Rev A Brandram No.11
Cadiz 27th December 1847
My Dear Friend,
I now forward by the Packet the two cushions of which I spoke to you in my letter from Tangier. May yourself and Colleague ever enjoy much comfort as you sit on them, and do the work of the Society, and of God: and when at times the humble bestower comes into your minds, lift up a thought to God for him in all his wanderings, with thankful remembrances for preservations and mercies heretofore received.
I mentioned to you in my letter of the 15th instant, that I had found some Rabbinical Spanish Testaments unexpectedly in Gibraltar, and had forwarded them to Tangier and Tetuan, with some Hebrew and Arabic Bibles. In the morning of the day on which I left Gibraltar, the Jew, the supercargo before noticed to you, called to take charge of the two cases, and to have them put on board of his vessel, in which he would take them freight free. I showed him one of these Testaments that I had in reserve and on looking into it, we found the language was not Spanish, but some other. This was the thicker of the two sizes, of which all were except two, and these were packed up. Perhaps these thinner, but broader and longer volumes are different, and may be Spanish. The Jew was to examine, and retain these two if Spanish, and send the others back to the depot. Be so good as have these two different sizes and shapes of New Testament in the rabbinical character looked into, and apprise me on the subject.
I should not have omitted to mention in my last Gibraltar letter, that in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Dove, I enjoyed a most gratifying hospitality. Gibraltar has been to me, from their kindnesses, and from comforts enjoyed, combined with spiritual fellowship, and oasis among the desert lands of my travels in Spain and Barbary. The Lord reward them, and the many who have shown me kindnesses in many places. May we all meet in that one place, which only is a truly happy place, in the house of our Father in heaven.
The subject of the Jews, in their past and present states, and their prospective one, has much occupied my thoughts, and not unnaturally, since I found them in such numbers in Barbary, and had extensive conversations with them.
The words contained in Hebrews II.3,4, are very solemn. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will." This passage applies no doubt especially to the Jews in Jerusalem in the times of the Apostles. Their circumstances and privileges were remarkable, and there could be no escape to those who neglected to profit by them. Their sin in this case was truly the sin against the Holy Ghost. But the Jews of the present day are not so favoured as were the Jews of that time and place. They have never heard Jesus speak, nor have they heard those who delivered what they with their own ears learned from him, nor have the gifts of the Holy Ghost been seen by them. True, they might, if they would, have all these advantages, in a secondary sense, and just as we have them, that is, as they are found detailed at length in the New Testament. But that book they will not look into, and why, because they view it as we do the Koran, or the Socialists' irreligious and immoral book. Our efforts therefore should be turned, and be most specially directed, to the smoothing of the way to their access to, and use of the New Testament code. A serious Jew could not well be uninterested in the perusal of this volume, for in truth it is, as we might say, Jewish throughout. Nor could he, we should imagine, be unaffected in observing in it, and contrary to all his previous ideas, the constant reverence and respect shown in all its parts to their own Scriptures, as divine, and of all authority, and of the highest value. He would see, that under these impressions of their sacredness and importance, they are continually quoted and illustrated, and everything taken from them which Christians hold concerning the Messiah, and as personated in Jesus of Nazareth. I have said, that a serious Jew, that is one without guile and seeking truth, could not be unaffected by the reading of this volume. I might perhaps venture to say more, he could hardly but be conducted thereby to the Christian's faith. Let us therefore by all and every means, facilitate to the Jew the reading of this book. Greatly, I conceive would this be done by the printing of the Three Books I mentioned from the entire volume. It would be much easier to gain the attention of a Jew to this small portion than to the whole. It might prove a sort of entering wedge, and in it he would find the cream of all the code, and what most would suit his case. In the Gospel the Jews would find the Lord Jesus a very different personage from what they had supposed, and they would see how he reverenced and handled the Scriptures. In the Acts they would observe how their own nation was distinguished in having the message always first delivered to them, and that when they were addressed, it was always by opening up the Scriptures to them, and declaring nothing but what Moses himself, and all the Prophets testified. In the Hebrews they would perceive a chain of lengthened, close, and deep reasoning on the words of Scripture, and proving powerfully all that Christians hold. – But for all the same reasons already brought forward, I would also, by all means, have each of these three Books published separately, for still more attracting and initiating the Jews in respect to our Blessed Book of the New Testament. And also, and farther, I would have copies of the several books of the New Testament to contain, besides the Hebrew, in which I have supposed them all to be published, a translation into the vernacular language of the Jews in the several countries in which they reside and printed on the opposite page.
In the following four ways than I would have the Jews accommodated. First, by having printed for them in a volume by themselves, in the Hebrew tongue, one of the Gospels, say Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistle to the Hebrews. Secondly, I would have each of these three bound up separately. Thirdly, I would have to accompany those portions in the Hebrew language, a translation on the opposite page in the vernacular language of the various nations into which the Jews are found. And fourthly and lastly, I would still give them, as is now done, the whole New Testament, and I would also have it with a translation annexed.
In reasoning with the Jews in Barbary, I was surprised at the ease and readiness with which they set aside, and otherwise applied, the several passages which our Lord and the Apostles bring forward from the Old Testament, and apply to the Messiahship of Jesus. The 16th Psalm for instance. That applied to David himself, they said. We know that it is otherwise. But how do we know this? Not by our own sagacity in discerning the meaning and force of that ancient, great, and deep prophecy, but because we have it explained to us by men whom we believe and know to have been divinely inspired, and all of which we read in our own precious Testament. On these occasions, I was forcibly and frequently reminded of the Eunuch's pertinent question, "Of whom speaketh the prophet?" Oh the value immense of our Blessed Testament, which sets all these inquiries at rest! How are we privileged indeed in having this holy volume of light! As I wrote from Tetuan, I look up, I clasp and press to my bosom, and I prize and peruse this precious volume, since I had these interviews, in a way I never did before; and if the Jews shall not be benefited by my visit to Barbary, I hope at least that I myself shall. Well did our Lord say, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see." Oh then let us hasten to show to the Jews the Blessed Things which we see, as contained in the New Testament, and by all the facilities and attractions indicated, and by all others we can devise.
And there are others which we can devise, and I have in a former letter noticed them. But I now return to them more particularly. What I am now to speak of has reference only to the Old Testament, but it is a means and a way by which the Jews may be stirred up to make inquiry about the Christian's addition to the Scriptures. This is to be done, by making their own Scriptures more common, familiar, and general among them, in the synagogue, and in the house. I observed in the synagogues I visited in Barbary, as before noticed to you, that many of the people had books. Both the Law and the Prophets are read, but the greatest attention is evidently given to the Law, and no doubt rightfully. One portion of the Scriptures is read one day, and another another, but of the Law, I believe, some portion every day. What then would accommodate the Jews, would be the binding of the entire Bible in such portions as could easily be carried by them at every time they go to the synagogue, which is, as before noticed, three times every day. I have recommended the dividing the Bible into four volumes for this purpose, which are the four natural and common divisions the Jews have in their Hebrew Bible.
But the dividing of the Bible into such portions, for convenience should be still further extended, at least as regards the Law. The Pentateuch consists of Five Books. It is desirable for the ends and reasons stated, that each of these Five Books should be printed and bound up separately, and in the neatest and cheapest manner.
In the Parcel I now send, you will find Five Small Volumes. These contain the Pentateuch, with each several book bound up in a volume. I bought them and Gibraltar, and gave three shillings of our money for them. I asked the Jew from whom I bought these books, if he wished to procure a good supply of the Scriptures at a low price. Oh, he said, you cannot in London print them so cheap as we get them. You do not know all that London can do, I replied, and perhaps I am better acquainted with our powers there than you may be. Well then, said he, I would take 500 copies of the Pentateuch in this form and style, if I could now get them, and would give for them one and sixpence a copy.
The indication here given is worthy of our closest attention, and of being fully followed up. In this form and way, no doubt, we could circulate, and by sale at a fair price for us, a considerable quantity of this portion of the Scriptures; and everything we can do to make any one part to be read, will have great influence in promoting the reading of the whole. The specimen, you will see, is a poor thing, in the way of paper, printing, and binding; and the Jew's observation as to our inabilities in London, is true perhaps in one sense, but a different one. I do not know really that we would now manage in London to produce paper printing and binding so miserable us these are. But all this is in our favour. Let us apply our nice and cheap paper, our beautiful printing, and elegant yet cheap binding, to these books, and we shall thereby not only gain the sales and prices indicated, but a much larger sale, and even better prices, if we wished for them, at all events a price about suitable to the cost.
But I would therefore beg leave to recommend, and very earnestly, is, that an edition of the Pentateuch be forthwith got up without delay, and with each of the Five Books so printed, as to be done separately. The type of the specimen is, I think, the same in size as Duncan's, and would suit well, whilst the smaller one would not. The page in it appears too long for its width. The common octodecimo size, I should think the best in every way, as this form would give a thicker volume than the specimen, which looks too thin for the length and breadth, and it would do so still more were it bound closely as we do. Nor would the volume in the 18mo be too thick with a vernacular version combined with it. This then is the size, in my judgment, in which you should prepare this work. The paper may be the common this paper you use, and the bindings various, say the common neat stamped cloth, and the roan, some gilt, and some plain. A few might be in calf, and some in morocco, both gilt for a trial. The calf and morocco bound copies might be on superior paper.
One thing is of double importance, and that is the extreme correctness of the edition. To ensure this, you must not only secure a thorough Hebrew scholar, to whom the reading of the Hebrew is easy and familiar, but also a Jew not converted, to lend his aid likewise. The Jews are jealous of our not giving them their own proper Bible, and an unconverted Jew to aid, will be able to direct you in this. The specimen is sound, I understand, in their eyes, and if you can printed verbatim et literatim the object will be gained. You may under these circumstances at once stereotype the work, and 1000 copies you may print for us to begin with. Many thousands, I trust will be required, for not only for the Jews in Barbary in question, for whom I am more immediately pleading, but also the Jews bordering on all the extent of the coasts of the Mediterranean, and likewise the Jews in all places where they are found.
Probably it would be well to follow this work in immediate succession by the printing of the Book of Psalms, in the same style, and with the same precautions and accommodations.
I may observe in closing, by way of reasons and in inducements to act thus, if you needed any, that you have accommodated, and to a large extent, the English Public by variety in editions, sizes, paper, and bindings, and so also you have prepared the Scriptures for some other nations. All this should be done, and more if practicable for the nation of the Jews, that they may, if possible, be attracted to the familiar study and use of their own Scriptures, and which I confidently expect would be followed by inquiries concerning the New Testament; and by its perusal, if well fitted for them as recommended, and this again would, I have great reason to believe, be followed, at least in many instances, by their conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. And may the Lord Jesus Christ bring about all this, and speedily, to his own glory in the salvation of his kindred, and to the glory of his Father and our Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
I remain, Your Most Truly,
James Thomson.