ing is shown. No doubt this will lead to a degree of confusion when the Scofield Bibles are read in unison at a congregational meeting along with those who have the older King James Ver sion. But these word changes are infrequent enough that it should not present any great problem whatever, and it is extremely val uable in making comparisons as to actual meanings. The King James language and phraseology have been retained. This is all to the good. Probably there never has been another translation which matches the grandeur of the K ing James phraseology. The present editori al board is to be congratulated on making only those necessary changes in order to make the Bible more readable for people to day. The notes, the marginal ref erences, the cross-references, the doctrinal summaries, the intro ductions to the various books have all been changed, enlarged, and made even more worthwhile than heretofore. The Oxford Press has financed a monumental work. The revisers have accomplished a monumental task, and the New Scofield Bible is to be thoroughly commended to Christian people everywhere. The new Bible is a must for all of those who have known the Sco field Bible through the years, and who have loved its manner of presentation o f the great truths found in the Word o f God. The old Scofield Bible will be loved and revered by Christians o f this generation who have been brought up on its truths and who have been blessed in their own hearts by the help found therein.
of God more readily available. The subject chain references in the margins on the great doc trines of the Bible, which was a significant feature of the old Sco field Bible, have been notably en larged to include all of the refer ences to the subject. A special notation showing the location of the summary footnote on any topic is also given. The text o f the New Scofield Reference Bible is the King James Version. Here again a few very significant changes have been made to help the reader under stand what the B ib le actually meant in its original languages. Some of the words used originally when the King James Version was translated have become com pletely obsolete. These have been replaced by words that are in use today in the English language and which presently mean what the original language meant. For instance, kine is almost complete ly obsolete today, hence the trans lation has been changed to cows, for that is the true meaning of the word as found in the original Hebrew. Furthermore, there are words used in the King James Version that have a completely different meaning today from what they had when the trans lation was first made in 1611. A classic example o f this is the word 'prevent. When the King James Version was translated, that word meant to precede or anticipate. Today the word pre vent means to withhold or pro hibit. Certainly this is no fault of the original language nor is it the fault of the King James trans lators. That is merely the way the English language changes. There fore, it is necessary to use the word precede in order to convey the real meaning of the original Greek. Throughout the entire Bible, both Old Testament and New, word changes in the text are marked by a light vertical line on either side of the word or phrase, and reference is made to the mar gin where the King James read
But for the student of the Word who earnestly desires to go fur ther into the truths of the Word o f God, it will be highly advisable to lay down the old and take up the new, and be thrilled all over again in the excitement of read ing from the precious pages of the sacred book as they come alive once more with the help of these new Scofield notes. m i Dr. Charles L. F e in b e rg , Th.D., Ph.D., Dean o f Talbot Theological Seminary, is an honored member o f the Sco fie ld Revision Committee. He obtained his Doctor o f Theolo gy degree from Dallas Theolo gical Seminary and later re ceived his Doctor o f Philosophy degree from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to his conver sion, he had spent fourteen years in rabbinical training. He is w ithout question one o f the most outstanding Old Testa ment scholars in the world to day. The other members o f the Revision Committee who are likewise experts in their re spective fields o f Biblical Lan guages and Interpretation in clude: Frank E. Gaebelein, A .M ., Litt.D. Headmaster Emeritus, The Stony Brook School W illiam Culbertson, D.D., LL.D. President, Moody Bible Institute A llan A . M ac Rae, A .M ., Ph.D. President, Faith Theological Seminary Clarence E. Mason, Jr., Th.M ., D.D. Dean, Philadelphia College o f Bible A lva J. M cC la in , Th .M ., D.D. President Emeritus, Grace Theological Seminary W ilb u r M . Smith, D.D. Editor, Peloubet's Select Notes John F. Walvoord, A .M ., Th.D. President, Dallas Theological Seminary E. Schuyler English, Litt.D. Chairman
Dr. Charles L. Feinberg looks over new Bible with Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland, President of Biola.
JULY, 1967
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