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At the time of
the signing of the Constitution the predominant language spoken
in America was Scottish. When the Pilgrims came to what would
become America, the only Bible used at that time was the Geneva
Bible.
For the first time in over 390 years, the complete 1599 edition
of the Geneva Bible is again available! The Geneva Bible is the
Bible with marginal notes authored by John Calvin, John Knox,
Miles Coverdale, and many other leaders of the Reformation. The
Geneva Bible was the predominant English translation during the
period in which the English and Scottish Reformations gained
great impetus. Iain Murray, in his classic work on revival and
the interpretation of prophecy, The Puritan Hope, notes,
"...
the two groups in England and Scotland developed along parallel
lines, like two streams originating at one fountain. The
fountain was not so much Geneva, as the Bible which the exiles
newly translated and issued with many marginal notes... it was
read in every Presbyterian and Puritan home in both realms"
The Cambridge Geneva Bible of 1591 was the edition carried by
the Pilgrims when they fled to America. As such, it directly
provided much of the genius and inspiration which carried those
courageous and faithful souls through their trials, and provided
the spiritual, intellectual and legal basis for establishment
and flourishing of the colonies. Thus, it became the foundation
for establishment of the American Nation. This heritage makes it
a Celestial Article indeed! And a treasured possession for any
free man!
The 1560 Geneva Bible was the first to have Bible chapters
divided into numbered verses. The translation is the work of
religious leaders exiled from England after the death of King
Edward VI in 1553. Almost every chapter has marginal notes to
create greater understanding of scripture. The marginal notes
often reflected Calvinistic and Protestant reformation
influences, not yet accepted by the Church of England. King
James I in the late 16th century pronounced the Geneva Bible
marginal notes as being: "partial, untrue, seditious, and
savouring of dangerous and traitorous conceits." In every copy
of each edition the word "breeches" rather than "aprons" was
used in Genesis 3:7, which accounts for why the Geneva Bible is
sometime called the "Breeches" Bible. The Church of England
never authorized or sanctioned the Geneva Bible. However, it was
frequently used, without authority, both to read the scripture
lessons, and to preach from. It was pre-eminent as a household
Bible, and continued so until the middle of the 17th century.
The convenient size, cheap price, chapters divided into numbered
verses and extensive marginal notes were the cause of it's
popularity
The Geneva
Bible is a critical, yet almost completely forgotten part of
the Protestant Reformation. Driven out of England by the
persecutions of Bloody Mary, several future leaders of the
Reformation came to Geneva to create a pure and accurate
translation of the Holy Writ. Concerned about the influence
that the Catholic Church had on the existing translations of
the Bible from the Latin, these men turned to the original
Hebrew and Greek texts to produce the Geneva Bible. This
made the Geneva Bible the first complete Bible to be
translated into English from the original Hebrew and Greek
texts.
The creation of the Geneva Bible was a
substantial undertaking. Its authors spent over two years,
working diligently day and night by candlelight, to finish
the translation and the commentaries. The entire project was
funded by the exiled English congregation in Geneva, making
the translation a work supported by the people and not by an
authoritarian church or monarch.
All the marginal commentaries were finished by
1599, making the 1599 edition of the Geneva Bible the most
complete study aide for Biblical scholars and students. This
edition does not contain the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha’s
notes are minimal or absent in other editions. Additional
highlights of this edition include maps of the Exodus route
and Joshua’s distribution of land, a name and subject index,
and Psalms sung by the English congregation in Geneva.
The greatest distinction of the Geneva Bible,
however, is the extensive collection of marginal notes that
it contains. Prominent Reformation leaders such as John
Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham,
Theodore Beza, and Anthony Gilby wrote the majority of these
notes in order to explain and interpret the scriptures. The
notes comprise nearly 300,000 words, or nearly one-third the
length of the Bible itself, and they are justifiably
considered the most complete source of Protestant religious
thought available.
Owing to the marginal notes and the superior
quality of the translation, the Geneva Bible became the most
widely read and influential English Bible of the 16th and
17th centuries. It was continually printed from 1560 to 1644
in over 200 different editions. It was the Bible of choice
for many of the greatest writers, thinkers, and historical
figures of the Reformation era. William Shakespeare’s plays
and the writings of John Milton and John Bunyan were clearly
influenced by the Geneva Bible. Oliver Cromwell issued a
pamphlet containing excerpts from the Geneva Bible to his
troops during the English Civil War. When the Pilgrims set
sail on the Mayflower they took with them exclusively the
Geneva Bible.
The marginal notes of the Geneva Bible enraged
the Catholic Church, since the notes deemed the act of
confession to men – the Catholic Bishops – as unjustified by
Holy Script. Man should confess to God only; man’s private
life was man’s private life. The notes also infuriated King
James, since they allowed disobedience to tyrannical kings.
King James went so far as to make ownership of the Geneva
Bible a felony. He then proceeded to make his own version of
the Bible, but without the marginal notes that had so
disturbed him. Consequently, during King James’s reign, and
into the reign of Charles I, the Geneva Bible was gradually
replaced by the King James Bible.
Because of the print size, this facsimile
reproduction is more difficult for some readers. A
magnifying glass is often necessary for the marginal notes.
On some of the printing the marginal notes are not entirely
clear. Also, some adjustment is required to get accustomed
to the interchanged I and J, u and v, and f and s in the old
print style. L. L. Brown Publishing is proud to offer the
Geneva Bible to Christians serious about understanding the
Bible. A wealth of information that has been left to us by
the Leaders of the Protestant Reformation is now available
after four centuries of being out of print.
ABOVE
INTRODUCTION FROM L. L. BROWN PUBLISHING |
GENESIS
EXODUS
LEVITICUS
NUMBERS
DEUTERONOMY
JOSHUA
JUDGES
RUTH
1 SAMUEL
2 SAMUEL
1 KINGS
2 KINGS
1 CHRONICLES
2 CHRONICLES
EZRA
NEHEMIAH
ESTER
JOB
PSALMS
PROVERBS
ECCLESIASTES
SONG OF SOLOMON
ISAIAH
JEREMIAH
LAMENTATIONS
EZEKIEL
DANIEL
HOSEA
JOEL
AMOS
OBADIAH
JONAH
MICAH
NAHUM
HABAKKUK
ZEPHANIAH
HAGGAI
ZECHARIAH
MALACHI
MATTHEW
MARK
LUKE
JOHN
ACTS
ROMANS
1 CORINTHIANS
2 CORINTHIANS
GALATIANS
EPHESIANS
PHILLIPIANS
COLASSIANS
1 THESSALONIANS
2 THESSALONIANS
1 TIMOTHY
2 TIMOTHY
TITUS
PHILEMON
HEBREWS
JAMES
1 PETER
2 PETER
1 JOHN
2 JOHN
3 JOHN
JUDE
REVELATION
AN INTRODUCTION
TO THE
GENEVA BIBLE
From the Publisher
THE FORGOTTON TANSLATION
by Gary DeMar
A BRIEF HISTORY
From the Publisher |
|
 he
Geneva Bible is a critical, yet almost completely forgotten part of the
Protestant Reformation. Driven out of England by the persecutions of
Bloody Mary, several future leaders of the Reformation came to Geneva to
create a pure and accurate translation of the Holy Writ. Concerned about
the influence that the Catholic Church had on the existing
 translations
of the Bible from the Latin, these men turned to the original Hebrew and
Greek texts to produce the Geneva Bible. This made the Geneva Bible the
first complete Bible to be translated into English from the original
Hebrew and Greek texts.
The creation of the Geneva Bible was a substantial undertaking. Its
authors spent over two years, working diligently day and night by
candlelight, to finish the translation and the commentaries. The entire
project was funded by the exiled English congregation in Geneva, making
the translation a work supported by the people and not by an
authoritarian church or monarch.
All the marginal commentaries were finished by 1599, making the 1599
edition of the Geneva Bible t he
most complete study aide for Biblical scholars and students. This editon
does contain the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha’s notes are minimal or absent
in other editions. Additional highlights of this edition include maps of
the Exodus route and Joshua’s distribution of land, a name and subject
index, and Psalms sung by the English congregation in Geneva.
The greatest
distinction of the Geneva Bible, however, is the extensive collection of
marginal notes that it contains. Prominent Reformation leaders such as
John Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Theodore
Beza, and Anthony Gilby wrote the majority of these notes in order to
explain and interpret the scriptures. The notes comprise nearly 300,000
words, or nearly one-third the length of the Bible itself, and they are
justifiably considered the most complete source of Protestant religious
thought available.
Owing
to the marginal notes and the superior quality of the translation, the
Geneva Bible became the most widely read and influential English Bible
of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was continually printed from 1560 to
1644 in over 200 different editions. It was the Bible of choice for many
of the greatest writers, thinkers, and historical figures of the
Reformation era. William Shakespeare’s plays and the writings of John
Milton and John Bunyan were clearly influenced by the Geneva Bible.
Oliver Cromwell issued a pamphlet containing excerpts from the Geneva
Bible to his troops during the English Civil War. When the Pilgrims set
sail on the Mayflower they took with them exclusively the Geneva Bible.
The
marginal notes of the Geneva Bible enraged the Catholic Church, since
the notes deemed the act of confession to men – the Catholic Bishops –
as unjustified by Holy Script. Man should confess to God only; man’s
private life was man’s private life. The notes also infuriated King
James, since they allowed disobedience to tyrannical kings. King James
went so far as to make ownership of the Geneva Bible a felony. He then
proceeded to make his own version of the Bible, but without the marginal
notes that had so disturbed him. Consequently, during King James’s
reign, and into the reign of Charles I, the Geneva Bible was gradually
replaced by the King James Bible.
Because of the print size, this facsimile reproduction is
more difficult for some readers. A magnifying glass is often necessary
for the marginal notes. On some of the printing the marginal notes are
not entirely clear. Also, some adjustment is required to get accustomed
to the interchanged I and J, u and v, and f and s in the old print
style. L. L. Brown Publishing is proud to offer the Geneva Bible to
Christians serious about understanding the Bible. A wealth of
information that has been left to us by the Leaders of the Protestant
Reformation is now available after four centuries of being out of print. |
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