The reception of strangers
in European Bibles
Paper to be presented to the Sheffield Institute of Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies (SIIBS) research seminar, 24 April 2017.
ABSTRACT
The publication of Erasmus’ Novum Instrumentum in 1516 provided the instrument for a whole-sale reexamination of the Bible, its translation and authority. Luther provided a critical context, and was one of several nascent reformers going on to engage in new vernacular translation.
This paper, a study of ‘strangers’ that begins with Ruth 2:10, probes the differences between texts like Erasmus’, intended for Latin-literate readers, and those destined for a vernacular audience. Joining this comparative language work to contemporary commentaries and recent historiography, we can discern how lost distinctions seemingly aided the preacher amidst migration crises, and helped to shape the future welfare state.
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The image of Lambeth Palace above is based on Steve Cadman’s photograph of the Gatehouse, available for use and reuse under a Creative Commons license 2.0.
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