Polyglot Bibles
polyglot Bibles
(Greek: polys, many; glotta, tongue; many-tongued)
Printed renditions of the text of Scripture in several languages. The oldest of these Bibles is the Complutensian Polyglot (1514-1517) of Cardinal Ximenes. This work exhibits printed texts of the Old Testament in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and of the New Testament in Greek and Latin. Worthy of note also are the Antwerp, Paris, and London Polyglots.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Polyglot Bibles
The first Bible which may be considered a Polyglot is that edited at Alcalá (in Latin Complutum, hence the name Complutensian Bible), Spain, in 1502-17, under the superviision and at the expense of Cardinal Ximenes, by scholars of the university founded in that city by the same great Cardinal. It was published in 1520, with the sanction of Leo X. Ximenes wished, he writes, “to revive the languishing study of the Sacred Scriptures”; and to achieve this object he undertook to furnish students with accurate printed texts of the Old Testament in the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin languages, and of the New Testament in the Greek and Latin. His Bible contains also the Chaldaic Targum of the Pentateuch and an interlinear Latin translation of the Greek Old Testament. The work is in six large volumes, the last of which is made up of a Hebrew and Chaldaic dictionary, a Hebrew grammar, and Greek dictionary. It is said that only six hundred copies were issued; but they found their way into the principal libraries of Europe and had considerable influence on subsequent editions of the Bible. Vigouroux made use of it in the very latest of the Polyglots. Cardinal Ximenes was, he asures us, eager to secure the best manuscripts accessible to serve as a basis of his texts; he thanks Leo X for lending him Vatican MSS. Traces of such MSS. are, indeed, discernible, particularly in the Greek text; and there is still a copy at Madrid of a Venetian MS. which he is thought to have used. He did not, however, use any of what are now considered the best; appreciation of the worth of the MSS., and of their variant readings, had still much progress to make; but the active work of many years produced texts sufficiently pure for most purposes.
The “Complutensian Bible” published the first printed edition of the Greek Old Testament, the one which was commonly used and reproduced, before the appearance of the edition of Sixtus V, in 1587. It is followed, on the whole, in the Septuagint columns of the four great Polyglots edited by Montanus (Antwerp, 1569-72); Bertram (Heidelberg, 1586-1616); Wolder (Hamburg, 1596); and Le Jay (Paris, 1645). Ximenes’ Greek New Testament, printed in 1614, was not published until six years after the hastily edited Greek New Testament of Erasmus, which was published before it in 1516; but in the fourth edition of Erasmus’ work (1527), which forms the basis of the “Textus Receptus”, a strong influence of Ximenes’ text is generally recognized.
The “Antwerp Bible”, just mentioned, sometimes called the “Biblia Regia”, because it was issued under the auspices of Philip II, depends largely on the “Complutensian” for the texts which the latter had published. It adds to them an interlinear translation of the Hebrew, the Chaldaic Targums (with Latin translation) of the books of the Hebrew Bible which follow the Pentateuch, excepting Daniel, Esdras, Nehemias, and Paralipomenon, and the Peshito text of the Syriac New Testament with its Latin translation. This work was not based on MSS. of very great value; but it was carefully printed by Christophe Plantin, in eight magnificent volumes. The last two contain an apparatus criticus, lexicons and grammatical notes.
The “Paris Polyglot” in ten volumes, more magnificent than its Antwerp predecessor, was edited with less accuracy, and it lacks a critical apparatus. Its notable additions to the texts of the “Antwerp Bible”, which it reproduces without much change, are the Samaritan Pentateuch and its Samaritan version edited with Latin translation by the Oratorian, Jean Morin, the Syriac Old Testament and New Testament Antilegomena, and the Arabic version of the Old Testament.
The “London Polyglot” in six volumes, edited by Brian Walton (1654-7), improved considerably on the texts of its predecessors. Besides them, it has the Ethiopic Psalter, Canticle of Canticles, and New Testament, the Arabic New Testament, and the Gospels in Persian. All the texts not Latin are accompanied by Latin translations, and all, sometimes nine in number, are arranged side by side or one over another on the two pages open before the reader. Two companion volumes, the “Lexicon Heptaglotton” of Edmund Cassel, appeared in 1669. The Bible was also published in several languages by Elias Hutter (Nuremberg, 1599-1602), and by Christianus Reineccius (Leipsic, 1713-51).
Modern Polyglots are much less imposing in appearance than those of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; and there is none which gives the latest results of scientific textual criticism as fully as did Brian Walton’s in its day. We may cite, however, as good and quite accessible:–Bagster, “Polyglot Bible in eight languages” (2 vols., London, 2nd ed. 1874). The languages are Hebrew, Greek, English, Latin, German, Italian, French, and Spanish. It gives in appendix the Syriac New Testament, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and many variants of the Greek text. This Bible is printed in very small type. It is a new edition, on a reduced scale, of Bagster’s “Biblia Sacra Polyglotta” (6 vols., London, 1831). “Polyglotten-Bibel zum praktischen Handgebrauch”, by Stier and Theile, in four quarto volumes (5th ed., Bielefeld, 1890). This Polyglot contains the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German texts. “Biblia Triglotta”, 2 vols., being, with the omission of modern languages, a reissue of the “Biblia Hexaglotta”, edited by de Levante (London, 1874-6). It contains the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts of the Old Testament, and the Greek, Latin, and Syriac texts of the New Testament. Published by Dickenson, London, 1890. “La Sainte Bible Polyglotte” (Paris, 1890-98), by F. Vigouroux, S.S., first secretary of the Biblical Commission, is the only modern Polyglot which contains the deuterocanonical books, and the only one issued under Catholic auspices. Vigouroux has secured the correct printing, in convenient quarto volumes, of the ordinary Massoretic text, the Sixtine Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, and a French translation of the Vulgate by Glaire. Each book of the Bible is preceded by a brief introduction; important variant readings, textual and exegetical notes, and illustrations are given at the foot of the pages.
MASCH LELONG, Bibliotheca Sacra I (Halle, 1778), 331-424. In each Polyglot is found some historical information about itself and its predecessors. VIGOUROUX, Manuel biblique (Paris, 1905), 260 sq. Individual texts of the Polyglots are dealt with in Biblical introductions. SWETE, Introd. to the O. T. in Greek is particularly useful. PICK, History of printed editions … and Polyglot Bibles in Hebraica, IX (1892-3), 47- 116.
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W.S. REILLY Transcribed by WGKofron With thanks to St. Mary’s Church, Akron, Ohio
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIICopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Polyglot Bibles
Although the earliest specimen of a polyglot was that of a projected work of the celebrated printer Aldus Manutius, of which one page only was published, the first of this kind was the Complutensiam Polyglot, entitled Biblia Sacra Polyglotta, complectentia Vetus Testamentum, Hebraico, Chaldaico, Graeco, et Latino idiomate; Novtum Testamentum Graecum et Latinum; et vocabularium Hebraicum et Chaldaicum, grammatica Hebraica; necnon dictionario Greco. De mandato et sumptibus Cardinalis Francisci Ximenis de Cisneros (6 vols. fol., in Complutensi Universitate, 1514-17). As the title already indicates, we are indebted for this work to the celebrated cardinal, statesman, and general, Francis Ximenes de Cisneros, SEE XIMENES, who published it at his own expense, at the cost of 50,000 ducats. It was commenced in 1502, completed in 1517, and published in 1522. The editors were Ailius Antonius, Ducas, Pincianus, Stunica, Zamora, Coronellus, and Johannes de Vergara. The last three were originally Jews. The first four volumes contain the O.T., with the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, in three columns, the Targum, and a Latin version of the same. The position of’ the Latin between the Hebrew and the Greek was to indicate that just as Christ was crucified between two thieves, so the Roman Church, represented by St. Jerome’s version, is crucified between the synagogue, represented by the Hebrew text, and the Eastern Church, denoted by the Greek version. The fifth volume contains the Greek Testament, with the Latin Vulgate. The last volume consists of vocabularies, indexes, etc. The Greek Testament was finished in 1517; but the MSS. were modern, and not of much critical value (see Dr. Bowring’s letter, Monthly Repository for 1827, p. 572). There is little doubt that the celebrated text of the Three Witnesses in this edition was translated from the Latin. There were only 600 copies printed of this splendid work, of which three were on vellum. One of these was sold in England in 1829 for 600 guineas.
The Antwerp Polyglot was published in 1569-72, in 8 vols. fol., at the expense of Philip II, king of Spain, whence it is also called Biblia Regia. It contains, in addition to the Complutensian texts, a Chaldee paraphrase, the Syriac version, and the Latin translation of Arias Montanus, which was a correction of that of Pagnints. It also contains lexicons and grammars of the various languages of the originals and versions. SEE ARIAS MONTANUS.
The Paris Polyglot, in addition to the contents of the former works, has a Syriac and Arabic version of both the O.T. and N.T., with the Samaritan Pentateuch, now published for the first time, and edited by J. Morinus. This polyglot also contains the Samaritan version of the same. It was published in 1645, in 10 vols. large folio. The editor of this valuable but unwieldy work was Michael le Jay, who was ruined by the publication. SEE LE JAY.
The London Polyglot, edited by Brian Walton, afterwards bishop of Chester, is much more comprehensive than any of the former. It was published in 1657, in 6 vols. fol. The first volume, besides prolegomena (published separately by A. Dathe, Lips. 1777), contains the Pentateuch, exhibiting on one page the Hebrew text, with the interlinear Latin version of Arias Montanus, the Latin Vulgate of the Clementine edition, the Septuagint of the Roman edition, and the various readings of the Cod. Alex., the Latin version of Flaminius Nobilius, the Syriac with a Latin version, the Targum of Olnkelos with a Latin version, the Samaritan Pentateuch with the Samaritan version of the same, and a Latin translation serving for both, and the Arabic with a Latin version. The second volume comprises the historical books, with the Targums of Jonathan. The third volume contains the books from Job to Malachi, and, besides the versions in all the former languages, the Psalms in Ethiopic, and a Latin translation. The fourth volume has all the Deutero-canonical books in Greek, Latin, Arabic, and Syriac; the two Hebrew texts of Tobit, and two Chaldee and a Persian Targum on the Pentateuch, with Latin versions. The fifth volume has the N.T., with Arias Montanus’s translation; the Syriac, Persic, Latin, Vulgate, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions. These, with separate Latin versions of the Oriental translations, are all given on one page. The sixth volume contains various readings and critical remarks. The whole of this stupendous labor was completed in four years. It was published by subscription, under the patronage of Oliver Cromwell, who died before its completion. This gave occasion to the canceling of two leaves of the preface, in order to transfer to king Charles II the compliments addressed to Cromwell. There are in consequence both republican and royal copies, the former of which are the most scarce and valuable. For the variations between these, see Butler’s Force Biblicae and Adam Clarke’s Succession of Sacred Literature. This polyglot was accompanied by Castell’s Heptaglot Lexicon, in 2 vols. fol. SEE CASTELL; SEE WALTON.
The Leipsic or Reineccius’s Polyglot, published under the title Biblia Sacra Quadrilinguica V. Test. Hebr. etc. (1747-51, 3 vols. fol.). The N.T. was published first in 1713, and with a new title page in 1747, while the O.T. was published in 1750-51. The first volume contains the historical books, the second the remaining books of the O.T., together with the apocryphal books. Besides the Hebrew, the Alexandrian version and Seb. Schmidt’s Latin and Luther’s German translation are given. The Greek text of the apocryphal books is that of Grabe. The N.T. comprising the third volume, has, besides the Greek, the Syriac, the vulgar Greek version, and S. Schmidt’s Latin and Luther’s German version.
Besides Reineccius’s version, we may mention the Heidelberg or Bertram’s Polyglot (3 vols. fol., ex officina Sanct-Andreana, 1586; 2d ed. 1599; 3d ed. 1616), the Hamburg or Wolder’s Polyglot (Hamburg, 1596, fol.) and Hutter’s, of which only the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth were published (Norimbergae, 1599, fol.), and the N.T. But by far the best of all these small polyglots is Reineccius’s.
Of the polyglots published in our century, we mention Mr. Bagster’s Polyglot (Lond. 1831, fol.), containing in one volume the Hebrew text, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Syriac versions, the Greek text of Mill in the N.T., together with Luther’s German, Diodati’s Italian, Ostervald’s French, Scio’s Spanish, and the English A.V. of the Bible. The prolegomena of S. Lee are a very useful help to the student. The cheapest and most generally useful polyglot is one entitled Polyglotten – Bibelzum praktischen Handgebrauch, edited by Drs. Stier and Theile. It contains the Hebrew, Septuagint, Vulgate, and German, in the O.T., and the Greek, Vulgate, and German, in the N.T. The latest polyglot edition is the Hexaglot Bible, comprising the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in the original Tongues, together with the Septuagint, the Syriac (of the New Testament), the Vulgate, the Authorized English and German, and the most approved French Versions, edited by R. De Levante (Lond. 1876, 6 vols. royal 4to).
There are also polyglots of several portions of the Bible, of which one of the most valuable is that published at Constantinople, in Hebrew, Chaldee, Persian. and Arabic, in 1546. The Rabbinical Bibles (q.v.) are in many cases also to some extent polyglot. Besides the article BIBLE SEE BIBLE , see Ernesti, De Bibliis Polyglottis (Wittenb. 1688); Darling, Cyclopaedia Bibliographica (Holy Scriptures), col. 39 sq.; Rosenmller, Handbuch der biblischen Literatur, 3, 281 sq.; Le Long-Masch, Bibliotheca Sacra, 1, 331 sq.; Eichhorn, Einleituag ina das A. Test. (Index in vol. 5, s.v. Polyglotte); Simon, Hist. Critique du Vieux Testament (Rotterdam, 1685), p. 514 sq.; Carpzov, Critica Sacra (Lipsia, 1748), p. 387 sq.; Kortholt. Tract. de variis Scripturae edition. cap. 32:p. 374 sq.; Tenzel, Diatribe Philol. de Bibiis Polyglottis (Wittenb. 1686); Celsius, De Bibliis Polyglottis dissertatio (Upsala, 1707); Wolf, Biblioth. Hebr. vol. 2, 10, p. 332 sq.; Walton, Prolegom. 14; Hottinger, Bibliothecar. Quadripartitum, p. 133 sq.; Alter, Bibliograph. Nachrichten (Wien, 1779), p. 30 sq.; Reuss, Bibliotheca Novi Testamenti, etc. (Brunsvigue, 1872), 5; and his art. Polyglotten-Bibebl in Herzog, Real-Encyklop.; the art. Polyglott in Kitto; Diestel, Gesch. des Alten Test. (Jena, 1869), p. 207, 254, 255; and, as far as the Complutensian Polyglot is concerned, the excellent monograph of Delitzsch, Studien zur Entstehungs. gesch. der Polyglotten – Bibel des Cardinals Ximenes (Leips. 1871). (B. P.)