A General View of the History of the English Bible

by Brooke Foss Westcott

Publisher:

Macmillan and Co.

, 1905

Overview

In A General View of the History of the English Bible, renowned New Testament scholar B.F. Westcott calls attention to some points in the history of the English Bible which have been neglected. According to the author, the history of the English Bible is a type of the history of the Church, and both histories have suffered similar fates. Those who labor most successfully upon them generally confine themselves to outward facts, and don’t trace these facts back to their ultimate sources, or notice the variety of elements which go to form the final result. Hence, with A General View of the History of the English Bible, Westcott endeavors to rectify this oversight and fill an unfortunate gap in scholarship. As he states himself, “As far as I know no systematic inquiry into the internal history of our Authorized Version has yet been made, and still no problem can offer greater scope for fruitful research.”

Contents

Top Highlights

“Once the same initials are repeated in consecutive books. Some names too are certainly passed over. Lawrence, for example², had a considerable part in the revision of the New Testament, and his initials nowhere occur. Of the revisers who can be probably identified eight were bishops, and from them the revision derived its popular title³.” (Page 99)

“It was otherwise with Miles Coverdale, who was allowed to finish what Tindale left incomplete” (Page 55)

“It was not therefore surprising that from the time of its first appearance the Genevan Bible became the household Bible of the English-speaking nations; and it continued to be so for about three-quarters of a century.^* It was never sanctioned for public use in churches; but the convenience of its form and the simple clearness of its notes gained it a wide popularity with the mass of the people³.” (Page 93)

“From Matthew’s Bible—itself a combination of the labours of Tindale and Coverdale—all later revisions have been successively formed. In that the general character and mould of our whole version was definitely fixed. The labours of the next seventy-five years were devoted to improving it in detail.” (Pages 71–72)

“1569 Spanish Version of the Bible by Cassiodoro de Reyna.]” (Page 293)

Product Details

• Title: A General View of the History of the English Bible
• Author: Brooke Foss Westcott
• Publisher: Macmillan and Co.
• Publication Date: 1872
• Pages: 356

About Brooke Foss Westcott

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) was a British bishop, biblical scholar, and theologian serving as bishop of Durham from 1890 until his death.

Westcott studied at Trinity College in Cambridge where he graduated in 1848. He stayed at Trinity, where in 1849 he obtained his fellowship and was ordained deacon and priest. He received honorary degrees from Oxford in 1881 and Edinburgh 1883. In 1890, he became the bishop of Durham.

He has authored several works, including Introduction to the New Testament in the Original Greek, A General View of the History of the English Bible, Westcott-Hort Greek New Testament, and Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians.