1769 Oxford “Standard” Revision of the 1611 KJV Bible

Description

In 1769 Dr. Benjamin Blayney completed his revision of the King James Bible, and using Dr. Samuel Johnson’s first edition 1755 printing of the Johnson Dictionary, the English language “came of age.” Spelling, punctuation, and grammar became standardized, making it possible to teach succeeding generations the fledgling languages’ establishment as excellent spoken and written language in the world of communication, commerce, and education.

When the first King James Bible was printed, there was no dictionary in widely accepted use. There was no standardized spelling for most complicated words. The truth is there were many printing mistakes and when Dr. Blayney finished – he had corrected more than 20,000 spelling and punctuation “mistakes” done by Robert Barker and his printing presses that produced the 1611 King James Bible.

These large format 1769 Family Bibles measure a massive 15 inches tall by 10.5 inches wide by 3 inches thick. They are bound by hand using the most beautiful and durable cover of Italian Fiscagoma Buffalino, selected to last a lifetime of daily use. This heirloom will be a true collector’s edition to be proudly displayed in observance of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation that we date from Martin Luther nailing the 95 Thesis to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517.

NOTE: This 1769 Oxford Bible facsimile is no longer available, however… a full color high resolution digital edition of the 1611 King James Bible and many other ancient English Bibles are available for free online access at BIBLES-ONLINE.NET 

1769 Deluxe Oxford Standardized Revision of the 1611 King James Bible
Compiled by Dr. Benjamin Blayney

While the original 1611 First Edition King James Bible remains our best-selling facsimile reproduction, most people are shocked to learn the 1611 is not the source text used in nearly all published “King James Version” Bibles that have been printed for the past 250 years. It was the 1769 Standard Oxford Edition of the King James Version, as edited and compiled by Dr. Benjamin Blayney, the source text used by all Bible publishers to print “King James Version” Bibles for the past two and a half years half centuries up to today.

Blayney made extensive use of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s 1755 First Edition of the English Language Dictionary, which sought to bring uniform and correct modern spelling, punctuation, and formally accepted grammar rules to the English language for the first time. However, beyond simply correcting more than 20,000 spelling and punctuation “mistakes” in the 1611 King James Bible, such as using modern spellings like “city” rather than “citie”; Blayney also initiated more than 400 corrections of wording. Here are just three examples:

Numbers 6: 14
1611 to 1768 KJV Bibles:  one lamb without blemish
1769 to 2020 KJV Bibles:  one ram without blemish 

Ezekiel 24: 7
1611 to 1768 KJV Bibles:  poured it upon the ground
1769 to 2020 KJV Bibles:  poured it not upon the ground

John 15: 20
1611 to 1768 KJV Bibles:  The servant is not greater than the Lord.
1769 to 2020 KJV Bibles:  The servant is not greater than his lord.

Essentially, this 1769 edition is the first edition of the King James Version text that we all know and love today; however, it has the additional benefit and feature of pre-dating the 1880’s removal of the 14 inter-testamental books called “Apocrypha,” which King James insisted on including in his 1611 edition and which were in nearly all Bibles from the very first Bibles up until the 1880s. So you do have the full 80-Book Bible in this magnificent 1769 edition, just as you also do in the beloved 1611 original edition, in contrast to the edited so-called “King James Version” Bibles printed from the 1880’s up to today, which contains only 66 Books.

Another improvement Blayney brought to the King James Version text was to print it in a beautiful and easier-to-read Roman Typeface, rather than the fancy and much harder-to-read calligraphy-like ‘Gothic Blackletter Typeface of the 1611 edition. However, the Bible Museum has preserved the remarkable Genealogy of Mankind from Adam to Christ and the John Speed Map of the Holy Land from the 1611 King James Bible and included them in the preparatory area of this 1769 facsimile reproduction.

Measuring almost 16.5 inches tall by 10.5 inches wide by 3 inches thick, the Deluxe Edition binding is handcrafted from the finest genuine leather. It was issued in 2017 in observance of the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation that we date from Martin Luther nailing the 95 Thesis to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517.

This 1769 facsimile edition is offered at $745 in its genuine leather Deluxe binding, and just $95 in its synthetic leather Regular binding.

This large folio first edition of what has been known as the “King James Version” for the past two-and-a-half centuries… Blayney’s 1769  Oxford Standardized Revision of the King James Bible makes a great Family Bible and heirloom to display in your home.

NOTE: This 1769 Oxford Bible facsimile is no longer available, however… a full color high resolution digital edition of the 1611 King James Bible and many other ancient English Bibles are available for free online access at BIBLES-ONLINE.NET