Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

THE first Bible to include a map of the Holy Land was published in 1525, and this year marks the 500th anniversary of that landmark edition.

The map contained a notable error because it was printed back to front, showing the Mediterranean to the east, yet a new University of Cambridge study says its inclusion had a lasting influence on how territory and borders are understood.

Prof Nathan MacDonald, Professor of the Interpretation of the Old Testament at the University of Cambridge, described it as simultaneously one of publishing’s greatest failures and triumphs.

He explained that limited European knowledge of the region at the time meant the mistake went unnoticed, but the map still transformed the Bible forever as most editions today include maps.

In research published in The Journal of Theological Studies, MacDonald said the map, created by Lucas Cranach the Elder and printed in Zürich, went beyond modernising biblical layouts during the Renaissance by shaping early ideas of territorial organisation as access to Bibles expanded from the 17th century, an influence that continues today.