Museum Artifact Catalog
Browse our comprehensive archive of ancient papyri, parchment codices, early printed polyglots, and English translation milestones spanning over 2,000 years.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Ancient Jewish manuscripts discovered in the caves of Qumran between 1947 and 1956, preserving the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible.
The Septuagint (LXX)
The earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, produced in Alexandria for Hellenistic Jews and cited throughout the New Testament.
Codex Vaticanus (Graecus 1209)
One of the oldest and most valuable extant uncial manuscripts of the Greek Bible, written on fine vellum.
Codex Sinaiticus
The world’s oldest surviving complete copy of the Christian New Testament, handwritten on animal parchment.
Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome
Commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 AD, Jerome translated the Hebrew Old Testament directly into common Latin, defining Western Christendom for a millennium.
Wycliffe Bible
The first complete translation of the Bible into English, hand-copied by John Wycliffe and his followers (the Lollards).
Erasmus Greek New Testament (Novum Instrumentum)
Desiderius Erasmus published the first commercially printed Greek New Testament in Basel, providing the textual rocket fuel for the Protestant Reformation.
Bomberg Second Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot)
Edited by Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah and printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice; standard Masoretic Hebrew text for centuries.
Luther German Bible
Translated from original Greek and Hebrew while hiding in the Wartburg Castle, Luther’s Bible standardized the German language and ignited vernacular printing across Europe.
Tyndale New Testament & Pentateuch
The bedrock of the English Bible: the first English translation printed directly from the original Greek and Hebrew.
Coverdale Bible
The first complete printed English Bible, compiled by Myles Coverdale and dedicated to King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn.
Matthew Bible
Published under the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew" by Tyndale’s disciple John Rogers, incorporating Tyndale’s unpublished Old Testament manuscripts.
The Great Bible (Cranmer's Bible)
The first authorized Bible of the Church of England, physically chained to church lecterns throughout the realm by order of King Henry VIII.
Geneva Bible
The revolutionary Bible of the Puritans, Shakespeare, and the Mayflower Pilgrims: first with numbered verses, Roman type, and marginal study notes.
The Bishops' Bible
The official Elizabethan Church of England revision of the Great Bible, commissioned to displace the anti-monarchical Geneva Bible.
King James Version (Authorized Version)
Commissioned by King James I at the Hampton Court Conference of 1604, translated by 47 scholars in six companies; the most influential book in the English language.
Revised Version (English Revised Version)
The first official modern revision of the King James Bible, breaking away from Textus Receptus to embrace 4th-century codices (Vaticanus & Sinaiticus).
American Standard Version
The American counterpart to the English Revised Version, celebrated for exacting literal fidelity and the ancestor of the NASB, RSV, and ESV.
Revised Standard Version
Authorized by the National Council of Churches; updated archaic syntax while retaining the dignity of the King James tradition.
New American Standard Bible
Produced by the Lockman Foundation as a rigorous word-for-word revision of the 1901 ASV, widely regarded as the most literal modern translation.
New International Version
The world's most popular modern English Bible translation, crafted completely from scratch from the best Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts.
New King James Version
Modernized the 1611 KJV’s archaic vocabulary and grammar while faithfully preserving its traditional Textus Receptus Greek textual foundation.
English Standard Version
An "essentially literal" translation carrying forward the stream of Tyndale, the KJV, and the 1971 RSV with conservative evangelical scholarship.