On Father's Day afternoon I took an hour and enjoyed a docent guided tour of the latest exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center. For those that don't know, the Ransom Center is a combination humanities research library and museum. The 2:00pm tour started with a view of the center's original Gutenberg Bible (one of only 5 complete examples that exist in the United States).
The docent then led us through an exhibit of the history of the Bible in English prior to the King James version and the history of the creation of the King James translation. One of the interesting things I saw was a reproduction of the written rules that the translators were commanded to follow when creating the original King James translation.
I also enjoyed seeing a copy of the infamous page from the "wicked Bible". The "wicked Bible" is so named because a typesetter made a mistake and left out the word "not" in Exodus 20:14. Thus, in the "wicked Bible", one of the ten commandments reads: "Thou shalt commit adultery."
The exhibit also included a section of the cultural influences of the King James version of the Bible as well as art (primarily paintings) influenced by the King James version of the Bible. The collection is very eclectic. For example, while preparing to portray the character of Max Cady in the remake of the movie "Cape Fear", Robert DeNiro highlighted passages from the book of Job in a King James version of the Bible. That Bible is on display as part of this collection at the Harry Ransom Center.
If you are interested in seeing the displays for yourself, the exhibit is free and open to the public. The exhibit will be in place until July 29, 2012. For more information please see: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/2012/kingjamesbible/ If you are interested in going on a guided tour, here's a link to the tour schedule: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/events/tours.html
James
No comments:
Post a Comment