Paraphrases of the New Testament
Paraphrases of the New Testament
By: Desiderius Erasmus
BIB.005831.1-.2
Bible - Printed Book
1524
Switzerland
Latin
Printed on Paper
Volume 1: 13 × 8.9 × 3.2 in (32.9 × 22.5 × 8.1 cm) Volume 2: 12.8 × 8.9 × 2.5 in (32.5 × 22.5 × 6.4 cm)
On View in The History of the Bible, Revolutionary Worlds
Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) is widely regarded as the most influential biblical scholar and humanist of the Renaissance. In 1517, shortly after completing his revolutionary Greek New Testament, Erasmus began writing “paraphrases” of the canonical Epistles, eventually turning to the Gospels and the book of Acts as well. The paraphrases clarified, explained, expanded upon, and restated the biblical text in contemporary and accessible language. They were intended to help a broad range of readers understand the Bible. Erasmus eventually paraphrased every book in the New Testament except Revelation. This is the first edition of his complete paraphrases, published in two volumes from 1523 to 1524. It contains marginal annotations throughout from a prior reader.
Printed in 1523 and 1524 by Johann Froben, Basel, Switzerland.[1] Acquired between 1713 and 1812 by the Convent of St. John of Nepomuk of the Discalced Augustinians in Lysá nad Labem, Czech Republic.[2] Acquired before 2020 by Ted Steinbock, private collector, Louisville, Kentucky;[3] Privately purchased in 2020 by Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] The second volume, containing the Epistles, was printed in 1523, while the first volume, containing the Gospels and Acts, was printed in 1524. [2] An inscription on the title page of the first volume reads, “Est Conventus Lissensis ff. Erem. discal. ord. S. P. Augustini Ex B. K.” A similar inscription on the title page of the second volume reads, “Est Conventus. S. Joannis Nep. Ff. Erem: discal. ord: S. P. Augustini Lissae Ex B. K.” These inscriptions refer to the Convent of St. John of Nepomuk of the Discalced Augustinians in Lysá nad Labem, a town in central Bohemia (today the Czech Republic). [3] Documentation from Ted Steinbock indicates this may have been purchased online in 2017, but it has not been possible to verify this information. A bookseller’s collation is tipped into the rear pastedown, and a note discussing eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholarly views on Erasmus’s work is tipped into the front pastedown.
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