Difference between revisions of "Geneva Bible"

From Conservapedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(wikify)
(removing some too-obvious bias)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
[[Image:Geneva_Bible.jpg|thumb|350px|right|1599 Geneva Bible original frontispiece]]
+
{{Bible translation infobox | translation_title= Geneva Bible
−
The '''Geneva Bible''' was the first full-length [[Bible]] to be published in the [[English]] language. Its original compilers and publishers produced 144 separate editions between 1560 and 1644 AD, beyond which time King [[Charles I]] and [[Archbishop of Canterbury|Archbishop]] [[William Laud]] forbade its printing in [[England]]. The [[Geneva]] Bible virtually disappeared until modern times. The Geneva Bible is now available in a hardcover edition published in 2006 by Tolle Lege Press.<ref name=Bible>Lillback, Peter A., DeMar, Gary D., Federer, William J., ''et al.'' ''1599 Geneva Bible: The Holy Scriptures Contained in the Old and New Testaments.'' White Hall, [[West Virginia|WV]], [[United States of America|USA]]: Tolle Lege Press, 2006. 1400 pp., cloth. ISBN 0975484699. Also available in black (ISBN 0975484613) and calfskin (ISBN 0975484621) leather-bound editions.</ref>
+
| full_name= Geneva Bible
 +
| image =
 +
| other_names=
 +
| abbreviation=
 +
| NT_published=1557
 +
| OT_published=
 +
| complete_bible_published=1560
 +
| author_info=
 +
| textual_basis = [[Textus Receptus]]
 +
| translation_type =
 +
| version_revised=
 +
| publisher=
 +
| copyright=
 +
| copies_printed=
 +
| religious_affiliation= [[Protestant]]
 +
| online_address=
 +
| genesis_1:1-3=In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without forme and voyde, and darkeness was upon the depe, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light" and there was light.
 +
| john_3:16=For God so loved the world, that he hath given his only be gotten Son, that whosoever beleveth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 +
|}}
 +
{{BibleHistory}}
  
−
== History ==
+
The '''Geneva Bible''' was a [[Protestant]] [[Bible translations|translation]] of the [[Bible]] into [[English language|English]].
−
=== Tyndale's New Testament ===
 
−
The [[Roman Catholic Church]] had spread throughout the territory that was once part of the Western [[Roman Empire]]. Yet the Church reserved for its own clergy the right to own the written text of the [[Bible]]--and no European monarch permitted any of his subjects actually to possess a copy of the Bible printed in any language other than [[Latin]].<ref name=Foster>Foster, Marshall. "The History and Impact of the Geneva Bible." ''1599 Geneva Bible'', ''op. cit.'', pp. xxiii to xxvi.</ref>
 
  
−
In 1526, [[William Tyndale]] began his first efforts to translate the Bible into [[English]]. For this defiance of the royal edicts then in force, the authorities pursued him. He fled to [[Germany]], where he met [[Martin Luther]], and from there to [[Belgium]]. There he produced a mechanically printed edition of the [[New Testament]], and his friends smuggled 6,000 copies of it into England. Authorities in Belgium hunted him, arrested him, and imprisoned him in Vilvoorde, and on March 6, 1536, he was executed.<ref name=Foster/>
+
This was the Bible read by [[William Shakespeare]], by [[John Knox]], by [[John Donne]], and by [[John Bunyan]], author of ''[[Pilgrim's Progress]]''. It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the ''[[Mayflower]]'', and it was used by many [[English Dissenters]], and by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s soldiers at the time of the [[English Civil War]].
  
−
Tyndale's New Testament did not reach the common man in England. It did, however, influence the English clergy and might have been an impetus behind the Reformation in England.<ref name=Foster/> Significantly, [[Anne Boleyn]] was executed in the same year as was Tyndale--and subsequent to this, King [[Henry VIII]] began his sweeping purge of the monasteries in his realm.
+
Because the language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous, most readers preferred this version strongly over the [[Bishops' Bible]], the translation authorised by the [[Church of England]] under [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth I]]. In the words of [[Cleland Boyd McAfee]], "it drove the [[Great Bible]] off the field by sheer power of excellence".<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=39625&pageno=24 Study of the King James Bible by Cleland Boyd McAfee]</ref>
 +
 +
==History==
  
−
=== Bloody Mary ===
+
During the time when England was ruled by Queen [[Mary I of England|Mary I]], who persecuted Protestants, a number of Protestant scholars fled to [[Geneva]] in [[Switzerland]], which was then ruled as a [[republic]] in which [[John Calvin]] and [[Theodore Beza]] provided the primary spiritual and theological leadership. Among these scholars was [[William Whittingham]], who supervised the translation in collaboration with [[Myles Coverdale]], [[Christopher Goodman]], [[Anthony Gilby]], [[Thomas Sampson]], and [[William Cole]]&mdash;several of whom became prominent figures in the proto-Puritan [[nonconformist]] faction of the [[Vestments controversy]]. Whittingham was directly responsible for the New Testament, which was complete and published in 1557<ref name="Herbert">A. S. Herbert, ''Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of the English Bible 1525–1961'', London: British and Foreign Bible Society; New York: American Bible Society, 1968. SBN 564-00130-9</ref>, while Gilby oversaw the Old.
−
In 1553, Queen [[Mary I]] acceded to the throne upon the death of her half-brother, [[Edward VI]]. This Catholic queen quickly earned the nickname "Bloody Mary" by her ruthless persecution of the English Reformers and her execution of 300 of them. Another 800 Reformers fled to the continent, where they gathered in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]], then known as [[John Calvin]]'s "Protestant Rome."<ref name=Calvin>Authors unknown. "[http://switzerland.isyours.com/E/guide/religion/christianism/john.calvin.html John Calvin (1509-1564)]" ''Switzerland Is Yours'', Micheloud and Cie, 2006. Retrieved November 2, 2007.</ref> There they set about creating an English-language version of the entire Bible, and one that would have no ties to any monarch, whether in England or elsewhere in Europe. Among the men involved in this project were [[William Whittingham]], [[Miles Coverdale]], [[Christopher Goodman]], [[Anthony Gilby]], [[John Knox]], and [[Thomas Sampson]].<ref name=Foster/>
 
  
−
=== The First Edition ===
+
The first full edition of this Bible, with a further revised New Testament, appeared in [[1560]]<ref name="Herbert" />, but it was not printed in England until 1575 (New Testament<ref name="Herbert" />) and 1576 (Bible<ref name="Herbert" />). Over 150 editions were issued; the last probably in [[1644]]<ref name="Herbert" />. The first Bible printed in [[Scotland]] was a Geneva Bible in 1579<ref name="Herbert" />. In fact, the involvement of Knox and Calvin in the creation of the Geneva Bible made it especially appealing in Scotland, where a law was passed in 1579 requiring every household of sufficient means to buy a copy<ref>[http://www.bible-researcher.com/history2.html A Chronology of the English Bible]</ref>.
−
The Geneva translators avoided the [[Latin]] Bible version, or [[Vulgate]], and sought access to the oldest and most authentic [[Hebrew]] and [[Greek]] manuscripts they could find. Their research benefited, ironically, from the Fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 1453, an event that had forced many Christian clerics to flee the fallen city of [[Istanbul|Constantinople]] with their manuscripts in hand.
 
  
−
In 1557, Whittingham produced a revised edition of Tyndale's original New Testament. Then in 1560 the reformers produced the first edition of the Geneva Bible. This they dedicated to Queen [[Elizabeth I]], who by then had succeeded to the throne after the death of her sister, "Bloody Mary." Under Elizabeth's patronage, the Geneva Bible became the Bible of choice not merely for clergy but also for laity.<ref name=Foster/>
+
{{Calvinism}}
 +
Some editions from [[1576]] onwards<ref name="Herbert" /> included Tomson's revisions of the New Testament. Some editions from [[1599]] onwards<ref name="Herbert" /> used a new "Junius" version of the Revelation, in which the notes were translated from a new Latin commentary by [[Franciscus Junius (the elder)|Junius]] on Revelation.
  
−
=== Later Editions ===
+
Like most English translations of the time, the Geneva Bible was translated from scholarly editions of the [[Koine Greek|Greek]] New Testament and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] scriptures that comprise the Christian Old Testament. The English rendering was substantially based on the earlier translations by [[William Tyndale]] and [[Myles Coverdale]]. (80-90% of the language in the Genevan New Testament is from Tyndale.) However, the Geneva Bible was the first English version in which ''all'' of the Old Testament was translated directly from the Hebrew (cf. [[Coverdale Bible]], [[Matthew's Bible]]).
−
From the beginning, the Geneva Bible was a study Bible, richly annotated and illustrated. The 1599 edition had the most extensive annotations of any of the Geneva Bibles, and a table of interpretations of (mainly [[Old Testament]]) proper names.
 
  
−
The Geneva Bible was highly popular in England, and indeed the [[Jamestown]] expeditionaries carried it to America in 1607. Likewise, the [[Pilgrims]] carried it with them to the [[Netherlands]], where they had fled, and then to what later became their [[Plymouth colony]] (in modern [[Massachusetts]]) in 1620.
+
The annotations which are an important part of the Geneva Bible were [[Calvinism|Calvinistic]] and [[Puritanism|Puritan]] in character, and as such they were disliked by the ruling conservative Protestants of the [[Church of England]], as well as King [[James I of England|James I]], who commissioned the "Authorized Version" or [[King James Bible]] to replace it. The Geneva Bible had also motivated the production of the [[Bishops' Bible]] under [[Elizabeth I]], for the same reason, and later the [[Douay-Rheims Bible|Douay-Rheims]] edition by the [[recusant]] Catholic community. The Geneva Bible remained popular among [[Puritans]] and remained in widespread use until after the [[English Civil War]]. The Geneva notes were surprisingly included in a few editions of the King James version, even as late as 1715<ref name="Herbert" />.
  
−
In 1604, shortly after his own accession to the throne, King [[James I]] commissioned [[King James Bible|his own version]] of the Bible, that would later come to be known as "The Bishop's Bible" or, more commonly, the '''Authorized Version'''. James' motive for promulgating his own version was simple: he did not want the people to have in hand a Bible with all the marginal notes that the Geneva Bible had. The reason was equally simple: those marginal notes might encourage lay readers not to credit James' overriding dogma of "the divine right of kings" that was central to his authority.<ref name=Brown>Brown, Michael H. "[http://www.reformedreader.org/gbn/igb.htm Introduction to the Geneva Bible for the historic Baptist faith.]" ''The Reformed Reader'', 1988. Retrieved November 2, 2007. Brown's essay is a scathing indictment of Kings James and Charles and of the [[Church of England]] that they headed. It is also flawed on account of the almost vitriolic [[argumentum ad hominem]] that Brown employs against James and his successors and allies. At the time of his writing, the Geneva Bible remained out of print, and this might have informed his bitterness. Whether he would have written a more refined essay had he known that the Geneva Bible would one day be published once again, is perhaps impossible to determine.</ref>
+
It has been stated by some that the Geneva Bible was the Bible present at the signing of the U. S. Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, because it was the Bible that the Puritans brought with them to America. However, the U. S. Library of Congress and the [[Independence National Historical Park]] both state that they do not know what version/translation of the Bible was present at these signings ([[Independence Hall (United States)|Independence Hall]] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania being the location of both of the signings).
  
−
This version was first published in 1611. A later king ([[Charles I]]) would take the first steps toward suppression of the Geneva Bible toward the end of his reign. In 1644, the Geneva Bible went out of print and would remain out of print for more than four hundred fifty years.
+
In [[2006]], the first completely new publication of the Geneva Bible available in modern times was published by [http://www.tollelegepress.com/ Tolle Lege Press] as part of the "1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project." This edition uses the Tomson and [[Franciscus Junius (the elder)|Junius]] revisions described above. It also has a table of interpretations of proper names, which are chiefly found in the Old Testament, and a table of principal subjects contained in the Bible. Like many sixteenth- and seventeenth-century copies of the Bible, it is bound with the metrical Psalms by [[Thomas Sternhold]], [[John Hopkins (psalmist)|John Hopkins]] and others, and the prayers used by the English congregations every morning and evening.
  
−
=== Modern Editions ===
+
==Format==
−
In 2003, L. L. Brown and Company published an edition of the 1599 Geneva Bible.<ref name=LLBrown>''The 1599 Geneva Bible''. Ozark, [[Missouri|MO]]: L. L. Brown Publishing, 2003. Cited in Preface, ''1599 Geneva Bible'', Tolle Lege Press, ''op. cit.'', pp. xix-xx.</ref> This edition included the [[Apocrypha]] and a metrical rendition of the Book of Psalms originally intended to encourage their recitation in church.
 
  
−
In January of 2004 a group of concerned American individuals and organizations formed the 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project to restore and republish the richly annotated 1599 edition. Seventeen organizations and 270 individuals and families contributed funds for the project.<ref name=partners>"1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project," ''1599 Geneva Bible'', ''op. cit.'', pp. v to xvii.</ref> The Project acquired the rights to the L. L. Brown copy, but omitted the Apocrypha and metrical Psalms and sought as much as possible to authenticate the original text as printed in 1599. The Tolle Lege edition makes no attempt to "modernize" the text, other than to update some of the spelling. Instead of "translating" the many out-dated words, it includes a glossary intended more as a guide than as a hard-and-fast body of rules. The editors state in their front matter that they wished to deliver an edition as close in meaning to the original as practicable.
+
[[Image:GenevaBible.JPG|thumb|left|Geneva Bible]]
 +
The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to use verse numbers based on the work of Stephanus ([[Robert Estienne]] of Paris). It also had an elaborate system of commentary in marginal [[gloss]]es. This annotation was done by [[Laurence Tomson]], who translated (for the 1560 Geneva Bible) L'Oiseleur's notes on the Gospels, which themselves came from Camerarius. In 1576 Tomson added L'Oiseleur's notes for the Epistles, which came from [[Beza]]'s Greek and Latin edition of the Bible ([[1565]] and later). Beginning in 1599 [[Franciscus Junius (the elder)|Franciscus Junius]]' notes on Revelation were added, replacing the original notes deriving from [[John Bale]] and [[Heinrich Bullinger]]. Bale's ''The Image of both churches'' had a great impact on these notes as well as [[Foxe's Book of Martyrs]]. Both the Junius and Bullinger-Bale annotations are explicitly anti-Roman Catholic and representative of much popular Protestant apocalypticism during the Reformation.
  
−
== Review ==
+
The 1560 Geneva Bible was printed in Roman type—the style of type regularly used today—but many editions used the older [[blackletter|black-letter]] ("Gothic") type. Of the various later English Bible translations, the next to use Roman type was the [[Douay-Rheims Bible]] of 1582 (New Testament) and 1609–10 (Old Testament).
−
=== The Text ===
 
−
Foster<ref name=Foster/> states that the Geneva translators relied heavily on manuscripts originally brought to Geneva by Christians fleeing the conquering [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] in 1453. Random comparisons between the [[New Testament]] and the Nestlé-Aland Greek New Testament and its critical apparatus<ref name=Aland>Aland, Barbara, Aland, Kurt, Karavidopoulos, Johannes, Martini, Carlo M., and Metzger, Bruce M., eds. ''The Greek New Testament''. [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]]: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2001. With "A Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament," by Barclay M. Newman, Jr. 219 pages, leather. ISBN 3438051133</ref> support that claim. The Geneva text tends to follow the so-called Byzantine family of manuscripts at certain points at which the original Greek text is in dispute.
 
  
−
Likewise, the [[Old Testament]] Geneva text appears to follow the [[Masoretic Text]] prepared by the Hebrew "Masoretes" of the latter part of the second century AD, and pays no homage to the [[Septuagint]] of [[Ptolemy I Soter]] of [[Alexandria]].
+
The Geneva Bible was also issued in more convenient and affordable sizes than earlier versions. The 1560 Bible was in [[quarto]] format (218 &times; 139 mm type area), but pocketable [[octavo (book)|octavo]] editions were also issued, and a few large folio editions. The New Testament was issued at various times in sizes from quarto down to 32º (the smallest, 70×39 mm type area <ref name="Herbert" />). In the late sixteenth century it is likely that the Geneva New Testament cost less than a week's wages even for the lowest-paid labourers.
  
−
==== Distinction from the Authorized Version ====
+
The 1560 Geneva Bible contained a number of study aids, including [[woodcut]] illustrations, maps and explanatory 'tables', i.e. indexes of names and topics, in addition to the (in)famous marginal notes. Each book was preceded by an 'argument' or introduction, and each chapter by a list of contents giving verse numbers. Smaller-format editions might be unillustrated and lack the marginal notes, but some large folio editions had additional illustrations, such as one showing Adam and Eve, where Adam wears a typical Elizabethan beard and moustache.
−
The Geneva Bible is often called the "Breeches Bible" because of its rendition of {{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=3|verses=7|version=KJV}}. The Geneva text<ref name=Gen37>''1599 Geneva Bible'', Tolle Lege Press, ''op. cit.'', p. 6</ref> reads as follows:{{Cquote|Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches.}}
 
  
−
In fact, if any version of the Bible, printed or electronic, does ''not'' translate Genesis 3:7 in the words quoted above, then it is ''not'' a Geneva Bible.
+
==Sample==
  
−
The differences in the actual text between the Geneva and Authorized Versions are minor. Nevertheless they are critical to distinguishing the Geneva Bible from the Authorized Version or any other version.
+
To compare the Geneva Bible with the King James, here is Revelation&nbsp;6:12-17 in both versions (with spelling modernized). The differences have been italicized in the King James extract:
  
−
=== The Marginal Notes ===
+
{{col-begin}}
−
The copious marginal notes are the key feature of the Geneva Bible, and its key difference from the Authorized Version, which has no such notes. As Foster<ref name=Foster/> stated, the Geneva Bible is the first true ''study Bible''. Its translators sought to explain to the common man not only what the Bible said but also what it meant.
+
{{col-2}}
 +
'''Geneva Bible'''
 +
: And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun was as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon was like blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her green figs, when it is shaken of a mighty wind. And heaven departed away, as a scroll, when it is rolled, and every mountain and isle were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in dens, and among the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the presence of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who can stand?
 +
{{col-2}}
 +
'''King James Bible'''
 +
: And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun ''became'' black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon ''became as'' blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, ''even'' as a fig tree casteth her ''untimely'' figs, when ''she'' is shaken of a mighty wind. And ''the'' heaven ''departed'' as a scroll when it is rolled ''together''; and every mountain and ''island was'' moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in ''the'' dens and ''in'' the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the ''face'' of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who ''shall be able to'' stand?
 +
{{col-end}}
  
−
These notes are highly revealing of the mind-set of the Geneva editors. For that reason they are at least as valuable as a source of insight into Reformation thinking as they are as explanatory text of the Bible itself.
+
[[Image:Genevabible.png|thumb|upright|The title page of the [[1560]] edition of the Geneva Bible; the illustration depicts the Israelites before the [[Red Sea]].]]
  
−
==== Literalism ====
+
It is striking how close the two versions are to each other. Examination of their differences reveals that the earlier Geneva version frequently sounds more direct and modern than the later King James, e.g.
−
The Geneva editors regarded their Bible as literal history. This included the history of [[creation]], the genealogy of the pre-[[Great Flood|Flood]] Patriarchs<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=5}}</ref>, and the full history and exact time-line of the ancient [[Judaism|Jews]]. Some of their notes beg explanation--for example, their counting of the "four hundred years" of oppression of the Israelites<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Genesis|chap=15|verses=13}}</ref> as beginning with the birth of [[Isaac]] and not with the entry of [[Jacob]] into [[Egypt]]. This, however, is a minor quibble.
 
  
−
==== Eschatology ====
+
“and the moon was like blood” (Geneva) versus “and the moon became as blood” (King James)
−
Though they took their Bible ''history'' literally, they did not take ''prophecy'' nearly as literally. This is especially true as regards [[eschatology]] (literally, "the last words"). Like their friend and protector [[John Calvin]], the Geneva editors held to the following doctrines:
 
  
−
# [[Covenant theology]]. This holds that the covenant promises originally made to [[Abraham]] and his direct lineal descendants the [[Israelite]]s no longer apply to them, but apply instead to the Church. By "Church" they did not mean any one denomination, but rather the whole body of Christian believers.
+
“as a fig tree casteth her green figs” (Geneva) versus “even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs” (King James)
−
# [[Postmillennialism]]. This holds that the Second Coming of [[Jesus Christ]] will take place ''after'' the "thousand years" of imprisonment of Satan.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=20|verses=1-3}}</ref>
 
−
# [[Preterism]]. This holds that the prophecies mentioned in {{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=4-19}}, {{Bible ref|book=Daniel|chap=7-12}}, {{Bible ref|book=Zechariah|chap=12}}, and elsewhere, had already been fulfilled at the time of their writing.
 
  
−
==== Anti-Catholic sentiment ====
+
The Geneva Bible has sometimes been called the ''Breeches Bible,'' after its rendering of <cite>[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_%28King_James%29/Genesis#3:7 Genesis 3:7]</cite>: (using modern spelling) "Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig tree leaves together, and made themselves [[breeches]]."  The older [[Wyclif's Bible|Wycliffe Bible]] also used "breeches" (spelled "brechis") in this verse. Other translations use "aprons", "coverings", "loincloths", "loin coverings", or "girdles" instead of "breeches".
−
The Geneva editors infused their notes with many attacks against the [[Roman Catholic Church]]--hardly a surprise considering the persecution in which the RCC, and Queen Mary I, were then engaging. The most striking attack against Rome is the handling of the prophecy of the Two Witnesses in Jerusalem<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=11|verses=1-14}}</ref> The Bible says, of course, that two men prophesied for 1,260 days in the court of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]]. The Geneva notes say instead that the two witnesses stand for "ministers" of the Word of [[God]] that are ''outside'' of the RCC, and that the 1,260 days are actually 1,260 ''years'' that began with the Crucifixion (which they assumed had taken place in AD 33 or 34) and ended with the accession to the papacy of [[Pope]] [[Boniface VIII]] (r. 1294-1303). Boniface was famous for issuing a papal bull stating that, to be saved, every man had to be a member of the RCC--and the Geneva notes further accused Boniface of obtaining his office by fraud. The notes on other verses in Revelation go further: they identify the [[Roman Empire]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]] with the Beast of {{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13}}.<ref>The original [[Greek]] word is ''therion'', which means not merely a wild animal but a murdering and ravening one.</ref>
 
  
−
==== Royal authority and its limits ====
+
== See also ==  
−
The Geneva editors, in their notes, spoke of limits on royal authority, and this is probably why [[James I]] specifically ordered a translation of the Bible ''without'' annotation. He construed any limit on royal authority as a challenge to his own authority. For example, the note for {{Bible ref|book=Exodus|chap=1|verses=19|version=KJV}} says the following of the [[Hebrew]] midwives who disobeyed the Pharaoh in refusing to kill Hebrew boy-children at birth:<ref name=Ex119>''1599 Geneva Bible'', Tolle Lege Press, ''op. cit.'', p. 60</ref> {{Cquote|Their disobedience herein was lawful, but their dissembling evil.}} The very notion that the disobedience of a royal command might be a lawful act would be anathema to a king who believed that he ruled by divine right and answered only to [[God]] and not to any of his subjects.<ref name=Brown/> The footnote for {{Bible ref|book=Exodus|chap=1|verses=22|version=KJV}} would surely have been worse:{{Cquote|When tyrants cannot prevail by craft, they burst forth into open rage.}}
+
* [[Editio Regia]]  
  
−
The firm belief of the editors of the Tolle Lege edition is that these marginal notes were the catalyst not only for the furtherance (such as it was) of the reformation in England, but also, and more to the point, for the political revolutions in the English-speaking world<ref name=Foster/>--presumably beginning with the [[Glorious Revolution]] of 1688 and continuing with the [[American Revolution]] of 1776-83. They hold this belief even though the Geneva Bible ceased printing in 1644, long before [[William and Mary]] and more than a century before the American Revolution. Brown<ref name=Brown/> points out that the [[Church of England]] retained all of the trappings and hierarchical structure of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the chief difference being that the Archbishop of Canterbury answered no longer to the [[Pope]] of [[Rome]] but directly to the British crown.
+
==References==
 +
{{reflist}}
  
−
== References ==
+
==External links==
−
{{reflist|2}}
+
Facsimiles
 +
*[http://www.thedcl.org/bible/gb/index.html A Digital Facsimile of the 1560 Geneva Bible] at The DCL.
 +
*[http://reactor-core.org/geneva/ A Digital Facsimile by Reactor-Core]
  
−
== External Links ==
+
Text
−
* [http://www.tollelegepress.com/ Tolle Lege Press] (Company site)
+
*[http://www.reformedreader.org/gbn/en.htm Geneva Bible Footnotes]
−
* [http://www.1599genevabible.com/ 1599 Geneva Bible] (Official site)
+
*[http://www.studylight.org/desk/?=1en&query=Genesis+1&translation=gen Geneva Bible online]
−
* [http://www.genevabible.org/ Geneva Bible 1599] (Unofficial site)
+
*[http://www.bibles.org.uk/pdf/bibles/ Geneva Bible Text] (links to a commercial site)
 +
*[http://www.genevabible.org/Geneva.html Modern Spelling Geneva Bible with Footnotes for the Gospels]
  
−
== See Also ==
+
Articles
−
* [[King James Bible]]
+
*[http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/oct1960/v17-3-article6.htm ''The Geneva Bible of 1560'']: article by [[Bruce Metzger]] originally printed in ''Theology Today''
−
* [[Biblical chronology dispute]]
+
*[http://www.bible-researcher.com/geneva6.html Online version of Sir Frederic G. Kenyon’s article] in ''[[Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]]'', 1909
  
−
[[Category:Bible Versions]]
+
Editions Currently in Print
 +
*[http://www.tollelegepress.com/gb/geneva.php ''1599 Edition'']: Modern Spelling, Typesetting from The 1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project
 +
*[http://www.greatsite.com/facsimile-reproductions/geneva-1560.html ''1560 First Edition'']: Facsimile Reproduction
 +
 
 +
{{English Bible translation navbox}}
 +
 
 +
[[Category:1560 books]]
 +
[[Category:Early printed bibles]]
 +
[[Category:History of Christianity in the United Kingdom]]
 +
[[Category:History of the Church of England]]
 +
[[Category:Bible versions and translations]]
 +
[[Category:16th century in religion]]
 +
 
 +
[[fr:Bible de Genève]]
 +
[[nl:Geneva Bible]]
 +
[[pl:Biblia Genewska]]

Revision as of 00:32, November 10, 2008

Template:Bible translation infobox Template:BibleHistory

The Geneva Bible was a Protestant translation of the Bible into English.

This was the Bible read by William Shakespeare, by John Knox, by John Donne, and by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress. It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower, and it was used by many English Dissenters, and by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers at the time of the English Civil War.

Because the language of the Geneva Bible was more forceful and vigorous, most readers preferred this version strongly over the Bishops' Bible, the translation authorised by the Church of England under Elizabeth I. In the words of Cleland Boyd McAfee, "it drove the Great Bible off the field by sheer power of excellence".[1]

History

During the time when England was ruled by Queen Mary I, who persecuted Protestants, a number of Protestant scholars fled to Geneva in Switzerland, which was then ruled as a republic in which John Calvin and Theodore Beza provided the primary spiritual and theological leadership. Among these scholars was William Whittingham, who supervised the translation in collaboration with Myles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, Thomas Sampson, and William Cole—several of whom became prominent figures in the proto-Puritan nonconformist faction of the Vestments controversy. Whittingham was directly responsible for the New Testament, which was complete and published in 1557[2], while Gilby oversaw the Old.

The first full edition of this Bible, with a further revised New Testament, appeared in 1560[2], but it was not printed in England until 1575 (New Testament[2]) and 1576 (Bible[2]). Over 150 editions were issued; the last probably in 1644[2]. The first Bible printed in Scotland was a Geneva Bible in 1579[2]. In fact, the involvement of Knox and Calvin in the creation of the Geneva Bible made it especially appealing in Scotland, where a law was passed in 1579 requiring every household of sufficient means to buy a copy[3].

Template:Calvinism Some editions from 1576 onwards[2] included Tomson's revisions of the New Testament. Some editions from 1599 onwards[2] used a new "Junius" version of the Revelation, in which the notes were translated from a new Latin commentary by Junius on Revelation.

Like most English translations of the time, the Geneva Bible was translated from scholarly editions of the Greek New Testament and Hebrew scriptures that comprise the Christian Old Testament. The English rendering was substantially based on the earlier translations by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale. (80-90% of the language in the Genevan New Testament is from Tyndale.) However, the Geneva Bible was the first English version in which all of the Old Testament was translated directly from the Hebrew (cf. Coverdale Bible, Matthew's Bible).

The annotations which are an important part of the Geneva Bible were Calvinistic and Puritan in character, and as such they were disliked by the ruling conservative Protestants of the Church of England, as well as King James I, who commissioned the "Authorized Version" or King James Bible to replace it. The Geneva Bible had also motivated the production of the Bishops' Bible under Elizabeth I, for the same reason, and later the Douay-Rheims edition by the recusant Catholic community. The Geneva Bible remained popular among Puritans and remained in widespread use until after the English Civil War. The Geneva notes were surprisingly included in a few editions of the King James version, even as late as 1715[2].

It has been stated by some that the Geneva Bible was the Bible present at the signing of the U. S. Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution, because it was the Bible that the Puritans brought with them to America. However, the U. S. Library of Congress and the Independence National Historical Park both state that they do not know what version/translation of the Bible was present at these signings (Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania being the location of both of the signings).

In 2006, the first completely new publication of the Geneva Bible available in modern times was published by Tolle Lege Press as part of the "1599 Geneva Bible Restoration Project." This edition uses the Tomson and Junius revisions described above. It also has a table of interpretations of proper names, which are chiefly found in the Old Testament, and a table of principal subjects contained in the Bible. Like many sixteenth- and seventeenth-century copies of the Bible, it is bound with the metrical Psalms by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins and others, and the prayers used by the English congregations every morning and evening.

Format

File:GenevaBible.JPG
Geneva Bible

The Geneva Bible was the first English Bible to use verse numbers based on the work of Stephanus (Robert Estienne of Paris). It also had an elaborate system of commentary in marginal glosses. This annotation was done by Laurence Tomson, who translated (for the 1560 Geneva Bible) L'Oiseleur's notes on the Gospels, which themselves came from Camerarius. In 1576 Tomson added L'Oiseleur's notes for the Epistles, which came from Beza's Greek and Latin edition of the Bible (1565 and later). Beginning in 1599 Franciscus Junius' notes on Revelation were added, replacing the original notes deriving from John Bale and Heinrich Bullinger. Bale's The Image of both churches had a great impact on these notes as well as Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Both the Junius and Bullinger-Bale annotations are explicitly anti-Roman Catholic and representative of much popular Protestant apocalypticism during the Reformation.

The 1560 Geneva Bible was printed in Roman type—the style of type regularly used today—but many editions used the older black-letter ("Gothic") type. Of the various later English Bible translations, the next to use Roman type was the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1582 (New Testament) and 1609–10 (Old Testament).

The Geneva Bible was also issued in more convenient and affordable sizes than earlier versions. The 1560 Bible was in quarto format (218 × 139 mm type area), but pocketable octavo editions were also issued, and a few large folio editions. The New Testament was issued at various times in sizes from quarto down to 32º (the smallest, 70×39 mm type area [2]). In the late sixteenth century it is likely that the Geneva New Testament cost less than a week's wages even for the lowest-paid labourers.

The 1560 Geneva Bible contained a number of study aids, including woodcut illustrations, maps and explanatory 'tables', i.e. indexes of names and topics, in addition to the (in)famous marginal notes. Each book was preceded by an 'argument' or introduction, and each chapter by a list of contents giving verse numbers. Smaller-format editions might be unillustrated and lack the marginal notes, but some large folio editions had additional illustrations, such as one showing Adam and Eve, where Adam wears a typical Elizabethan beard and moustache.

Sample

To compare the Geneva Bible with the King James, here is Revelation 6:12-17 in both versions (with spelling modernized). The differences have been italicized in the King James extract:

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2 Geneva Bible

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun was as black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon was like blood. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casteth her green figs, when it is shaken of a mighty wind. And heaven departed away, as a scroll, when it is rolled, and every mountain and isle were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in dens, and among the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the presence of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who can stand?

Template:Col-2 King James Bible

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island was moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Template:Col-end

File:Genevabible.png
The title page of the 1560 edition of the Geneva Bible; the illustration depicts the Israelites before the Red Sea.

It is striking how close the two versions are to each other. Examination of their differences reveals that the earlier Geneva version frequently sounds more direct and modern than the later King James, e.g.

“and the moon was like blood” (Geneva) versus “and the moon became as blood” (King James)

“as a fig tree casteth her green figs” (Geneva) versus “even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs” (King James)

The Geneva Bible has sometimes been called the Breeches Bible, after its rendering of Genesis 3:7: (using modern spelling) "Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig tree leaves together, and made themselves breeches." The older Wycliffe Bible also used "breeches" (spelled "brechis") in this verse. Other translations use "aprons", "coverings", "loincloths", "loin coverings", or "girdles" instead of "breeches".

See also

References

  1. ↑ Study of the King James Bible by Cleland Boyd McAfee
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 A. S. Herbert, Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of the English Bible 1525–1961, London: British and Foreign Bible Society; New York: American Bible Society, 1968. SBN 564-00130-9
  3. ↑ A Chronology of the English Bible

External links

Facsimiles

Text

Articles

Editions Currently in Print

Template:English Bible translation navbox

fr:Bible de Genève nl:Geneva Bible pl:Biblia Genewska

Retrieved from "https://www.conservapedia.com/index.php?title=Geneva_Bible&oldid=553349"