A very rare edition of the Bible is now on display in the Quad Cities. It’s a copy of the first hand-written and hand-illustrated Bible in more than 500 years, that was commissioned by Saint John’s University in Minnesota, and took 15 years to complete.
The seven volume set will be at Augustana College in Rock Island for the next month, and the college will get to keep two volumes for a year. Campus chaplain, Kristen Glass Perez, says it really impresses students who usually read the Bible on their phones. Her favorite illustration, or illumination, helps introduce the Gospel of Matthew. She says it lists the genealogy of Jesus with a Menorah showing that Jesus comes from the people of Israel.
Perez says the illustration really stands out. “One of the really cool things in that, is there are strands of DNA that are running through the Menorah to show — to give a visual clue — that we knew about DNA at this time,” Perez says. The Saint John’s Bible will be used for a variety of classes, such as art, art history, religion, and literature.
Perez says the Saint John’s Bible can be viewed whenever the college library is open.