It is from the graves and ruins and rubbish-heaps of Egypt that writings have been restored to us in great numbers.

No serious student of the Bible in English can neglect the Revised Version without loss.

It is from the graves and ruins and rubbish-heaps of Egypt that writings have been restored to us in great numbers.

The Gospels were not thought of as works of literature. People were not concerned with the literary reputation of Matthew or Mark, but with the substance of their records of our Lord's life. They did not have to respect their actual words, as they would if they were transcribing the works of Thucydides or Plato.

All we can say is that, as the result of a process which went on from the fourth century to about the eighth, a standard type of text was produced, which is found in the vast majority of the manuscripts that have come down to us. At least ninety-six per cent of the extant manuscripts of the Greek New Testament are later than the eighth century; and of those only a handful preserve traces of the other types of text which were in existence before the adoption of the standard text, and out of which it was created.

The Bible has a human history as well as a divine inspiration. It is a history full of interest, and it is one which all those who value their Bible should know, at least in outline, if only that they may be able to meet the criticisms of sceptics and the ignorant.

The publication of the Revised New Testament by the two University Presses on May 17, 1881, was the most sensational in the annals of publishing.