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3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated
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by Donald E. Knuth (Madison, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, 1990), iii+268pp.
ISBN 0-89579-252-4
The text found in chapter 3, verse 16, of most books in the Bible is a
typical verse with no special distinction. But when Knuth examined what
leading scholars throughout the centuries have written about those verses,
he found that there is a fascinating story to be learned in every case,
full of historical and spiritual insights. This book presents jargon-free
introductions to each book of the Bible and in-depth analyses of what people
from many different religious persuasions have said about the
texts found in chapter 3, verse 16, together with 60 original illustrations
by many of the world’s leading calligraphers.
The result is a grand tour of the Bible -- from Genesis 3:16
to Revelation 3:16 -- a treat for the mind, the eyes, and the spirit.
French translation by Denis Serre,
Bible 3.16 en lumière (Paris:
Bayard Editions, 2017),
416 pages, ISBN 9782227491687.
Some have called Knuth’s approach “the way of the cross section.”
Available from the publisher,
A-R Editions, Inc.
(phone 608-836-9000).
Don't believe anybody who tells you the book is out of print.
A 22x38-inch poster containing all of the artwork is also available
from the publisher; this poster was designed by Hermann Zapf.
“This book is ingenious, provocative, and wonderfully informative. A
more imaginative and effective passageway into the Bible I have yet to
see. Jews and Christians of all stripes --- in fact, nonbelievers too
--- will read 3:16 with profit and delight.” --William Sloane
Coffin, Minister Emeritus, Riverside Church, New York City
“It is difficult to think that a totally new approach to the Bible
could be found --- at least one that is sane. Donald Knuth has found
one, and produced a book that is physically beautiful and
intellectually and spiritually stimulating.” --Raymond E. Brown,
Professor Emeritus, Union Theological Seminary
“Around fifty-nine 3:16 verses that provide Donald Knuth with a
whimsical sampling of the Bible’s fifty-nine books, he has woven an
elaborate tapestry of biblical commentary. Whether you are a Christian
or a non-Christian, this commentary, drawing on Knuth’s astonishing
knowledge of biblical history and criticism, is sure to enrich your
understanding of both testaments.” --Martin Gardner
Errata
- Page 12, bottom line
- for “13:8” read “26:17”
- Page 17, line 1
- change 'I am the one who is' to 'I am he who is'
- Page 21, line 2
- change '160–161' to '161–163'
- Page 21, line 9 from the bottom
- for “blood, pork” read “pork”
- Page 32, line 5
- for “13:18” read “14:21”
- Page 36, line 7
- for “700 Benjaminite” read “700 left-handed Benjaminite”
- page 44, line 9 from the bottom
- change 'Exodus 27:21' to 'Exodus 30:8'
- page 46, line 4 from the bottom
- for “4:4” read “4:5”
- page 49, line 13
- for “KAW” read “KHOH”
- Page 66, lines 15 and 16
- change semicolon to comma (four times)
- Page 68, line 5
- for “3:19” read “3:17–19”
- Page 70, line 3 from the bottom
- for “makes sense” read “make sense”
- Page 71, illustration
- the desired background texture does not show up in the cream color
- Page 74, line 10
-
- for “people held responsible” read “people had risen to responsible”
- Page 80, the Bible verse
- for “stillborn;” read “stillborn,”
- Page 81, line 11
- for “this is accounts” read “this accounts”
- Page 84, line 11 from the bottom
- for “yachad” read “yachdāv”
- Page 85, lines 7 and 8
- for 'During ... Augsburg' read 'At the time of the Augsburg conference”
- Page 85, line 22
- for “trombones” read “pipes”
- Page 85, line 10 from the bottom
- for “Job 11:19” read “Leviticus 26:6;
Job 11:19; Proverbs 3:24”
- Page 92, line 8 from the bottom
- for "2 Chronicles 19:6" read "2 Chronicles 19:7"
- Page 94, line 14
- for “our language to” read “our language, to”
- Page 100, second line of Isaiah 3:16
- for “women in” read “women of”
- Page 100, bottom line
- change 'appears only here and in verse 18; it almost' to
'found only here and verse 18 and in Proverbs 7:22 (where it means “fetters”), almost
- Page 108, in the Bible verse
- for “on gravel” read “in gravel”
- Page 110, line 5 from the bottom
- for “using the name ‘Son of man’.” read “using the name ‘Son of man’, i.e., ‘Mortal’.”
- page 112, line 19
- for “(Jeremiah 1:6)” read “(Jeremiah 1:6), as
well as Jonah’s flight (Jonah 1:3)”
- Page 134, line 12
- for “prophesies” read “prophecies”
- Page 134, line 20
- (the typesetter slipped in this line)
- Page 145, line 17
- for “referencees” read “references”
- Page 150, line 21
- (the typesetter slipped in this line)
- Page 154, line 13 from the bottom
- for “2--15” read “2--5”
- Page 160, line 11
- for “rightousness” read “righteousness”
- Page 161, line 13 from the bottom
- for “as they do” read “as they did”
- Page 169, line 9
- for “might share a common origin with” read “has a curious similarity to”
- Page 169, line 19
- for “2:26, 3:22, and 4:1” read “2:26 and 3:22”
- Pages 171, 172, 173
- (see the Addenda below)
- Page 181, line 13
- change '1976' to '1979'
- Page 184, line 6
- for “Roman historian Pausanius” read “Mediterranean traveler Pausanias”
- Page 197, line 10 from the bottom
- for “—-” read “—”
- Page 208, line 13 from the bottom
- (the typesetter slipped in this line)
- Page 209, line 6
- for “says in 4:7” read “says in 4:6”
- Page 211, artist’s name
- for “Zapf - von Hesse” read “Zapf von Hesse”
- Page 213, line 15
- for “—-” read “—”
- Page 215, illustration
- replace the image by
a corrected version
- Page 225, line 10 from the bottom
- for “Iésoús” read “Iēsoús”
- Page 228, line 12 from the bottom
- for “8:2.6” read “1302b4”
- Page 232, line 12 from the bottom
- for “Once Peter had” read “Peter had once”
- Page 242, line 19
- for “Everything is” read “Everything in”
- Page 244, line 22
- for ‘themselves (verse 17),” read “themselves,”
- Page 244, line 23
- for “(verse 18)” read “(verse 17)”
- Page 250, line 7 from the bottom
- for “1,854” read “1,861'
-
- Page 252, column 2, under Exodus
- '13:18 32' should be '14:21 32'
- Page 253, column5, under 1 Chronicles
- '3:19' should be '3:17–19'
- Page 254, column 1, line 9
- for "19:6" read "19:7"
- Page 254, column 4, under Proverbs
- new entry '3:24 85'
- Page 256, column 1, under Jonah
- new entry '1:3 112'
- Page 257, left column
- delete the reference to Luke 4:1
- Page 260, left column, Adam (the man)
- change '12' to '12–13'
- Page 260, left column, new entry
- Alexander the Great, 206
- Page 260, left column, Assyria
- add page 134
- Page 260, right column, line 18 from the bottom
- for “169 189” read “169, 189”
- Page 261, left column, line 8
- for “1174” read “174”
- Page 261, left column, new entry
- Coverdale, Myles, 181
- Page 261, right column, Dead Sea
- add page 185
- Page 261, right column, Dead Sea scrolls
- add page 109, delete page 185
- Page 261, right column, dice
- add page 25
- Page 262, right column, Handel
- for “Frederick” read “Frideric”
- Page 263, left column, Jewish festivals, Yom Kippur
- change '130, 18' to '18, 130'
- Page 263, left column, Job
- change 'Job 13' to 'Job, 13'
- Page 263, right column, Knox
- change 'Ronald' to 'Ronald Arbuthnott'
- Page 263, right column
- for “Marciano, Rocky” read “Marchegiano, Rocco Francis”
- Page 264, left column, Moabites
- change '56' to '56–57'
- Page 264, left column, monarchy
- for “42. 60. 153” read “42, 60, 153”
- Page 264, right column, New English Bible
- add page 220
- Page 264, right column, Nineveh
- add pages 140–141
- Page 264, right column, Noah
- add page 130
- Page 264, right column
- for “Pausanius” read “Pausanias”
- Page 264, right column, Plato
- add page 217
- Page 265, left column, Ras Shamra
- add page 20
- Page 265, left column, new entry
- Reiffenstein, Johann Wilhelm, 220
- Page 265, right column, Schroeder
- change 'Walter Adolph' to 'Walter Adolph George'
- Page 265, right column, sermons
- add pages 26, 58, 99, 142, 162
- Page 265, right column, new entry
- Senfl, Ludwig, 85
- Page 265, right column, Sinai
- add page 25
- Page 266, left column, new entry
- Stainer, John, 175
- Page 266, left column, new entry
- Thomas, George Henry, 165
- Page 266, right column, new entry
- Tyndale, William, 220
- Page 266, right column, new entry
- Washington, George, 53
- Page 266, right column, Wilder
- change 'Laura' to 'Laura Elizabeth'
- Page 266, right column, new entry
- Wycliffe, John, 220
- Page 267, right column
- for “Zapf - von Hesse” read “Zapf von Hesse”
- back cover, line 16
- for “turn out be” read “turn out to be”
If you are the first person to report any further error, I will gladly
deposit a “finder’s fee” of
0x$3.00 (i.e., 3 dollars in base 16)
into your account at the
Bank of San Serriffe.
And valuable amendments are worth 0x$.20$.
Please send suggested corrections to
knuth-bug@cs.stanford.edu, or send snail mail to
Prof. D. Knuth
Computer Science Department
CoDa Building room W208
389 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-5008 USA.
Addenda
The artwork for this book became the basis of a traveling exhibition of
calligraphy, supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The exhibit was shown at 26 sites in America and Europe during 1990--1995,
ranging from the University of Alberta in Edmonton and the
National Cathedral in Washington DC to the Guinness Hop Store in Dublin and
the Museo della Stampa in Torino.
It is now permanently housed in the Harrison Collection of Calligraphy
at San Francisco Public Library.
After further study, I realized that my published translation of John 3:16
was not the best possible,
so I prepared a new translation that reflects more accurately the
conventions and style of the original author. Hermann Zapf presented me
with a calligraphic rendition of the new translation for display in my home,
on my birthday in 1996. I am pleased to share this artwork by making the
PostScript file john316.eps.gz
(75140 bytes) freely available.
(Also in Acrobat form.)
Laserprinted output cannot compare with the
beauty and sparkle of Hermann’s original, of course,
but it helps the viewer to imagine what the original might be like.
Note to book binders: I have a nearly complete set of unbound signatures
of this book (unfortunately lacking pages 125--140),
for somebody who wants to make a handbound copy. Please let me know
if you want further details.
Don Knuth’s home page