Dr. Herbert Samworth
The Great Bible owes its origin to the desire of William Tyndale to provide the English ploughboy with the Word of God in his own language. This desire was reiterated in Tyndale’s last words, “Lord, open the eyes of the King of England.” Those stirring words were uttered outside the Vilvorde Prison on October 6, 1536 when William Tyndale was strangled and his body burned. During the time Tyndale...
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A RECENT DISCOVERY The providential care of God over His Word was aptly demonstrated by a discovery at the Wurttembergishe Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany in 1996. The directors of the Library were reclassifying their holdings of English books when they came across a book that they were unable to identify. Figure one shows the outside cover of the book with the engraving of a person with...
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The Greek New Testament of 1550 “The finest Greek text ever printed” is indeed high praise for any book. It is a book contained in the Van Kampen Collection and behind it is a fascinating story that merits telling. The book, also called the Editio Regia, was printed by Robert Stephanus in 1550 in Paris. However, some historical background is necessary to realize the importance of this...
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The Geneva Bible of 1560 is well-known to the English speaking people. It was the Bible of the Puritans and held the affection of the majority of the English people until well into the 17th century. For many years it proved to be even more popular than the King James Version initially printed in 1611. However, few persons are aware of a New Testament printed in 1557 that preceded the printing of...
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Due to the Constitutions of Oxford that passed in 1408 under the direction of Thomas Arundel, the Archbishop of Canterbury, translations of the Bible into English were forbidden. This action was in response to the work of John Wyclif under whose supervision the entire Bible had been translated from the Vulgate into English. For the following one hundred and thirty years, this prohibition would...
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The Novum Instrumentum or literally the New Instrument at first may appear a strange name for the Word of God. However, we will see that it was aptly named because it was indeed the new instrument that, in God’s providence, was used to bring the Word of God to many people. In other places I have written that it was my privilege to work for a number of years with what is called the Van Kampen...
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What can you tell me about the history of the King James Bible of 1611? The printing of the King James Bible was a compromise solution to a situation where two translations of the Bible were in competition. This took place in the following manner. Although William Tyndale was the primary translator of the English Bible, the work was carried on after his death by a number of people. Miles...
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One of the great joys in learning about the Bibles in the Van Kampen Collection is to note their connection with various individuals. Thus, in order to know something about the Algonquin Bible and its value, it is imperative to know something about John Eliot, the translator. Eliot was born in 1604 in the midst of turbulent times in England. He attended Jesus College of Cambridge University and...
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