Complutensian Polyglot Bible

It includes the first printed editions of the Greek New Testament, the complete Septuagint, and the Targum Onkelos, a translation of the Torah.

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.

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.

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.

[2] The scholars met in Alcalá de Henares, a city near Madrid also known by its Latin name Complutum, at Complutense University.

[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.