The R.C. Ryan Center for Biblical Studies recently received the funds to purchase a 1613 King James Version of the Bible.
Two Union University donors, David and Linda Shoaf, donated the funds for the purchase of the Bible, which arrived in early September from a bookstore in Scotland.
The Shoafs also donated funds 12 years ago for Union to purchase a copy of the Geneva Bible, said Ray Van Neste, professor of Biblical Studies and the director of the Ryan Center.
“The 1613 KJV is the first edition of a personal or family Bible,” Van Neste said. “That fits what we’re striving for in the display – the Bible coming to the everydayperson.”
The Ryan Center displays numerous other Bibles as well, including a hexapla, which contains six English translations of the Bible as well as the Greek New Testament. A man who worked with William Wilberforce to end slavery originally owned this particular copy.
“It’s a serious study Bible, but it also played a part in impacting culture,” Van Neste said. “These Bibles represent what we’re trying to do here at Union.”
