It has been about forty days since I last hit “publish” on some thoughts about a new Variorum, and in the mean-time, off and on, I’ve been working on a specimen of Genesis 25. In the process, I’ve revised my game plan a bit.
The base text, I think, should take full advantage of the fairly wide range of public domain translations that now exist. Of particular note is the Berean Standard Bible, which I am delighted to learn was placed into the public domain in 2023. And so my current plan is to begin with the Hebrew text, produce a stab at a translation myself, and then revise it by carefully comparing it with the following translations:
KJV. The King James Version, as found in the Variorum.
ASV. The American Standard Version of 1901.
JPS (1917). The Jewish Publication Society Version of 1917.
AmT. The American Translation of the Old Testament, edited by J. M. Powis Smith, 1927.
BBE. The Bible in Basic English, 1965 printing.
WEB. The World English Bible, an arguably ongoing project, as found currently on ebible.org.
BSB. The Berean Standard Bible, as found at ebible.org.
It seems to me about time that a really systematic evaluation of the public domain translations was begun. This evaluation in itself should produce quite a bit for the notes.
On top of that, I’d like for each chapter to make a run through the 1888 Variorum notes, a 1909 printing of Kittel, and the notes found in the various translations themselves.
I’m currently working on this for Genesis 25, and hope to have something to show for it soon.
To recap: I was recently struck by the idea of producing a new Variorum Bible, modeled on the 1888 example (About). It occurred to me that the 1888 effort took for granted the definition of “Bible”, something I would like to see a digital edition avoid (Preliminary Thoughts on the Variety of Bibles). Then I did a quick experiment in rewriting a chapter from the 1888 edition in a more internet-friendly format (Preliminary Thoughts — An Experiment with Formatting).
Looking over that experiment, I think a few things need to be changed for a new run at the issue of producing a Variorum Bible. First, there is the issue of translation. In 1888, the Variorum Bible functioned, among other things, as an argument in favor of the RV and an argument against retaining the KJV text. Nevertheless, the actual body text of the V.F.B. was KJV, and so to some degree it exists as a resource in conflict with itself.
There is currently no English Bible that enjoys the status the KJV enjoyed in 1888, and so it is not necessary to enthrone an outdated text in the body and then take shots at it from the footnotes. Instead, we may simply take any public domain translation that is respectable in terms of modern scholarship, and then both the main text and the notes can be filled with what the V.F.B. preface would call “a conspectus of the really tenable opinions”.
This leads us to our next problem: there is no public domain translation that is respectable in terms of modern scholarship. The 1901 ASV sat quite well in the mainstream of its day, but has been superceded by a variety of translations now under copyright. The 1920’s saw the production of an American Translation by the University of Chicago, but it does not seem to be in much use in the academic world today, in addition to being at least a century behind the latest scholarship. There is also a translation known as the World English Bible, which is an updated of the ASV, but which has its own idiosyncrasies.
I think we will have to simply muddle along as well as possible, making a base text as we go through a judicious comparison of the ASV, WEB, and American Translation. For our stock of alternative readings and renderings, we may use what is already in the Variorum Bible, supplemented with materials gleaned from the American Translation appendix, the footnotes of the Biblia Hebraica Kittel, and details we might pick up through various commentaries and a comparison with existing translations.
When it comes to the notes themselves, we would do well to remember that the internet is not made of paper: we are not operating under the space constraints that force the apparatuses of V.F.B., B.H.K., and so on to be so cryptic and abbreviation. We have the option of explaining what we mean, and where an issue requires really extended treatment, we can always right an essay about it and link out to it from the notes.
It’s like to take a first run at the issue by putting together a draft form of Genesis 25 as it might appear in the new project.
Here’s what Genesis 25 looks like in the 1888 Variorum Reference Bible:
And here’s an attempt to use collapsible text to produce an online version:
CHAPTER 25
Summary
1 The sons of Abraham by Keturah. 5 The division of his goods. 7 His age, and death. 9 His burial. 12 The generations of Ishmael. 17 His age, and death. 19 Isaac prayeth for Rebekah, being barren. 22 The children strive in her womb. 24 The birth of Esau and Jacob. 27 Their difference. 29 Esau selleth hisbirthright.
THEN again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 And ashe bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 And Jokshan begat Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim. 4 And the sons of Midian; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.
Note
a 1 Chron. 1. 32.
5 And bAbraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. 6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and csent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto dthe east country. 7 And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and f was gathered to his 1people. 9 And ghis sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre; 10 hThe field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: ithere was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
Notes
Cross-References
b ch. 24. 36. c ch. 21. 14. d Judg. 6. 3. e ch. 15. 15. & 49. 29 f ch. 35. 29. & 49. 33. g ch. 35. 29. & 50. 13. h ch. 23. 16. i ch. 49. 31.
Variant Rendering – 125:8, 17. fellow tribesmen.
11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the kwell Lahai-roi.
Note
Cross-Reference: k ch. 16. 14. & 24. 62.
12 Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, lwhom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s handmaid, bare unto Abraham: 13 And mthese are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, 14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, 15 β || Hadar, and Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah: 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their 2towns, and by their 3castles; ntwelve princes according to their nations. 17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and ohe gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his 1people. 18 pAnd they dwelt from Havilah unto Shur, that is4before Egypt, βas thou goest toward Assyriaβ: and he 5†died 6 qin the presence of all his brethren.
Notes
KJV Margin: l ch. 16. 15. m 1 Chron. 1. 29. || Or, Hadad, 1 Chron. 1. 30. n ch. 17. 20. o. ver 8. p 1 Sam 15. 7. † Heb. fell. Ps. 78. 64. q ch. 16. 12.
Variant Rendering: 25:8, 17. 1fellow-tribesmen.
Variant Renderings: 25:16. 2 villages. 3 encampments. 25:18 4i.e. east of5 settled. 6Lit. before the face; cf. ch. 16. 12. 25:20 7 Aramean. 25:22 8 why then do I live? 25:26 9See ch. 27. 36. 25:27 10 perfect, i.e. blameless.
Variant Reading. 25:18 β Corrupt, or a gloss, Hu. (who supposes it derived from 1 Sam. 15. 7), We. Nö. Di.
Variant Reading: 25:15. β Very man manuscripts read Hadad (or rather Khadad); so Sam. De. Di. R (cf. 1 Chr. 1. 30); many Editions. Khadar.
19 And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: rAbraham begat Isaac: 20 And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, sthe daughter of Bethuel the 7Syrian of Padan-aram, tthe sister to Laban the 7Syrian. 21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: uand the LORD was intreated of him, and wRebekah his wife conceived. 22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, 8why am I thus? xAnd she went to enquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, yTwo nations are in they womb, And two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; And zthe one people shall be stronger than the other people; And athe elder shall serve the younger.
Notes
KJV margin:r Matt. 1. 2. s ch. 22. 23. t ch. 24. 29. u 1 Chr. 5. 20. 2 Chr. 33. 13. Ezra 8. 23. w Rom. 9. 10. x1 Sam. 9. 9. & 10. 22. y ch. 17. 16. & 24. 60. z 2 Sam. 8. 14. a ch. 27. 29. Mal. 1. 3. Rom. 9. 12.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red, ball over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. 26 And after that came his brother out, and ehis hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and dhis name was called 9Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them. 27 And the boys grew: and Esau was ea cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob wasfa 10plain man, gdwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau, because †he did heat of his venison: ibut Rebekah loved Jacob.
Notes
KJV margin: b ch. 27. 11, 16, 23. c Hos. 12. 3. d ch. 27. 36. e ch. 27. 3, 5. f Job 1. 1, 8 & 2.3. Ps. 37. 37. g Heb. 11. 9. †Heb. venison was in his mouth.h ch. 27. 19, 25, 31. i ch. 27. 6.
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: 30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, †with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called ||Edom. 31 And Jacob said, Sell me 11this day they birthright. 32 And Esau said, Behold, I am †at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? 33 And Jacob said, Swear to me 11this day; and he sware unto him: and khe sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Notes
KJV margin: 25:30 †Heb. with that red, with that red pottage. || That is, Red.32 †Heb. going to die. k Heb. 12. 16.
Variant Rendering:25:31, 3311at once or first of all, Ge. Kn. De. We. Di.
It’s a magnificent work, no doubt, attempting to show all the significant variations in readings and renderings of the Bible, verse by verse, to the extent reasonably possible in a one-volume nineteenth-century work. (The nineteenth century, it seems to me, was the heyday of the ambitious single-volume work.)
But for all its usefulness in exposing the most minute distinctions between texts and interpretations of the Bible, a certain kind of variety is conspicuously missing from its Table of Contents, which see below:
Here it is taken for granted that the thing called a “Bible” contains the sixty-six books that have made up Protestant Bibles for the last few hundred years.
The reader is alerted, as early as the first page of the biblical text, that the Septuagint places the phrase “and it was so” not at the end of 1:7, but at the end of 1:6. The reader is nowhere told that the Septuagint contains entire books not found in the Variorum Reference Bible, such as Judith, Tobit, Sirach, four books of the Maccabees, and the Psalms of Solomon.
It has been said that the internet isn’t made of paper — that is, in digital publications there is no practical limit on pages. As a result, I would hope that an online Variorum Bible would find a place to include, near its beginning, an essay on what the term “Bible” means to the various communities that use it to name various (mostly overlapping) collections of books.
