of the 
 most obvious and important duties of the Ministry; that 
 without this knowledge, no man can defend the truth, 
 satisfy the doubting, stop the mouths of gainsayers, or 
 even in an enlightened manner, satisfy his own mind. 
 How poor an excuse, then, is disinclination or sloth, for 
 the neglect of a duty so obvious and so important. 
 
 IV. Ignorance of the sacred languages will prevent 
 our access to the best sources of theological knowledge. 
 
 It is so much taken for granted that ministers are ac- 
 quainted with what are considered the rudiments of 
 their science, that all works of consequence which refer 
 to the Bible at all, refer to the Scriptures in the original. 
 It is the original which they criticise and explain ; it is 
 this on which they rest their arguments and found 
 their remarks, if therefore we are ignorant of thesaored 
 languages, such works must be to us uninteresting and 
 unintelUgible. The magnitude of this difficulty will 
 be felt by all those who mean to extend the range of 
 their studies beyond the most contracted limits. The 
 standard works in all departments, the best commenta- 
 ries, the best systems of divinity, the best polemical, 
 and even the best practical writers, must, to all such, 
 remain hermetically sealed. The department of Bibli- 
 cal Literature must be in a great measure neglected. 
 
210 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 Every tiling which belongs to the first step in theology, 
 ascertaining the true text of the Scriptures, must be 
 passed over, and we be left at the mercy of every one 
 who chooses to assert that this or that passage is a 
 false reading or interpolation. All that pertains to the 
 sciencd of interpretation presupposes a knowledge of 
 the sacred languages ; the literary history of the sacred 
 volume, the discussion of the canonical authority and au- 
 thenticity of every book, requires the same acquisition. 
 In short, without this knowledge, two-thirds of theologi- 
 cal literature must remain to us an unknown land. 
 How any one who does not determine to be an ignorant 
 minister, can neglect this subject, it is hard to conceive. 
 And how any man can determine to be an ignorant 
 minister, who admits that the interests of religion de- 
 pend in a great measure on the character and standing 
 of the clergy, it becomes those who make the determi- 
 nation to explain. 
 
 V. In this connexion it may be remarked, that the 
 acquisition of which we are speaking, is becoming so 
 common, that we cannot be expected to maintain 
 without it a respectable standing among our fellow 
 clergymen. 
 
 It has already been remarked, that in different ages 
 of the Church, certain subjects have received an impor- 
 tance independent of their intrinsic worth. There was 
 a time when a man's standing depended on his meta- 
 physical acumen ; and useless as v/ere the subjects on 
 which that acumen was exercised, yet to obtain the 
 
OP Tj-HE SCRIPTURES. 211 
 
 influence necessary to usefulness, even a good man would 
 be justified in its cultivation. But when the subject 
 which demands our attention, because it is a matter of 
 general interest, is in itself of great value, the motive to 
 exertion is pr6portionably increased. A knowledge, 
 then, of the sacred languages should be obtained, be- 
 cause public sentiment requires it in the risiijg Min- 
 istry, 'The inconvenience of ignorance will become 
 every day more seriously felt, as the acquisition be- 
 comes more common. Let it be remembered, too, that 
 the enemies of the truth are often the most accomplish- 
 ed in knowledge of this kind, and that it therefore be- 
 comes its friends and advocates to maintain a standing 
 which shall place them on equal terms. The- appeal 
 we make on tliis subject is to feelings of piety, to zeal 
 for the truth and honour of religion. It is not for the 
 pleasure or the pride of knowledge, it is for higher ob- 
 jects, and from purer motives we would urge the study of 
 the sacred languages in all candidates for the Ministry. 
 
 ' VI. A knowledge of these languages has been v made 
 a requi^te for admission into the office of the Ministry 
 by almost every denomination of Christians. 
 
 If tliis should, in any case, become a dead letter, it 
 will be a matter of reproach, and pi;oof of degeneracy, 
 in whatever section of the Church it occurs. These re- 
 quisitions were enjoined in the purest and most, en- 
 lightened period of our ecclesiastical existence, and 
 they, form an abiding testimony of the estimate which 
 our fathers made df the importance of this subject. 
 
212 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES 
 
 This testimony is sustained by the opinion of the great 
 body of the eminently pious and useful men, who have 
 adorned the Church of Christ. The Reformers were 
 all learned men, men familiar witli the Scriptures in 
 the languages in which they were revealed. This was 
 the case with Luther and Calvin, with Melancthon and 
 Beza.. It was the case with Knox, .though born in a 
 land comparatively ignorant, and although he had to 
 make the acquisition in a great measure, when he was 
 of full age and ah exile. It was the case with the Eng- 
 lish Reformers, and the English Puritans, with Owen 
 and Baxter arid How, and in short with almost every 
 man T^hose memory has come down embalmed in the 
 blessings of his generation. It was an attainment, 
 which thege men not only inade, but which they highly 
 prized, which they, in many cases, made great sacri- 
 fices to secure, and which, as Luther says, they would 
 not exchange for all the treasures of the world. An im- 
 pression of the importance of this subject, so general, 
 so strong, and so lasting, is not likely to prove unfound- 
 ed* Shall we, then, be dead tb all the considerations 
 which 'have thus impressed the purest churches and the 
 most favoured of God's servants ? Shall we regard an 
 attainment whicli they so highly prized, as unworthy a 
 serious effort ? 
 
 VII. This acquisition, requires no great labour, and 
 will prove a source of constant pleasure. - ^ 
 
 "It might doubtless be easily made, by every minister 
 in half the number of hours which he has already wasted. 
 
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 213 
 
 In most cases, tlie difficulty is in a great measure over- 
 come, with regard to the Greek, before professional 
 studies are commenced. As it respects Hebrew, the 
 difficulty is greatly overrated. It is far more simple in 
 its structure and syntax than either of the classic lan- 
 guages ; and the repulsive features of the vowel system 
 become famihar after a few months attention. There 
 is therefore no excuse to be found in the irksomeness 
 of the task, for its neglect. The language of the Old 
 Testament has its own peculiar claims. It was, per- 
 adventure, the primitive language of our race. It is 
 confessedly the repository of the oldest literature^ of 
 the most sublime productions, of the purest ideas of 
 God and religion of the ancient world. The language 
 in which Moses wrote, in which Isaiah breathed thie 
 eloquence of heaven, and through which the soul of 
 David poured forth itself to God. No one can be insen- 
 sible to the interest which belongs tt) the language of the 
 patriarchs and prophets, and which has formed the me- 
 dium of so large a portion of God's communications to 
 men. It'is, however, not merely for its own sake, or for 
 the sake of a proper understanding and appreciation of 
 the Old Testament Scriptures,' that the Hebrew is im- 
 portant. The New Testament is Hebraic. It is 
 so completely impressed with this character, that np 
 rule in its interpretation is of more frequent application 
 than that which requires us to explain its terms, in ac- 
 cordance with the meaning of the corresponding Hebrew 
 word. It is no extravagant assertion;, that an indivi- 
 
214 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES, &C. 
 
 dual ignorant of the language of the Old Testament, is 
 incapable of properly explaining the New. 
 
 Let candidates for the Ministry lay this subject to 
 heart. Let them feel the responsibility which rests upon 
 them to prepare, not in the easiest, but the best, manner 
 their circumstances permit, to understand, explain, and 
 defend the truth of God. Let them resolve to be Bible 
 men — men mighty in the Scriptures ; let them determine 
 to read a portion of the Word of God in the original 
 everyday; what they commence as a task, they will 
 soon continue as a delight. If the remarks which' we 
 have made are well founded, it must be admitted, that a 
 knowledge of the sacred languages is one of the most 
 essential qualifications for the Ministry; and if this be 
 admitted, then may we confidently hope, that no con- 
 scientious candidate for the sacred office, will neglect to 
 make this important attainment. 
 
 H(Bc €0 dicta sunt, tit intelligamus nos evangelium 
 nunquam retenturos esse, nisi Jiat linguarum notitia. 
 
f^ 
 
 >i