With this improvement, there was at the same time a marked impetus in
Bible circulation. The nineteenth century has been eminently a
Bible-reading and a Bible-studying period. In no previous century have
efforts on so gigantic a scale been made to put the Book in the hands
of every one who could read it. The price was brought so low by the
decrease in the cost of production, that the very poorest could
possess a copy. The British and Foreign Bible Society, founded in
1804, and the American Bible Society, founded in 1816, have largely
contributed to this result. Both societies were organized to issue the
Bible without note or comment, and both have faithfully labored to
promote its circulation. In spite of all that has been said against
the Book and in spite of the fact that so large a number of persons
must have been supplied, the circulation has increased from year to
year. In the year ending March, 1896, the American Society alone
issued 1,750,000 copies, and the British two and a half million.
During its existence the American Society has sent out over sixty-one
million copies and the British Society over one hundred and forty
millions. The work of translation has kept pace with the demand. At
the beginning of the century the Bible had been translated, in whole
or in part, into thirty-eight languages. It is now translated into
three hundred and eighty-one, and translators are engaged on nearly a
hundred others. Nor must it be supposed that the supply was in excess
of the demand. There is abundant evidence of the desire of the public
to possess the Word of God. One fact alone is a conspicuous proof of
this demand. In 1892 the proprietor of the _Christian Herald_ of New
York offered an Oxford Teacher's Bible as a premium with his journal.
The offer was accepted with such avidity that edition after edition
was exhausted, and it has been renewed every year since with increased
demand. Through this journal alone, by this means, over three hundred
and two thousand copies have been put into the hands of the people
during the past five years.
With the increase in the circulation of the Word of God there has been
a costly and thorough effort to gain new light on its pages. Never
before have labor and money been expended so lavishly in endeavors to
learn from exploration and research, historical facts which would
contribute to an intelligent understanding of its history and
literature. In 1865 a society called the Palestine Exploration Society
was organized for the special purpose of thoroughly examining the Holy
Land, investigating and identifying ancient sites and making exact
maps of the country. In twenty-seven years the society, though working
with the utmost economy, expended $425,000. The result of its labors
has been to let a flood of light on the ancient places and the ancient
customs of its people, explaining many allusions in the sacred
history, poetry and prophecy that were previously dark. The Egypt
Exploration Fund has also added materially to our knowledge of that
country which is associated with the early history of the Chosen
People. But the most valuable aid to Bible study came from the
discovery of the Assyrian Royal Library, a series of clay tablets and
cylinders covered with cuneiform inscriptions which were deciphered by
Mr. George Smith of the British Museum. From these and from the
records on the monuments of Egypt historical information has been
derived of inestimable value in the study of the Bible.