Electronic Scripture Editions (With an Appendix Listing Electronic Editions on the Internet [2014])

When focusing on electronic Scripture editions we are far removed from the first Polyglot Bible, that of the Complutense, which we are celebrating today. The Complutense was not based on modern critical principles in the presentation of the biblical versions since the manuscript sources have not been mentioned. Manuscripts of the versions recorded in the Complutense have been mixed in that edition, and editorial changes have been inserted in the editions against the manuscripts. But in other aspects this was a critical edition since the editors aimed at using the best manuscripts available for each version. Furthermore, the Complutense has a special place in the history of critical scholarship as it presents the first printed Scripture text in Greek, which is quoted in modern critical editions as a special source because of its valuable content.(1) The Complutense also deserves praise for being the first in other aspects. Among other things, it was the first edition presenting a broad spectrum of parallel texts. The principle of presentation in parallel columns was shared by subsequent Polyglot editions, and this system heralded a great innovation, but it was not shared by the later critical Scripture editions, which is to be regretted.(2) This innovative aspect of the Complutense is not sufficiently appreciated in the literature, and I want to return to it at the end of my analysis of the electronic editions.