Parallel Bibles: S. Bagster & Sons'

I take a risk in admitting that I have jumped into another series which will run in parallel to my continued exploration of Ps. 68 and the names of God.

However, I could not help but look for an appropriate response to these posts, Why are Christians satisfied with English-only Bibles? and Christianity is cross-cultural and cross-linguistic. The truth is that I am not sure of the answer.

On the one hand, Christianity seems to be a religion of translation, transmitted across cultures. The phenomenon of tongues was attested to in Acts 2:8. Peter puts the case well. On the other hand, I have a considerable interest in diglots and the like and I wonder, along with Iyov, why they are not more popular. I cannot think of Christians as those who are not attached to such things. I use a KJV-Greek diglot, 1901, regularly, and the Pagnini Psalter I refer to often is a Hebrew-Latin diglot. My impression is that diglots were quite prominent in the history of the church.

I am going to undertake a few posts on polyglots, parallel versions and interlinears, picking from one century and then another as the spirit moves. In this post I am going to reproduce the intoduction to the Catalogue of Samuel Bagster & Sons' Polyglot Bibles and Biblical Works, 1860.

There are not many who can consult with confidence a display of Eight or Nine Languages; but the number is very great of persons who read with facility as many as two, or three, or four languages. To meet the wants of such, the Hebrew Text of this Polyglot Bible, as well as all the various Versions of which it is composed have been issued as separate and independent Volumes, of a pocket size; and to admit of their combination together as Diglot Bibles, and Edition of each has been prepared, which will interleave page opposite page with any other.

This principal feature commends the plan of these Works specially to notice. The various languages are single, separate Volumes, complete in all respects, and yet afford their possessor, without trouble of inconvenience, the assistance of the costly editions of the libraries.

An individual purchases a single language, and proceeds to study it-be it Greek, French, English, or what it may; he desires to compare the object of his study with another translation, or with the Original, and, possessing himself of it, he finds, to his inexpressible comfort, that he has only to refer to the same page, and part of the page, to obtain the desired comparison. He afterwards adds another and another Version to his library, and finds the same principle carried through the whole; and he obtains a Bible of two, three, four, or more languages, not only convenient for comparison with one another, but adapted to the various uses single pocket volumes. This arrangement affords the purchaser also the opportunities of providing himself only with those languages he may acquire; and supplies his wants in the most convenient, elegant, as well as inexpensive form possible.

I can't imagine that there is anything like the following in print now, although software is probably able to reproduce a similar effect. This is only a drop in the bucket of interleaved versions that Bagster & Sons' offered.

Hebrew and English Scriptures, interleaved
page for page, fcap. 8vo., price 1/5/- $6,25—Turkey
morocco, $10
Ditto, with a Hebrew Lexicon, 6/- $1,50 extra.
Ditto, with the Greek and English New Testament
Scriptures. This convenient pocket volume contains the
Original Text of both Testaments with the Authorised
English Version interleaved, price 1/15/- $8,75—Turkey
morocco, $12,50
Ditto, with Hebrew Lexicon and Greek Lexicon,
10/6 $2,63 extra.
Hebrew and Greek Septuagint, interleaved;
with various readings, price 1/10/- $7,50—Turkey
morocco, $11,25
Ditto, with Greek New Testament, 5/- $1,25 extra.
Ditto, with Hebrew New Testament, 5/- $1,25 extra.
Hebrew, interleaved with the Vulgate
Latin, price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75
Ditto, with the Greek New Testament, interleaved
with the Vulgate Latin, 8/- $2 extra.
Hebrew, with the German Version,
price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75
Catalogue ; S. Bagster and Sons. . &
Hebrew, interleaved with the French
Version, price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75
Hebrew, with the Italian Version,
price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75
Hebrew, with the Spanish Version,
price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75
Hebrew, with the Portuguese Version,
price 1/4/- $6—Turkey morocco, $9,75 %*
The New Testament in Hebrew, or Greek, may be bound up with
any of these Polyglot Bibles, 5/- $1,25 extra ; or the Greek New
Testament, interleaved with either language, may be added, 8/—