Q. When was the King James Bible published?
A. The King James Bible, though not yet called by that name, was published in 1611.[i] “This day” posts and pages often claim the King James Bible was first published May 2, 1611. This factoid is posted all over the internet. However, it is incorrect, or least we do not know when in 1611 this Bible was published.
This error may have grown out of events scheduled on May 2 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, or announcements of those events. For example, this announcement and subsequent article marks Monday [i.e., May 2, 2011] as “the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible…”
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Herald and Review, Sunday, May 1, 2011, page 1
David Norton writes, “The printing history of the KJB is plagued throughout by inadequate publishing records. Presumably because it was considered a revision rather than a new book, the first edition was not entered on the Stationers’ Registers, so we do not know when in 1611 it appeared.”[ii]
After 1557, when the Stationers’ Company of London was given a royal charter, the Stationers’ Register record book registered all new books published in England. The date of their registration is usually considered equivalent of the date of publication. Norton’s research finds that this Bible was not registered. The reason he gives is a possible solution as to why it was not registered. However, the title portrays this Bible as “newly translated” and only “diligently compared” to the former translations (that is, “compared to” rather than “revised”).
Short answer – we do not know what time of the year 1611 the Bible was published, but we do know the year.
[ii] A Textual History of the King James Bible, David Norton. London: Cambridge University Press, 2005, p.46.
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