In all this literary activity, the various Bible Societies have taken an important part; chiefly through their instrumentality the Bible in whole or in part has been translated into over 400 languages, and probably since the invention of printing about 300,000,000 copies of the Scriptures or of portions have been put into circulation. An important feature in this work is the decision of the _British and Foreign Bible Society_ to circulate the Revised Version--a step all the more significant as it followed shortly after the publication of the American edition of the Revised Version, and the vote of the Anglican Convocation approving of the reading of the new translation in the services of the English Established Church. The last fifteen or twenty years have seen a great growth of religious journalism. Popular periodicals have multiplied; and several important theological reviews have been started in England and America, notably the _Critical Review_, the _Hibbert Journal_, and the _American Journal of Theology_. IV.---THE PROGRESS OF ARCHÆOLOGY. The years since the publication of our series began, in 1887, have witnessed marked progress in the study of the Old Testament, of which we propose to give a brief sketch, beginning with the Archæology, _i. e._, chiefly the results of excavations in Egypt, and in Syria, Assyria, Babylonia, and Arabia. The last fifteen years have made immense additions to the known facts which have a bearing on the history and religion of Israel, and the interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Assiduous exploration is continually pushing back our knowledge of the ancient East to a more and more remote antiquity, so that already we discern the dim outlines of history in what we have been wont to call prehistoric times. We seem to know something of life in Egypt in B. C. 7000 or it may be even B. C. 10,000. At the same time our knowledge of later periods is continually increasing, though comparatively little is found that directly and explicitly either confirms or contradicts the Old Testament. Perhaps the most relevant amongst recent discoveries is an inscription of Meneptah II. This king is often spoken of in popular handbooks as the "Pharaoh of the Exodus," and his father and predecessor Rameses II is referred to as the "Pharaoh of the Oppression." But in this newly found inscription Meneptah claims to have subdued Israelites in Syria.