It is quite clear, notwithstanding the ingenious shifts of Dr. Colenso, that the authors of the English Protestant version regarded the word חֲמֻשִׁים (Chamushim) as one of obscure and doubtful meaning. In the text it is here rendered _harnessed_, and elsewhere (_Jos._, i. 14; _Jud._, vii. 11) _armed_. But in the margin a very different idea is suggested,--"by five in a rank", "marshalled by five". The Septuagint is by far the oldest translation we possess of the Hebrew text. It dates almost from a time when the Hebrew was still a spoken language; and therefore the biblical scholars by whom it was produced must have enjoyed many advantages, which all the learning and research of modern times cannot supply. No one, certainly, will maintain that, if the meaning of an important Hebrew word were clear and certain, that meaning could have remained unknown to the authors of this celebrated version. Yet the seventy interpreters appear to have been curiously perplexed about the very word on which Dr. Colenso is so flippant and so confident. Four times it occurs in the text, and each time we find a different translation. Nay, of the four translations, not one corresponds with the translation of Dr. Colenso. First it is rendered _in the fifth generation_--πέμπτῃ δὲ γενεᾷ (_Ex._, xiii. 18). Next, _girt as for a journey_--εὔζωνοι (_Jos._, i. 14). Then, _prepared_, _furnished_-- διεσκευασμένοι (_Jos._, iv. 12). And in the fourth place it is translated _of the fifty_--τῶν πεντήκοντα (_Jud._, vii. 11). Perhaps, however, Dr. Colenso would appeal to the authority of modern Hebrew scholars. If so, we can assure him he would appeal in vain. Amongst lexicographers we may refer to GESENIUS. Under the root חָמֵשׁ (Chamash) we find the following explanation:--"Hence, part. pass. plur. חֲמֻשִׁים (a word the etymology of which has long been sought for) _i.e. the eager_, _active_, _brave_, _ready prepared_ for fighting". Again, ROSENMÜLLER in his Commentary, though he does not reject _armati_, seems to prefer the interpretation generally adopted by the Jews, and supported by the authority of their paraphrasts. Here are his words: "Nec igitur rejiciendum, quod Hebraei חֲמֻשִׁים _ad quintam costam_;--_i.e._ circa lumbos _accinctos_ proprie significare dicunt, et hoc Exodi loco Israelitas dici exiisse expeditos et accinctos paratosque omnibus ad iter necessariis. Quod ipsum expresserunt Onkelos et duo reliqui Chaldaei paraphrastae", etc.