Aloha!
I am hoping you can help me settle some issues relating to Early Modern
English spelling and typefaces/fonts in the first edition, first printing of
the 1611 Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible.
Here are the two major resources from which I have been working:
THE HOLY BIBLE: 1611. Columbus, Ohio: Greyden Press, 2000. (1611 Authorized
Version of the King James Bible. Lazarus Ministry Press). [I will abbreviate
this below as "Greyden."]
THE HOLY BIBLE: 1611 Edition: King James Version: A word-for-word reprint of
the First Edition of the Authorized Version presented in roman letters for
easy reading and comparison with subsequent editions. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, n.d. [I will abbreviate this below as "Nelson."]
My questions focus on three key areas:
1. The use of the letter "I"/"i" versus the use of the letter "J"/"j".
2. The use of the letters "U"/"u", "V"/"v", and "W"/"w".
3. The different typefaces/fonts used for the names "Jehovah," "Jah,"
and "Jesus."
My hope is that you can answer some/all of my questions and especially that
you can point me to specific, authoritative books and articles on
typography, printing, writing systems, and alphabets (and even specific
pages in those books and/or articles) which will speak to my questions.
Genesis 22:14
Greyden seems to read: "Jehouah-ijreh" (with what looks like a capital "J"
and all other letters lower-cased).
Nelson reads: "Iehouah-ijreh" (with a capital "I" and all other letters
lower-cased).
Question (Q) 1a: Is the first letter of the term I enclosed in quotation
marks immediately above a capital "J", a capital "I", or what in the first
printing, first edition of the 1611 KJV?
Q1b: What is the correct description of the typeface/font used in this verse
and especially for the term I enclosed in quotation marks immediately above?
(E.g., black-letter, gothic, etc.)
Q1c: I notice that it appears that the same capitalized first letter in the
term I put in quotation marks above also occurs in Gen. 22:14 in the word
"Jn" ("Jn the Mount"), which would certainly seem to make it a capital "I".
Are these two initial capital letters the same letter in the same
typeface/font?
Exodus 6:3
Greyden seems to read: "IEHOVAH" in all capital letters. (I also notice the
words "Jsaac," "Jacob," and "was J known" in that verse.)
Nelson reads: "IEHOVAH" with the word in all capital letters and italicized.
Q2a: Could you give me any information on why the first letter of the term I
put in quotation marks above appears to have a modern capital "I" as its
first letter in this verse versus what looks kind of like a capital "J" in
Genesis 22:14?
Q2b: Could you give me any information on why the fifth letter of that term
in Exodus 6:3 would be a capital "V" whereas the fifth letter of the term in
Genesis 22:14 is a "u"?
Exodus 17:15
Greyden seems to read "JEHOUAH Nissi," with the "JEHOUAH" part of the term
being in "fancy all-capitals."
Nelson reads: "IEHOVAH Nissi" will the first word of this two-word term in
all capital letters.
Q3a: Is the first letter of the two-word term I put in quotation marks
immediately above a capital "J", a capital "I", or what?
Q3b: Could you please help me understand-from a fonts/typeface point of
view-why Greyden would show the fifth letter of the first word of the
two-word term in quotation marks above as a capital "U" whereas Nelson shows
it as a capital "V"?
Q3c: What is the correct typographical or printing descriptions of the
"fancy all-capitals?"
Judges 6:24
Greyden seems to read: "Jehouah shalom" (with what looks like a capital "J"
and all other letters lower-cased).
Nelson reads: "Iehouah-shalom" (with a capital "I" and all other letters
lower-cased).
[Q4: Basically the same questions as Q1a and Q1b above]
Psalm 68:4
Greyden seems to read "JAH" in "fancy all-capitals."
Nelson reads: "IAH" will the first letter a taller capital than the capital
"A" and the capital "H" following it (i.e., "IAH" is in small capitals).
Q5: What is the correct typographical or printing descriptions of the "fancy
all-capitals?"
Psalm 83:18
Greyden seems to read "JEHOUAH" in "fancy all-capitals."
Nelson reads: "IEHOVAH" all capital letters.
Q6: Could you please help me understand-from a fonts/typeface point of
view-why Greyden would show the fifth letter of the word in quotation marks
above as a capital "U" whereas Nelson shows it as a capital "V"?
Isaiah 12:2
Greyden seems to read "JEHOUAH" in "fancy all-capitals."
Nelson reads: "IEHOVAH" all capital letters.
Q7: Could you please help me understand-from a fonts/typeface point of
view-why Greyden would show the fifth letter of the word in quotation marks
above as a capital "U" whereas Nelson shows it as a capital "V"?
Isaiah 26:4
Greyden seems to read "JEHOUAH" in "fancy all-capitals."
Nelson reads: "IEHOVAH" with the first letter a taller capital letter than
the following six letters (which are also capital letters)-i.e., the word is
in small capital letters.
Q8a: Could you please help me understand-from a fonts/typeface point of
view-why Greyden would show the fifth letter of the word in quotation marks
above as a capital "U" whereas Nelson shows it as a capital "V"?
Q8b: Could you please help me understand why Nelson used small capitals here
when it used all capitals for the same word in Isaiah 12: 2 (and Greyden
used "fancy all capitals" in both places)?
The Name "Jesus" on the title page of the New Testament and in the first and
second chapters of the Gospel of Matthew
Could you please help me understand-from a font/typeface point of view-the
following in differences in spelling/appearance of the name "Jesus" on the
title page of the New Testament and in the first two chapters of the Gospel
of Matthew:
9a: New Testament title page:
Greyden: "THE NEWE Testament of our Lord and Sauiour IESVS CHRIST." ["IESVS
CHRIST" is in small capitals-i.e., the "I" and the "C" are taller capitals
than the other letters in the words.]
Nelson: [Same as Greyden here]
9b: Matthew 1:1, 18:
Greyden: "Jesus Christ" in both verses
Nelson: "Iesus Christ" in both verses
9c: Introductory material preceding Chapter 2:
Greyden: "Iesus"
Nelson: [Same as Greyden here]
Q9a: Why are there three different spellings of "Jesus" in Greyden; i.e.,
(1) "IESVS" (in small capitals on the N. T. title page); (2) "Jesus" (in
Matthew 1:1, 18); and (3) "Iesus" (in the introductory material preceding
Matthew chapter 2)?
Q9b: Is the letter I have written as a capital "J" in a number of the verses
above really a "fancy" way of writing a capital "I"? (which would explain
why Nelson consistently rendered it as a capital "I".
Q9c: Could you provide me with bibliographical details-especially page
numbers-for any books or articles which provide the actual
font(s)/typeface(s) used in the 1611 Authorized Version; i.e., the
alphabet(s) used in that Bible.
Q9d: How was the letter "j" used in the 1611 Authorized Version-if at all?
(E.g., I see "Chap.j." at the top of the first page of the text of the first
chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
Q9e: Could you please provide me with a little background information about
the correct typographical descriptions of the different parts of 1611
Authorized Version's "layout" (as illustrated in Question 9 relating to the
beginning of the New Testament and the Gospel of Matthew) and what different
fonts/typefaces were used for the different parts/pages of the Bible and
why?
Thank you for bearing with me. I am preparing a class which will cover the
names "Jehovah," "Jah," and "Jesus" in considerable detail, and I would sure
like to clear up some of the misunderstandings floating around the Internet
about whether the letters "I" and "J" were used in the 1611 Authorized
Version, whether the black-letter (or gothic) typeface played a role in the
choice of letters (e.g., "i," "j," "u," "v," and "w"), etc.
Ken Burns, B.A., B.Th., M.A.
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