(BA) ASV

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23 July 2022 - 9 September 2022 index-topical-hb

The American Standard Version of the Bible, or ASV, was an American revision, from 1901, of the Revised Version, or RV of 1885.

When the emerging field of biblical studies had reached a certain point of maturity as the nineteenth century drew to a close, it became clear to English-speaking scholars on both sides of the pond that the time was ripe for a revision to the KJV. Both American and British scholars participated in the project that became the Revised Version. However, the project was under the ultimate control of the British side of the project. The American side, for its part, gave way on the condition that their opinions be put in an appendix to the RV, and with the agreement that after 1899 they would be free to produce their own edition.

In the eyes of the American scholars, the RV was a step in the right direction, but moved perhaps half-way toward what was needed. The Americans felt that the British had gotten a number of details wrong, and had been overly conservative in sticking to the text of the KJV. Now, today both the RV and ASV appear to be very close to the KJV, but in the context of the first major steps toward revision, it was the ASV that was considerably more radical.

History has favored the ASV, at least insofar as it comes to its competition with the RV. The ASV and RV did not exist on an equal plane once both had come into being, but rather the ASV became the basis for most future work, while the RV mostly faded away. The descendants of the ASV include the mainstream RSV and NRSV, along with the conservative Protestant NASB and ESV, and the rather more niche, internet-based public domain World English Bible and New Heart English Bible.