A History of the Bible from Ancient Papyri to King James

We are going to an interesting exhibit at the University of Michigan this weekend on the history of the Bible.

From ancient Egyptian manuscripts on papyrus to Medieval manuscripts to the printed book, you can follow a path of documents that led to the creation of the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. These direct ancestors and related works were spread across nations, peoples, and languages. If you have seen this fascinating exhibit before, look for it this time in the Audubon Room, on the first floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library.

The earliest documents on display are Egyptian papyri, including examples of a census record from the year 119 and the oldest known copy of part of the New Testament. Medieval manuscripts document the preservation of the text until the invention of movable type printing by Gutenberg around 1450. The early printed Bibles include versions in Latin and Greek, and several that show the struggles among various political factions and church reformers to control the translating of the Scriptures into the language of the people. See the King James Bible of 1611 that became the accepted standard.

Should be pretty interesting, kind of a weird exhibit at a super secular school like Michigan. My friend James invited us so we get to spend some time with him and meet his fiance. Good times!