undoubtedly identical in the beginning; but even the
oldest existing manuscripts show more than seventy variants between the
two chapters. (3) Some of the ancient versions contain readings which
often bear a strong stamp of probability and remove or lessen the
difficulties of the Hebrew text. For example, in Josh. 9. 4, where the
Hebrew reads, "And they {70} went and made as if they had been
ambassadors," the Septuagint reads, "And they went and provisioned
themselves." The latter reading is supported by nearly all the ancient
versions, and seems more probable than that of the Hebrew text.
Another illustration of a similar character is found in Psa. 22. 16c,
which is translated by both the Authorized and the Revised Version,
"They pierced my hands and my feet." This, however, is not a
translation of the Hebrew at all, for it reads, "Like a lion, my hands
and my feet." In this case the New Testament, as well as the Latin and
Syriac translations, supports the reading of the Septuagint. Passages
like these, in which the text has evidently suffered in the course of
transmission, might be multiplied a hundredfold, and it is generally
considered a legitimate ambition to attempt the restoration of the
Hebrew text to its original form.

Linguistic criticism deals with difficult and obscure passages.
Sometimes the meaning of single words or phrases is uncertain, as, for
example, in Isa. 53. 1, which reads, in the Authorized Version, "Who
hath believed our report?" The margin gives as alternatives for
"report" the words "doctrine" and "hearing." The Revised Version
reads, "Who hath believed our message?" with a marginal note, "Or,
_that which we have heard_." In form the word translated "message"
{71} is a passive participle, meaning, literally, "that which has been
heard." Surely, no one would consider "report," "doctrine," "hearing,"
"message," etc., synonymous. It is the duty of linguistic criticism to
determine the exact meaning of the word. Sometimes grammatical
constructions are ambiguous. Very familiar are the words in Isa. 6. 3,
"Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his
glory." The margin suggests as an alternative for the last clause,
"the fullness of the whole earth is his glory," which might mean
something entirely different from the ordinary rendering. There are
other passages, some among the sublimest prophetic utterances, in which
it is by no means clear whether the refer