The Bible is the most important book in the history of Western civilization, and also the most difficult to interpret. It has been the vehicle of continual conflict, with every interpretation reflecting passionately held views that have affected not merely religion, but politics, art, and even science.

This unique edition offers an exciting new approach to the most influential of all English biblical texts--the Authorized King James Version, complete with the Apocrypha. Its wide-ranging Introduction and the substantial notes to each book of the Bible guide the reader through the labyrinth of literary, textual, and theological issues, using the most up-to-date scholarship to demonstrate how and why the Bible has affected the literature, art and general culture of the English-speaking world.

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Features

• Includes the latest biblical research, evaluated and put into context as well as discussing centuries of critical opinion.
• Non-sectarian, historical approach makes it suitable for a wide range of readers.
• Includes a Glossary of terms used in the Notes and six maps of the Holy Land.

ABOUT THE SERIES

For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Contents
List of Maps
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Select Bibliography
THE BIBLE
The Translators to the Reader
The Epistle Dedicatory
List of Books of the Bible
THE OLD TESTAMENT
THE APOCRYPHA
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Explanatory Notes
Glossary to the Notes
Maps
Footnotes

Edited with introduction and notes by Robert Carroll and Stephen Prickett.

Robert Carroll has taught Semitic languages and the Hebrew/English Bible for 30 years at Glasgow University, where he is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies.

Stephen Prickett has held the Chair of English at the Australian National University in Canberra and has taught at Sussex and Minnesota Universities and Smith College, Massachusetts. He is currently Regius Professor of English Literature at Glasgow University.

"The World's Classics Bible [is] a quite extraordinary success. It is learned but entirely accessible, full of fascinating information... and executed with great skill and enthusiasm." -- Frank Kermode

"This is the best text for reading that is linked to prayer, both from its associations and from its lovely language ... it is happy that at Easter 1997 there should be a new printing of the greatest of English religious texts." -- Owen Chadwick, The Observer

"Superbly readable notes by its editors." -- Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

"This is an edition which every booklover deserves to have." -- Scotland on Sunday