David Norton has recently re-edited the King James Bible for Cambridge University and this book arises from his intensive work on that project. He reveals here how the text of the most important Bible in the English language was made, and how it was changed by printers and editors until it became the text we know today in 1769. Using material as diverse as the manuscripts of the original translators, and the results of extensive computer collation of electronically held texts, Norton has produced a scholarly edition of the King James Bible that will restore the authority of the 1611 translation. This book includes the bible's fascinating background, Norton's editorial principles and substantial lists and tables of variant readings. It will be indispensable to scholars of the English Bible, literature, and publishing history. A website with additional resources (www.cambridge.org/kjv) will be available one month prior to publication.
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"David Norton's A Textual History of the King James Bible is now the definitive study of the processes which gave us today's most influential book. His scholarship cannot be bettered. Norton shows the gaps in the story of the making of the text, the faults in the first printings, and all the many changes up to the establishment of the current text in 1769. Over half his weighty volume is given to eight appendices of comprehensive listings of errors and changes, and their causes. In the face of centuries of highly coloured myths, his dogged and committed analytic detail is greatly to be welcomed. He, and CUP, are to be congratulated." David Daniell, University College, London
"Unlike other recently published works on the King James Version, which have colorfully narrated the achievements of major translators and transmitters of English Bibles, Nortonas books concentrates on the text itself, which has been subjected to huge numbers of changes, both intentional and accidental, over the past almost 400 years. Norton has a fine eye for telling detail. Nortonas volume admirably succeeds in achieving its stated goals. Highly recommended." CHOICE
"...his lucid and careful discussion of teh issues involved is worth the price of the book, which should be required reading for any first-time editor of an early modern text." - Debora Shuger, University of California
"This work is well organized and user-friendly given its complex subject matter." - David Norton
"...the book should be in the library of every educational institution, and in public libraries. It will be of interest to scholars and students who are interested in the true history of the King James Bible and the current state of its text." - James D. Price, Temple Baptist Seminary, Chattanooga, TN
"Unlike other recently published works on the King James Version, which have colorfully narrated the achievements of major translators and transmitters of English Bibles, Nortonas books concentrates on the text itself, which has been subjected to huge numbers of changes, both intentional and accidental, over the past almost 400 years. Norton has a fine eye for telling detail. Nortonas volume admirably succeeds in achieving its stated goals. Highly recommended." CHOICE
"...his lucid and careful discussion of teh issues involved is worth the price of the book, which should be required reading for any first-time editor of an early modern text." - Debora Shuger, University of California
"This work is well organized and user-friendly given its complex subject matter." - David Norton
"...the book should be in the library of every educational institution, and in public libraries. It will be of interest to scholars and students who are interested in the true history of the King James Bible and the current state of its text." - James D. Price, Temple Baptist Seminary, Chattanooga, TN
Book Description
David Norton has recently re-edited the King James Bible and this book arises from his many years work on that project. Here he shows how the text of the most important Bible in the English language was made, and how, both for better and for worse, it changed in the hands of printers and editors. This uniquely detailed account of the history helps to demonstrate what the text should be for modern readers who want the most faithful representation of the King James translators' work.
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an excellent book. It is thoroughly researched, well documented and clearly written. However, I would have liked to have seen a chapter that included information regarding the Hebrew, Greek and Latin sources for the KJB. For example, what Greek documents were used by the translators? Which documents were referred to most often? How did the translators use or mis-use these manuscripts, and what part did they play in the many revisions of the KJB over the centuries? How reliable were these documents? Did the revisionists refer to the Textus Receptus, and if so, which versions of the TR did they use? Answers to questions such as these would have made "A Textual History of the King James Bible" even more interesting and informative.
Dr. Theodore H. Mann
Dr. Theodore H. Mann
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you really want to know the detailed history of the King Jame Bible
January 25, 2007
By R. Tarbell
Format:Hardcover
Buy this book if you want to know absolutely everything there is to know about the printing history of the King James Bible. This is a textbook, and as such it will put you to sleep if you try to read it from beginning to end.
Yet, it is excellent and accessible to an intelligent and dedicated lay person. It details how the King James Bible was edited and printed in 1611, and then covers all the different variations since 1611. Yes, the King James Bible has variations! There is not just one version, but many. Finally the latter part of the book details how the author edited the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible. That was my favorite part, because I own that Bible (but not this book -- I got it on loan from the library). He justifies, quite thoroughly, the choices he made in updating the King James for modern printing. Agree or disagree with his editing, he is thorough.
Yet, it is excellent and accessible to an intelligent and dedicated lay person. It details how the King James Bible was edited and printed in 1611, and then covers all the different variations since 1611. Yes, the King James Bible has variations! There is not just one version, but many. Finally the latter part of the book details how the author edited the New Cambridge Paragraph Bible. That was my favorite part, because I own that Bible (but not this book -- I got it on loan from the library). He justifies, quite thoroughly, the choices he made in updating the King James for modern printing. Agree or disagree with his editing, he is thorough.
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- Holy Bible by New International Version on 4 pages
- Short Introduction to English Grammar by Lowth on page 109, and page 112
- A History of the Bible as Literature: Volume 2, From 1700 to the Present Day by David Norton in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- The Men Behind the King James Version by Gustavus Swift Paine in Back Matter
- A History of the English Bible as Literature (A History of the Bible as Literature) by David Norton in Front Matter
See all 22 books this book cites
- Psalm Culture and Early Modern English Literature by Hannibal Hamlin on page 56, and page 57
- A History of the English Bible as Literature (A History of the Bible as Literature) by David Norton in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- A History of the English Bible as Literature (A History of the Bible as Literature) by David Norton in Front Matter, and Back Cover
- Writing and Society: Literacy, Print and Politics in Britain 1590-1660 by Nigel Wheale on page 109, and page 129
- Jesus in America: Personal Savior, Cultural Hero, National Obsession by Richard Wightman Fox in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 26 books citing this book
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