Abbreviation question

[awsmith1861]

Version of the Bible: Douay Rheims 1899 / Cardinal Gibbons Imprim.

Ok. So I have this wonderful translation provided by Bishop Challoner et. al. circa 1749-1752.

All of Bishop Challoner’s notes are in the copy but the publisher (Baronius Press, London, 1st impression 2003, my impression 2010) has failed to include some of the definitions that Bishop Challoner used. They also didn’t tel me where the cross references came from.

Case and point in Genesis 22:1 "After these things, (f) God tempted Abraham, (g) and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

(f) Judit 8: 22; Heb. 11. 17.
(g) A.M. 2135. Ante C. 1869.

Chap. 22. Ver. 1. God tempted, &c. God tempteth no man to evil, James 1.13; but by trial and experiment maketh known to the world, and to ourselves, what we are, as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest.

So, biblical scholars, can you tell me:

Who made the cross refrence (f) and (g) above?
A. M. ? huh? What is this refering to in (g)?
Ante C. ? these look like refernces to a catechism maybe. Any ideas what they are?
What is the meaning of the “&c” in Bishop Challoner’s notes?

I love this translation. 8) I’m actually going to buy a copy of the original 1582 / 1611 released as well.

I would love to hear someone’s recomendation on even where I could start to try and discover the answers.

 

[Chatter163]

Version of the Bible: Douay Rheims 1899 / Cardinal Gibbons Imprim.

Ok. So I have this wonderful translation provided by Bishop Challoner et. al. circa 1749-1752.

All of Bishop Challoner’s notes are in the copy but the publisher (Baronius Press, London, 1st impression 2003, my impression 2010) has failed to include some of the definitions that Bishop Challoner used. They also didn’t tel me where the cross references came from.

Case and point in Genesis 22:1 "After these things, (f) God tempted Abraham, (g) and said to him: Abraham, Abraham. And he answered: Here I am.

(f) Judit 8: 22; Heb. 11. 17.
(g) A.M. 2135. Ante C. 1869.

Chap. 22. Ver. 1. God tempted, &c. God tempteth no man to evil, James 1.13; but by trial and experiment maketh known to the world, and to ourselves, what we are, as here by this trial the singular faith and obedience of Abraham was made manifest.

So, biblical scholars, can you tell me:

Who made the cross refrence (f) and (g) above?
A. M. ? huh? What is this refering to in (g)?
Ante C. ? these look like refernces to a catechism maybe. Any ideas what they are?
What is the meaning of the “&c” in Bishop Challoner’s notes?

I love this translation. 8) I’m actually going to buy a copy of the original 1582 / 1611 released as well.

I would love to hear someone’s recomendation on even where I could start to try and discover the answers.

Regarding the last questions. Ante c. 1869 means that the text or reference in question was written before (ante = before) the approximate time period of (circa) 1869, which has probably already been cited or discussed in the notes. In other words, 1869 itself is not an exact date for text X, so text Y, which was written before that admittedly imprecise date, is even less specific.

&c is an older way of writing etc.

These were common scholarly abbreviations of the time, so it was not considered necessary to explain them, just like et al., eg., viz., and i.e. are usually not explained when used in scholarly texts today.

 

[awsmith1861]

Regarding the last questions. Ante c. 1869 means that the text or reference in question was written before (ante = before) the approximate time period of (circa) 1869, which has probably already been cited or discussed in the notes. In other words, 1869 itself is not an exact date for text X, so text Y, which was written before that admittedly imprecise date, is even less specific.

&c is an older way of writing etc.

These were common scholarly abbreviations of the time, so it was not considered necessary to explain them, just like et al., eg., viz., and i.e. are usually not explained when used in scholarly texts today.

Very cool! I honestly had no idea. Lots of odd things in these old books. Many thanks for this. I doubt i’d ever have figured it out. I had suspicions about Ante c. but &c was complety foreign to me. And of course with this sort of question the internet was not very helpful.

I’m going to scan the bottom of the bible starting at Gen 1 tonight and see if there’s a note about the AM which I tohught was years since ‘creation’ or about 6000 BC. But the numbers don’t add up.

Bishop Challoner didn’t always include his reasons for what he did. Some scholars have read the various revisions he did and inferred some things. I need to get a good biblical history text for these sort of things.

 

[Mary2014]

I have the same bible. If you look at the end notes on the very last page, you will see the explanations.

A.M.: Anno Mundi = year of the world

You’ll notice that in the first chapter of Genesis, the year of the world is one.

A.C.: Ante Christum = year before Christ

So this biblical reference to Abraham takes place 2,134 years after the beginning of the world and 1,849 years before the coming of Christ.