Mr. W iens has made it a life-long
project to find and collect old
rare Bibles. Here he is pictured
with a few of the copies of
Scripture in his collection which
have been on display this month
during the 26th annual
Torrey Memorial Bible Conference.
Mr. W iens manages the three
Biola Book Rooms, downtown
Los Angeles, in Glendale, and
on the new Biola Campus
in La Mirada.
Special commemorative folders
for the 350th anniversary
of the King James Bible
are available from the
author free of charge.
appreciate the GENEVA Version of the Bible which most of his subjects were using because that version did not support his pet doctrine of the “ divine right of kings.” Dr. Bancroft, the Bishop of London, was instructed by King James to ap point three committees representing the Universities of Oxford and Cam bridge, and the Cathedral of West minster to produce a new version of the English Bible. A total of 47 scholars and clergymen including sev eral leading Puritans were assigned various portions of the Bible and they began to work simultaneously at Ox ford, Cambridge, and London. Ex plicit instructions as to how the work was to be done were drawn up by Dr. Bancroft and approved by the King. These instructions specified among other things that the BIS-
land. Before he could summon a con vocation to consider this and other matters affecting the church, a great plague broke out in London so that James moved into Hampton Court. There, in January of 1604, the king finally called a meeting of the church leaders to which he invited four of the leading Puritan clergy headed by Dr. John Reynolds. Neither the King nor the church of England clergy who surrounded him showed much sympathy for the complaints of the Puritan minority, but when Dr. Reynolds suggested to the king that he initiate and author ize a new translation of the Bible to end the existing confusion of versions, the king showed immediate interest and promised that something would be done about it. It is said that King James did not
HOP’S BIBLE, as the official Bible of the Church of England, was to be the basis of the new version. The other older versions were to be con sulted—along with the best old manu scripts in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. As portions of the Bible were com pleted they were passed on to the other committees for their considera tion, and suggested changes were made upon agreement of a majority. After the three groups had completed their work, a final revision was made by a committee consisting of two men from each of the three groups. In the end, Dr. Bancroft edited the work of the Revision committee and then passed the manuscript on to the printers who issued the first printing in 1611. The sale of the Bible was so fast that several more printings had (continued on next page)
FEBRUARY, 1961
57
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