Overview
| Repository: |
Yale University Divinity School Library
409 Prospect Street New Haven, CT 06511 Email: divinity.library@yale.edu Phone: (203) 432-5301 |
| Call Number: | Record Group No. 70 |
| Creator: | Standard Bible Committee. |
| Title: | Papers of the Standard Bible Committee, |
| Dates: | 1939-1973 |
| Physical Description: | Total archival boxes 12; total linear footage 4.5' |
| Language(s): | Materials in English. |
| Summary: | The collection includes agendas, notes and working drafts that document the Committee's progress in its translation revision work. There is a small amount of material related to Committee procedures and publicity material. There is interesting documentation of public reaction to the new Revised Standard Version. The Standard Bible Committee was organized in 1929 by the International Council of Religious Education. The Committee was authorized in 1937 to proceed with the revision of the English translation of the Bible. The Committee's work resulted in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. The Revised Standard Version of the New Testament was published in 1946, the entire Bible in 1952, and the Apocrypha in 1957. The work of the Committee was ongoing, to provide for future translation revisions. |
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| Finding Aid Link: | To cite or bookmark this finding aid, use the following address: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/divinity.070 |
| Request Materials: | To view manuscript and archival materials at the Yale Divinity Library, please submit the request form at http://www.library.yale.edu/div/request.htm. |
| Catalog Record: | A record for this collection, including location information, may be available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog. |
Administrative Information
Information about Access
Open to qualified researchers.
Cite As
Papers of the Standard Bible Committee, Record Group No. 70, Special Collections, Yale Divinity School Library.
Historical Sketch
Shortly after the appearance of the American Standard Version of the Bible in 1901, newly discovered papyri gave Biblical scholars revolutionary insight into the language of the New Testament period. These texts provided a key to the exact meaning of obscure words, and contained many examples of the grammatical usage of the time. In response to this new knowledge, the Standard Bible Committee was organized in 1929 by the International Council of Religious Education. The Committee was authorized in 1937 to proceed with the revision of the English translation of the Bible.
The Revised Standard Version of the New Testament was published in 1946, the entire Bible in 1952, and the Apocrypha in 1957. The work of the Standard Bible Committee was necessarily ongoing, in order to keep future editions of the RSV on the forefront of new scholarship. In 1969 six Catholic scholars joined the Committee to assist in the preparation of an RSV edition which would be acceptable to both Protestants and Catholics. In 1972 an Orthodox Biblical scholar was also invited to join the Committee, as a step toward the preparation of a Bible produced and accepted by these three Christian traditions.
Members of the Old and New Testament sections of the Standard Bible Committee prior to 1952 included:
Luther A. Weigle, Yale University, - Old Testament and New Testament,
Chairman
Julius A. Bewer, Union Theological Seminary - Old Testament
Henry J. Cadbury, Harvard University - New Testament
Edgar J. Goodspeed, University of Chicago - New Testament
James Moffatt, Union Theological Seminary - Old Testament and New Testament,
Executive Secretary
William R. Taylor, University of Toronto - Old Testament
Walter Russell Bowie, Unioin Theological Seminary - New Testament
George Dahl, Yale University - Old Testament
Frederick C. Grant, Union Theological Seminary - New Testament
Willard L. Sperry, Harvard University - Old Testament
Leroy Waterman, University of Michigan - Old Testament
Millar Burrows, Yale University - Old Testament and New Testament
Clarence T. Craig, Oberlin Graduate School of Theology - New Testament
Abdel R. Wentz, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg - New
Testament
Kyle M. Yates, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary - Old Testament
William F. Albright, Johns Hopkins University - Old Testament
J. Philip Hyatt, Vanderbilt University - Old Testament
Herbert G. May, Oberlin Graduate School of Theology - Old Testament
Harry M. Orlinsky, Jewish Institute of Religion - Old Testament
Fleming James, University of the South - executive Secretary of the Old
Testament Section
Description of the Papers
I Old Testament
II Apocrypha
III New Testament
IV Records of Committee Work
V Presentation and Evaluation
Agendas, notes, and/or working drafts illustrating the progress of the Committee's work are available for all of the Old Testament except Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Minor Prophets, for most Apocryphal books, and for the entire New Testament. These documents are generally in a mimeographed format with holograph annotations. Documentation is more complete for the Old Testament and Apocrypha than for the New Testament.
The working papers of the Standard Bible Committee found in Series I, II, and III form the substantive core of this collection. Committee members known to be involved in the production of particular documents are noted. Series IV provides a small amount of additional information about Committee procedures. Series V, Presentation and Evaluation, includes publicity material and interesting documentation of public reaction to the new Revised Standard Version.
Personal papers of two Committee members are available in the Yale libraries. Papers of Luther A. Weigle, chairman of the Standard Bible Committee for thirty-six years, are located at Sterling Memorial Library. Papers of Millar Burrows, member of both the Old and New Testament sections, are available in YDSL Record Group No. 30.