Page:Gospel of Saint John in West-Saxon.djvu/28

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xxiv
Introduction

7. When tradere "describes a manifestly treacherous action," it is rendered by belǣwan in Matthew and John; in Mark and Luke tradere is rendered uniformly by syllan (see Notes xiii, 21). Mark and Luke together have belǣwan only once (Mark xiv, 10); in this instance it renders tradere. Mr. Drake adds: " It is remarkable that the Lindisfarne and Rushworth have belǣwan in the same passage and there only."

8. Matthew and John are separated from Mark and Luke by the frequent use of uppan (onuppan) in the sense of on or ofer that is, "with the loss of the original force of upp-."

9. For the rendering of stridor dentium Matthew has tōþa grīstbitung (6 times); Luke for the only remaining occurrence of the expression (xiii, 28) has tōþa grystlung. Fulgor in Matthew is rendered by līgyt (twice), in Luke by līgræsc (3 times); and hundredes ealdor of Matthew may be contrasted with hundredman of Mark and Luke. Mr. Drake also notices a difference, according to Corpus, in the rendering of vox clamantis (Matthew iii, 3; Mark i, 3; Luke iii, 4; John i, 23), which is, however, invalidated as evidence by the variant readings of the MSS. He also calls attention (p. 43) to the use in Matthew of tō hwī, a phrase not once found in the other Gospels.

There has been some acceptance, more or less complete, of Mr. Drake's conclusion,[1] and it is noteworthy that a study of the special readings of the assumed Latin original of the Version afterwards led Professor L. M. Harris to infer that "the translator's original, therefore, seems to show at least three types of texts — one for Matthew, a second for John, and a third for Mark and Luke. This

  1. E. Einenkel, Anglia, Betblatt v, 136; O. Brenner, Englische Studien, xx, 297; G. Sarrazin, Zeitschrift fur deutsche Philolgie xxix, 139; Mr. Drake publishes additional favorable opinions communicated to him by letter.