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King James Bible 1611 "He" and "She" Bibles


KJV 1611 He Bible

icapshy do we distinguish between "He" and "She" when we are talking about first edition King James Bibles? The reason is that in the first printing of the 1611 King James Bible there is a printing error, in fact, there were many printing errors throughout. But one known error stands out in the book of  Ruth 3:15  which reads: "and he went into the city." The correct printing should have been, "and she went into the city." The first printing of the King James Bible took three years, so if one owns a 1611 "He" edition it is considered a true first printing, and those owning a "She" edition are considered to have the second printing anywhere between 1611 - 1613.


The 1611 First Edition He Bible
Ruth 3:15


Ruth 3:15


Technically they are all 1611 versions, but the "He" is rarer than the "She" and so it's important to distinguish between the two. The first printing of the King James Bible was split between three different printers: Robert Barker, Bonham Norton, and John Bill. They were all printing different sections of the Bible, and so there are several printing errors throughout, and any given copy probably has different printing errors from the others.

You can read many more details about the King James Bible in David Norton’s book, A Textual History of the King James Bible (BS186 .N67 2005). Norton lists 351 printer’s errors in the first edition "He" Bible,
e.g., Gen. 10:16 where "Emorite" should be "Amorite."