The Bible as Literature

Side note / a little background info / a rabbit trail-

Around 1450 Gutenberg invented movable type. (Belasco, Johnson pg.3)

Though, in reality movable type had been around for hundreds and hundreds of years in Asia. Woodblock printing and ceramic printing had been around a long, long time.

The first metal movable type was invented in Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1234 and was credited to 최윤의(Choe Yun-ui). (Chon)(Sohn) (I think he was given the credit because he was higher up on the food chain – if you know what I mean.) Some say another movable type strikingly similar to Gutenberg was invented in Korea in the early 1400’s and could have inspired Gutenberg. (Christensen)

But before I start calling Gutenberg a copy cat (pun totally intended!) and bashing American children’s “World history” textbooks for not disclosing the whole truth to our children, I will end this rabbit trail. (I found the bunny anyways).      

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                                                  (='.'=) -  "아이고!"

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                                                             (the bunny speaks Korean)

So back to my main point. . .

Gutenberg invented the first European movable type around 1450 and a revolution occurred. Soon after this invention the Bible was widely available in the vernacular (I will skip a description of the Protestant reformation--- you’re welcome).

                                                        

Anyways, since then billions of Bibles have been printed in hundreds of different languages and thousands of different forms. To say that the Bible is not an influential piece of literature would just be illogical.



I don’t know anything about the production and distribution of the Torah (Hebrew Bible Scroll).

The Bible has not only effected history (e.i. Expansion to the Colonies, protestant revolution, Catholicism- though most the public did not have the Bible and it was in Latin- and so on) but it has also massively effected literature. It is impossible to understand much of literature without at least understanding the Bible at least at a basic level. This is why we need to study the Bible and other influential works (Greek mythology and so on).

Another Reason

We should also study the Bible because it is a beautiful and complex piece of literature, even without all the cultural and societal implications. In class the economy of language in the Bible was discussed. The Psalms is a large collection of poetry (one could claim the whole Bible is poetic).

It has a interesting plot, a lot of dynamic action, you can read small parts as short stories, there are heroes and villains. Life, death, love and loss --- it is all there.

Oh and read the Song of Solomon. Some say it is about the sexual relationship intended between a husband and wife, some say it is about the love between Christ and the church. Either way (or both ways) it is quite poetically sexual.

Works Cited - though not a very good one  

Belasco, Susan and Johnson Linck. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. New York, NY: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Print.

Chon Hye-bong. “Typography in Korea: Birthplace of Moveable Metal Type.” Korea Journal 3:7 (July 1963): 10–19.

Christensen, Thomas. "Did East Asian Printing Traditions Influence the European Renaissance?" Arts of Asia Magazine. 2007. online. http://www.rightreading.com/printing/gutenberg.asia/gutenberg-asia-1-introduction.htm

Sohn, Pow-Key (summer 1993). "Printing Since the 8th Century in Korea". Koreana 7 (2): 4–9.