Miles Smith (bishop)

File:Miles Smith.jpg

Miles Smith

Miles Smith (1554, Hereford – 1624, Gloucester) was a scholar, theologian, and bibliophile.

Life

He attended Corpus Christi College, Oxford, but graduated from Brasenose, in the same University, where he "proved at length an incomparable theologist." In time, he became resident canon of Hereford Cathedral and earned his Doctor of Divinity in 1594. In 1612 he was appointed Bishop of Gloucester, wherein he was buried after his death at the age of 70.

As a scholar, Smith was known for his mastery of Biblical languages. He was also known as a sincere Calvinist and a great accumulator of books.

During the translation of the King James Version of the Bible, Smith served in the "First Oxford Company", responsible for the later books of the Old Testament, as well as on the "EDITING Committee" which oversaw the final editing. He, along with Thomas Bilson, Bishop of Winchester, performed the final examination of the text before sending it to the printer. Smith also composed the Preface which accompanies the Authorised Version.

References

• McClure, Alexander. (1858) The Translators Revived: A Biographical Memoir of the Authors of the English Version of the Holy Bible. Mobile, Alabama: R. E. Publications (republished by the Marantha Bible Society, 1984 ASIN B0006YJPI8 )
• Nicolson, Adam. (2003) God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible. New York: HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-095975-4

External links

• Bio Sketch1
• Bio Sketch2
• Preface to the 1611 Authorized Version

Church of England titles
Preceded by Giles Thomson	Bishop of Gloucester 1612–1624	Succeeded by Godfrey Goodman