08 The King James Bible

Museum Description: The King James Bible

Room: Sir John Ritblat Gallery

Scripture: Psalms 83:18

Here you can see a first edition of the most widely published book in any language, the King James Version of the Bible, printed in 1611.  It is estimated that more than one billion copies have been printed, but fewer than 200 first editions are thought to survive.  Since the time of Tyndale, there had been many revisions and different versions of the Bible in English, so King James commissioned a uniform translation.  It was to be done by the best Greek, Hebrew and Bible scholars of the day, reviewed by the most qualified in the church, and finally approved by the King, who himself was a respected Bible scholar.  Some 47 different scholars working in six separate groups produced sections of the text.  Although took 30 years for it to become more popular that the Geneva Bible, it is recognised as a literary masterpiece, and is still widely loved today for its beauty of expression.  Jehovah's name is used four times, in Exodus 6:3, Psalm 83:18, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4.