The New International Encyclopædia/Bible, Curious Editions of
BIBLE, Curious Editions of. Besides those issues of the book which have historical importance are those notable for curious errors, or for incidents of publication. The followang is a list of the more familiar of these, with their peculiar designations:
The Gutenberg Bible. The earliest book known printed from movable metal types is the Latin Bible issued by Gutenberg at Mainz, A.D. 1452-56; also known as the Mazarin Bible, because the copy which first attracted the notice of bibliographers was discovered by Debure in 1760 among the books of Cardinal Mazarin (d. 1661).
The Bible of Thirty-six Lines. A folio edition of the Biblia Latina, of the time of Gutenberg, the pages of which contain two columns of thirty-six lines.
The Bug Bible. So called from its rendering of Psalm xci. 5: “Afraid of bugs by night.” Our present version reads: “Terror by night.” A.D. 1551.
The Breeches Bible. The Geneva version is sometimes called the Breeches Bible, from its rendering of Genesis iii. 7: “Making themselves breeches out of fig-leaves.” This translation of the Scriptures — the result of the labors of the English exiles at Geneva — was the English Family Bible during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and till supplanted by the present authorized version of King James I. The New Testament appeared in 1577; the whole Bible 1561.
The Place-maker's Bible. From a remarkable typographical error which occurs in Matt. v. 9: “Blessed are the place-makers,” instead of peacemakers. 1562.
The Treacle Bible. From its rendering of Jeremiah, viii. 22: “Is there no treacle [instead of balm] in Gilead?” 1568.
The Rosin Bible. From the same text, but translated ‘rosin’ in the Douai version. 1609.
The He and She Bibles. From the respective renderings of Ruth iii. 15 — one reading that “She went into the city”; the other has it that “He went.” 1611.
The Wicked Bible. From the fact that the negative has been left out of the Seventh Commandment (Ex. xx. 14), for which the printer was fined £300. 1631.
The Thumb Bible. One inch square and half an inch thick, was published at Aberdeen. 1670.
The Vinegar Bible. So named from the head-line of the twentieth chapter of Luke, which reads as “The parable of the vinegar,” instead of the ‘vineyard.’ 1717.
The Printer's Bible. We are told by Cotton Mather that in a Bible printed prior to 1702, a blundering typographer made King David exclaim that “Printers [instead of ‘princes’] persecuted him without a cause.” See Psalm cxix. IGl.
The Murderer's Bible. So called from an error in the sixteenth verse of the Epistle of Jude, the word ‘murderers’ being used instead of ‘murmurers.’ 1801.
The Standing Fishes' Bible. “And it shall come to pass that the fishes will stand upon it,” etc. Ezek. xlvii 10. Printed in 1806.
The Discharge Bible. “I discharge thee before God.” L Tim. v. 21. Printed in 1806.
The Wife-Hater Bible. “If any man come to me, and hate not his father . . . yea, and his own wife also,” etc. Luke xiv. 26. Printed in 1810.
The Ears-to-Ear Bible. “Who hath ears to ear, let him hear.” Matt. xiii. 43. Printed in 1810.
Rebekah's-Camels Bible. “And Rebekah arose, and her camels.” Genesis xxiv. 61. Printed in 1823.
To-Remain Bible. “Persecuted him that was born after the spirit to remain, even so it is now.” Gal. iv. 29. This typographical error, which was perpetuated in the first 8vo Bible printed for the Bible Society, takes its chief importance from the curious circumstances under which it arose. A 12mo Bible was being printed at Cambridge in 1805, and the proof-reader, being in doubt as to whether or not he should remove a comma, applied to his superior, and the reply, penciled on the margin, “to remain,” was transferred to the body of the text and repeated in the Bible Society's 8vo edition of 1805-06, and also in another 12mo edition of 1819.
The Caxton Memorial Bible. Wholly printed and bound in twelve hours, but only 100 copies struck off. 1877.