ses must be
acknowledged by all.

In many characteristic readings it agrees with the oldest
manuscripts and quotations. It has also some erroneous readings
known to be of great antiquity. In a word, the high antiquity of
its text cannot be reasonably questioned. Drs. Cureton and
Tregelles think that the gospel of Matthew may be a translation
from the apostle's Hebrew copy. But this is denied by Davidson
and others.

8. The _Philoxenian_ Syriac version was executed A.D. 508, under the
auspices of Philoxenus, or Xenaias, bishop of Hierapolis or Mabug in
Syria. Philoxenus belonged to the sect of the Monophysites, and it is
generally thought that the version was made in the interest of that
sect. The translator's name was Polycarp, one of Philoxenus' rural
bishops. With the exception, perhaps, of certain books (see below), the
text of this version has not come down to us in its original form. We
have only a _revision_ of it made A.D. 616 by Thomas of Harkel in a
monastery of Alexandria, whence this version is also called the
_Harclean_ Syriac. The characteristic of this version is its extremely
literal character. It is the translator's aim to represent every Greek
word, even the article, by a corresponding Syriac word, even where the
idiom of the language must thereby be violated. Hence its style is of
necessity barbarous. But this very character of literalness gives to the
Philoxenian version high authority in respect to textual criticism. So
far as it has come down to us in its primitive form, it is, in truth,
equal to the Greek text of its own time.

About the time that Thomas of Harkel revised the Philoxenian version of
the New Testament, Paul of Tela, another Monophysite, executed what is
called the _Hexaplar Syriac_ version of the Old Testament, because it
was made from the text of Origen's Hexaplar. Chap. 16, No. 12. It
coincides with the Philoxenian version of the New Testament in respect
to its character as well as the time of its appearance, being made on
the principle of following the Greek text word for word as exactly as
possible. Thus the Hexaplar version of the Old, and the Philoxenian
version of the New, constitute together a whole of like character
throughout.

After the example of Origen, Paul introduced into his version
_asterisks_ and _obeli_; the asterisk (*) to indicate insertions
made in the text on the authority of manuscripts and other
versions; the