Bible stories

I spend quite a bit of time reading and for a time have thought I should perhaps blip some of books I am spending my time with. As it's a wet and miserable day it seems a good time to make a start. I'm starting with Bibles and Bible-related books. I have long been fascinated with the history of the Church; in fact it would be hard to understand English history without some knowledge of religious matters, especially the long period which included the Reformation, the Civil Wars, the Restoration, and the Orange invasion. At least until recent times the Bible best known to English speakers would be the Authorized Version (AV) or King James Version (KJV). In the image this is the 4th from the left. Available in many editions from the cheap (this one of mine cost under £10) to luxury editions. Many regard the language as a little archaic and prefer more modern translations of which a large number have become available. When considering the language we need to remember that at first it was intended to be read aloud in churches and not just privately at home. The KJV was sponsored by James I (or VI) and first printed in 1611. But the text of that small volume, and indeed almost any KJV bought today, is the work of a man who made extensive "corrections" in 1769. Although there had been a lot of tinkering with the text prior to this, at this stage the text became more or less fossilized giving us the KJV that so many people have grown up with. To celebrate 400 years of the KJV Oxford brought out a handsome version with the original text as published in 1611 but in a clearer type. This is the volume on far left. The original was in a very have black type which is not easy on the eyes. Surprisingly for some it contained the Apocrypha although the man who sold the idea of a new translation to James did not agree with that. It also had 34 pages of genealogical tables or family trees showing the descent of Jesus from Adam and Eve, a map of the Holy Land and a note to the reader from the translators. And of course the dedication to James. All these are included in the Oxford edition.

2nd from left is a modern KJV edited by David Norton - the Cambridge Paragraph Bible, although this is the Penguin Classics version. Taking account of modern scholarship it is often regarded as the edition which most faithfully expresses the intentions of the 1611 translators. 3rd is the English Standard Version (ESV) a modern version. When it came out Tom Wright, a former Bishop of Durham, recommended it to all and sundry. In his book on Justification, however, he says that when he was working on Paul he had cause to compare ESV with the original Greek and found it misleading. The many of us who have no knowledge of New Testament Greek will have to take his word for this. This particular volume is a study edition which has a lot of notes - a bit more user friendly than trying to read a separate commentary. The next 5 books are all translations by Robert Alter. The 5th one is called the "Five Books of Moses" and is a translation of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Large chunks of these are pretty boring in any translation but Alter has an extensive commentary underneath the text on each page. Not a theological commentary but more literary and also the connection between the text and original Hebrew. He frequently explains where the Masoretic text (the original Hebrew was written without vowels and the Masoretic text was a version produced in 5th to 8th centuries AD where vowels and how the Hebrew was to pronounced were indicated by means of extra marks), the Septuagint, and various other scrolls differ. He raises many points of interest and gives fresh insight into many verses. At the moment I'm looking, but only in small doses, at his version of Psalms which is 8th from left. I have to say that to me they don't sound as well as the Book of Common Prayer version but perhaps that's just because the lack the familiar ring. Many psalms mention (in BCP version) "salvation" and "soul". Alter says this is misleading because the Hebrew translated as "salvation" can mean (say) "rescue" modern readers are likely to bring to mind the Christian theology of salvation whereas the writers of Psalms would have no such concept. Similary the word translated "soul" means something like "life-breath" rather than "soul" as Christians understand that. Again not a concept familar to readers in the age when Psalms were written. The only problem is that most of his readers will have no knowledge of Biblical Hebrew so have to take him at his word. Incidentally rather odd that the Psalms in the 1669 BCP which are such a familiar part of Anglican liturgy are not from the 1611 Bible but mostly from earlier translations. Miles Coverdale springs to mind but I'm not sure offhand.
9th and 10th are the Gospels of Thomas and Judah. Neither form part of the canonical books but Thomas has been known for a very long time. 10th has been the longest in my possession and has survived many moves. St Matthew's Gospel with a commentary. 11th is the Oxford Bible Commentary - useful notes on various aspects of the text arranged book by book. The Oxford Companion next to it explores several themes in alphabetical order. And finally on the far right a couple of Bible-related dictionaries.

Looking back it would have been easier to go into the garden and get a shot of a dandelion.