VIII

HOW THE SECOND EDITION DIFFERS FROM THE FIRST.

New sections XXIII and XXIV have been added, where I discuss the entire critical apparatus The collection of manuscripts and variants used to determine the original text. and especially the Greek uncial manuscripts Manuscripts written in large, capitalized letters, typically the oldest and most important., providing samples of readings from those which were not yet known to Holmes Robert Holmes (1748–1805), a biblical scholar known for his massive edition of the Septuagint.. In various places, the sections concerning the manuscripts used for our continuous apparatus have been significantly altered: sections XXV through XXVIII, XXX and XXXI, and XXXIII and XXXIV. On the other hand, section XXIX is entirely new, in which the Prayer of Manasseh is transcribed primarily from the Codex Alexandrinus A 5th-century Greek manuscript of the Bible, one of the most important in existence.. Section XXXII is also new, where a variety of readings are provided from the fragment of the Codex Frederico-Augustanus The name Tischendorf gave to the portion of the Codex Sinaiticus he discovered in 1844. which I very recently brought to light. Sections XXXV and XXXVI contain supplements of variant readings for two passages that have been lost in the Codex Alexandrinus: 1 Kingdoms original: "I Bas." (1 Basileion). In English Bibles, this is 1 Samuel. 12:17 to 14:9 and Psalms 49:19 to 79:12. Finally, a notable supplement has been added to our edition: the text of the prophet Daniel according to the Septuagint The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible., just as it was published from the Chigi Codex and corrected in various places from the Syriac Milan Codex. This matter is explained more accurately in the Prolegomena The introductory preface or scholarly introduction., section XVIII.

Since this is the case, it is hoped that by this second edition of ours, the studies of many people regarding this so weighty and so holy monument of the ancient faith will be both stimulated and assisted. I have said enough regarding the purpose with which I took this labor of editing upon myself (compare especially the Prolegomena, section VIII); I would wish fair-minded judges to keep this in mind, lest they perhaps argue that I have not provided what I neither intended nor was able to provide at this time. Two things, however, constantly occupied my mind while preparing and revising this edition: first, how vast a field of labor lay open to critics regarding the study of the Greek text of the Old Testament, and second, I understood how much fruit would overflow from there into the study of the New Testament. I say this not only regarding the language in which the books of the Apostles were written, but also regarding the clarifying and illustrating of the entire relationship that exists between the two Covenants The Old and New Testaments.. To measure out this field of labor myself to the best of my ability, if God wills and gives me life and strength, I shall constantly give my effort. For I do not doubt that rigorous studies applied to these sacred texts are not only not inconsistent with the piety of a Christian man, but will bring forth good fruits for the Church itself—to which divine truth is of the highest importance—fruits of the kind that time shall not erase.