"The King James Bible owes much of its success to translator William Tyndale, who was martyred in 1536 for his work on translating the original Greek and Hebrew Scriptures into English. Tyndale's work was remarkable."
Trevor Howard-Hill, a New Zealand-born pioneer in literary computing and an expert on dramatic manuscripts of the Shakespearean period, was one of the most widely respected scholars in the emerging field of book history.
The BBC reports on the British Library's latest venture into e-books.
For a monthly subscription fee, users can access digital copies of more than 40,000 classic books available for the iPad.
Texts appear in fully digitised form, complete with original page markings and drawings, as opposed to the plain formatting associated with other types of e-books.
All of the works date from the 18th and 19th centuries and include novels, poetry and historical accounts.
On the day after the anniversary of Thomas Cromwell's execution, it is high time to reappraise this much misunderstood figure.
Society members may wish to know about the upcoming symposium on the 400th anniversary of the KJB, to be held at Gresham College, on 26 September. Speakers include Dr Christopher de Hamel.
This week, Melvyn Bragg tackles the topic of Wyclif and the Lollards on Radio 4's 'In our Time'...
Biblical book-lovers will be beating a path to Cambridge this summer, as medieval manor Elton Hall throws open the doors to its amazing library...
First editions of all of the major English translations of the Bible throughout the 16th-century will also be on show, including Coverdale’s Bible of 1535 and a copy of the Great Bible of 1539.
This week's Gramophone magazine - bible of the classical music world - celebrates the influence of the KJB on composers down the ages.
This coming Thursday night Tyndale is set to be the talk of the Tower...
On Tuesday 26th April, London's Banqueting House is offering 'An Audience With King James...'
This Easter, London's Globe Theatre is set to stage an Epic recital of the King James Bible to open their summer season.6pm – Midnight: Joshua to 1 Samuel
This session covers Joshua through to 1 Samuel and sees the crossing into the Promised Land. Covering the great conquests of Joshua, this section of the Bible includes tales of brutal battles and the falling of the walls of Jericho. Two of the Bible’s most famous stories are included in this session, the tales of Samson and Delilah and David and Goliath.
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6pm – Midnight: 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings
This session features 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings and as the names suggest details the tumultuous reigns of the Kings of Israel and Judea, including Saul, David and Soloman. The history of the Ark of the Covenant features heavily in this section of the Bible. If you ever wanted to know the origins of the term Jezebel, be sure to listen out for the story of King Ahab and Jezebel.
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6pm – Midnight: 1 Chronicles to Nehemiah
In 1 and 2 Chronicles the story from Genesis up to Kings is retold so if you’ve missed anything so far now is your chance to catch up. Ezra and Nehemiah deal with the re-building of the city of Jerusalem following the Babylonian destruction.
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6pm – Midnight: Esther, Job and Psalms
This session features the book of Psalms containing 150 beautifully written hymns, psalms and prayers covering the whole range of human emotions from joy to anger, from hope to despair. Many famous verses have roots in the psalms including, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’, ‘The Rivers of Babylon’, ‘Handel’s Messiah’. The book of Job explores the problem of sufferance in an unjust world, where God appears not to care about the fate of the just.
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9am – 4pm: Proverbs to Lamentations
This session includes the book of Proverbs often referred to as wisdom literature. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings. Also included in this session is the book of Song of Songs the most erotic piece of literature in the Bible filled with poems of love and lovers.
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4.30pm – Midnight: Ezekiel to the end of the Old Testament
Fourteen of the Bible’s books are covered in this session that makes up the final section of the Old Testament from Ezekiel through to Malachi. These books contain some remarkable imagery of angels and fantastic visions of the future from the prophets. Some of the Bible’s most famous lines and poems are contained in these books.This session also contains the stories of Daniel in the lion’s den, the madness of King Nebuchadnezzar and Jonah and the Whale.
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9am – 12.30pm : Matthew and Mark
The New Testament begins with the Gospels of Matthew and Mark and the life of Christ from the story of the nativity to the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. These gospels include the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus walking on water, the Feeding of the four thousand, Christ foretelling his death, the last judgement, betrayal and agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter’s denial and the deliverance to Pilate.
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1pm – 5pm: Luke and John
The gospels of Luke and John include more about the genealogy of Christ and John the Baptist. Christ’s miracles featured here include, the widow’s son raised from the dead, the healing of ten lepers and the transfiguration. The calling of the Disciples and the choosing of the Apostles is recounted in these books. One of the Bible’s best known parables, The Prodigal Son also features here.
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10am – 2.30pm: Acts to 2 Corinthians
This session of the Bible gives an account of the ascension of Christ through to the earliest churches being formed, and spreading the word of the Apostles. Paul’s letters to the Romans and Corinthians contain beautifully written language with phrases such as ‘Though I speak with the tongues of Men and Angels’, ‘Through a glass darkly’ and ‘The thorn in the flesh’. This session includes the story of the conversion of Saul (into Paul) on the road to Damascus.
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3pm – 7.30pm: Galatians to the end of the New Testament
The final session contains the instructive letters of Paul and Peter with famous passages such as ‘Love thy Neighbour as thy love thyself’ and ‘The love of money is the root of all evil’. Peter’s letters are considered one of the finest pieces of writing in the New Testament. They take stories from the Old Testament, such as Noah, and Sodom and Gomorrah, to contextualise the teachings. The explosive finale of the Bible recital comes in the book of Revelation. It is an apocalypse. Revelation brings together the worlds of heaven, earth, and hell in a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil.
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Militant unbeliever, controversialist, and essayist Chris Hitchens warmly praises Tyndale in Vanity Fair (alluding to the faint possibility of a family connection between himself and WT).
This Sunday, 3rd April, Tyndale Society Members David and Sue Smith are to present a special evening of Words and Music in honour of William Tyndale.
All stateside Members and Friends of The Tyndale Society are warmly invited to attend a lecture to be given on May 8th by eminent English Tyndale scholar Philip Arthur.
Amateur historians in Wiltshire got a happy surprise recently when their researches unearthed a previously unknown 1611 copy of the King James Bible which had hitherto been sitting unnoticed on a shelf...Geoff Procter, a member of the parochial church council, said that they had read about a 'fine chained Bible in a glass case' at the church. They then made the link with a Bible that had been sitting on a shelf at the church for a number of years.
There are fewer than 200 original printings of the King James version known to exist, and it is believed that the rediscovered Bible is one of the few remaining editions printed in 1611.
The residents now plan to display the discovery in a special glass case - partly for security and to protect it for future generations but also because the history books say it was kept in one.
To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, a special exhibition has opened at Cambridge University Library.
I have experienced quakes but never on this level in my life.
Thanks to BBC Religion & Ethics insider Al Rodgers, for his tip-off about a new 'Tyndale' TV programme to be broadcast this coming weekend.New words - we use them still: "scapegoat", "let there be light", "the powers that be", "my brother's keeper", "filthy lucre", "fight the good fight", "sick unto death", "flowing with milk and honey", "the apple of his eye", "a man after his own heart", "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak", "signs of the times", "ye of little faith", "eat drink and be merry", "broken hearted", "clear eyed". And hundreds more: "fishermen", "landlady", "sea-shore", "stumbling block", "taskmaster", "two-edged", "viper", "zealous" and even "Jehovah" and "Passover" come into English through Tyndale. "Beautiful", a word which has meant only human beauty, was greatly widened by Tyndale, as were many others..."
BBC researchers originally contacted The Tyndale Society last autumn to investigate and verify details of Tyndale's dramatic part in the KJV's story.
The 400th Anniversary of the KJV has certainly stirred up a lot of new interest in Tyndale's life and work!
All Members and Friends are invited to attend a public lecture on William Tyndale to be given by Professor Andrew Hope in the Crypt of the Parish Church of St John, Church Row, Hamsptead, London NW3.
US Secretary of The Tyndale Society and Newton expert Helen Martin will be visiting the UK in March to give a talk on The Classical Education of Sir Isaac Newton.
Of interest to all students of the history of the English language 'The Word Exchange' is a new Norton compendium of 123 Anglo-Saxon poems which sit alongside modern English translations rendered by a line-up of 70 contemporary greats including Seamus Heaney (who also provides the foreword) and Paul Muldoon.
David Daniell and his family send sincere thanks to Tyndale Society Members and friends for the many tributes to David's late wife Dorothy which they have received after her sad death in November.
