The New Chronological Bible (Large Print) (King James Version) God. Edited by R. Jerome Boone. 1980. 1551 pages. World Bible Publishers. [Source: Bought]
First sentence: Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
There have been other Bibles in the King James Version that have been arranged chronologically. This one is from 1980. I am guessing--pure speculation--that it was not a huge success from a publishing standpoint and did not stay in print. Then again, I had never heard of World Bible Publishers until I started thrifting.
This one is double column, words of Christ in BLACK. The font size is nice.
What makes this one unique? Or mostly unique? It is arranged chronologically. Any verse from any chapter any book could be spliced--rearranged--according to one man's editing desires. Some are obvious editorial choices; perhaps others less so. I would love a behind the scenes peek into WHY he put certain verses/chapters where he did.
The Bible is arranged in an outline with twelve major headings.
- Development of the Early World
- Development of Israel as a Tribe
- Development of Israel as a Nation
- Development of Israel as a Kingdom
- Division of Israel into a Dual Kingdom
- Survival of Israel in the Southern Kingdom
- Captivity of Israel in Babylonia
- Restoration of Israel as a Nation
- Preservation of Israel During the Intertestamental Period
- Inauguration of the Kingdom of God on Earth
- Continuation of the Kingdom of God on Earth
- Consummation of the Kingdom of God on Earth
The earliest section, so far, is the most choppy. I don't envy anyone the task of trying to mix and blend the whole Bible into a grand opening. (I personally would not mess with Genesis 1:1, but that is just me)
Here is how Boone worked it:
Any arrangement is going to obviously reveal the theological belief system of the arranger, the editor. For example, in this instance the interpretation that Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 refer to Satan's fall. He also places the book of Ruth and the last five chapters of Judges BEFORE the rest of the book. (Perhaps with the exception of Judges 1). He also has SAMUEL contemporaries with SAMPSON.
He arranges some sections with parallel passages. (Though thankfully not in the New Testament). I found this more annoying than not. I found myself unable to read both in any meaningful way. I was more having to pick and choose which column to focus on and which to skim. And the passages may have dealt with the same king, etc., but the phrasing wasn't the same. So in my personal opinion not all that "parallel."
Though I didn't particularly know this at the start, I ended up not really being a fan of chronological arrangement. (This isn't to say that I regret my time in God's Word). I much prefer to read whole books to reading spliced books. To each his/her own however. I have no issue with readers--believers--who greatly appreciate/love this method of Bible reading.
This will almost definitely be my final Bible to complete in 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment