BIDDING. pose in 1563: it was printed in folio, in 1588. Another version, which is the standard translation for that language, was printed in 1620: i is called Parry's Bible. An impression of this was printed in 1690, called Bishop Lloyd's Bible: these were in folio. The first octavo impression of the Welsh Bible was made in 1630. 44. BIBLE, Bengalee. It is with pleasure we add to all the above accounts, that a translation of the New Testament into the Sanscrit, and the last volume of the Bengalee Bible, are now completed, by the missionaries resident in that part. Much has been done by the British and Foreign Bible Society, in printing new editions of the Scriptures in various languages. The reader will find much pleasing information on the subject in the Annual Reports of that Society. See Le Long's Bibliotheca Sacra; Wolfii Bibliotheca Hebræa, vol. ii. p. 338; Johnson's Historical Account of English Translations of the Bible; Lewis's History of the Translations of the Bible into English; Newcome's Historical View of English Translations; Butler's Hora Biblica; and the article Bible, in the Encyclopædia Britannica and Perthensis. BIOGRAPHY they made use of certain known forms of words, BIGOTRY consists in being obstinately and perversely attached to our own opinions; or, as some have defined it, "a tenacious adherence to a system adopted without investigation, and defended without argument, accompanied with a malignant, intolerant spirit towards all who differ." It must be distinguished from love to truth, which influences a man to embrace it wherever he finds it; and from true zeal, which is an ardour of mind exciting its possessor to defend and propagate the principles he maintains. Bigotry is a kind of prejudice combined with a certain degree of malignity. It is thus exempli BIBLICAL, a term applied to that department of writing which treats of the Bible, considered as the prominent subject of sacred litera-fied and distinguished by a sensible writer. ture. The use of the term has, of late years, become more common in proportion as the study of the Scriptures in the original languages, and the criticism of the sacred text, have been more extensively cultivated. See HERMENEUTICS.-B. "When Jesus preached, Prejudice cried, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Crucify him, crucify him, said Bigotry. Why? what evil hath he done? replied Candour." Bigotry is mostly prevalent with those who are ignorant; who have taken up principles without due examination; and who are naturally of a morose and contracted disposition. It is often manifested BIBLIOMANCY, a kind of divination performed by means of the Bible. It consisted in taking passages of Scripture at hazard, and draw-more in unimportant sentiments, or the circuming indications thence concerning things future. stantials of religion, than the essentials of it. It was much used at the consecration of bishops. Simple bigotry is the spirit of persecution with F. J. Davidius, a Jesuit, has published a biblio- out the power; persecution is bigotry armed with mancy under the borrowed name of Veridicus power, and carrying its will into act. As it is the Christianus. It has been affirmed that some well-effect of ignorance, so it is the nurse of it, bemeaning people practise a kind of bibliomancy cause it precludes free inquiry, and is an enemy with respect to the future state of their souls; to truth: it cuts, also, the very sinews of charity, and, when they have happened to fix on a text and destroys moderation and mutual good-will, of an awful nature, it has almost driven them to If we consider the different make of men's minds, despair. It certainly is not the way to know the our own ignorance, the liberty that all men have mind of God by choosing detached parts of Scrip- to think for themselves, the admirable example ture, or by drawing a card on which a passage our Lord has set us of a contrary spirit, and the may be written, the sense of which is to be gath-baneful effects of this disposition, we must at ered only from the context, BIDDELIANS, so called from John Biddle, who, in the year 1644, formed an independent congregation in London. He taught that Jesus Christ, to the intent that he might be our brother, and have a fellow-feeling of our infirmities, and so become the more ready to help us, hath no other than a human nature; and therefore in this very nature is not only a person, since none but a human person can be our brother, but also our Lord and God. Biddle, as well as Socinus and other Unitarians before and since, made no scruple of calling Christ God, though he believed him to be a human creature only, on account of the divine Sovereignty with which he was invested. BIDDING PRAYER. It was part of the office of the deacons in the primitive church, to be monitors and directors of the people in their public devotions in the church. To this end, once be convinced of its impropriety. How contradictory is it to sound reason, and how inimical to the peaceful religion we profess to maintain as Christians!-See PERSECUTION, and books under that article. BIOGRAPHY, (Religious,) or the lives of illustrious and pious men, are well worthy of pe rusing. The advantages of religious biography, are too well known to need a recital in this place. We shall only, therefore, point out some of the best pieces, which the reader may peruse at his leisure :— Hunter's Sacred Biography; Robinson's Scripture Characters; Hunter's History of Christ; J. Taylor's Life of Christ; Care's Lives of the Apostles; Cave's Lives of the F thers; For's Lives of the Martyrs; Melchior Adams's Lives; Fuller's and Clark's Lives; Gilpin's Lives of Wicliff, Cranmer, Latimer, &c.; Walton's Laves by Zouch; Baxter's Narra BLASPHEMY BORRELLISTS more than one God, or denies Christianity to be tive of the most remarkable Passages of his Life BISHOP, a prelate consecrated for the spiritual government of a diocese. The word comes from the Saxon bischop, and that from the Greek rs, an overseer, or inspector. It is a long time since bishops have been distinguished from mere priests, or presbyters; but whether that distinction be of divine or human right; whether it was settled in the apostolic age, or introduced since, is much controverted. Churchmen in general plead for the divine right; while the Dissenters suppose that the word no where signifies more than a pastor or presbyter; the very same persons being called bishops and elders, or presbyters, Acts xx. 17, 28. 1 Pet. v. 1, 3. Tit. i. 5, 7. Phil. i. 1. See EPISCOPACY. All the bishops of England are peers of the realm, except the bishop of Man; and as such sit and vote in the house of lords. Besides two archbishops, there are twenty-four bishops in England, exclusive of the bishop of Sodor and Man. The bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, take the precedence of the other bishops, who rank after them according to their seniority of Consecration. See EPISCOPACY. gift or legacy, and to be imprisoned for years. BODY OF DIVINITY. See THEOLOGY. BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, a sect of Christian reformers which sprung up in Bohemia ir the year 1467. They treated the pope and cardinals as Antichrist, and the church of Rome as the whore spoken of in the Revelations. They rejected the sacraments of the Romish church, and chose laymen for their ministers. They held the Scriptures to be the only rule of faith, and rejected the popish ceremonies in the celebration of the mass; nor did they make use of any other prayer than the Lord's prayer. They consecrated leavened bread. They allowed no adoration but of Jesus Christ in the communion. They rebaptized all such as joined themselves to their congregation. They abhorred the worship of saints and images, prayers for the dead, celibacies, vows, and fasts; and kept none of the festivals but Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. BLASPHEMY, from 8, according to In 1503 they were accused by the Catholics to Dr. Campbell, properly denotes calumny, detracking Ladislaus II., who published an edict against tion, reproachful or abusive language, against thein, forbidding them to hold any meetings, Whosoever it be vented. It is in Scripture ap- either privately or publicly. When Luther deplied to reproaches not ained against God only clared himself against the church of Rome, the but man also, Rom. iii. 8. xiv. 16. 1 Pet, iv. 4. - Bohemian brethren endeavoured to join his party. Gr. It is, however, more peculiarly restrained to At first, that reformer showed a great aversion to evil or reproachful words offered to God. Ac- them; but, the Bohemians sending their depuconling to Lindwood, blasphemy is an injury ties to him in 1535, with a full account of their offered to God, by denying that which is due and doctrines, he acknowledged that they were a sobelonging to him, or attributing to him what is ciety of Christians whose doctrines came nearest not agreeable to his nature. "Three things," to the purity of the Gospel. This sect published savs a divine, "are essential to this crime; 1. another confession of faith in 1535, in which they God must be the object.-2. The words spoken renounced anabaptism, which they at first pracor written, independent of consequences which tised: upon which a union was concluded with others may derive from them, must be injurious the Lutherans, and afterwards with the Zuingin their nature. And, 3. He who commits the lians, whose opinions from thenceforth they conenme must do it knowingly. This is real blas- tinued to follow. phemy: but there is a relative blasphemy, as when a man may be guilty ignorantiy, by proBORRELLISTS, a Christian sect in Holpagating opinions which dishonour God, the ten- land, so named from their founder Borrel, a man dency of which he does not perceive. A man of great learning in the Hebrew, Greek, and La may be guilty of this constructively: for if he tin tongues. They reject the use of the sacraspeak freely against received errors, it will be con-ments, public prayer, and all other external acts red in blasphemy." By the English laws, of worship. They assert that all the Christian pheries of God, as denying his being or pro-churches of the world have degenerated from the vidence, and all contumelious reproaches of Jesus Carist, &c. are offences by the common law, and Pishable by fine, imprisonment, and pillory; art, by the statute law, he that denies one of the persons in the Trinity, or asserts that there are 51 BOOK OF SPORTS. See SPORTS. pure apostolic doctrines, because they have suf fifty-two, by twice joining together two short sec-|municating their Scriptures to strangers; despising tions. Till the persecution of Antiochus Epipha- and shunning the Gentiles, they would not disclose nes, they read only the law; but the reading to them any of the treasures concealed in the Bible. of it being then prohibited, they substituted in the We may add, that the people bordering on the room of it fifty-four sections out of the prophets; Jews, as the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Arabs, &c. and when the reading of the law was restored by were not very curious to know the laws or histhe Maccabees, the section which was read every tory of a people, whom in their turn they hated sabbath out of the law served for their first lesson, and despised. Their first acquaintance with and the section out of the prophets for their se- these books was not till after the several captivicond. These sections were divided into verses; ties of the Jews, when the singularity of the Heof which division, if Ezra was not the author, it brew laws and ceremonies induced several to was introduced not long after him, and seems to desire a more particular knowledge of them. Johave been designed for the use of the Targumists, sephus seems surprised to find such slight footor Chaldee interpreters; for after the return of steps of the Scripture history interspersed in the the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, when Egyptian, Chaldean, Phoenician, and Grecian the Hebrew language ceased to be their mother history; and accounts for it hence, that the sacred tongue, and the Chaldee grew into use instead of books were not as yet translated into Greek or it, the custom was, that the law should be first other languages, and consequently not known to read in the original Hebrew, and then interpre- the writers of those nations. The first version ted to the people in the Chaldee language; for of the Bible was that of the Septuagint into which purpose these shorter sections were very Greek, by order of that patron of literature, Ptolemy Philadelphus; though some maintain that the whole was not then translated, but only the Pentateuch; between which and the other books in the Septuagint version, the critics find a great diversity in point of style and expression, as well as of accuracy. convenient. II. BIRLE, History of. It is thought that Ezra published the Scriptures in the Chaldee character, for, that language being generally used among the Jews, he thought proper to change the old Hebrew character for it, which hath since that time been retained only by the Samaritans, III. BIBLE, modern Divisions of. The di among whom it is preserved to this day. Pri- vision of the Scriptures into chapters, as we at deaux is of opinion that Ezra made additions in present have them, is of modern date. Some atseveral parts of the Bible, where any thing ap tribute it to Stephen Langton, archbishop of peared necessary for illustrating, connecting, or Canterbury, in the reigns of John and Henry III. completing the work; in which he appears to But the true author of the invention was Hugo have been assisted by the same Spirit in which de Sancto Caro, commonly called Hugo Cardina they were first written. Among such additions lis, because he was the first Dominican that ever are to be reckoned the last chapter of Deute- was raised to the degree of cardinal. This Hugo ronomy, wherein Moses seems to give an account flourished about A. D. 1240: he wrote a comment of his own death and burial, and the succession on the Scriptures, and projected the first conof Joshua after him. To the same cause our cordance, which is that of the vulgar Latin Bible. learned author thinks are to be attributed many The aim of this work being for the more easy other interpolations in the Bible, which created finding out any word or passage in the Scriptures, difficulties and objections to the authenticity of he found it necessary to divide the book into secthe sacred text, no ways to be solved without al- tions, and the sections into sub-divisions; for till lowing them. Ezra changed the names of seve-that time the vulgar Latin Bibles were without ral places which were grown obsolete, and, instead of them, put their new names by which they were then called, in the text. Thus it is that Abraham is said to have pursued the kings who carried Lot away captive as far as Dan; whereas that place in Moses's time was called Laish, the name Dan being unknown till the Danites, long after the death of Moses, possessed themselves of it. The Jewish canon of Scripture was then settled by Ezra, yet not so but that several variations have been made in it. Malachi, for instance, could not be put in the Bible by him, since that prophet is allowed to have lived after Ezra; nor could Nehemiah be there, since that book mentions (chap. xii. v. 22.) Jaddua as high priest, and Darius Codomanus as king of Persia, who were at least a hundred years later than Ezra. It may be added, that, in the first book of Chronicles, the genealogy of the sons of Zerubbabel is carried down for so many generations as must necessarily bring it to the time of Alexander; and consequently this book, or at least this part of it, could not be in the canon in Ezra's days, It is probable the two books of Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Malachi, were adopted into the Bible in the time of Simon the Just, the last of the men of the great synagogue. The Jews, at first, were very reserved in com any division at all. These sections are the chapters into which the Bible hath ever since been divided; but the subdivision of the chapters was not then into verses, as it is now. Hugo's method of subdividing them was by the letters, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, placed in the margin, at an equal dis tance from each other, according to the length of the chapters. The subdivision of the chapters into verses, as they now stand in our Bibles, had its original from a famous Jewish rabbi named Mordecai Nathan, about 1445. This rabbi, in imitation of Hugo Cardinalis, drew up a con cordance to the Hebrew Bible, for the use of the Jews. But though he followed Hugo in his di vision of the books into chapters, he refined upon his inventions as to the subdivision, and contrived that by verses: this being found to be a much more convenient method, it has been ever since followed. And thus, as the Jews borrowed the division of the books of the Holy Scriptures into chapters from the Christians, in like manner the Christians borrowed that of the chapters into verses from the Jews. The present order of the several books is almost the same (the Apocrypha excepted) as that made by the council of Trent, IV. BIBLE, rejected Books of. The apocry phal books of the Old Testament, according to the Romanists, are the books of Enoch (sce trymen; that book he omitted, because of the frequent mention of the wars therein, as fearing to inspire too much of the military genius into that people. We have nothing remaining of this version but the four Evangelists, printed in quarto, at Dort, in 1665, from a very ancient manuscript. 7. BIBLE, Grison. A translation of the Bible into the language of the Grisons, in Italy, was completed by Coir, and published in 1720. Jude xiv.,) the third and fourth books of Esdras, 8. BIBLE, Icelandic. The inhabitants of Iceland have a version of the Bible in their language, which was translated by Thorlak, and 9. BIBLE, Indian. A translation of the Bi ble into the North America Indian language, by Elliot, was published in quarto, at Cambridge in 1685. 10. BIBLE, Irish. About the middle of the sixteenth century, Bedell, bishop of Kilmore, set on foot a translation of the Old Testament into the Irish language, the New Testament and the Liturgy having been before translated into that language: the bishop appointed one King to execute this work, who, not understanding the oriental languages, was obliged to translate it from the English. This work was received by Bedell, who, after having compared the Irish with the English translation, compared the latter with the Hebrew, the LXX. and the Italian version of Diodati. When it was finished, the bishop would have been himself at the charge of the impression; but his design was stopped, upon advice given to the lord lieutenant and the archbishop of Canterbury that it would seem a V. BIBLE, Translations of. We have already mentioned the first translation of the Old Testa ment by the LXX. (§2.) Both Old and New Testaments were afterwards translated into Latin by the primitive Christians; and while the Roman empire subsisted. in Europe, the reading of the Scriptures in the Latin tongue, which was the universal language of that empire, prevailed every where; but since the face of affairs in Europe has been changed, and so many different monarchies erected upon the ruins of the Roman empire, the Latin tongue has by degrees grown into disuse; whence has arisen a necessity of translating the Bible into the respective languages of each people: and this has produced as many different versions of the Scriptures in the modern languages as there are different nations professing the Chris-shaineful thing for a nation to publish a Bible tian religion. Of the principal of these, as well as of some other ancient translations, and the earliest and most elegant printed editions, we sall now take notice in their order. 1. BIBLE, Armenian. There is a very ancient Armenian version of the whole Bible done from the Greek of the LXX. by some of their doctors, about the time of Chrysostom. This was first printed entire, 1661, by one of their bishops at Amsterdam, in quarto, with the New Testament in octavo. 2. BIBLE, Bohemian. The Bohemians have Bible translated by eight of their doctors, whom they had sent to the schools of Wirtemberg and Basil on purpose to study the original languages: it was printed in Moravia in 1539. 3. BIBLE, Croatian. A translation of the New Testament into the Croatian language was published by Faber Creim, and others, in 1562 and 1563. translated by such a despicable hand as King: however, the manuscript was not lost, for it went to press in 1685, and was afterwards published. 11. BIBLE, King James's. See No. 24. 12. BIBLE, Malabarian. In 1711, Messrs. Ziegenbald and Grindler, two Danish missionaries, published a translation of the New Testa ment in the Malabarian language, after which they proceeded to translate the Old Testament. 13. BIBLE, Malayan. About 1670, Sir Robert Boyle procured a translation of the New Testament into the Malayan language, which he printed, and sent the whole impression to the East Indies. 14. BIBLE, Rhemish. See No. 23. 15. BIBLE, Samaritan. At the head of the oriental versions of the Bible inust be placed the Samaritan, as being the most ancient of all (though neither its age nor author have been yet ascertained), and admitting no more for the Holy 4. BIBLE, Gaelic. A few years ago, a ver- Scripture but the five books of Moses. This sion of the Bible in the Gaelic or Erse language translation is made from the Samaritan Hebrew was published at Edinburgh, where the Gospel is text, which is a little different from the Hebrew preached regularly in that language in two text of the Jews: this version has never been chapels, for the benefit of the natives of the High-printed alone, nor any where but in the Polyglots lands. 5. BIBLE, Georgian. The inhabitants of Georgia, in Asia, have long had a translation of the Bible in their ancient language: but that language having now become almost obsolete, and the Georgians in general being very ignorant, lew of them can either read or understand it. of London and Paris. 16. BIBLE, Swedish. In 1534, Olaus and Laurence published a Swedish Bible from the German version of Martin Luther: it was revised in 1617, by order of king Gustavus Adolphus, and was afterwards almost universally received. 6. BIBLE, Gothic. It is generally said that 17. BIBLE, Anglo Saxon. If we inquire into Ulphilas, a Gothic bishop, who lived in the fourth the versions of the Bible of our own country, we century, made a version of the whole Bible, ex-shall find that Adelm, bishop of Sherburn, who cept the book of Kings, for the use of his coun- Lived in 709, made an English Saxon version of BIBLE BIBLE the Psalms; and that Edfrid, or Ecbert, bishop Psalms, preserved at Sion College, London, and 19. BIBLES, Chaldee, are only the glosses or expositions made by the Jews at the time when they spoke the Chaldec tongue: these they call by the name of Targumim, or paraphrases, as not being any strict version of the Scripture. They have been inserted entire in the large Hebrew Bibles of Venice and Basil; but are read more commodiously in the Polyglots, being there at ford. 18. BIBLES, Arabic. In 1516, Aug. Justinian, bishop of Nebio, printed at Genoa an Arabic version of the Psalter, with the Hebrew text and Chaldec paraphrase, adding Latin interpretations: there are also Arabic versions of the whole Scripture in the Polyglots of London and Paris; and we have an edition of the Old Testament entire, printed at Rome, in 1671, by order of the congregation de propaganda fide; but it is of little esteem, as having been altered agreeably to the Vulgate edition. The Arabic Bibles among us are not the same with those used with the Christians in the East. Some learned men take the Arabic version of the Old Testament printed in the Polyglots to be that of Saadias's, who lived about A. D. 900; their reason is, that Aben Ezra, a great antagonist of Saadias, quotes some pas sages of his version, which are the same with those in the Arabic version of the Polyglots; yet others are of opinion that Saadias's version is not extant. In 1622, Erpenius printed an Arabic Pentateuch, called also the Pentateuch of Mauritania, as being made by the Jews of Barbary, and for their use. This version is very literal, and esteemed very exact. The four evangelists have also been published in Arabic, with a Latin version, at Rome, in 1591, folio. These have been since reprinted in the Polyglots of London and Paris, with some little alteration of Gabriel Sionita. Erpenius published an Arabic New Testament entire, as he found it in his manuscript copy, at Leyden, 1616. There are some other Arabic versions of later date, mentioned by Walton in his Prolegomena, particularly a version of the 20. BIBLES, Coptic. There are several manuscript copies of the Coptic Bible in some of the great libraries, especially in that of the king of France. Dr. Wilkins published the Coptic New Testament, in quarto, in 1716; and the Pentateuch, also in quarto, in 1731, with Latin translations. He reckons these versions to have been made in the end of the second or the beginning of the third century. 21. BIBLES, Danish. The first Danish Bible was published by Peter Palladus, Olaus Chrysos tom, John Synningius, and John Maccabæus, in 1550, in which they followed Luther's first German version. There are two other versions, the one by John Paal Resenius, bishop of Zealand, in 1605; the other of the New Testament only, by John Michel, in 1524. 22. BIBLES, Dutch. See No. 26. 23. BIBLES, East Indian. See Nos. 12, 13, 14. 21. BIBLES, English. The first English Bible we read of was that translated by J. Wickliffe, about the year 1360, but never printed, though there are manuscript copies of it in several of the public libraries. A translation, however, of the New Testament by Wickliffe was printed by Mr. Lewis, about 1731. J. de Trevisa, who died about 1398, is also said to have translated the whole Bible; but whether any copies of it are re maining does not appear. The first printed Bible in our language was that translated by W. Tindal, assisted by Miles Coverdale, printed abroad in 1526; but most of the copies were bought up and burnt by bishop Tunstal and Sir Thomas More. It only contained the New Testament, and was revised and republished by the same person in 1530. The prologues and prefaces added to it, reflect on the bishops and clergy; but this edition was also suppressed, and the copies burnt. In 1532 Tindal and his associates finished the whole Bible, except the Apocrypha, and printed it abroad; but, while he was afterwards preparing a second edition, he was taken up and burnt for heresy in Flanders. On Tindal's death, his work was carried on by Coverdale, and John Rogers, superintendant of an English church in Germany, and the first martyr in the reign of queen Mary, who translated the Apocrypha, and revised Tindal's translation, comparing it with the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and German, and adding prefaces and notes from Luther's Bible. He dedicated the whole to Henry VIII. in 1537, under the borrowed name of Thomas Matthews; whence this has been usually called Matthews's Bible. It was printed at Hamburgh, and licence obtained for publishing it in England, by the fa |