Reading List: The King James Bible

Both Teftaments! Af Good A Focial Hiftory Af Any Book in Englifh.Mark Noll's article in the May 2011 edition of Christianity Today calls attention to the King James Version of the Bible, a topic of rich fascination (though not usually for the reasons that KJV-only advocates would like).

Noll's a terrific historian, and his article pulls together some of the better critical scholarship on the KJV, its translation, its history, its reception, and its influence.   I thought I'd take this space to drum up business for Amazon and weigh down the bedside tables of those who love the English language, the Bible, the history of faith, and most of all the intersection between the three.

GRADE A BOOKS:

David Norton's The King James Bible: A Short History from Tyndale To Today is probably the best of the histories.   Norton draws on lots of fresh evidence, such as the only notes kept on the translation of the KJV, John Bois'.   (I know.  You'd think that'd have been a major source already.  But no.)  Norton is interested (as his title suggests) in the relationship between Tyndale and the Authorized Version of 1611.   He also has many important insights into the reasons behind the KJV's success.

My favorite book on the KJV is Alister McGrath's very well-written In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed A Nation, A Language, and A Culture.   McGrath is interested in the many social effects of the work as well as the translation itself. 

The King James Bible after Four Hundred Years: Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Influences contains a number of good topical essays.  You can't really do any academic work on the subject without this book in front of you.

GRADE B BOOKS:

Adam Nicholson's God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible is rather decent, but a bit too cursory for my taste.  But this book is a good thumbnail sketch of Jacobean politics and religion and the KJV's place in it, as well as a first-stop for people who have never thought much about the social situation of the translation.  Nicholson is to Norton what Toto is to Kansas.  (You may take that as either a cinematic / literary comparison or a musical one.  It works either way.)

Comments

[Susan]

Ha! Too bad your "too cursory" is my "not cursory enough." Haven't read any of these, but I'm tempted by the last book, particularly as my daughter is skipping her way through this period of history as we speak. But I fear my reading list will not expand to encompass another 336 pages on this topic. I ought to be able to track down Noll's article, though, so thanks for the heads-up.

Double ha!:your final, parenthetic sentence made me laugh.