2 THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 30. 1917. mm 1 11 Jink ilia i IMIliLll V i i i r tf rt n n A. "" '- .:'-,V: TWO RADICAL CHANGE! IX NEW BIBLE. The Older Veraloa. "Thou sbalt not kllL" Ezodtts zz:lS. "Behold, a, Tirrln hall con ceive and bear a eon." Isaiah tH:X4- Tfc. Hew Tenrioa. Thou ahalt not murder." "Behold the young: woman shall conceive and bear a son." BY DR. CLIFTON HARBT LEVY. tThe writer of this article, a New York Kabbl, reviews the important work of the new translators from the view point of a Hebrew scholar.) EVERYONE knows that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew by the Jews. Many know that the authorized English version was 'adopted under King James I of Eng land in 1611. and that It was done by Christian scholars. Naturally it has been frequently asked: "Why do not the Jews make an English version of their own scripture, for surely they ought to know the meaning of the Hebrew better than any other schol ars V It Is In answer to this question and to the demand on the part of the Jews themselves for a correct translation of the Old Testament that the work of translating the Bible was undertaken by a body of representative Jewish scholars of the United States some nine years ago, and only now has the new version been published by the Jewish Publication Society, of Philadelphia. The Call far New Effort. Many Christian scholars had felt the seed of a new translation of the Bible, holding that scholarship had advanced considerably since the authorized ver sion was made, and as a result came a the revised version at the close of the 19th century, but this has not sained wide acceptance, perhaps be cause, as it has been frequently argued. It did not go far enough in correcting the palpable errors of the older ren dering. The Jewish scholars, brought up on the Hebrew Bible, filled with the study of ancient commentaries in Hebrew, . and utilizing the best results of modern scholarship, ougrht to be in a position to give It a really truthful rendering of the original text, if any body of scholars can. The version now pre sented to' the world will doubtless arouse considerable criticism, but with Its alteration of nearly 60.000 passages much food for thought is offered. The translators went back to the original Hebrew text, but they were wise enough not to cast aside the masterly English of the authorized version, retaining its diction perfectly, and only altering it where it fails to convey the true meaning of the orig inal or uses obsolete English words which the modern reader does not un derstand correctly. We cannot be certain of the language In which the earlier parts of the Bible was written. While many still believe that Genesis and the other earlier books were written in Hebrew, there are some who hold, and with considerable evidence on their side, that the lan guage In which Moses and the earlier writers wrote down their part of the Bible was the Cuneiform, the wedge shaped characters of Babylonia. At the head of these scholars stands Professor Edouard Xaville. a profound student of Semitic languages, who has dug in the sands of Egypt for many years and brought forth many wonder ful discoveries of the age of Mosea He states emphatically that the Cuneiform via the sacred language of that time and country, and that its use explains the statements In the Bible that "God wrote" so and so, because this "holy script waa kept for holy writings It was In thia acrlpt, according to him. that Moses wrote down the Ten Com mandments, and only in later ages. In the time of Kara, were these and the AvKJf -&--HsJtv -ii'-fi,,'r &--' - . '.!-. '--.I'S? f .-.- r ; inHi rrrnti.riT iri s uirt other laws which he had written down, translated or .reproduced. In what we now call Hebrew letters, for the lan guage was much the same, the Baby lonian being considered the great orig inal Semitic tongue, out of which the other grew later. Quoting Still Older Books. In the Old Testament books there are many allusions to still older books of which all knowledge Is lost. For example. In Numbers xil:K. we read: "It is said In the book of the wars of the Lord." plainly referring to some book existing at that time, but now lost. In which was recorded much of the adventures of Israel. In the book of Joshua, after telling in poetic form how the "sun stood still," the authority is given: "Is not this written in the book of Jasher." a work which must have been well known then, but of which we know nothing more. The difficulties with which the translator from the Hebrew has to contend are hardly appreciated by those who never looked into a Hebrew Bible, especially a manuscript or copy without the vowel-points. For the un initiated It must be stated that tn Hebrew vowels are not considered true letters, and only consonants are uti lized for Indicating words. The vowels are omitted in print, as a rule. Just as the expert shorthand writer omits vowels, the scholar being supposed to be able to supply the necessary vowels, according to the consonants appearing. and the sense of the verse or passage. Suppose that in English you had to read a sentence like this: "THT MKS MN RGHTS." We might guess that it should be read: "That makes men righteous." But someone might say that MKS should be read "marks." that MN should be read "man" and that RGHTS should be read "rights" instead of righteous, and we would have: "That marks man rights, which might be held to suggest an altogether different idea from the first reading of the un voweled sentence. This kind of read ing Is utterly foreign to the reader of English, French or any of the lan guages to which we are accustomea, but the student of the Semitic lan guages is quite accustomed to dealing with this problem and from his knowl edge of grammar and studj of various texts he is more or less sure of the proper vowels to be placed beneath the consonants in the text- Yet the absence of vowels leads to many dif ferences of opinion, for a difference in the vowel may change a past into a future tense of a verb, or may alter the significance of a sentence materially. Task ( the New Editors. There are other difficulties In the Hebrew text. Some of the consonants are very much alike in shape. The Hebrew T is very much like R. the H like CH. the CH like V. If the reader vowel a word wrong he may-change the meaning of the word and sentence. Considering all this, the difficulties facing the translator from the Hebrew are not a few. Tradition has helped to fix some of the readings, but modern scholarship at times steps In and says that the traditional reading is incor rect, and the reading of D for R will give a far better meaning to a special passage. The task of the editors of this new version was therefore very great, and scholars as well as laymen will be In terested in the results. Dr. Max L. Margolis, of Dropsle Col lege, Philadelphia, has done the major part of the work, but a board of edi tors, consisting of Drs. Schechter. Kohler, Jacobs, Schulman. Adler and Phillipson. representing all of the Jew ish institutions of learning In the United States, have passed upon all the work, and especially upon all the disputed or questionable renderings. It is to be remarked that the text is printed in paragraphs, as it appears in the original Hebrew, tbua avoiding the very confusing breaking up of the sense, as is done by the division into verses, in the usual versiona Besides, .very poetio passage 1 printed in poetio lines, ao that the reader may knew from the very form of the lines before him whether ha is reading poetry or prose, and make al lowancea accordingly. Quotation marks are also used wherever re -God in tTTOO ptst 4irrn)y and many vareA, npaii Vnto the fethei- by orophec r but in these mat Im hath spoken vnto r by hy soane, whom h liath made heyre of ail Ihyngst by whom also ha mad ; the woride. "W hioh tonne beynfft fha brightnes erf hi irkorj; inii very ywage ofl hia tub at n nee. bearynpe vppe all thynga with tha nt ivttr V .. -., V quired, thus removing one of the great difficulties In understanding passages where different apeakera are con cerned. To give aome Idea of the character of the changea in thia new version we may cite a few Instances. In the very first chapter of Genesis, verse 2, the old version had "the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The new version reads: "The spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters," which seems to me a far finer picture, and truer to the original He brew. In the third chapter? of Genesis, verse 7. the older version read: "And they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons." while In the new version we read "girdles" instead of aprons, the translation of the Hebrew, and at the same time Indi cating a very much mora natural way of sewing the leaves together one practiced by many savage tribes to this day. The Isaiah Prophecy. One highly significant rendering Is of a passage In Isaiah, a passage which has long been held to be the basis for the Christian dogma of the "Immacu late Conception." It is that famous 14th verse of the seventh chapter: . "Behold a virgin shall conceive snd bear a son, and shall call his name Im manuel." In the new version it reads: "Behold, the young woman shall con ceive." This passage Is referred to in Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:31-34, being quoted literally In Matthew, but referred to by Luke. Christian scholars of our day agree that the older version is incor rect- The Hebrew word is "Ha'almah" and was translated In the earliest Greek version, the Septuagint (250 B. C.) by the Greek word "Parthenos." which means "Virgin," and therefore opened the way for a perpetuation of the error by those who did not go to the original Hebrew, but relied upon the Greek version when translating into a modern tongue. " t One of the greatest Christian scholars, who did much to advance the study of Hebrew among his coreligion ists was Gesenius, and In his Lexicon he states unequivocally that virgin Is mistranslation for the Hebrew, and that if the Hebrew writer had wished to indicate a virgin he would have used quite a different word, "Bethulah" and not "Almah." The "Ha" In the Hebrew prefixed to "Almah" means "the," and in the old version was not translated. while In the new version it is correctly given, indicating that the Prophet Isaiah had a special young woman in mind, one living in his day, of whom he ex pected the Messiah would be born, or at least a descendant of David worthy to sit upon his throne and re-establish the Jewish commonwealth. There are many other mistakes in the Septuagint, CONVICTION GROWS THAT MUSIC, NOT DRAMA, WILL WOO THOUGHTS AWAY FROM WORLD WAR Continued From First Pars.) were based upon the psychology of the role and were aa thoroughly welded to the action as to the song. We are not accustomed to look at Vloletta as a role of great subtlety, yet Miss Craft made it marvellously so made it one of the utmost refinement in every artistic detail, and there was no moment when she was out of the picture, no detail, however slight, es caped her. It was a wonderful Imper sonation and it is doubtful If on the dramatic stage today there Is an act ress who could equal It. So far as her singing was concerned she achieved her own highest level, one which would have graced the Metropolitan stage even better than it did the small auditorium of the Forty-fourth-Street Theater. The audi ence, quick to recognize the master piece which was laid open before them, greeted ' her rapturously and one ovation followed the other. Nona, in deed, was mora telling than when the entire orchestra at the close of the first act arose in a body to pay tribute to her achievement. The tenor to sing Alfredo was GIrolamo Ingar, who, when ha was Has the "Conscientious Objector" to War Really Deceived Himself With the Word 'Kill99 in the Commandment? Other Striking Changes in the Old Testament Text Trans lation by Representative Hebrew Scholars tiorerdjO, 1&35 Ccl to tyroa paat dyuersly and many, wayea, spake Tnto y father by pmphetea but ii these last daye God la tyne past dytiersly and many wax en. spake vnto the fathrrs by. Pro-' phatra bat m thes da ye j he hath spoken Tnto t Ust dsyea ha hath vs by his sonne. whom t spoken vnto vs by he hath made heyre of : hrs tonnn. .whom hm all thinifm. by whom " hath made heyre of also he made the all thinges: by whom worWe, Which (sofmeV also - he made -y benrnm the brirhLnm I votMa. WKmh Mnnj of his glory, and the . beyiiga- th briahtDea. rery ymaf eof his sub- . of hia flory. and very staunos, bean nice vn-' rmin af hys sub- all thingee with the stance, beaiTnre wordo ol his power, all thynges wyth the hath in his owne per- worde of- hys power,. sonna pounced -onre hath, "in hys nwna , . i: ,fct 5 . w ' -at ' 9'- II l III III) l-pj"- HI 0) IlL 1 ws V "Jut- -.-rVnK ! V V 4 Tr -V a - 1, J- -1: If . J the earlleat Greek veralon, as was to be expected in that early period, espe cially as the work of translation was done by foreign scholars at the behest of the Egyptian King. When you stop to consider that the neglect to translate a single syllable "like "Ha," meaning "The," helps to in crease an error, what Is to be said of many other more or less careless er rors, which are easily possible in trans lating from a manuscript in which no vowel signs appear? Or If the trans lator happened to have a version with the vowel signs, these might mislead him, because of a very slight error made by a Copyist. A single dot like a period (.) gives the sound of B when beneath a letter. The same dot when over a letter has the Sound of O and when in the center of the letter V has the sound OO. How easy it is for a writer of shorthand to confuse himself by placing a dot In the wrong place every stenographer knows, but the old Hebrew scribe could make confusion strictly on the pitch, was as good as some who have sung it in larger houses, and Joseph Royer. the young Canadian baritone, again aroused con siderable enthusiasm by his clever handling of the part of Germont Senior. Others in the parts were Frances Morosini, Alice Homer, Antonio Cetti snd Natale Cervl. The conductor, Cerlo Peroni, deserves more than pass ing mention for what be has accom plished in the way of general excellency of the performance. The musical world Is grieved to learn that Harold V. Mllligan, the brilliantly -talented young composer and organist, has been ill. Mr. Milllgan was operated on for appendicitis and at last reports waa resting easily with every indication of a speedy recovery. Mr. Mllligan has been domiciled in the country for some time, but Mrs. Mll ligan is now moving into town to make it easier for him to resume his work. It will ba remembered that ha 4s the youngest organist holding a position of such importance in the musical world as that of the Fifth-Avenue Baptist, formerly in charge of Harry Rows Shaeley. Another Oregonian of whom the state may well be proud la Delphine Th dcnsT Bible,, I .1560. .! At sondri times and in divers manera i God spake in y old : tims to omr rather by J the Prophetes t S. In these last daye he bathe spoken vnto V. W L nam ne nam maae heyra of all thing, 1 he hath made hair of hv w kflm a 1 m w 4 b ' 1 1 . V.i l. . V the world. Whych I also- ho -made the Vaonne) -being the . worldes, . ! brightnes of hys glory, j and the very ymage I of hys substance ruU 3. who oemv the "brightnes of the glo rie, and the ingratied vs yngeall thyDmswyth i forme of his versone. ; th worde of hys pow-" and bearing v all . er, bath by hys awne ' things by ha might te persua pourged oure worae. hath bv him 5r-T ' - .rf, - .T - sSit u worse confounded In precisely the same way, or by rounding a D and making it an R, or some similar easy error. "Thou Shalt Not Murder." At this time a certain new render ing of one of the Commandments enunciated by Moses may be considered as having a prime Importance. Thou sands of "religious objectors" to par ticipation in war have based their ob jections on the Sixth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." The Hebrew translators of the Hebrew text render this Commandment, "Thou shalt not murder," which lays greater emphasis on illicit or selfish killing, but does not interdict protective or necessary killing represented by honorable war. The wars of the Israelites under the In spiration of direction from the same source as that from which the Com mandment cams might indicate clearly that no Commandment could be ut tered against "killing," while "murder," then as now, has a well understood differentiation and culpability. Marx, who came to New York early last Spring. She had hardly been located before she was engaged for church work In Brooklyn. She waa so well liked among those who knew how to appreciate the rare qualities which she brought to the profession that she soon left that post to accept the posi tion of contralto soloist in the aecond quartet at the largest synagogue of rvew York, where Mary Jordan ii soloist of the first quartet. Wherever Mrs. Marx has been heard she has created a veritable sensation and reaently she achieved a veritable ova tion when she sang with the great concert band of Arnold Volpe at the Stadium of the College of the City of New York. She has a voice which carries not only in tons but in diction, and when she ended, the outburst from an audience of over 15,000 persons was well nigh overwhelming. She sang the new patriotic songs. Our Flag in France," and was compelled to repeat it and she might have taken another encore had she ao desired. Mrs, Marx has promised to sing In number of the important camps after the holidays which make demands upon her time at present are over. Wherever she has sung for "the boys" they have been enthusiastic beyond bounds and Great Tlfble (Crom God in tyina past dioervly and snany wayst-spivke vnto the fathers Vy Prephetes: but in these Uut dayes he hath spoken vnto s by hys awne aonne. Tto Bishops Bible, 1568, 1. Cci whieh mtyme" past, at sundrie cymes, . and in diuers man era, spake vnto the father Ju the prophets :- Hath m these last dayes, spoken vnto va .. i ili' Bheimj Few Tegtamcnt, 1562,- 1 (Diversely and many y-aies in times past God speaking to the fathers in the pro- tphet: last of al in thea daie hath tpo ken to vs in h is Konnev w.,U 1 1 .1 Ti Authorised Tension, 1611. 1 God wbc at fcindrv times, and in diuers 'Tnanners.spakein time Datit VntO thA VatfiAr by the y the a Hath oay h hath appoynied I PoinUd heir of al, heyre of all thynges, ty vvhome he made by whom also he ium aiso the worldes. tlieworidea. $ Who being the I' he. hath heire of whom a. woe Dyn th onghaiesse of bis bryahtneaeof thegio. rie,nd the very usage of his mbstsunoe, rp boldyng all thynctf with the worde of his power, haninghiM. 7 t v-.v.r 5a i,T.;" i Z'K - v"" j i linage fair ttlA OTnrrt , hi. ' '.nrt power, making pur Birimi " ..-.I ii Bifa, things by JUSU she Is happy to their pleasure. devote her talent to A movement Is on foot among the Oregonians in New York to give an entertainment or a series of musicalas for the purpose of sending to the "smoke fund" as much as can be raised for the "boys." Oregon has a singular ly large number of highly talented peo ple, including musicians and other artists, to say naught of our own de lightful Margaret Mayo, who never for gets her Oregon days. Interested tn this movement may be mentioned May Dearborn Schwab, Delphine Marx, Marion Bauer and some of the visiting artists who, like Mary Jordan, "just love Oregon." Mary Garden, idol of the opera-goers of the world, and later even more dear ly beloved by the soldiers of France for what she has done for them directly and indirectly, has returned to this country full of life and enthusiasm and still more profoundly moved to pity than ever before. Miss Garden, tempt ed by all picture concerns of both con tinents, did not Succumb to the finan cial lure until she had in her own mind felt that the time and the company had come. The company she found In the Goldwyn Corporation, of which the Tnrtvlrtor ArtiritK a rt Rflorar Sfllwvn and his captivating and brilliant wife. Mar- garet Mayo. The time is the present and somewhere on the Hudson to be exact, in the Fort Lee studios, Miss Garden will immortalize her supremely beautiful Interpretation of "Thais," in which she made her memorable Ameri can debut at the Manhattan Opera house under the wonderful Hammer stein regime with his noted aid, Cleo fante Campanini. who is expected to re new these triumphs of grand opera this season. Miss Garden has given her entire time and life to relief work In France. She turned over one of her homes as a hospital and she has been ministering to the physical needs of the wounded men with every sou which was hers to command. She has had some memorable performances in opera, it is true, all however, inspired by the needs of the suffering and all for the benefit of the people she had grown to love with all the intensity that is possible to a na ture of such warmth and enthusiasm. But Mary Garden comes back to her own and she comes with a heart full of love and the same moving desire to help. She says that she does not care to take up any of her regular opera or concert work and that she will devote herself to singing in the camps throughout the North or wherever she will be able to go between her engage ments at the studios. She will sing to "the boys" songs that she picked up in the trenches of France, most of which have never been transferred to paper, and she will work in conjunction with the Red Cross by establishing a Na tional sewing day, a Nation-wide Red Cross day entertainment to be observed in every city in the country. Her tre mendous initiative, which has made her what she is in the World of art, she offers lavishly for the benefit Of all who need it. Mary Garden is a greater woman today than ever in her life, for she has known how to give of her true self for a suffering humanity. Hats off to the management of the Strand Theater for the-first move that has been made in the direction of fos tering the same sort of understanding of good orchestral music as has been disseminated for the theater. It has been done by enlarging the orchestra of this notable place of daily amuse ment to full symphonic strength and by the engagement of Adriano Arianl. who immediately proved himself a cap able. Intelligent, poetic musician, able to deliver both classic and romantic music in a manner that should satisfy the critical musician as well as those further down the line. The programme was arranged with all becoming dignity and the enthusi asm with which it was received on Monday at the opening was sufficient proof that it was a happy idea. It is quite unlikely that Harold Edel set the task for himself of raising the stand ards of music among the masses, but with a master-stroke he accomplished it without making anyone feel a class dis tinction, without emphasizing the edu cational side, without asking for en dowment or assistance. He is certainly preparing the greatest number of peo ple for the enjoyment of the Boston Symphony, Philharmonic and New York symphony concerts of any one individ ual that has ever figured in the musi cal uplift of this country, and hla en terprise should be accorded the recep tion that it deserves at- the bands of teachers and students who may easily become familiar with the orchestral lit erature with no difficult financial strain to achieve results. The programme offered Monday will be repeated every day of the week, which meana that anyone aufficisntly Interested In the concert aa a study "may go not only for one hearing, but may return each day and at the end of 5At?rAa7y. si lesycsenJcsv't) Soletres (fere Used'. asttTtertz ' ,Spacss &eyearr W?sv'j b9 BvisedTer. ion, 1881." 1 Goxx having of old tim spoken unto the fathers in th prophet by diera Prophets, Prophets. I in these hut I 2 pun tons ana m dt vera manners, hath' spoken vnto vs t at the end of theaa days spoken nnto ue m hi bon, w hot II he appointed heir of appointed f all thmr. by I ilw h maae an things, through I TM woriai; wno toe. L . 1 !" "? eauigeiw. of his glory oi- ais peroon, .nk . 1 1 . very the week the outlay will have been nominal. The programme of the first week was Brahms' "Tragic Overture," the second movement from Men delssohn's third symphony, A minor, op. 66, Saint Saens' "Danse Macabe," "Pro cession Nocturne," by Henri Rabaud, whose "Marouf" will have its first American production at the Metropoli tan next season, Schumann's "Traum erei," arranged for strings, "The Mill," by Raff, and the overture to Mas- -senet's "Le Roi de Lahore." The large and enthusiastic audience that applauded Arianl and his men re mained to enjoy the regular programme . of motion pictures and musical selec tions, these having been given under direction of Carl Edouarde. "BAA" CHORUS HITS LOOP Sheep in Wool Parade Start Slogan and Spectators Take It Up. " CHICAGO, Sept. 20. Chicago's ll'l old loop bleated for the first time in its history. Old time loophounds, meek aa lambs, stood silently to watch the sheet go by. But did they watch the sheep all th time? Not much! You don't know Chi- j cago-s lo. fk such loop veterans or you wouldn't foolish question. Pretty shepherdesses - winsome and coy enough to dream about tending the specimens of the genus ovis belonging to the south park board, made up a part of the parade that drew crowds sufficient to jam the downtown dis trict and to cause a temporary suspen sion of traffic. . . "Baa-a-aa-aaas" resounded and re echoed throughout the cavernous streets of the loop. The first of these harmonies usually came from the sheep in the street. Soon those on the side lines would begin to echo back and the lamb chorus was on. First it would come In a high soprano, then a barri tone, then the piping of a tenor, and the guttural of some masculine bass. The chorus response waa taken up aa the flocks floated along until it seemed the whole loop was singing its sheep song. All the while the pretty shep herdesses, in 'quaint costume and hold ing their staffs aloft when they weren't busy prodding their recalci trant charges with amateur prods strolled along. Only one thing was lacking, the usual wooly specimen with a tinkle tinkle round his neck. "Why don't you get a bellwether?" shouted some sophisticated farmer from the crowd. "The weather," sang back a pretty shepherd lassie. "Sure, and it Is a nice day." And the sheep? Oh. they didn't care. They're used to the multitudes that storm Washington park, and the crowds didn't awe them. Neither did they pay much attention to the Art Institute or the Illinois Central caravans that went s-smoking by. Their main effort waa to keep out of the way of people. 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