Is there a Bible that encourages adultery? Yes, there is. It is known as the "evil" Bible and was printed in 1631. It is extremely rare since its destruction was ordered just a year later, there are only 20 specimens left in the world.
It was all due to a printing error. Which ended up costing the life of the person responsible. Although some scholars argue that it may not have been an accidental typo but, on the contrary, done on purpose.
In effect, the Bible omits the word "no" from its seventh commandment. That is, the book "commands" its readers to commit adultery.
At the end of last year it was announced that a specimen was found in a garage of a house in New Zealand. The discovery had been made in 2018 but it was decided to hide it.
The discovery
A thousand copies of the text, which also became known as the Bible of adulterers or sinners, were printed, and the error was discovered only a year later.
Upon discovering the error, printers Robert Barker and Martin Lucas were summoned by King Charles I and brought before the court, where they were admonished for scandalous typographical error and careless labor.
Their printing licence was taken away, they were fined £300 for years (although it was eventually annulled) and most of the texts were destroyed. Only about 20 remain in circulation.
Bibles go up for auction from time to time, mainly in Britain or the United States, but this is the first time one has been discovered in the southern hemisphere, according to the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, which was responsible for the find.
"Thou shalt commit adultery"L
The university was first informed of its existence in 2018, but decided to keep the discovery secret to allow researchers and book curators enough time to study and preserve the book.
"It's a mystery, it's fascinating and it's been around the world," Chris Jones, associate professor of medieval studies at the university and a member of the London Antiquities Society, said of the discovery.
A former student of Jones gave him the copy in 2018 after his family had acquired it two years earlier at a real estate sale. The late owner was bookbinder Don Hampshire, who came to New Zealand in the late 1950s from the UK and died in Christchurch in 2009, but, as far as Jones can tell, Hampshire had never told anyone anything about his property.
Jones' former student told him she believed it was an "evil" Bible, but that he was "very incredulous because these are not common items."
"It's not stuff you just walk into an office and find one in a garage in Christchurch. But I looked at it and thought, wow, this is exactly what my former student thinks it is: it's an evil Bible. I was blown away by that."
Jones said there is a copy in Canada, some in the United States, some in the United Kingdom, Ireland and "a very good copy" in Dublin.
"Australians claim they have one, but they don't," Jones laughed, adding that his copy doesn't contain the infamous 'no' omission. "For one to come to me in Christchurch is just extraordinary."
The myths of error?
The discovery of the book sparked Jones' interest in the history of the Bible and the myths about why the mistake was made, the court case surrounding it, and the printing industry in general at the time, about which he plans to publish articles.
There is much debate as to how the printing error occurred, with theories that it could have been a deliberate act of industrial sabotage by a rival printing press. But Jones has criticized that rumor, saying it's far more likely that printers, which operated in a fierce industry, were simply cutting costs at style publishers.
The mystery of the course of the Bible
The life of the New Zealand copy remains a mystery before it arrived in the country. While many Bibles contain detailed descriptions of family trees, dates, places, and birth and death records, this copy has only one illegible name.
The copy was in relatively poor condition when it was rediscovered, missing the cover, some water damage, and some pages on the back were gone forever. But it also has some unique features: it is one of the few copies that has more decorative red and black ink and is a much more complete version than many others.
"It was an awkward little thing to work with... and a lot of problems had to be solved, but that was quite satisfying," said book and paper curator Sarah Askey, who received the text.
Askey has documented small features that could help provide clues as to where the book had been: between some pages he found plant remains, human hair and textile fibers.
The book has now been fully digitized and will be free to the public via a website in the coming months, something Jones hopes will help shed more light on the mysterious illegible name of the copy scrawled inside.
"I hope someone comes along and says 'Chris Jones, you're an idiot, this is really obvious,' and I look forward to it."
Source: The Guardian
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