Revelation

Key-word, “Revelation” ([Greek word] [apokalupsis]); Key-verse, 1:1.-Apocalypse is the opposite of mystery ([Greek word] [musterion]). The books of Daniel and of John are closely linked, and from them, with those of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, all Apocalyptic ltierature is constructed. Daniel cast light on the former days, between the captivity and the fall of Jerusalem; John, on the last days, from the fall of the Holy City to the second coming of the Lord. [p. 145]-“Keys to the Word,” A. T. Pierson, pp. 1-145. Glasgow: Pickering and Inglis.HBS 46.1

Bible Versions, Septuagint.—Putting aside clerical mistakes and misreadings, and making allowance for errors of translation, ignorance, and haste, we note certain outstanding facts as characteristic of the Greek version. It bears evident marks of its origin in Egypt in its use of Egyptian words and references, and equally evident traces of its Jewish composition. By the side of slavish and false literalism there is great liberty, if not license, in handling the original; gross mistakes occur along with happy renderings of very difficult passages, suggesting the aid of some able scholars. Distinct Jewish elements are undeniably there, which can only be explained by reference to Jewish tradition, although they are much fewer than some critics have supposed. This we can easily understand, since only those traditions would find a place which at that early time were not only received, but in general circulation.HBS 46.2

The distinctively Grecian elements, however, are at present of chief interest to us. They consist of allusions to Greek mythological terms, and adaptations of Greek philosophical ideas. However few, even one well-authenticated instance would lead us to suspect others, and in general give to the version the character of Jewish Hellenizing. In the same class we reckon what constitutes the prominent characteristic of the Septuagint version, which, for want of better terms, we would designate as rationalistic and apologetic. Difficulties-or what seemed such-are removed by the most bold methods, and by free handling of the text; it need scarcely be said, often very unsatisfactorily. More especially a strenuous effort is made to banish all anthropomorphisms, as inconsistent with their ideas of the Deity. The superficial observer might be tempted to regard this as not strictly Hellenistic, since the same may be noted, and indeed is much more consistently carried out, in the Targum of Onkelos. Perhaps such alterations have even been introduced into the Hebrew text itself. But there is this vital difference between Palestinianism and Alexandrianism, that, broadly speaking, the Hebrew avoidance of anthropomorphisms depends on objective-theological and dogmatic-the Hellenistic on subjective-philosophical and apologetic-grounds. The Hebrew avoids them as he does what seems to him inconsistent with the dignity of Biblical heroes and of Israel. “Great is the power of the prophets,” he writes, “who liken the Creator to the creature;” or else “a thing is written only to break it to the ear”-to adapt it to our human modes of speaking and understanding; and again, the “words of the Torah are like the speech of the children of men.”HBS 46.3

But for this very purpose the words of Scripture may be presented in another form, if need be even modified, so as to obviate possible misunderstanding, or dogmatic error. The Alexandrians arrived at the same conclusion, but from an opposite direction. They had not theological but philosophical axioms in their minds-truths which the highest truth could not, and, as they held, did not contravene. Only dig deeper; get beyond the letter to that to which it pointed; divest abstract truth of its concrete, national, Judaistic envelope; penetrate through the dim porch into the temple, and you were surrounded by a blaze of light, of which, as its portals had been thrown open, single rays had fallen into the night of heathendom. And so the truth would appear glorious, more than vindicated in their own sight, triumphant in that of others!HBS 47.1

In such manner the Septuagint version became really the people’s Bible to that large Jewish world through which Christianity was afterward to address itself to mankind. It was part of the case, that this translation should be regarded by the Hellenists as inspired like the original. Otherwise it would have been impossible to make final appeal to the very words of the Greek; still less, to find in them a mystical and allegorical meaning. Only that we must not regard their views of inspiration-except as applying to Moses, and even there only partially-as identical with ours. To their minds inspiration differed quantitatively, not qualitatively, from what the rapt soul might at any time experience, so that even heathen philosophers might ultimately be regarded as at times inspired. So far as the version of the Bible was concerned (and probably on like grounds), similar views obtained at a later period even in Hebrew circles, where it was laid down that the Chaldee Targum on the Pentateuch had been originally spoken to Moses on Sinai, though afterward forgotten, till restored and reintroduced.HBS 47.2

Whether or not the Septuagint was read in the Hellenist synagogues, and the worship conducted, wholly or partly, in Greek, must be matter of conjecture. We find, however, a significant notice to the effect that among those who spoke a barbarous language (not Hebrew-the term referring specially to Greek), it was the custom for one person to read the whole Parashah (or lesson for the day), while among the Hebrew-speaking Jews this was done by seven persons, successively called up. This seems to imply that either the Greek text alone was read, or that it followed a Hebrew reading, like the Targum of the Easterns. More probably, however, the former would be the case, since both Hebrew manuscripts and persons qualified to read them, would be difficult to procure. At any rate, we know that the Greek Scriptures were authoritatively acknowledged in Palestine, and that the ordinary daily prayers might be said in Greek. The Septuagint deserved this distinction from its general faithfulness-at least, in regard to the Pentateuch-and from its preservation of ancient doctrine.HBS 47.3

Thus, without further referring to its full acknowledgment of the doctrine of angels (comp. Deuteronomy 32:8; 33:2), we specially mark that it preserved the Messianic interpretation of Genesis 49:10 and Numbers 24:7, 17, 23, bringing us evidence of what had been the generally received view two and a half centuries before the birth of Jesus. It must have been on the ground of the use made of the Septuagint in argument, that later voices in the synagogue declared this version to have been as great a calamity to Israel as the making of the golden calf, and that its completion had been followed by the terrible omen of an eclipse that lasted three days. For the rabbis declared that upon investigation it had been found that the Torah could be adequately translated only into Greek, and they are most extravagant in their praise of the Greek version of Akylas, or Aquila, the proselyte, which was made to counteract the influence of the Septuagint. But in Egypt the anniversary of the completion of the Septuagint was celebrated by a feast in the island of Pharos, in which ultimately even heathens seem to have taken part.—“The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah,” Rev. Alfred Edersheim, M. A. Oxon., D. D., Ph. D., Vol. I, pp. 27-30. New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1896.HBS 47.4

Bible Versions, Septuagint, or LXX.—The importance of this version lies in the fact that it was practically the Old Testament of the early church. It was used by the apostles and their converts, and is freely quoted in the New Testament, sometimes even when its renderings vary considerably from the Hebrew. Its influence was necessarily, therefore, very great.... The version took its rise, under one of the early Ptolemies, from the needs of the Jews in Egypt, before the middle of the second century b. c.; was gradually executed, and completed hardly later than cir. 100 b. c.; thereafter spread into all parts. Its renderings reveal frequent divergence in manuscripts from the present Masoretic text, but show also that the translators permitted themselves considerable liberties in enlarging, abbreviating, transposing, and otherwise modifying the texts they had, and in the insertion of materials borrowed from other sources.HBS 48.1

The Apocrypha.-The most noteworthy differences are in the departure from Jewish tradition in the arrangement of the books (this varies greatly; cf. Swete, “Intro. to Old Testament in Greek,” II, ch. 1), and in the inclusion in the list of the other books, unknown to the Hebrew canon, now grouped as the Apocrypha. These form an extensive addition. They include the whole of the existing Apocrypha, with the exception of 2 Esdras and Prayer of Manasses. All are of late date, and are in Greek, though Sirach had a Hebrew original which has been partly recovered. They are not collected, but are interspersed among the Old Testament books in what are taken to be their appropriate places.—The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, edited by James Orr, M. A., D. D., Vol. I, art. “Bible, The,” pp. 461, 462.HBS 48.2

Bible Versions, Septuagint.—Among the Greek versions of the Old Testament, the Alexandrian, or Septuagint, as it is generally termed, is the most ancient and valuable, and was held in so much esteem both by the Jews and by the first Christians, as to be constantly read in the synagogues and churches. Hence it is uniformly cited by the early Fathers, whether Greek or Latin, and from this version all the translations into other languages, which were anciently approved by the Christian church, were executed (with the exception of the Syriac), as the Arabic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Gothic, and Old Italic or the Latin version in use before the time of Jerome; and to this day the Septuagint is exclusively read in the Greek and most other Oriental churches.HBS 48.3

This version has derived its name either from the Jewish account of seventy-two persons having been employed to make it, or from its having received the approbation of the Sanhedrin, a great council of the Jews, which consisted of seventy, or, more correctly, of seventy-two persons. Much uncertainty, however, has prevailed concerning the real history of this ancient version; and while some have strenuously advocated its miraculous and divine origin, other eminent philologists have labored to prove that it must have been executed by several persons and at different times.—“An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures,” Thomas Hartwell Horne, B. D., Vol. II, part 1, pp. 203, 204. London: T. Cadell, 1839.HBS 48.4

Bible Versions, Septuagint.—The most important of the ancient versions is the Alexandrian Greek translation, generally désignated the LXX, and in former times sometimes the LXXII....HBS 49.1

It is certain that the translation of the Septuagint originated in Egypt, and in the time of the early Ptolemies received general recognition. The Jews in Egypt, whose numbers were increased by the transportation of thousands thither in b. c. 320, soon lost all familiarity with their own language. The law was probably interpreted very early into Greek in their synagogues, just as in other places it had been interpreted into Aramaic. All such translations had a tendency to become fixed, and after a while, for practical purposes, were committed to writing. The Pentateuch was the first portion translated, and the translation of the other books followed in due time as a matter of course. A Greek translation of all the books was in existence prior to the composition of the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, in the prologue to which book reference is made to such a translation. It is, however, a matter of dispute whether Sirach’s work is to be assigned to a date so early as b. c. 237-211, or to be brought down so late as b. c. 132.HBS 49.2

The title “LXX” was probably given to the Greek translation of the Holy Scriptures, because, when issued, the translation met with approval, and received the sanction of the Jewish Sanhedrin. The number, “seventy-two,” sprang from the conviction that such a work must have been the work of all Israel. But the sanction of the Sanhedrin was withdrawn, probably in consequence of the reaction against everything Greek, consequent on the events of the Maccabean era (b. c. 175-135).HBS 49.3

The execution of a Greek translation at the request of King Ptolemy is noticed in the Talmud, although the number of the translators is there reduced to five, and the birthday of the translation is stigmatized as a day as fatal to Israel as that on which the golden calf was made....HBS 49.4

The LXX version was the production of a number of translators. The Pentateuch is the best portion translated; next Job and Proverbs. Jeremiah has been treated with peculiar freedom, and possibly rests upon another recension of the Hebrew text. The book of Daniel is the worst, though peculiarly important from an exegetical point of view.—“An Introduction to the Old Testament,” Rev. Charles H. H. Wright, D. D., Ph. D., pp. 53-56. New York: Thomas Whittaker.HBS 49.5

Bible Versions, Septuagint, Editions of.—The Septuagint, or Greek version of the Old Testament appears at the present day in four principal editions:HBS 49.6

1. Biblia Polyglotta Complutensis, a. d. 1514-1517.HBS 49.7

2. The Aldine edition, Venice, a. d. 1518.HBS 49.8

3. The Roman edition, edited under Pope Sixtus V, a. d. 1587.HBS 49.9

4. Facsimile edition of the Codex Alexandrinus, by H. H. Baber, a. d. 1816.HBS 49.10

The Jews of Alexandria had probably still less knowledge of Hebrew than their brethren in Palestine; their familiar language was Alexandrian Greek. They had settled in Alexandria in large numbers soon after the time of Alexander, and under the early Ptolemies. They would naturally follow the same practice as the Jews in Palestine; and hence would arise in time an entire Greek version. But the numbers and names of the translators, and the times at which different portions were translated, are all uncertain.—“A Dictionary of the Bible,” William Smith, LL. D., pp. 604, 605, Teacher’s edition. Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, copyright 1884.HBS 49.11

Bible Versions, Ancient.—The principal ancient versions which illustrate the Scriptures are the Chaldee Paraphrases, generally called Targums, the Septuagint, or Alexandrian Greek version, and the Vulgate, or Latin version.—“Notes, Critical and Practical, on the Book of Genesis,” George Bush, Vol. I, Introduction, p. ix. New York: Mark H. Newman, 1843.HBS 50.1

Targums: The Chaldee word תַּרגּוּם (targum) signifies in general any version or explanation; but the appellation is more particularly restricted to the versions or paraphrases of the Old Testament, executed in the East Aramean or Chaldee dialect, as it is usually called.... There are at present extant ten of these Chaldee paraphrases on different parts of the Old Testament, three of which, and those by far the most important, comprise the Pentateuch, viz. (1) The Targum of Onkelos; (2) That falsely ascribed to Jonathan, and usually cited as the Targum of the Pseudo-Johanthan; (3) The Jerusalem Targum.—Id., pp. ix, x.HBS 50.2

Septuagint: The early Greek version was probably termed “the Septuagint” because it was looked upon with favor, and possibly officially recognized, by the Jewish Sanhedrin at Jerusalem, which was composed of seventy persons. In later times, when the Jews of Palestine and Egypt became estranged from one another, and when the Greek version had become interwoven with the religious life of the Egyptian Jews, an attempt was made to claim divine sanction for the Greek translation. The name “Septuagint” was then expounded as containing a reference to the number of the supposed translators, who, according to the legend, were divinely assisted in their task. Those translators are said each to have produced a translation identical in phraseology, although they had been carefully secluded and shut off from intercourse with one another during the performance of the work.—“Daniel and His Prophecies,” Rev. Charles H. H. Wright, D. D., pp. 59, 60. London: Williams and Norgate, 1906.HBS 50.3

The autograph or original copy of the Septuagint version, was, most probably, consumed in the fire which destroyed the Alexandrian Library, in the time of Julius Casar, about fifty years before the Christian era; but the translation was preserved by the numerous transcripts taken for the use of the different synagogues in Egypt, Greece, and Italy, and which were sure to be copied with the utmost accuracy and care.—“Illustrations of Biblical Literature,” Rev. James Townley, D. D., Vol. I, p. 64. New York: Lane and Scott, 1852.HBS 50.4

Samaritan: The version of the Old Testament which possesses the longest pedigree is that which owes its existence to the Samaritans. Strictly speaking, it is not a version at all, as it is in the Hebrew tongue, though written [probably in the second century b. c.] in a different character from that of the extant Hebrew MSS.—“Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts,” Frederic G. Kenyon, M. A., Litt. D., p. 44. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1903.HBS 50.5

Peshitto, or Syriac: This is the great standard version of the ancient Syriac church, made not later than the third century (those scholars who hold it older than the Curetonian would say the second), and certainly current and in general use from the fourth century onward. The name means “simple” or “common,” but the origin of it is unknown.—Id., p. 157.HBS 50.6

Palestinian Syriac: There is yet another version of the New Testament in Syriac, known to us only in fragments, in a different dialect of Syriac from all the other versions. It is believed to have been made in the fifth or sixth century, and to have been used exclusively in Palestine.—“Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts,” Frederic G. Kenyon, M. A., Litt. D., p. 159. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1903.HBS 51.1

Coptic: [Dating probably from the middle of the third century.] The two most important of the Coptic versions are (a) the Memphitic or Bohairic version, current in Lower or Northern Egypt; and (b) the Thebaic or Sahidic version, current in Upper or Southern Egypt [probably neither earlier than the fourth century]. Of these the Bohairic alone is complete, having been ultimately adopted as the standard Bible for all Egypt.—Id., p. 76.HBS 51.2

Old Latin or Italic: The importance of the Old Latin version, as it is called, to distinguish it from the later version of St. Jerome, is much greater in the New Testament than in the Old. In the former, it is the earliest translation of the original Greek which we possess, and is an important evidence for the state of the text in the second century. In the latter it is only a version of a version, being made from the Septuagint, not from the original Hebrew.—Id., pp. 77, 78.HBS 51.3

Vulgate Versions: The Latin Vulgate [was] made by St. Jerome from the older Latin, Hebrew, and Greek versions about the year 400. This version of St. Jerome, called the Vulgate, was declared by the Council of Trent [1563] to be authentic. It was revised by Pope Sixtus V (1585) and by Pope Clement VIII (1593).—“Catholic Belief,” Joseph Faa di Bruno, D. D. (R. C.), p. 16. New York: Benziger Brothers, (c) 1884.HBS 51.4

English Versions: About the year 1320, John Wycliffe, the great Reformer, was born. He was the first to translate the whole Bible into the English language; this translation, which occupied about twenty-two years, was made from the Latin Vulgate, the Hebrew and Greek originals being then practically unknown.—“All About the Bible,” Sidney Collett, p. 32, 9th edition. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.HBS 51.5

In 1525, William Tyndale, one of the great Protestant Reformers, and a contemporary of Luther, made another English translation from Erasmus’s Greek, ... and was the first to publish an English New Testament in print. This was done under great difficulties, partly at Cologne and partly at Worms, in exile, poverty, and distress; as he found it impossible to carry out this work in England, owing to Romish opposition.—Id., pp. 33, 34.HBS 51.6

In 1535 the whole Bible, Old Testament and New, was for the first time printed in English by Miles Coverdale, who made his translation from the German and Latin. This contained also the apocryphal books.—Id., p. 35.HBS 51.7

The first English Bible printed in England was the translation of John Hollybushe, which was issued in 1538 by John Nicholson, in Southwark. The great Cranmer Bible was printed between 1539 and 1541, the funds for its publication being supplied by Cranmer and Cromwell.—“The Censorship of the Church of Rome,” George Haven Putnam, Litt. D., Vol. II, p. 31. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1906.HBS 51.8

The English New Testament was translated by the English College at Rheims, France, in 1582; and the Old Testament by the English College, Douay, France, in 1609. Both, as revised in the last century by Bishop Challoner and others, have been republished, with notes, from time to time, with the approbation of the Catholic bishops. This version is commonly called the Douay Bible.—“Catholic Belief,” Joseph Faa di Bruno, D. D. (R. C.), p. 16. New York: Benziger Brothers, (c) 1884.HBS 51.9

Hebrew New Testament: In 1876 Professor Delitzsch completed his translation of the New Testament into Hebrew. It had been his dream to produce such a text as the apostles themselves might have penned, had they written in the “language of Canaan.”-“A History of the British and Foreign Bible Society,” William Canton, Vol. III, p. 151. London: John Murray, 1910.HBS 52.1

Bible Versions, Samaritan Pentateuch, Differences Between, and Hebrew Text.—Samaritan Pentateuch, a recension of the commonly received Hebrew text of the Mosaic law, in use among the Samaritans, and written in the ancient Hebrew or so-called Samaritan character. The origin of the Samaritan Pentateuch has given rise to much controversy, into which we cannot here enter. The two most usual opinions are: (1) That it came into the hands of the Samaritans as an inheritance from the ten tribes whom they succeeded; (2) That it was introduced by Manasseh at the time of the foundation of the Samaritan sanctuary on Mt. Gerizim. It differs in several important points from the Hebrew text. Among these may be mentioned:HBS 52.2

1. Emendations of passages and words of the Hebrew text which contain something objectionable in the eyes of the Samaritans, on account either of historical improbability or apparent want of dignity in the terms applied to the Creator. Thus in the Samaritan Pentateuch no one in the antediluvian time begets his first son after he has lived 150 years; but one hundred years are, where necessary, subtracted before, and added after, the birth of the first son. An exceedingly important and often-discussed emendation of this class is the passage in Exodus 12:40, which in our text reads, “Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” The Samaritan has, “The sojourning of the children of Israel [and their fathers who dwelt in the land of Canaan and in the land of Egypt] was four hundred and thirty years;” an interpolation of very late date indeed. Again, in Genesis 2:2, “And God [?] had finished on the seventh day,” is altered into “the sixth,” lest God’s rest on the Sabbath day might seem incomplete.HBS 52.3

2. Alterations made in favor of or on behalf of Samaritan theology, hermeneutics, and domestic worship.—“A Dictionary of the Bible,” William Smith, LL. D., p. 585, Teacher’s edition. Philadelphia: Porter and Coates, copyright 1884.HBS 52.4

Bible Versions, Vulgate.—As numerous corruptions crept into the old Latin version, Jerome in 382 set to work to revise that translation. His first edition of the Psalter was a simple revision of the Itala. The revision is known as the Psalterium Romanum, and was used up to the time of Pius V in the Roman Church. Portions of it are yet to be found in the Missal and Breviary. But the work was done too hastily to be satisfactory. Jerome next revised many portions of the Old Testament version after Origen’s Hexaplar text of the Septuagint. Of that revision only the Psalter and the book of Job are extant. The revised translation of the Psalms is known as the Psalterium Gallicanum, because it came into common use in Gaul. Jerome then proceeded to translate the Psalms directly from Hebrew, and extended his translation to the other books of the Old Testament, inclusive of some of the Apocryphal books. The work was completed between a. d. 390-405....HBS 52.5

Jerome’s revised version met with the bitterest opposition, and, although he strove to conciliate opponents, to the serious detriment of the work, by adhering as closely as possible to the older version, it was long ere it won popular favor. Jerome dictated his translation to an amanuensis, and this fact, combined with the common use of the older version and the carelessness of the scribes, led to the serious depravation of the translation. In process of time it was generally received, and termed the common version, or Vulgate.... The decree of the Council of Trent (Sess. iv., April 8, 1546) declared the Vulgate “authentic.” This authorization of the Vulgate necessitated the publication of a standard text, and an “editio authentica” appeared under Sixtus V in 1590. The edition was declared in the Papal Bull to be “vera, legitima, authentica et indubitata in omnibus publicis privatisque disputationibus [true, legitimate, authentic, and indubitable in all public and private disputations].” But ere it was issued many readings had to be emended by printed slips pasted over the printed text, and other corrections were made with the pen. A new edition, after considerable controversy both without and within the Roman Church, was issued in 1592 in the Pontificate of Clement VIII. The text of the latter edition is said to differ from the former in about three thousand places. Other editions followed in 1593 and in 1598, each with considerable variations.—“An Introduction to the Old Testament,” Rev. Charles H. H. Wright, D. D., Ph. D., pp. 65-67. New York: Thomas Whittaker.HBS 53.1

Bible, Multitude of Manuscripts.—There are in existence today many thousands of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, which have been copied from earlier manuscripts by Jewish scribes, etc., from time to time. These are the documents generally referred to when the “originals” are now spoken of....HBS 53.2

For the sake of simplicity, however, these existing manuscripts may be divided thus:HBS 53.3

1. Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament; the earliest of these date back to the eighth century of the Christian era.HBS 53.4

2. Greek manuscripts of the New Testament; the earliest of these date back to the fourth century.HBS 53.5

3. Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament (known as the Septuagint), translated from the Hebrew about 277 b. c.; these also date back to the fourth century.HBS 53.6

4. Early translations of the Scriptures, or parts thereof, in Syriac, Latin, German, and other languages, of various dates.—“All About the Bible,” Sidney Collett, p. 14, 9th edition.HBS 53.7

Bible, Oldest Greek Manuscripts.—a: Codex Sinaiticus, found by Tischendorf (1844 and 1859) in the Convent of St. Catherine at the foot of Mt. Sinai, now preserved in St. Petersburg. Forty-three leaves of the Old Testament portion of the manuscript, known as the Codex Friderico-Augustanus, are in the library of Leipsic University. Besides twenty-six books of the Old Testament, of which five form the Codex Friderico-Augustanus, the manuscript contains the entire New Testament without the least break, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the first third of the Shepherd of Hermas.—The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II, art. “Bible Text,” p. 103.HBS 53.8

A: Codex Alexandrinus, now in the British Museum, presented in 1628 by Cyril Lucar, patriarch of Constantinople, to Charles I. The New Testament begins with Matthew 25:6, and contains the whole except John 6:50 to 8:52, and 2 Corinthians 4:13 to 12:6, with the First Epistle of Clement and part of the Second.—Ibid.HBS 53.9

B 1 : Codex Vaticanus, No. 1209, in the Vatican Library. The manuscript contains, besides the Old Testament, the entire New Testament, with the exception of Hebrews 9:14 to end and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Revelation.—The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II, art. “Bible Text,” p. 103.HBS 54.1

B 2 : Codex Vaticanus 2066 (eighth century), formerly Basilian Codex 105, contains Revelation.—Ibid.HBS 54.2

C: Codex Ephraemi (fifth century), now No. 9 in the National Library at Paris; its text was altered in the sixth century and again in the ninth. In the twelfth century the original writing was washed off to make room for the Greek text of several ascetic works of Ephraem Syrus (d. 373). Pierre Allix, at about the close of the seventeenth century, noticed the traces of the old writing under the later characters. Wetstein in 1716 collated the New Testament part so far as it was legible. In 1834 and 1835 the librarian Carl Hase revived the original writing by the application of the Giobertine tincture (prussiate of potash). Tischendorf, after great labor, brought out in 1843 an edition of the New Testament part of the manuscript, and in 1845, of the Old Testament fragments, representing the manuscript line for line, in facsimile. The codex contains portions of the Old Testament on sixty-four leaves, and five eighths of the New Testament.—Id., pp. 103, 104.HBS 54.3

Bible, Modern Vernacular Translations.—One of the most important phases of the work of the American Bible Society is the work of translating and revising the Scriptures, either in co-operation with other Bible societies and missionary organizations, or acting independently when necessary. This task is fundamental and of the utmost importance. It is estimated that the Scriptures are circulated today in over 500 languages. The Bible or some portion of it has, therefore, been translated into all of the great languages of the world; and it is estimated that “seven out of every ten of the human population have had provided for them the gospel story in their own tongue,” but it is probable that there are still 1,000 minor languages or dialects spoken by a limited number of people into which no portion of the Bible has yet been translated. In British India, 147 languages are spoken, and in Africa it is said, according to the census of 1911, there are about 850 languages or dialects in use. Into some of the minor languages it will not be necessary to translate the Scriptures, as many tribal, unwritten dialects will gradually disappear or be combined with others. When these facts are borne in mind, one realizes how great a task still confronts the Bible societies of the world.—“Story of the American Bible Society,” pp. 10-12. Published in 1914.HBS 54.4

Bible, Compared with Sacred Books of the East.—These sacred books are, roughly speaking, five in number, i. e., they are the only ones worth taking into consideration. All others are extremely insignificant and unimportant.HBS 54.5

I. The Veda of the Brahmans or Hindus.HBS 54.6

II. The Zend-Avesta of the Parsees or Zoroastrians.HBS 54.7

III. The King, or Confucian Texts of the Chinese.HBS 54.8

IV. The Tripitaka, or three collections of Buddhist writings.HBS 54.9

V. The Koran, the code of Islam, or Mohammedanism.HBS 54.10

Translations of these were published some few years ago by the University of Oxford in forty stately volumes, but these are, of course, not within reach of the multitude.—“All About the Bible,” Sidney Collett, pp. 289, 290, 9th edition. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.HBS 54.11

Veda is a Sanscrit word meaning “knowledge,” or “sacred science.’ The writings consist of four collections of hymns, detached verses, and sacrificial formula; viz., (1) the Rigveda, or Veda, of praises or hymns, of which there are 1,028; (2) the Samaveda, or Veda of chants or tunes; (3) the Yajurveda, or Veda of prayers, of which there are only a few preserved; and (4) the Atharvaveda, or Veda of the Atharvians, consisting of about twenty books of hymns to certain divine powers, and incantations against evil powers.—“All About the Bible,” Sidney Collett, p. 290, 9th edition. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.HBS 55.1

Avesta means “text” or “lore,” and represents the original writings; Zend means “commentary,” and represents the comments which have grown around the original writings, just as the Brahmana commentaries grew around the original Sanhita of the Veda.HBS 55.2

Zoroaster, the celebrated sage of ancient Persia, was the supposed founder or reformer of the religion embodied in the Zend-Avesta. He flourished, according to the Parsees (who are about the only representatives of ancient Persia) about 500 b. c. He probably, however, lived-if, indeed, he lived at all-many centuries earlier. For “not only has his date been much debated; but the very fact of his historical existence has been denied.” However, some of the oldest writings of the Zend-Avesta are said to date some 700 or 800 b. c.—Id., pp. 294, 295.HBS 55.3

In addition to the actual writings of Confucius there are what are called the Confucian Analects, or Extracts, compiled soon after his death from the reminiscences of his disciples.HBS 55.4

Confucianism inculcates the worship of no god, and can scarcely, therefore, be called a religion.... There is no confession of sin; no seeking of forgiveness; no communion with God.... One of his tenets, not often referred to-viz., that it was right to tell lies on certain occasions-has left its terrible mark on the four hundred millions of China.—Id., pp. 297, 298.HBS 55.5

Buddha is said to have lived about 500 or 600 b. c., was a prince of one of the ruling military tribes of India, but was of Persian origin. His personal name was Gautama, the title “Buddha” being a Sanscrit word, meaning the “Enlightened One.” He early discovered that all that life could offer was vanity and vexation of spirit; that ignorance was the cause of all suffering and misery, as it was the ultimate cause of existence itself.HBS 55.6

He therefore separated himself from his family and friends, and gave himself up to years of lonely contemplation. At length, while sitting under a tree near Gaya Town in Bengal, he professed to attain perfect wisdom by the extinction of all desires and passions of every kind, whether good or bad.... First, extinction of all desires and passions; and secondly, extinction of individual existence-complete annihilation. This is the highest state it is possible for a Buddhist to reach....HBS 55.7

He himself wrote nothing. In course of time, however, his teaching ... was ... committed to writing by his disciples, and approved by various councils long after his death. These writings are called the “Tripitaka”=triple basket, or three collections.—Id., pp. 298, 299.HBS 55.8

Muhammad (the Praised One), commonly called Mohammed, the celebrated false prophet of Arabia, was born at Mecca a. d. 570. He claimed to teach his followers the doctrines of Islam, i. e., resignation or entire submission to the will of God, as a successor to Abraham, Moses, and Christ, of whom he claimed to be the greatest....HBS 55.9

At the age of forty he had his first “divine” communication. In this, and later visions at Mecca and Medina, extending over a period of twenty-three years, he received those “revelations” which are contained in the Koran, the sacred book of the Mohammedans, who believe that it has been in existence-like God-from all eternity.—“All About the Bible,” Sidney Collett, pp. 306, 307, 9th edition. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company.HBS 56.1

Bible, Number in, the Number Seven.—In the sanctuary 7 lamps were kept continually burning on the 7-branched candlestick. Zechariah saw in vision a golden candlestick with 7 lamps, and 7 pipes to the 7 lamps. In the book of Revelation 7 golden candlesticks represent the 7 churches, and 7 stars the angels of those churches.HBS 56.2

At the beginning of the months there were offered 7 lambs in sacrifice. On the 7 days of the Passover week 7 lambs were offered daily, 49 in all. On the day of first fruits, or Pentecost, 7 lambs were sacrificed; at the Feast of Trumpets, 7 lambs; on the Day of Atonement, 7 lambs; and during the Feast of Tabernacles, 14 lambs each day for the first 7 days of the feast, and 7 lambs on the eighth, the last great day of the feast. During the Feast of Tabernacles 70 bullocks were offered on the first 7 days in the following order: 1st day, 13; 2nd day, 12; 3rd day, 11; 4th day, 10; 5th day, 9; 6th day, 8; 7th day, 7; 70 in all, and on the 8th day, 1. Numbers 28, 29.HBS 56.3

The leper to be cleansed from his leprosy was sprinkled with blood 7 times (Leviticus 14:7), and the oil was “sprinkled 7 times before the Lord.” On the great Day of Atonement, blood was sprinkled before the mercy-seat 7 times; it was also sprinkled on the altar 7 times. Leviticus 16.HBS 56.4

Cain was to be avenged 7 fold, and Lamech 70 and 7 fold; Noah took into the ark clean beasts by sevens. Job says: In 7 troubles no evil shall touch thee; Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh relating to the 7 ears of corn and the 7 kine; Moses says God would chastise Israel in case of disobedience 7 times; and again, they shall go out before their enemies one way and flee 7 ways. Joshua, in the capture of Jericho, compassed the city for 7 days, and on the 7th day 7 times; 7 priests bore before the ark 7 trumpets of rams’ horns. Elisha tells Naaman to wash in Jordan 7 times; Samson was bound with 7 green withs, and then shorn of the 7 locks of his head; Hannah says in her song of praise, that the barren woman hath borne 7; Jeremiah says of the desolations of Jerusalem, she that hath borne 7 languisheth; Solomon says the slothful man thinks himself wiser than 7 men that can give a reason; and that wisdom hews out her 7 pillars. The dissembler has 7 abominations in his heart, and 7 things are an abomination to the Lord. David says, 7 times a day do I praise Thee; and, the word of God is like silver purified 7 times. Isaiah says, The light of the sun shall yet be 7 fold, as the light of 7 days; Micah tells us that on the foundation stone of the temple were to be engraved 7 eyes; Peter asks our Lord whether he ought to forgive sins 7 times, and receives the answer that he should forgive 70 times 7; the apostles appointed 7 men of honest report, and full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to attend to the daily ministration in Jerusalem. John was commissioned to convey divine messages to the 7 churches; he saw 7 golden candlesticks before the throne, and 7 spirits. The lamb which he beholds has 7 horns and 7 eyes, and opens the 7-sealed book; 7 angels stand before God, and to them are given 7 trumpets; 7 thunders utter their voices; in the earthquake are slain 7 thousand; a wild beast having 7 heads rises out of the sea; 7 angels with 7 golden vials, having the 7 last plagues, issue from the temple. In harmony with the 7 heads of the wild beast are 7 mountains and 7 kings. The apocalyptic drama includes the opening of 7 seals, the sounding of 7 trumpets, and the pouring out of 7 vials.—“Creation Centred in Christ,” H. Grattan Guinness, D. D., pp. 263, 264. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1896.HBS 56.5

Bible, Number in, the Number Twelve.—The number 12 is prominently connected both with the Jewish nation and the Christian church.HBS 57.1

The sons of Jacob and the tribes of Israel were 12. At the Elim halting-place, in the wilderness, were 12 wells of water; Moses built 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel; 12 loaves of showbread were presented in the tabernacle. The high priest bore the names of the 12 tribes of Israel engraved on the 12 stones of the breastplate; the 12 princes of Israel brought 12 oxen, 12 pitchers, 12 silver bowls, etc. Moses took 12 rods, according to the tribes; 12 men representing the tribes searched the Land of Promise, and Joshua commanded 12 men representing the 12 tribes of Israel to take 12 stones from the place where the priests who bore the ark stood on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and to carry them to the place where the people lodged after the passage of the river, and also to set up 12 stones in the midst of Jordan as a memorial. Elijah took 12 stones “according to the number of the tribes of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name,” and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. Solomon placed 12 officers over Israel; the sea in the temple stood on 12 oxen. The Ezekiel altar was 12 cubits long and 12 broad. In the miracle of the multiplying of the loaves they took up of the fragments 12 baskets full. The apostle Paul speaks of “our 12 tribes, instantly serving God day and night,” while the apostle James addresses himself to “the 12 tribes scattered abroad.” In founding the Christian church, which was, so to speak, a new Israel, our Lord chose 12 apostles, who are frequently called, in consequence, “the twelve.” “Have not I chosen you twelve?” “Then came the twelve and said unto him;” “the twelve were with him.” “In the evening he cometh with the twelve.” “He sat down and called the twelve.” “He took again the twelve.” Our Lord promised to his apostles that they should sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. When betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and about to be forsaken by his apostles, our Lord said to Peter, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels?” The symbolical sun-clothed woman in the Apocalypse has on her head a crown of 12 stars. The New Jerusalem has 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels, and on the 12 gates are written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The city has also 12 foundations, and in them are the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. The 12 gates are 12 pearls, while the tree of life in the midst of the city bears 12 manner of fruits. Of each of the 12 tribes of Israel there are sealed 12 thousand. The New Jerusalem is foursquare, each side measuring 12 thousand furlongs. The redeemed on Mount Zion are 12 times 12 thousand in number.—Id., pp. 264, 265.HBS 57.2

Bible, The French Confession of Faith (a. d. 1559) on.—Art. V. We believe that the Word contained in these books has proceeded from God.... It is not lawful for men, nor even for angels, to add to it, to take away from it, or to change it. Whence it follows that no authority, whether of antiquity, or custom, or numbers, or human wisdom, or judgments, or proclamations, or edicts, or decrees, or councils, or visions, or miracles, should be opposed to these Holy Scriptures.—“The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches,” Philip Schaff, p. 362. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1877.HBS 57.3

Bible, Congregationalists on.—Standing by the rock where the Pilgrims set foot upon these shores, upon the spot where they worshiped God, and among the graves of the early generations, we, elders and messengers of the Congregational churches of the United States in National Council assembled-like them acknowledging no rule of faith but the Word of God-do now declare our adherence to the faith and order of the apostolic and primitive churches.—Declaration of Faith of the National Council of Congregational Churches, held at Boston, Mass., June 14-24, 1865, par. 1; cited in “The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches,” Philip Schaff, p. 734. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1877.HBS 58.1

Bible, The Belgic Confession (a. d. 1561) on.—Art. VII. We be lieve that these Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation, is sufficiently taught therein.—“The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches,” Philip Schaff, pp. 387, 388. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1877.HBS 58.2

Bible, The Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England on.—VI. Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation: so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.—Id., p. 489.HBS 58.3

XX.... It is not lawful for the church to ordain anything that is contrary to God’s Word written, neither may it so expound one place of Scripture, that it be repugnant to another.—Id., p. 500.HBS 58.4

Bible, The New Hampshire Baptist Confession (a. d. 1833) on.—We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.HBS 58.5

[This confession was drawn up by the Rev. John Newton Brown, D. D., of New Hampshire (b. 1803, d. 1868), about 1833, and has been adopted by the New Hampshire Convention and widely accepted by Baptists, especially in the Northern and Western States, as a clear and concise statement of their faith, in harmony with the doctrines of older confessions, but expressed in milder form. The text is taken from the “Baptist Church Manual,” published by the American Baptist Publication Society, Philadelphia.]-Id., p. 742.HBS 58.6

Bible, Confession of the Freewill Baptists (a. d. 1834, 1868) on the Holy Scriptures.—These are the Old and New Testaments; they were written by holy men, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and contain God’s revealed will to man. They are a sufficient and infallible guide in religious faith and practice.HBS 58.7

[This confession was adopted and issued by the General Conference of the Freewill Baptists of America in 1834, revised in 1848, and again in 1865, and 1868. The text is taken from the “Treatise on the Faith and Practice of the Freewill Baptists,” written under the direction of the General Conference, Dover, N. H.]-Id., p. 749.HBS 58.8

Bible, Methodist Articles of Religion (a. d. 1784) on.—V. The Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation....HBS 58.9

VI. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth, yet, notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral.—“The Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches,” Philip Schaff, p. 808. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1877.HBS 59.1

Bible, Suppression of.—It was in regard of translations for the laity, and when, as the result of reading them, the laity came to see something different in religion from the doctrines of the priests and Papacy, that the trial of principle arose. And what then? Says Sismondi, in his “Albigensian Crusade,” p. 226: “Forasmuch as the heretics supported their doctrine by the authority of Holy Scripture, the first indication of heresy at that time [soon after 1200 a. d.] was considered to be the citation of either the epistles or Gospels.”HBS 59.2

In 1229 the Council of Thoulouse prohibited the laity from possessing the Scriptures. So again, about 1270, James I, king of Arragon, passed a law that whoever possessed any of the books of the Old or New Testament in the Romance or vulgar tongue, and did not bring them to the bishop to be burned, should be considered suspected of heresy. (Townley.)HBS 59.3

About 1400 the Decree of Pope Alexander V, which condemned all translations into the vulgar tongues, caused the suppression to be more decided and universal through Western Christendom. In England, for example, Arundel, archbishop of Canterbury, decreed in convocation that neither Wycliffe’s translation, nor any other in the English tongue, should be read till approved by the bishop; and several persons were burned, as appears from bishops’ registers, for refusing compliance, and reading Wycliffe’s translation. (See Gray’s Key; also Townshend’s “Preliminary Essay to Foxe,” p. 255, etc.) Soon after, in 1413, a law was passed by Henry V, decreeing that all Lollards, or those who possessed or read Wycliffe’s books (especially his New Testament) should forfeit lands, cattle, goods, body, life, and be condemned for heretics to God, enemies to the crown, and arrant traitors to the land. (Townley; and also LeBas’ Wicliff, 241.)HBS 59.4

Once more, at the Council of Constance in 1415, Gerson complained of “many laymen among the heretics having a version of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, to the great prejudice of the Catholic faith;” adding, “It has been proposed to reprove this scandal in the Committee of Reform.” (Waddington, p. 692.)-“Hora Apocalyptica,” Rev. E. B. Elliott, A. M., Vol. II, p. 21, 3rd edition. London: Seeley, Burnside, and Seeley, 1847.HBS 59.5

Buddhism, Creed of.—Buddhism has cherished from the beginning a strong didactic instinct which impelled it to formulate its ethical and religious truths in picturesque groups which lend themselves to ready memorizing both by monk and by lay brother and even by young children, and constitute an obvious catechetic basis of instruction. It proclaims a set of four noble truths, a cluster of three gems, the twelve sentences, the eightfold path, the five or eight or ten vows, over against the ten fetters,-formulae which are models of vivid teaching, and move our admiration. It has, indeed, an explicit creed or profession in universal use at the admission of catechumens to the order or to lay association, the refuge formula or “the three guiding stars.”HBS 59.6

“I take my refuge in the Buddha (the enlightened one); I take my refuge in the Dhamma (law or doctrine); I take my refuge in the Sangha (brotherhood of the elect, or order).”HBS 60.1

This confession of the Buddhist trinity-Saviour, gospel-law, and church-appears in slightly varied forms throughout the liturgies and sacred books, e. g. in the chant, “In close heart-communion we adore the eternal Buddha, the eternal law, the eternal order,” which is incorporated in a pious Chinese emperor’s service book of the fifteenth century a. d. It is noteworthy that King Asoka, the Buddhist Constantine, in the edicts which he carved in stone in the third century b. c., combined a zeal for confession, “Confess and believe in God, who is the worthy object of obedience,” with a passion for tolerance, “A man should honor his personal creed, but not blame his neighbor’s.... He who acteth otherwise impaireth his own creed and injureth that of others. The man, whoever he be, who possesseth his own creed, and blameth that of others, saith, ‘Let us set up our own religion in full light,’-that man, I say, doeth much injury to his own creed. Wherefore religious harmony alone is good.... I pray with every manner of prayer for those who differ from me in creed, that they, following my right example, may with me attain unto eternal salvation.”-“A History of Creeds and Confessions of Faith,” William A. Curtis, B. D., D. Litt., pp. 14, 15. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1912.HBS 60.2

Buddhism, Philosophy of.—If this pessimism is to be understood in its basis and in its essence, it ought to be studied in and through the conditions which created what we have termed its most perfect expression-the philosophy of Buddhism.HBS 60.3

Let us distinctly conceive the conditions under which the system arose. It stood in a twofold antithesis to the speculative tendencies it found in India, even though it was a dialectical evolution from them. The philosophy that made it was that of the ascetic communities, or the forest schools, where men cultivated the meditation by which they hoped to escape from the conditions of their mortal being. In these schools there was a kind of aristocracy both of blood and of idea. The scholars sprang from the castes of the twice born, i. e., they were men of Aryan descent; and the ideas on which they meditated had been born of the Aryan mind, and were rooted in its experience and history. They conceived man as an emanation from the great abstract Being whom they had evolved from their old and simple theistic beliefs.HBS 60.4

This Being was not personal and masculine, but abstract and neuter, a substance or essence rather than a God. They called him now Brahma, now Atman or Paramatman, Soul or Supreme Soul, now the One or the That, which breathed breathless, within whom had somehow arisen a sort of dim desire to realize himself, whence had come creation and all the souls of men. These souls were like so many atoms singly and collectively imperishable, each capable of conversion, but incapable of destruction; all issued from Brahma, all were destined to absorption in Brahma; but from the moment of origin to the moment of absorption-points infinitely remote from each other-there ceaselessly revolved the wheel of existence, and they with it.HBS 60.5

And this wheel, to which all being was bound and with which all moved, carried the individualized soul, or the separated atom, round and round in cycles and epicycles of incalculable change till the supreme moment arrived when he could escape from it back into the undifferentiated and undistributed Brahma. In one age he might be born a man, in another a wild beast ravening in the forest; in his human cycle he might move downward from king to beggar, or upward from low-born fool and sinner to high-born sage and saint, or he might fall from the seraphic to the demoniac state; in one existence he might live like a god, in another he might be humiliated to the lowest ranks of the brute creation. But rest, the end he was bound ever to seek and to crave, was of all things the hardest to attain; and here the cruel and inexorable partiality of the conditions which regulated these changes appeared. [pp. 118, 119] ...HBS 60.6

With the Hindu schools, Buddha said: “If we live today, it is because we have in some past existence accumulated the merit that calls for reward, or the demerit that cries for punishment. Merit is only a less evil than demerit, for it maintains in being, and by means of this continuance perpetuates the eternal possibility of some downward change through some act of conscious or unconscious sin.” And then he added: “In order to escape from being we must escape equally from merit and demerit; but to do this we cannot live among men, where we must do the things which entitle to penalty or reward. We must retire from the world, and cultivate the suppression of the very desire to live, the surrender of the capability to act, the quenching of the thirst that by goading us into action binds by merit or demerit to the wheel of life. When we have ceased to desire, we shall cease to will, cease to act, to acquire, or to lose merit. The law that maintains being and enforces change will then cease to operate, and released from the ever-revolving wheel, we shall attain Nirvana and return no more.”-“The Philosophy of the Christian Religion,” Andrew Martin Fairbairn, M. A., D. D., LL. D., pp. 117-121. New York: George H. Doran Company, copyright 1902.HBS 61.1

Bullarium.—Bullarium is a term commonly applied to a collection of bulls and other analogous papal documents, whether the scope of the collection be quite general in character, or whether it be limited to the bulls connected with any particular order, or institution, or locality.—The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, art. “Bullarium,” p. 48.HBS 61.2

Bulls and Briefs.—A bulla was originally a circular plate or boss of metal, so called from its resemblance in form to a bubble floating upon water (Lat. bullire, to boil). In course of time the term came to be applied to the leaden seals with which papal and royal documents were authenticated in the early Middle Ages, and by a further development the name, from designating the seal, was eventually attached to the document itself. This did not happen before the thirteenth century and the name “bull” was at first only a popular term used almost promiscuously for all kinds of instruments which issued from the papal chancery. A much more precise acceptation has prevailed since the fifteenth century, and a bull has long stood in sharp contrast with certain other forms of papal documents. For practical purposes a bull may be conveniently defined to be “an apostolic letter with a leaden seal,” to which one may add that in its superscription the Pope invariably takes the title of episcopus, servus servorum Dei [bishop, servant of the servants of God].HBS 61.3

In official language papal documents have at all times been called by various names, more or less descriptive of their character. For example, there are “constitutions,” i. e., decisions addressed to all the faithful and determining some matter of faith or discipline; “encyclicals,” which are letters sent to all the bishops of Christendom, or at least to all those of one particular country, and intended to guide them in their relations with their flocks; “decrees,” pronouncements on points affecting the general welfare of the church; “decretals” (epistola decretales), which are papal replies to some particular difficulty submitted to the holy see, but having the force of precedents to rule all analogous cases. “Rescript,” again, is a term applicable to almost any form of apostolic letter which has been elicited by some previous appeal, while the nature of a “privilege” speaks for itself. But all these, down to the fifteenth century, seem to have been expedited by the papal chancery in the shape of bulls authenticated with leaden seals, and it is common enough to apply the term “bull” even to those very early papal letters of which we know little more than the substance, independently of the forms under which they were issued.—The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. III, art. “Bulls and Briefs,” pp. 52, 53.HBS 61.4

Bulls, In Cona Domini.—In Cona Domini: A papal bull issued annually on Holy Thursday for several centuries, famous in European history as formulating the condemnation of numerous heresies.... In its latest form the bull begins with an excommunication of various heretics and schismatics individually, and condemns also those who appeal from papal decrees to a general council, pirates, wreckers, etc. It is not to be wondered at that this bull was regarded by secular powers as an infringement of their rights and its proclamation prohibited. Clement XIV discontinued its publication at Rome in 1770, and Pius IX finally abolished it by the constitution Apostolica sedis of Oct. 12, 1869, though this constitution is in certain points, especially as concerns heretics, practically a repetition of the Bulla Cona.—The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. V, art. “In Cona Domini,” pp. 471, 472.HBS 62.1