The Text of the King James Bible - Laurence M. Vance

The text of the King James Bible means many things: the typefaces used, the wording of the text, the frequency with which the words of the text are used, the abbreviation of words in the text, the hyphenation of words in the text, the spelling of the words in the text, the editions of the text, the nature and categorization of the changes in the text, the printing of the text, the publishing of the text, the language of the text, the influences on the text, and the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts.

This painstakingly researched book explores spelling, abbreviations, and compound words in the 1611 Bible; spelling and word changes in modern King James Bibles; changes in the English language since 1611; variations in the editions of King James Bibles; differences between Oxford, Cambridge, and American King James Bibles; the correspondence between the Blayney 1769 edition of the King James Bible and modern editions; the relationship between the Catholic Rheims New Testament of 1582 and the Authorized Version; and the history of the Greek text underlying the New Testament text of the King James Bible and the correlation between the two.

Chapter 1, “The 1611 King James Bible,” is devoted exclusively to the canonical text of the first printing of the first edition of the Authorized Version in 1611. Chapter 2, “From 1611 to Today,” focuses on the word differences between the 1611 Bible and modern King James Bibles. Chapter 3, “Editions of the Authorized Version,” focuses on the word and spelling differences between the editions of the King James Bible. Chapter 4, “The Rheims New Testament and the Authorized Version,” explores the relationship between the Catholic Rheims New Testament of 1582 and the King James Bible. Chapter 5, “The Greek Text of the King James Bible,” examines the correlation between the King James Bible and the Greek text that underlies its New Testament, as well as a detailed history of that Greek text.