04 Tyndale’s New Testament

Museum Description: Tyndale’s New Testament

Room: Sir John Ritblat Gallery

Scripture: Exodus 6:3

William Tyndale famously said in a discussion with a clergyman “If God spare my life for many years, I will cause a boy that drives the plough to know more of the Scripture than you do.” He was the first to restore Jehovah's name to the English Bible, where he included it once in Exodus 6:3. His was the first translation in English from the original languages of the Bible, whereas Wycliffe's earlier translation had been from the Latin Vulgate. Bible burnings destroyed most copies of his Bible, and Tyndale himself was burned at the stake. The British Library bought this New Testament for £1 million in 1994 and it is one of only two complete copies surviving from the 3,000 or more printed in 1526