Thursday, September 11, 2025

John Bois - Leading KJV Translator and Textual Critic

I'm surprised this has not come up in KJV-related debates more often.  In 1655, the manuscripts of John Bois doing textual critical work on the Gospels and Acts were published.  The work, though not very accessible to the modern reader, can be found here (link).  Bois was not just the leader of the group translating the Apocrypha, but also one of the six charged with reviewing and revising the whole.  He supported Henry Saville's work in printing the collected works of Chrysostom.  It's hard to precisely date the manuscripts upon which the 1655 publication was based.  The most natural assumption, however, is that it was one of the uses of his time from 1615 until his death in 1643, while serving in a minor ecclesiastical office to which he was appointed by Lancelot Andrewes.  (see here for the source of the preceding abbreviated biography)  According to one source (link), "he finished Matthew 13 Aug., Mark 30 Sept. 1619 ; Luke 24 Aug., John 13 Oct. 1621 ; Acts 9 April 1625 : his manuscript extended a little way into the Epistle to Romans."  The bottom line is that John Bois did not seem to think that the KJV translators had produced the final recension of the Greek New Testament, contrary to some pro-KJV apologetics one hears.  

For future study: how much did John Bois depart from the King James readings?  

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