Behind the middle Nut
The Narrenbibel legend (Genesis 3:16)
In short
According to legend, the wife of a 16th-century German printer secretly exchanged two letters in Genesis 3:16 of Luther’s Bible, so that it read “and he shall be thy fool” (Narr) instead of “lord” (Herr). The edition was destroyed; one copy supposedly reached the library at Wolfenbüttel. No copy is documented.
The verse
After the Fall, God says to Eve (Genesis 3:16): “thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Luther’s German renders the end as “und er soll dein Herr sein” – “and he shall be thy lord”.
The story
A master printer forbids his wife to enter the workshop. At night she goes in anyway, finds the verse in the freshly set type, removes two letters and inserts two others: Herr (lord) becomes Narr (fool). The error is noticed only after many sheets have been printed, and the edition is withdrawn. One copy is said to have reached the ducal library at Wolfenbüttel, where Gotthold Ephraim Lessing became librarian in 1770 and later wrote Nathan the Wise (1779).
What is documented
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| Luther’s wording of Genesis 3:16 (“er soll dein Herr sein”) | documented |
| Lessing librarian at Wolfenbüttel from 1770; Nathan the Wise 1779 | documented |
| An entry “Narrenbibel” in Pierer’s Universal-Lexikon (1860s) | cited in secondary sources |
| A surviving copy reading “Narr” in Genesis 3:16 | not documented |
| The printer’s wife as author of the change | legend |
Its English sister
The legend is often compared with the English “Wicked Bible” of 1631, in which the word “not” was omitted from the seventh commandment. The Wicked Bible is documented; the Narrenbibel is not. See Famous misprinted Bibles.
Questions
Where is the original Narrenbibel?
No copy is documented. The legend places one in the library at Wolfenbüttel (today the Herzog August Bibliothek), but none is known today.
Which letters were changed?
Two: “He” in “Herr” (lord) was replaced by “Na”, giving “Narr” (fool).
Sources and further reading
- Lutherbibel 2017, 1. Mose 3,16
- Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel
- Wikipedia: Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
- Wikipedia: Nathan der Weise
- Pierers Universal-Lexikon, 4. Auflage (1857–1865), Stichwort «Narrenbibel»