Bibliotecha

I have supported three Kickstarter campaigns. This is the only one of them that, it appears, will actually pan out. The Bibliotheca volumes have been printed and bound and are shipping soon.

Why Bibliotecha?

"The literature of the Bible was experienced by its ancient audiences as pure literary art—written or oral—with none of the encyclopedic conventions we are accustomed to today (chapter divisions, verse numbers, notes, cross references, etc.). Furthermore, the texts were appreciated as individual works of literature, which gradually accumulated into what we recognize as the biblical anthology (Biblia, meaning Books). It wasn't until the middle ages that navigational conventions were added and the many texts were combined into a single volume (The Bible, meaning The Book, singular)

"Today, our contemporary bibles are ubiquitously dense, numerical and encyclopedic in format; very different from how we experience other classic & foundational literature, and completely foreign to how the original authors conceived of their work.

"By separating the text into several volumes, and by applying classic & elegant typography, Bibliotheca is meant to provide a fresh alternative to the reader who wants to enjoy the biblical library anew, as great literary art."

The ESV Reader's Bible I recently acquired is based on a similar philosophy but with a more recent translation. Bibliotecha uses the American Standard Version (1901), updated by contemporary scholars, and includes the Old Testament Apocrapha. The ASV, like the ESV is in the line of translations originating from the King James Version. I like the look of the bindings even better than the ESV effort.