Biblia Sacra. Genesis-Ruth. * And: Hutter’s or The Nuremberg Polyglot New Testament.

AUCTION 23 | Tuesday, March 30th, 2004 at 1:00

Hebrew Printed Books & Manuscripts from The Rare Book Room of the Jews College Library, London The Third Portion

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Lot 55

(BIBLE, POLYGLOT).

Biblia Sacra. Genesis-Ruth. * And: Hutter’s or The Nuremberg Polyglot New Testament.

Six volumes. Title within woodcut border; vignettes of Biblical scenes including the Tree of Knowledge, Noah’s Ark, and the Binding of Isaac. Separate titles for each Book of Bible. Texts arranged in six columns across two pages: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, German, Italian. The four volumes of the New Testament have twelve languages: Syriac, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, Bohemian, Italian, Spanish, French, English, Danish, Polish. This is the first time an English translation appears in a Polyglot Bible. Vol. I (Genesis-Leviticus): pp. (16), 287, 239, 409. Vol. II (Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth): pp. 412-851, 319. (The publication of the Old Testament reached only as far as the Book of Ruth.) * WITH: Four volumes of New Testament. Elegantly tooled calf with cartouche in center. Eight bands on spine. Thick folio. Darlowe and Moule 1426, 1430; David S. Berkowitz, In Remembrance of Creation, pp. 179-80.

Nuremburg: for Elias Hutter 1599

Est: $20,000 - $25,000

<<HUTTER’S HEXAGLOT OLD TESTAMENT AND 12-LANGUAGE NEW TESTAMENT. UNCOMMON TO APPEAR AT AUCTION.>> The Hebrew text employs Hutter’s unique method of combining solid and holow types to help the student identify roots of words. Root letters that are not evident (chaserim) are displayed as superscript above the word. Simultaneous with his polyglot Old Testament, Hutter launched an even more ambitious New Testament in twelve languages. The physical format of three columns per page is used again, but this time each column carries two languages. In the words of David S. Berkowitz, “The parade of linguistic learning is short of stupefying” (In Remembrance of Creation, p. 104).