Lesson 6 Study Notes

Bishop Lutter here with my final lesson in this course on the birth of the English Bible from Wycliffe to the King James Version. I hope that you have enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. And I look forward to us spending time in the future. And now I want to introduce to you my guest lecturer for this lesson.

King Henry VIII had authorized several versions of an English Bible in order to fortify his position that he, the king, was the ultimate authority for the Church of England. To further distance himself from the Roman Catholic Church, King Henry made sure that his Bible versions did

not depend upon the Latin Vulgate, which by now had become the official standard of the Roman Catholic Church. Rather King Henry insisted that his versions be based upon the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the ancient Bibles. By doing so, King Henry could suggest that his versions were more credible and authentic because they were not based upon a Latin translation but upon the original scriptures themselves.

Toward that end, the translators of King Henry rested heavily upon the work of Erasmus, Tyndale, Coverdale and Matthews. The translators of the King James Version were instructed to take the 1602 edition of the Bishop's Bible as their basis, although several other existing translations were taken into account. After it was published in 1611, the King James Version soon took the Bishop's Bible's place

as the de facto standard of the Church of England. The King James Version, often simply known as the KJV or the Authorized Version, AV, is far more than a mere translation of the Christian Bible. It is a monumental work that has etched itself into the very fabric of English-speaking culture. Commissioned in 1604 and brought to life in 1611 under the auspices of King James VI and I, this version of the Bible wasn't just

an act of translation, it was an ambitious project of spiritual and political unity, aiming to solidify the Church of England's authority in an era fraught with religious and political tension. This text, comprising 80 books, including the 39 books of the Old Testament, 14 of the Apocrypha, and 27 of the New Testament, was not just another biblical rendition. It was celebrated for its majesty of

style, a phrase that encapsulates the powerful and poetic cadence of the language, a linguistic resonance that has reverberated through centuries influencing not just religious devotion but the very evolution of the English language itself. The King James Version stands as one of the most significant literary achievements of early modern England, shaping not just theological discourse but the broader cultural and intellectual landscape of the English-speaking world.

Before the KJV, there were other translations endorsed by the English Church, the Great Bible of 1535 and the Bishop's Bible of 1568. Yet, these versions did not capture the hearts and minds of the people as the Geneva Bible did. The Geneva Bible, born out of the Protestant Reformation and forged in the fires of theological struggle,

had gained a significant following. Its translators, deeply influenced by the work of William Tyndale and the reforms of John Calvin, brought a fervent Calvinistic lens to their translation, which was too radical for the more conservative factions of the Church of England and, importantly, for King James himself. The Geneva Bible's marginal notes were laced with Calvinistic Puritanism, interpreting King as tyrant in hundreds of instances, a notion that directly challenged the divine

right of kings, a principle James was keen to uphold. This tension led to the Hampton Court Conference of January 1604, where James, seeking to resolve these theological and political tensions, called for a new translation. This new Bible was to reflect the ecclesiology of the Church of England, reinforcing its episcopal structure and the authority of an ordained clergy, while also silencing the subversive undertones of the Geneva Bible. The translation process was a scholarly endeavor, drawing from the original Greek for the New Testament, Hebrew and Aramaic

for the Old Testament, and Greek and Latin for the Apocrypha. The result was a Bible that not only conformed to the doctrinal orthodoxy of the Church of England, but also resonated with a majesty that would endure for centuries. By the 18th century, the King James Version had eclipsed all other English translations, becoming the standard text in Anglican and other English Protestant churches. Its influence was so pervasive that it even supplanted the Latin Vulgate as the authoritative

scripture for English-speaking scholars. With the advent of stereotype printing in the 19th century, the KJV became the most widely printed book in history, with the 1769 Oxford Standard Text becoming the version most people are familiar with today, a text that notably often omits the apocrypha. Today when we speak of the King James Version, we invoke not just a Bible, but a cultural and spiritual cornerstone, a text that has shaped the religious and linguistic landscape of the English-speaking world in ways that continue to resonate across

the centuries. While this brings to a close my discussion on the KJV, let me assure you that it is not the end of the story of the English Bible. As the title of this course suggests, we have focused our attention on the versions of the English Bible from Wycliffe to the King James Version. Following the KJV there would be a number of additional English Bibles produced in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Like the KJV, these translations would be created to serve a particular Protestant denominations. These translations would include the ASV, RSV, NKJV, NIV, NLT and so many others. In a subsequent online course entitled Beyond the KJV. I will examine these other translations and explain how they were influenced by the reading community that sponsored them. This is a rich history and heritage that is too complex to tell in a single course. Be sure to be on the lookout for the companion that is too complex to tell in a single course. Be sure to be on the lookout for the companion to this course.

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Lesson 6, The King James Version

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