THE TRANSLATION OF SYMMACHUS 3rd or 4th century

There   are   still   preserved   manuscripts   written   on   parchment   from   the   beginning   of   our   era.   Included   are   many   fragments   of the   Holy   Scriptures.   They   were   often   bound   around   two   sticks,   one   at   each   end   –   these   were   known   as   scrolls.   -   Luke   4:17 (to v.21).

Facsimile made by B. Bonte

Writings   on   parchment   have   the   advantage   of   being   stronger   and   more   permanent   than   writings   on   papyrus.   In   Latin, parchment   is   called   'pergamena'.   The   process   used   to   make   parchment   was   developed   in   the   old   city   of   Pergamon.   They   took the   skin   of   goats,   sheep   or   calves   and   treated   the   leather   in   such   a   way   that   writing   on   both   sides   was   possible.   The   writer used a pen made of reed and the ink was made of gum, soot and water. In   the   National   Library   of   Vienna,   Austria,   we   can   see   a   certain   fragment   dated   from   the   3rd   or   4th   century.   The   fragment contains   a   Greek   text,   but   what   is   remarkable   is   that   the   Name   of   God   is   written   in   Old   Hebrew.   The   fragment   contains verses   from   Psalm   69,   specifically   verses   13,   30   and   31.   The   parchment   is   supposed   to   have   been   made   by   Symmachus, someone   considered   to   be   a   Jew   converted   to   Christianity.   He   was   a   translator   of   the   Old   Testament,   from   Hebrew   writing to   Greek.   In   his   translation,   made   around   200   A.D.,   he   tried   to   give   the   Greek   text   the   right   meaning   like   it   is   found   in   the Hebrew Scriptures.