Biography of william tyndale by david danielly

It is amazing to think that when Tyndale translated Genesis , it was the first time in history that any ancient Hebrew had been translated into English. It is also amazing to think that in Tyndale's day, in the early 's, we hear of seven men being burned at the stake publicly for this heinous crime: teaching the Lord's Prayer to their families in English instead of Latin.

Many more similarly unthinkable persecutions and executions took place at this time in history, which we forget and ignore to our detriment. There are many more insights to be found throughout these pages. I recommend it very highly for anyone willing to brave a sometimes dense and daunting book - the rewards are great. Katelynn Richardson. In , possessing an English Bible was made illegal under the Constitutions of Oxford.

Translating or even reading one, without the expressed permission of a bishop, was punishable under heresy laws. The Scripture was locked in Latn, a language few spoke, and accessible only through the priests, who conducted services in Latin further perpetuating the problem. Picking up the legacy of Wycliff, he fought to give the common people a Bible and eventually succeeded--though after being condemned as a heretic and burnt at the stake.

Open the King of England's eyes. Moved by the Word of God, he knew every man must have access to it in his own tongue. Though it is academic in tone, dense with information, and at times difficult to sift through, it covers so much ground. The detail Daniell includes not only provides context about other Reformation figures, but also explains aspects of Tyndale rarely discussed--his rhetorical craftsmanship, his skill in both Hebrew and Greek, his influence on shaping the English language.

I had no idea how many phrases and words he coined. Even in the tedious word-by-word analysis of translations found on many pages, I found myself captivated. This book does assume some prior knowledge of the English Reformation. That said, if you have some familiarity with the background, I would highly recommend giving it a try!

Read my full review on my book blog here. As Daniell recounts, we all stand in Tyndale's debt in ways most of us never consider. A martyr for the faith, a translator of incalculable genius, and a life at the center of a great epoch -- in William Tyndale we meet a man who literally gave his life for the furtherance of the Word. Incredibly, no biography of Tyndale emerged in the six decades prior to Daniell's work.

His biography was worth the wait. Excerpt: That is Tyndale's first page; it is possible for a late twentieth-century reader to see it as unexceptional, even mild, and ever rather over-obvious, and to begin to patronise Tyndale. Yet the page, printed in English in , contained high explosive. Inside the reasonableness of tone, stating the need for a New Testament in English as, to borrow a phrase, a truth universally acknowledged; a truth so obvious that it would be superfluous to explain, and only those who were blind or malicious or mad could deny it, as it would be mad to say that the Bible in English would cause evil, darkness and lying -- inside that mildness was an attack on the Church so dangerous that it could only be countered by the most vicious burnings, of books and men and women.

These first sentences of Tyndale have a calm that suggests that Tyndale himself does not understand yet that this work, and he himself, will be answered with hatred and burning. Paul Burgoyne. Author 1 book 17 followers. It took some time to get through this book, a thorough academic treatment of the life of William Tyndale and his work as a translator.

I learned to appreciate his contributions to the English Bible and to the English language. For undertaking his life's work of translating the New Testament into English from Greek rather than from Latin, without the approval of the Catholic Church, he was arrested, imprisoned and killed. The author of this biography shows in many examples how Tyndale's work as a translator continues to be relevant in more modern translations of the Bible that still rely on words and phrasing originating with him.

Also interesting were the accounts of his commitment to learn ancient Hebrew as he began to translate the Old Testament from its original language rather than from Latin at the beginning of the 16th century when there was little help for Hebrew scholarship. Who knows how much greater his impact on the English language would have been if he had been able to complete his work?

He was an incredible scholar deeply committed to his faith. I sometimes got bogged down in the density of the work but recommend it to those with a strong interest in the English Reformation. A very interesting books. Slightly on the academic side but clearly a very thorougher biography of William Tyndale's life and accomplishments. One of the best features of this book is the way that Daniell focuses upon the craft of Tyndale's translation and phrasing.

I particularly liked the way that he compared it to the Latin and the Lollard versions. I also got the sense of how Tyndale was able to communicate the gospel in a way that would have been more understood by the 'boy at the plough'. It's quite difficult to believe how England had got itself in such a position where translating the Bible from Latin to English was such a heinous crime.

Whilst Daniell explains this well it is still quite difficult to get one's head around this - especially when all of Europe had access to the bible in their own languages. In many ways rightly considered the definitive biography of William Tyndale, this reader could still have hoped for something a bit more neutral in tone and dense in detail.

Daniell is the pre-eminent Tyndale scholar and this contribution to that study is immense. It is clear, however, that Daniell approaches Tyndale as almost a mythic hero figure, and assigns all his many enemies an equally almost mythic evilness. Tyndale was undoubtedly a great scholar and man of integrity and faith.

Biography of william tyndale by david danielly

Daniell does not need to fawn quite so strongly over Tyndale for that picture to be painted. The details Daniell pulls together in various places are important for the study of Tyndale, but do bog down the text at times. I have certainly read worse, but I have read better. All-in-all, for anyone seriously interested in Tyndale, this is a must-read.

Joe Koehler. Heady read with a lot of attention to details. But it's a great read if you go in expected such depth. Made me appreciate translating work more, and gave me a great sense of gratitude for the English Bible I hold in my hands. It also makes me grateful that Tyndale and others like him were willing to die so that we could hold personal copies of a bible in our own language.

And the Church, more generally, is blessed to have been freed from evil leadership of such a degree that would bar from people the Word of God so that they could stay in power. This book also immerses the readers in the world of the Reformation, at large, and the English Reformation more specifically. I feel to be better off having read this book, but also extremely happy to be finished!

Shane Goodyear. The author shows how Tindalls punchy translations of old and new Testament books of the Bible, created the bedrock of the modern English language Tindall was a great scholar, and was only one of the few scholars who knew Hebrew very well. Tyndall was also very complimentary of how Hebrew could be translated straight into the English.

He finishes the book with Tindalls martyrdom. He discusses Tindalls and Thomas Moores rhetorical fights. This is an okay book, very wordy and at times dry but very informative. This book is not conducive to bedtime reading. Joel Zartman. One of the best things about this biography is the guided appreciation in the problems of translating an ancient text into English.

The observations Daniel offers are interesting for anybody who cares about making best use of the English language; illuminating too. Tim Chesterton. Author 11 books 2 followers. I'm glad to have read this book, which did a lot to fill out my knowledge of Tyndale. Some of the exhaustive descriptions of Tyndale's polemical writings were difficult to follow and might have been abbreviated.

The part I enjoyed the most was the analysis of his Hebrew translations toward the end, and the comparison of them with other translations AV, Vulgate, Luther's German etc. I have copies of both Tyndale's New Testaments and and this book has definitely motivated me to read them. Stock No: WW Write a Review. Email me when this product is available.

Wishlist Wishlist. Advanced Search Links. Product Close-up. Add To Cart. The Obedience of a Christian Man. Here I Stand. The Tyndale New Testament, Edition. The Bondage of the Will [Hendrickson Publishers]. John G. Paton: An Autobiography. Matthew's Bible, Edition--Hardcover. Works of William Tyndale 2 Volume Set. The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Freedom of the Will [Dover Publications].

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One Sentence from Isocrates Panegyrica. David M. Tyndales Oxford. To London.