Complutensian Polyglot Bible

Through centuries the intellectual class of the Iberian peninsula had developed a deep understanding of the issues of translation and the difficulty of conveying, or even interpreting meaning correctly across languages.

Religious texts were known to be particularly difficult due to their high metaphorical content and how dependent on the context in which they were written they tended to be.

This sparked a debate in Spain about the convenience of continuing the translation of religious texts, and the best way to do it, over a century prior to the Reformation.

Converted translators and academics were favoured and specifically sought since they were fluent in the source languages and the cultures of the texts.

Second in command, Alfonso de Zamora (1476–1544) was a converted Jewish scholar, an expert in Talmudic studies, and spoke Hebrew as his first language.

[5]: 62 The direct influence of the Complutensian Polyglot was attenuated because, according to a much later letter of King Philip II of Spain, a significant number of copies were lost in a shipwreck in transit to Italy around 1521.

Each page consists of three parallel columns of text: Hebrew on the outside, the Latin Vulgate in the middle (edited by Antonio de Nebrija), and the Greek Septuagint on the inside.