Writing the History of the English Bible: A Review of Recent Scholarship

Abstract

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible (KJB), this article reviews recent scholarship in the growing, interdisciplinary field of the history and impact of the English Bible. Beginning with the early versions of the 16th and 17th century, the contributions of literary scholars and early modern historians are explained and assessed. While the rise of the KJB is given ample consideration, emerging work in other areas is also discussed, including Catholic biblical scholarship. In later periods, the global impact of the KJB and its subsequent decline in use is given attention, alongside newer versions both in traditional printed and online formats.

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“…It can certainly not be attributed solely to the strong anti-Catholic bias, although it must be an important contributing factor. In her review of the English Bibles in early modern studies, Bagley (2011) notes that Catholic Bibles deserve more recognition than they have enjoyed in the scholarly literature, while Cheely (2015, p. 366) observes that the only Catholic version of the Bible which is found in historical surveys of the English Bible is the Rheims New Testament. Bagley (2011) is slightly less positive in her assessment of the presence of the Rheims New Testament in the literature, noting that despite a revival of interest in "the often overlooked Rheims New Testament" (p. 304), "[t]he Rheims-Douai Bible is still commonly ignored (De Hamel, 2001, pp.…”

“…In her review of the English Bibles in early modern studies, Bagley (2011) notes that Catholic Bibles deserve more recognition than they have enjoyed in the scholarly literature, while Cheely (2015, p. 366) observes that the only Catholic version of the Bible which is found in historical surveys of the English Bible is the Rheims New Testament. Bagley (2011) is slightly less positive in her assessment of the presence of the Rheims New Testament in the literature, noting that despite a revival of interest in "the often overlooked Rheims New Testament" (p. 304), "[t]he Rheims-Douai Bible is still commonly ignored (De Hamel, 2001, pp. 244-269;McGrath, 2001), or when mentioned at all, judged a complete failure (Daniell, 2003, p. 368), 'a retrograde version' (Price and Caldwell, 2004, p. 109), or considered only in relation to the minor influence it had on the KJB (Crystal, 2010)" (Bagley, 2011, p. 309).…”