A new poetical translation of the psalms, intended to express the hebrew original, was made by the leading scholars and ministers of colonial. Ee3vee4r, psalms 118 and 119, the latter displaying hebrew characters. The bay psalm book has the distinction of being the first book published in british america. The digital bay psalm book gives scholars, researchers, and enthusiasts alike a rich and intimate experience of the book. If youve ever dug into the puritans in any manner, youve come across something called the bay psalm book. Book published in 1640 sets a record at auction the new. A revised and enlarged edition, under the title of the psalms hymns and spiritual songs of the old and. A new poetical translation of the psalms, intended to express the hebrew original, was made by the leading scholars and. The bay psalm book is a key artifact in understanding the beliefs and practices of pilgrims, and the importance of music therein. Besides being a noted translator of texts of ancient peoples, like the babylonians, he is a professor of comparative literature at berkely, and a twotime recipient of the guggenheim. The puritan divines of the massachusetts bay colony set out to produce a translation from the hebrew that was reflective.
Dec 03, 2012 the bay psalm book is a key artifact in understanding the beliefs and practices of pilgrims, and the importance of music therein. Bay psalm book offers valuable insight into how colonial divines shaped the ideal of religious. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book the singing of psalms, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. In addition to being the first book printed in the british american colonies, the bay psalm book should be recognized as the first book written in. The reverend jesse glover imported the first printing press to the massachusetts bay colony in 1638, some 18 years after the first english settlers landed at plymouth rock. The lord is my shepherd out of the mouths of babes.
In addition to being the first book printed in the british american colonies, the bay psalm book should be recognized as the first book written in america as well. This book, with which the pilgrims literally sang their praises to god, presents a translation of the psalms from hebrew, transposed into metrical rhyme for congregational singing. To the chief musician, a psalm of david 1 the heavens do declare the majesty of god. The new psalm book was adopted at once by nearly every congregation in the colony of massachusetts bay, and for that reason it came to be known as the bay psalm book. The first book printed in british north america, 1640 haraszti, zoltan on. Its a translation of the old testament book of psalms, valuable for its rarity and because it was printed in 1640, the first englishlanguage book printed in america. The bay psalm book of 1640 was the first book printed in america. Heath anthology of american literaturethe bay psalm book. It holds the distinction of being the first book printed in america colonial america and has a bit of an interesting story, including being the highest selling book ever at auction. The bay psalm book addressed this warning by translating the hebrew psalms of david into idiomatic, metrical english to be sung by the entire congregation both in church and at home. Preface to the 1640 bay psalm book reformed theology at. Jan 29, 2017 the whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated in to english metre 1640 also known as the bay psalm book was the first book length publication in the north american colonies.
The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated in to english metre 1640 also known as the bay psalm book was the first book length publication in. Printed in cambridge, massachusetts, on a press set up by stephen day, it included a dissertation on the lawfulness and. The translations are not particularly polished, and not one has remained in use, although some of the tunes to which they were sung have survived for instance, old 100th. The library of congress bay psalm book was the last copy.
The bay psalm book was the first book to be printed in north america, twenty years after the arrival of the pilgrims in massachusetts. Originally, the colonys residents looked to a committee of thirty men led by john eliot, thomas welde, and richard mather to translate all 150 psalms from hebrew into english. This note examines the use of hebrew type in two of the extant eleven copies of the original edition of the book. The puritan divines of the massachusetts bay colony set out to produce a translation from the hebrew. Mar 14, 2020 the bay psalm book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. It will go on display in libraries across the united states. Earlier psalteries had been brought to the new world by colonists, but in puritan thought they had strayed too far from the original hebrew text. Hebrew, was the work of several men who represented the greatest minds of colonial new england at the time, including john cotton, richard mather, and john eliot. The book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into english. This book is actually by robert alter, who has retranslated the hebrew bible from classical hebrew to modern english. Bay psalm book the whole booke of psalmes first edition. The founders of the massachusetts bay colony came to the new world seeking religious freedom, and their first publication was a hymnal.
By the waters of babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, as we remembered zion. At the 300th anniversary of our congregation i was asked to put together some of the music that would have been sung at that time in boston area churches. Eliot, set about the task of creating a new translation of the 150 hebrew psalms into english. These two copies of the text are together for the first time since they were separated long ago. The more accurate news stories describe the bay psalm book as the first book printed in english in the new world. Translated directly from hebrew into english, the bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640, less than twenty years. Chapter 2 examines a selection of these, ranging from the plain style of george wither, whose bid to supplant sternhold and hopkins ran afoul of the stationers monopoly, and the even more prosaic bay psalm book 1640, whose principal concern was wordforword faithfulness to the hebrew text, to the more literary work of george sandys, who wrote for private devotion rather than. It was prepared by puritan leaders of the massachusetts bay colony. In recent years, a new generation of scholars has returned to the book, seeing it from fresh perspectivesas a social document, for example, and as a physical artifact of early american life in the massachusetts bay area. The singing of psalmes, though it breath forth nothing but holy harmony, and melody. Bay psalm book, 1640, perhaps the oldest book now in existence that was published in british north america.
The book is considered to have been the work of christian reformers seeking a. Bay psalm book wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. It plans to sell one to raise money for renovations. Not only is the text in the public domain, the book can be viewed in pdf form. Nov 25, 20 john hoover, former president of the bibliographical society of america, says the bay psalm book, which includes some hebrew letters, reflects the very high level of scholarship in the colony. The use of hebrew in the bay psalm book the book commonly known as the bay psalm book was the first book printed in british north america. The preface to the bay psalm book is a remarkable statement of. The bay psalm book the first book printed in america is. As for the scruple that some take at the translation of the book of psalms into metre, because davids psalms were sung in his own words without metre. Seventeen hundred copies were printed in 1640 by stephen daye in massachusetts. It was the joint product of richard mather, founder of that distinguished family of new england divines, thomas welde and john eliot, the missionary to the indians. Bay psalm book the earliest book known to have been printed in english in the british north american colonies. The 6by5inch hymnal books estimated value was raised by 10 million dollars since the end of last year when we first ran a feature on the sale. Richard mather and a group of his fellow new england clergy transcribed biblical psalms into metered verse.
The psalms in it are metrical translations into english. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. Nov 01, 20 one of the greatest artifacts of american history, the whole booke of psalmes, commonly known as the bay psalm book, will be auctioned at 7pm on the 26th day of this month at sothebys in new york. Nov 25, 20 translated directly from hebrew into english, the bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640, less than twenty years after the mayflower left plymouth, england. The bay psalm book, sung in the key of hsharp mary dyer. The bay psalm book, formally titled the whole book of psalmes faithfully translated into english metre 1640, was the first book printed on angloamerican soil. The translations are not particularly polished, and not one has remained in use, although some. The bay psalm book played a central role in both public services and domestic devotions for over a century, since puritans. The bay psalm book was the first book printed in british north america. Some of the most widely recognized phrases and sentences from the bible come to us from the book of psalms, referred to in hebrew as tehillim.
Rubensteins copy, on loan to the library for this exhibition, were at originally part of the historic old south church library in boston. Today, copies of the volume known as the bay psalm book translations from the hebrew, and meant to be sung are very rare, with only. Bay psalm book in metre 1640 logos bible software forums. It fits the three month study cycle that many bible study groups follow 12 psalms for 12 weeks. Whether metal or wood, the hebrew letters in the bay psalm book represented the first hebrew printing in the new world. Old south church in boston to sell rare psalmbook, stirring.
The bay psalm book, printed just twenty years after the pilgrims arrival. Compiled by john eliot, richard mather, and thomas weld, and printed by stephen day at cambridge, massachusetts in 1640, it was intended to give a more literal translation of the hebrew psalms than that of the king james version. The whole booke of psalmes universally known as the bay psalm book was produced in the virtual wilderness of massachusetts bay colony by the congregationalist puritans who left england in search of religious freedom. The whole booke of psalmes faithfully translated into. It was the first book printed in british north america. The bay psalm book the first book printed in america. The congregationalist puritans who emigrated to massachusetts bay in search of religious freedom quickly set about to translate and produce a version of the book of psalms that was a closer paraphrase of the hebrew original than the one they had carried from england. In addition, some of the hebrew characters appear to have been cut in wood, perhaps necessitated by missing sorts. The new england primer offered every child and apprentice the chance to learn to read the catechism and a set of moral precepts. Day imposed the whole booke of psalmes as a quarto, although an octavo format would have been much more. A committee of thirty learned elders, including john cotton, richard mather, and john eliot, set about the task of creating a new translation of the 150 hebrew psalms into english and casting the text into verse for singing. In 1640, three ministers published the first book in the american colonies. What is the bay psalm book but did you know that the bay psalm book was first printed in the colonies in 1640 and in reissues remained in use for over 100 years.
The bay psalm book, as it has come to be known, consists of a substantial introduction summarizing the creators philosophy and intentions, followed by translations of the psalms rendered into meter, enabling them to be sung to wellknown tunes of the day. Bay psalm book, and americas first printing press boston. Digital bay psalm book university of alabama press. Evidently they were dissatisfied with the translations from hebrew in these several psalters and wished for some that were closer to the original.
Its probably fair to say that the book is more a feat of translation than it is of printing. The sternhold and hopkins text was frequently appended to editions of the geneva bible and the book of common prayer, a circumstance acknowledged in the preface to the bay psalm book. John hoover, former president of the bibliographical society of america, says the bay psalm book, which includes some hebrew letters, reflects the very high level of scholarship in the colony. The bay psalm book 1 the lord to me a shepherd is, want therefore i shall not, he in the folds of tender grass doth make me down to lie to waters calm he gently leads restore my soul doth he he doth in paths of righteousness for his names sake lead me. Translated directly from hebrew into english, the bay psalm book was printed in cambridge, massachusetts, in 1640, less than twenty years after the mayflower left plymouth, england. The bay psalm book, as this work is commonly known, is the first book printed in british north america. The book of psalms sefer tehillim my jewish learning. The book was produced to supply a public need, not primarily to make a cultural statement. Psalms into english meeter, for his approbation, and cotton may have adapted some of these for the bay psalm book. Psalm 23 bay psalm book scriptures good books free. Its a book that was not created to be fancy or splendid or valuable in any way other than the significance of its content, says derick dreher, the director of philadelphias rosenbach library, one of the few institutions to hold a bay psalm book.
We wish you and your bible study group an exciting journey through the world of the psalms accompanied by insights from the hebrew language. Bay psalm book article about bay psalm book by the free. A london printer, stephen daye, came with the press and established a printing office in cambridge. The bay psalm book is a metrical psalter, first printed in 1640 in cambridge, massachusetts. Psalm 23 and the bay psalm book the music that shaped. It was a text of psalms in rhyme, translated from hebrew, without musical notation because almost no one was musically literate. The library of congress copy of the bay psalm book and david m. The bay psalm book was a translation from the hebrew of psalms meant to be sung by the whole churches together with their voices, though. The bay psalm book, as it is known, is essentially sacred text to be sung during the liturgy. Diana muir appelbaum blog archive the bay psalm book. Nov 22, 20 a literary treasure, unveiled today, copies of the volume known as the bay psalm book translations from the hebrew, and meant to be sung are very rare, with only 11 remaining of the 1,700 printed in the first edition. This collection of psalm texts, rather than the bible itself, was the first volume published in the new world. Dec 25, 2012 old south church in boston owns 2 of the 11 firstedition copies of the bay psalm book, printed in 1640, still known to exist. Until quite recently american scholars unaware that a printing press was operating in mexico city well before the bay colony was founded called it the first book printed in the new world.