Revised Version with Apocrypha (1895) (ENGRV5)

Overview

The Revised Version (RV) was the first major English Bible revision undertaken since the King James Version of 1611. [1] It originated in a resolution of the Convocation of Canterbury in February 1870, which appointed committees of scholars to revise the Authorized Version. [1] [2] The New Testament was published on May 17, 1881, the Old Testament in 1885, and the Apocrypha in 1895. [2] Over fifty scholars from various denominations in Great Britain participated, organized into an Old Testament company of 27 members and a New Testament company of 26 members. [2] The most influential committee members were Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, whose critical Greek text significantly shaped the New Testament revision. [1] American scholars were invited to collaborate beginning in 1872, forming two parallel companies; their preferred readings were recorded in an appendix and later incorporated into the American Standard Version (NT 1900, OT 1901). [2]

Translation History

In February 1870, the Convocation of Canterbury adopted a motion to consider the desirability of revising the Authorized Version; definite motions in favor of revision were passed in May of the same year. [2] The Convocation of York declined to participate, so the Southern Convocation proceeded independently. [2] Both revision companies began work at Westminster on June 22, 1870. [2] The guiding principles required introducing as few alterations as possible consistent with faithfulness to the original texts, limiting changes to the language of the Authorized and earlier English versions, and adopting the textual reading for which evidence was "decidedly preponderating." [2] Changes required simple majority approval initially but needed a two-thirds majority to survive the final revision. [2] The New Testament company met on 407 days over eleven years; the Old Testament company met on 792 days over fifteen years. [2]

Language and People

English (ISO 639-3: eng) is spoken by approximately 379,000,000 people. [Glottolog: stan1293]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The revision was authorized by the Convocation of Canterbury of the Church of England. [1] The Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press held the original publishing rights.

References