'The KJV at 400'

  
Yesterday, the American Bible Society in New York City hosted "On Eagles' Wings," a symposium commemorating the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Four academic lecturers spoke at length on different aspects of the subject, from the political machinations that helped inspire the King James Version of the Holy Bible to contemporary efforts in the Caribbean to standardize Christian worship. After the lectures, producer-director Norman Stone screened his new film KJB: The Book That Changed the World. The daylong celebration complements the exhibition that opened Friday at the Museum of Biblical Art titled "On Eagles' Wings: The King James Bible Turns Four Hundred," which runs through September 18. The two institutions are located at 1865 Broadway (at 61st Street).

It actually requires at least one day of lectures, Q&A, film, and display of Bibles to broach the topic of the KJV and its global significance. What began as one item on a lengthy list of grievances submitted to King James I of England by a council of Puritan elders seeking religious liberty culminated in the production of a sacred text on which diverse religious and political factions could agree. Fifty scholars -- linguists, theologians, classicists, and more -- collectively dubbed God's Secretaries, labored for seven years to produce a Bible for not only England, but for the Americas also.

Dr. David Norton

David Norton is Professor of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His first book, A History of the Bible as Literature, won the Conference on Christian Literature Book of the Year Award in 1994. He edited the text of the King James Bible for Cambridge University Press. Dr. Norton is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and of the New Zealand Academy of the Humanities. His latest book is The King James Bible: a Short History from Tyndale to Today published by Cambridge University Press.

Being first to speak, he had the biggest job of explaining history, theology, publishing, and related contexts, beginning with the evolution of Christian holy texts in the centuries previous to the coronation of Scotland's King James VI as England's King James I. Parts of the story are deceptively simple. For instance, 83 percent of the KJV text is the language of William Tyndale's Bibles of the 1520s and '30s. Tyndale (1494?-1536) was an early translator of Bibles for English readers, which made him a man wanted by authorities of both church and state. To avoid arrest, he fled to Europe where the publishing took place, however a reprinting of his revised New Testament was run in 1535 under the patronage of Anne Boleyn, and is the first volume of Holy Scripture printing in England. A skilled translator of Greek with a gift for language, Tyndale produced reliable texts that established a standard for Reformation thinking. He was arrested by Catholic authorities in Antwerp in 1535, and was tried, executed, and burned.

The major Bibles used in England that followed in Tynedale's path include the Coverdale and Matthew versions of the 1530s and, more significantly to this story, the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishops' Bible (1568) -- both Reformation favorites -- and the Rheims New Testament (1582), a standard text in Roman Catholic churches. It was the Bishops' Bible's 1602 edition that was the Church of England's standard text at the time James commissioned a new version; Norton used Powerpoint to illustrate some telling differences between the two.

Frontispiece of the 1602 edition of the Bishops' Bible.

The frontispiece of the 1602 edition of the Bishops' Bible is a busy piece of printing. To decode some of it: At top, the Tetragrammaton. Left side, representations of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Right, the Twelve Apostles. Beneath the text, a lamb, slaughtered and seemingly ready for the spit. The Four Evangelists are at the corners outside the text area.

Frontispiece of the first edition of the King James Bible, 1611.

The frontispiece of the first edition of the King James Bible retains some of the same imagery. The Tetragrammaton (cut off in this photo) is at top. The Apostles underneath, with the Agnus Dei. The Evangelists remain at the cardinal corners of the text box. What's new is Moses and Aaron flanking the text, and in the text itself is the conspicuous credit: "by His Majesty's special commandment," a controversial hint at giving James almost godly authority, a phraseology that would be abandoned in 1629.

The title pages of the 1602 Bishops' Bible and the first King James Bible.

A comparison of the two title pages reveals a few differences, like the promise of a new text based on translations of the original tongues, which isn't exactly the case. Hebrew and Aramaic, of course would be the original languages for the books of the Hebrew Bible on which the Old Testament is based; and Greek would have been the mother tongue from which to translate original New Testament books. As stated above, based on what several of the lecturers said yesterday, 83 percent of the KJV comes from Tynedale's Bible. So what are the differences?

Let me start with language. Four hundred years on, we reflect on the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras as the birth of modern English and the golden age of English prose and poetry. Shakespeare, Milton, and their remembered contemporaries are, to most, the fathers of our language. At their time however, things were different. The people of the English-speaking world c. 1600 would have laughed at the notion that their mother tongue could in any way comprise an art form. The term "English literature" would have been considered an oxymoron, Norton said, and the KJV revolutionized nothing on its advent in 1611; it would be decades later, years even after the death of its patron the king, when the KJV began to be accepted widely (the Geneva, for one, was an enduring favorite), and it wouldn't be until the 18th century that it became THE Bible of the English-speaking Christian world. This Bible, Norton added, holds a unique status. There were other Bibles, but the KJV from 1660 on was the Scriptural text that served as a book of both truth and language, and over the next century and a half, when people eventually caught up to it in the mid 18th century, it became the English-speaking Protestants' word of God. This must be appreciated for the feat that it is, considering that dialects were many and varied in England itself, never mind the diversity found in the Americas and elsewhere.

There were folio-size editions for the clergy's use in church, and there were quartos for sale to individuals and families for use at home, but that's largely just commerce. To be clear, the King James Bible was crafted specifically for being read aloud in church.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

It is one of the most famous verses in English letters, theology notwithstanding.

Words, phrases, and understanding are the crux of translation, and when revising a text already in the same language, the decision to not change something is equally potent as the act of changing a word, phrase, or understanding.

William Tyndale's New Testament c. 1530, Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:

"That which was from the beginning declare we unto you, which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life appeared, and we have seen, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and appeared unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye may have fellowship with us, and that our fellowship may be with the father, and his son Jesus Christ. And this write we unto you, that our joy may be full. And this is the tidings which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

The Bishops' Bible of 1568, Gospel of John, Chapter 1, 1-5:

"In the begynnyng was the worde, & the worde was with God: and that worde was God. The same was in the begynnyng with God. All thynges were made by it: and without it, was made nothyng that was made. In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men, And the lyght shyneth in darkenesse: and the darknesse comprehended it not."

What also distinguishes the KJV from previous Bibles is the absence of marginal notes. These brief doctrinal notes next to the Scriptural verses existed to offer context and clarity, but to King James, some of them were intolerable. The Geneva Bible is the Bible of the Reformation, of the Puritans, and the Pilgrims; it was the first Bible brought to America and was the standard text for Christian worship in America until the KJV came to dominate. In the Geneva Bible's John 1 there were notes opining opposition to monarchial rule. To James, as editor-in-chief (he was highly knowledgeable in matters of theology and church) the doctrinal notes generally were undesirable, but those introducing ideas of disobedience to kings especially had to go.

But philosophically, the justification of a new Bible for the Church of England -- James never did succeed at introducing a revised Scripture for his native Church of Scotland -- was stated in the colorful prose of the preface. (The American Bible Society published in 1997 a book containing this introductory message in three formats: 1) a facsimile of the original 1611 pages, 2) the original wording, but in an orthography to accommodate modern American readers, and 3) an entirely modern format, with all Greek and Latin quotations, and all archaic English words and idioms rendered in modern standard English. This book, titled The Translators to the Reader: The Original Preface of the King James Version of 1611 Revisited is available through Amazon and other vendors.) Excerpted: "Truly, good Christian reader, we never thought from the beginning that we should need to make a new translation, nor yet to make of a bad one a good ... but to make a good one better, or out of many good ones, one principal good one, not justly to be excepted against, that hath been our endeavour, that our mark. To that purpose there were many chosen that were greater in other men's eyes than in their own, and that sought the truth rather than their own praise."

Dr. Scot McKnight

Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University, in Chicago. Dr. McKnight has given radio interviews across the country, has appeared on television and regularly speaks at local churches, conferences, colleges and seminaries in the United States and abroad. Dr. McKnight earned his Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham.

McKnight complemented Norton's talk by sharing additional information on the KJV's place in England, explaining there were two main rival texts, the Catholic version of the Holy Bible and the Protestants' Geneva Bible. The latter was very popular, thanks to its quarto size, Roman font, and accessible notes. The Catholic Church's Bible, called the Rheims New Testament, was the first English language Catholic Bible. First published in 1582 in France, it is interesting how the Church did not complete and authorize its own version of the Old Testament until 1610. Both Testaments are based on Jerome's Vulgate, the Latin translation from the fourth century, making them inaccurate and scorned by non-Catholics. At stake was more than who had the best translations of the Hebrew and Greek source materials; the King James Bible was to satisfy both Anglican and Puritan alike, and carry on the Protestant tradition at a time when Roman Catholicism vied for both ecclesiastical supremacy and control of the state.

There were times where choice of specific words had significant implications: church versus congregation; priest versus minister; and baptize versus wash, to cite three examples. The accord of Greek original text with desired context made for the winning formula, and so in devising a New Testament in the best obtainable language based on the original Greek, James I was said to have freed five from prison: the Four Evangelists and Paul the Apostle. In the latter's case, Romans Chapter 5 was cited as an illustrative instance of bearing toward the Greek by replacing "sin" with "offense."

Dr. Euan Cameron

Euan Cameron attended Eton and Oxford Universities, where he graduated with a BA in History and received a D.Phil. He taught History at the University of Newcastle upon Tynein, became the first Henry Luce III Professor of Reformation Church History, at Union Theological Seminary in New York; and held a concurrent appointment in the Department of Religion in Columbia University. From 2004 to 2010, he also served as Academic Vice-President in the seminary.

Dr. Cameron added more context to the story, explaining, among other things, that the King James Version was the right Bible for the right time. Reformation's "heroic confrontational phase" was embodied by William Tynedale early in the previous century, but by the time James had commissioned his Bible, it was time for "a more measured quality" to the voice of the Church of England. It was time for Anglican ascendancy.

However the success of the KJV is not due to its establishment within the Church of England alone. It is because it is the embodiment of the Reform-minded Christian message that all the faithful can embrace.

Mr. Norman Stone, director and producer of KJB: The Book That Changed the World.

After the lectures, it was time for the film premiere and discussion with the director of KJB: The Book that Changed the World. Produced and directed by Norman Stone, this 90-minute film documents the creation and significance of the King James Bible. Created for the translation's 400th anniversary, it features acclaimed British actor John Rhys-Davies as chief storyteller and guide.

Stone was youngest television producer/director at the BBC. He wrote and produced the highly acclaimed A Different Drummer about the blind and deaf Cornish poet Jack Clemo in 1980. Four years later, his career was established with the international success of Shadowlands, a drama on the love and grief of C.S. Lewis.

The movie tells of the turbulent politics (e.g. the Fawkes plot) of the Jacobean era and the intrigues in both state and church that were behind the creation of this holy text that changed the world.

As always, any errors or omissions in the reporting here are mine, and not the speakers'.
 

Tim Wallace-Murphy at Alpha

     

Dr. Tim Wallace-Murphy is welcomed to Alpha Lodge by Worshipful Master David Lindez. The world renowned scholar visited Saturday night to discuss “Rosslyn Chapel: Reliquary of the Holy Grail.”

The August Order of Alpha Males inducted a new member Saturday night when Dr. Tim Wallace-Murphy of Lodge Robert Burns Initiated No. 1781 in Edinburgh became the latest world renowned scholar to lecture at historic Alpha Lodge No. 116 in East Orange, New Jersey.

(I recently dubbed Alpha the Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex County because it simply surpasses everything else going on in New Jersey Freemasonry in terms of Masonic culture, while not at all forgetting about the basics, the brotherhood, and its relationship to the neighborhood.)

They came from miles away to be at Alpha that night. Masons from New Jersey’s Fifth, 10th, 12th Districts and more; and from Pennsylvania too. We gathered to listen to this prolific author, lecturer and familiar face from documentary films discuss “Rosslyn Chapel: Reliquary of the Holy Grail.”

“I started my spiritual journey 35-36 years ago,” said Wallace-Murphy, prefacing his lecture with some personal background. Fascinated by the books of Trevor Ravenscroft and Joseph Campbell, he was intrigued by the great power that symbols and myths have to conceal hidden wisdom while inspiring seekers to break the codes.

In particular it was the Holy Grail that first drew him in.

“My first literary collaborator, the late Trevor Ravenscroft, composed his masterwork, “The Cup of Destiny,” to reveal to the younger generation that the Grail romances reveal, within their drama and symbolism, signposts to a unique path of initiation: the true teaching of Jesus,” he explained. “He was not alone in this conclusion, for one of the world’s leading mythologists, the late Professor Joseph Campbell, writing of the importance of the Grail, cites a passage from the Gospel of Thomas: “He who drinks from my mouth will become as I am, and I shall be he.”

“Campbell came to the conclusion that this represented the ultimate form of enlightenment that can arise from a successful Grail quest. Thus the Grail quest is not what it seems, for there is a hidden agenda designed to conceal a heretical truth from the prying eyes of the clergy,” he continued. “The original Grail sagas of Chrétien (de Troyes) and Wolfram (von Eschenbach) are coded guides to initiation.”

Which leads us to Rosslyn Chapel, the enigmatic structure Wallace-Murphy credits with being the reliquary of this inspired initiatic heritage.

“The care and precision that went into the construction of the chapel fall into a category of what we would now call ‘quality assurance,’ ” said Wallace-Murphy. “Every carving and every decoration was first made of wood, and then shown to William (St. Clair).” They then were carved in stone and placed where he directed. Earl William St. Clair was the builder of Rosslyn Chapel and the last Sinclair Earl of Orkney.

Our speaker, using PowerPoint, lead a tour of the amazing site.


The Exterior

There are many flying buttresses of the Gothic order of architecture, but they are not weight-bearing. On the East Wall is found a bust of Mercury, “the first of many anomalies we’ll come across.” The West Wall he said was originally meant to be an inside wall, but the building was never completed; work on the site ceased upon the death of William St. Clair in 1482. In a window on the South Wall is carved a Knight Templar leading a blindfolded man by a rope about his neck.

The roof, made of solid stone, is divided into five sections, one of which displays what Wallace-Murphy said is a “profusion of five-pointed stars,” another sign denoting the Chapel’s relevance to the Knights Templar.


The Interior

“The inside is superbly carved,” he said. “Profuse, with very intricate carving at eye-level and above. A symphony of carved spirituality!” There are Zoroastrian and ancient Egyptian symbols. “Every form of spirituality known in the 15th century, but this is supposedly a Christian church.”

The Apprentice Pillar – The master mason, having received from his patron the model of a pillar of exquisite workmanship and design, hesitated to carry it out until he had been to Rome, or some such foreign part, and seen the original. He went abroad, and in his absence an apprentice, having dreamed the finished pillar, at once set to work and carried out the design as it now stands, a perfect marvel of workmanship. The master mason on his return was so stung with envy that he asked who had dared to do it in his absence. On being told it was his own apprentice, he was so inflamed with rage and passion that he struck him with his mallet, killed him on the spot, and paid the penalty for his rash and cruel act.

(Source: “An Illustrated Guide to Rosslyn Chapel” by Tim Wallace-Murphy. Photo from “Cracking the Symbol Code” by Tim Wallace-Murphy.)

The Apprentice himself, Wallace-Murphy explained, is seen in the southwest corner of the clerestory wall, his gaze directed downward at the Master Masons Pillar. Relating a fascinating anecdote, he told of how a colleague laboring in the restoration of the Chapel had discovered that this Apprentice once had a beard. “Apprentices in the 15th century were not allowed to have beards,” he added. An esoteric clue lies therein.

Other aspects of the Apprentice Pillar include its allusions to the Tree of Life; the musicians playing medieval instruments; and what is called the Stafford Knot, a pretzel-shaped configuration that Wallace-Murphy said is a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Bro. Wallace-Murphy discussed many symbols found built into the architecture of Rosslyn Chapel, varying from Green Man depictions to symbols of the Deadly Sins and Cardinal Virtues to carvings of maize, lilies and rosettes. The Magpie Mason strongly recommends his books for detailed description and analysis of these and more. But one aspect he did discuss in detail that I ought to share concerns the Templar symbolism, which is the crux of his theory of initiatic intent in the design of the Chapel.

There are “five diagnostic elements” embedded in Rosslyn Chapel, he explained.

The Agnus Dei, or Paschal Lamb – the seal of the medieval order of Knights Templar that in this instance has carved into it a pair of hands drawing back a veil, all but exclaiming a sense of esoterica revealed. In addition, an angel in the south aisle is carved holding a Sinclair shield, with another pair of hands pulling back a curtain.

The Engrailed Cross of the Sinclairs – depicted throughout the main chapel is what Wallace-Murphy called the Croix Pattée: a Knight Templar cross converted into the Gnostic Gross of Universal Knowledge.

The burial stone of Sir William de Sinncler, Grand Prior of the Templar order who, according to legend, had commanded the Templars in their intervention on Scotland’s behalf at Bannockburn.

“Commit thy work to God” – is the St. Clair family motto, which the author likened to that of the Templars: “Not to our name Lord. Not to our name, but to Yours be all the glory.”

The heraldic colors of the St. Clair family – are argent and sable, the same color scheme of the Beausant, the battle flag of the Templar order.


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As regards the medieval Knights Templar and their alleged role in the history of Scotland and as forefathers of Freemasonry, the Magpie Mason stands comfortably in the Cooper camp. It makes for a far less romantic story, but the trail of facts into Masonic origins does lead to the builders of the great cathedrals. The rival theory of Freemasonry descending from the Templars is very exciting, has sold many books, and is entirely speculative. But on interpretations of the countless symbols carved and placed throughout Rosslyn Chapel, I’m open to informed opinion and very much enjoy reading the research of those who actually study this enigmatic site, using their training in religion and mythology to translate what they see. In Freemasonry, there are tangible facts, but there also are the intangibles that spark curiosity and ought to mark common ground on which academics and ordinary thinkers like myself can build together. Bro. Tim Wallace-Murphy’s books are accessible to all, and intentionally so. He knows his material thoroughly and presents his theses in language and style that can bring together the most orthodox of Quatuor Coronati disciples and the undecided seeker beginning his journey.

That embodies the ultimate goal of the Masonic lodge.