The Geneva Bible:
The Forgotten Translation
By: Gary DeMar
When Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary)
became queen of England in 1553, she was determined to roll back the
Reformation and reinstate Roman Catholicism. Mary had strong ties to
Catholic Spain. She married Philip II of Spain and induced the
English Parliament to recognize the authority of papal Rome. Mary
met with a great deal of resistance from Protestant reformers in her
own country. Mary showed no signs of
compromise. The persecution of Protestants followed.
The era known as the Marian
Exile drove hundreds of English scholars to the Continent with
little hope of ever seeing their home and friends again. God used
this exodus experience to advance the Reformation. A number of
English Protestant divines settled in Calvin's Geneva: Miles
Coverdale, John Foxe, Thomas Sampson, and William Whittingham. With
the protection of the Genevan civil authorities and the support of
John Calvin and the Scottish Reformer John Knox, the Church of
Geneva determined to produce an English Bible without the need for
the imprimatur of either England or Rome - the Geneva Bible.
Translation Work
Begins In 1557
The Geneva translators
produced a revised New Testament in English in 1557 that was
essentially a revision of Tyndale's revised and corrected 1534
edition. Much of the work was done by William Whittingham, the
brother-in-law of John Calvin. The Geneva New Testament was barely
off the press when work began on a revision of the entire Bible, a
process that took more than two years. The new translation was
checked with Theodore Beza's earlier work and the Greek text. In
1560 a complete revised Bible was published, translated according to
the Hebrew and Greek, and conferred with the best translations in
divers languages, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I. After the
death of Mary, Elizabeth was crowned queen in 1558, once again
moving England toward Protestantism. The Geneva Bible was finally
printed in England in 1575 only after the death of Archbishop
Matthew Parker, editor of the Bishop's Bible.
England's Most
Popular Bible
While other English
translations failed to capture the hearts of the reading public, the
Geneva Bible was instantly popular. Between 1560 and 1644 at least
144 editions appeared. For forty years after the publication of the
King James Bible, the Geneva Bible continued to be the Bible of the
home. Oliver Cromwell used extracts from the Geneva Bible for his
Soldier's Pocket Bible which he issued to the army.
A THREAT TO KING
JAMES
In 1620 the Pilgrims arrived
at Plymouth with their Bibles and a conviction derived from those
Bibles of establishing a new nation. The Bible was not the King
James Version. When James I became king of England in 1603, there
were two translations of the Bible in use; the Geneva Bible was the
most popular, and the Bishops' Bible was used for reading in
churches.
King James disapproved of the
Geneva Bible because of its Calvinistic leanings. He also frowned on
what he considered to be seditious marginal notes on key political
texts. A marginal note for Exodus 1:9 indicated that the Hebrew
midwives were correct in disobeying the Egyptian king's orders, and
a note for 2 Chronicles 15:16 said that King Asa should have had his
mother executed and not merely deposed for the crime of worshipping
an idol. The King James Version of the Bible grew out of the king's
distaste for these brief but potent doctrinal commentaries. He
considered the marginal notes to be a political threat to his
kingdom.
At a conference at Hampton
Court in 1604 with bishops and theologians, the king listened to a
suggestion by the Puritan scholar John Reynolds that a new
translation of the Bible was needed. Because of his distaste for the
Geneva Bible, James was eager for a new translation. "I profess," he
said, "I could never yet see a Bible well translated in English; but
I think that, of all, that of Geneva is the worst."
A THREAT TO ROME
In addition to being a threat
to the king of England, the Geneva Bible was outspokenly anti-Roman
Catholic, as one might expect. Rome was still persecuting
Protestants in the sixteenth century. Keep in mind that the English
translators were exiles from a nation that was returning to the
Catholic faith under a queen who was burning Protestants at the
stake. The anti-Roman Catholic sentiment is most evident in the Book
of Revelation: "The beast that cometh out of the bottomless pit
(Rev. 11:7) is the Pope, which hath his power out of hell and cometh
thence." In the end, the Geneva Bible was replaced by the King James
Version, but not before it helped to settle America.
Back in Geneva
Calvin knew that the job of
reforming a city seemingly bent on destruction would not be easy.
"There is no place in the world that I fear more," he confessed.
Immorality was at an all-time high, with gambling, street brawls,
drunkenness, adultery, and public indecency common everywhere. But
not all was dark. When he arrived on September 13, 1541, a change
had come over the city. The people actually wanted him to return.
The city officials bestowed honors on him and apologized for the way
he had been treated. The Council members assured Calvin that they
would cooperate with him to restore the Gospel and moral order. The
businessmen were equally relieved to learn that Calvin might return.
Calvin was overwhelmed by the outward display of affection and
decided to return to Geneva. On September 16th he wrote to Farel:
"Your wish is granted. I am held fast here. May God give His
blessing."
Calvin's
Contributions
Calvin continued his work of
reformation, not by a heavy-handed use of the civil magistrate, but
with the preaching of God's Word and the building of the Church.
Church government was lacking, not only in Geneva, but all over
Protestant Europe. Calvin understood that only the Church, not the
State, could define orthodox theology and bring about true long-term
reform. According to the Bible, the State and the Church were
jurisdictionally separate. Each had its God-ordained area of
jurisdiction and authority - one civil (the State) and one
ecclesiastical (the Church). Even so, Calvin insisted, both Church
and State were ordained by God and obligated to follow His laws as
they applied to their specific appointed jurisdictions.
Calvin's view that God reigns
everywhere and over all things led him to develop the biblical idea
that man can serve God in every area of life - church, civil
government, education, art, music, business, law, journalism. There
was no need to be a priest, a monk, or a nun to get closer to God.
God is glorified in everyday work and family life. Calvin's teaching
led directly to what has become known as the "Protestant work
ethic." Individual initiative leads to economic productivity as
Christians work out their faith in their callings before God.
Stricken with tuberculosis,
Calvin preached his last sermon on February 6, 1564. Although
bedridden until his death on May 27, 1564, Calvin continued to work,
extending his legacy in the lives of those who sat under his
teaching.
Thanks to the Institutes
of the Christian Religion, his printed sermons, the Academy,
his commentaries on nearly every book of the Bible (except the Song
of Solomon and the Book of Revelation), and his pattern of Church
and Civil government, Calvin shaped the thought and motivated the
ideals of Protestantism in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungry,
Scotland, and the English Puritans; many of whom settled in America.
The great American historian George Bancroft stated, "He that will
not honor the memory, and respect the influence of Calvin, knows but
little of the origin of American liberty." The famous German
historian, Leopold von Ranke, wrote, "John Calvin was the virtual
founder of America." John Adams, the second president of the United
States, wrote: "Let not Geneva be forgotten or despised. Religious
liberty owes it most respect."
