Egypt, the Thebaic or Sahidic, was probably little if at all inferior in antiquity. It in like manner contained the whole New Testament, with the Apocalypse as an appendix. No one book is preserved complete, but the number of extant fragments, unfortunately not yet all published, is considerable. Of the third Egyptian version, the Bashmuric, about 330 verses from St John's Gospel and the Pauline Epistles alone survive. With the Egyptian versions proper it is at least convenient to associate the Æthiopic, the version of ancient Abyssinia, dating from the fourth or fifth century. Though written in a totally different language, it has strong affinities of text with its northern neighbours. The best judges maintain its direct derivation from a Greek original: but neither this question nor that of the relation of the Thebaic to the Memphitic version can be treated as definitively settled while so much of the evidence remains unpublished. The numerous MSS of the Æthiopic have been ascertained to vary considerably, and give evidence of revision: but the two editions yet printed are both unsatisfactory. No book of the New Testament is wanting.
121. Besides the three great groups two solitary versions are of considerable interest, the one from outlying Asia, the other from outlying Europe. These are the ARMENIAN and the GOTHIC. The ARMENIAN, which is complete, was made early in the fifth century. Some modern copies, followed by the first printed edition, contain corruptions from the Latin Vulgate: but the Armenian translators certainly followed Greek MSS, probably obtained from Cappadocia, the mother of Armenian Christianity. The GOTHIC version, the work of Ulfilas the great bishop of the Goths, dates from the middle of the fourth century. He received a Greek education from his Christian parents, originally Cappadocians: and Greek MSS unquestionably supplied the original for his version. We possess the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles (Hebrews excepted), with many gaps, admirably edited from MSS of about the sixth century.
122. The other versions are of comparatively late date, and of little direct value for the Greek text, though some of them, as the Slavonic, bear traces of ancient texts. Most of them are only secondary translations from other versions, chiefly the Latin and Syriac Vulgates.