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September 3, 2007 David Cloud, WayOfLife.org The following is excerpted from the "The Glorious History of the English Bible" (Way of Life Literature, 2006, 228 pages). The Geneva Bible was produced by English refugees that settled in the Swiss city of Geneva to escape the persecutions of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary, who reigned in England from 1553-58. Geneva was a bastion of Bible text and translation/printing activity. Robert Olivetan's French translation was published in Geneva in 1556. Financial support for the printing had come from Waldensian churches in northern Italy (Daniel Lortch, Histoire de la Bible Francaise [History of the French Bible], p. 105; from an English translation appearing in Documentation on the Olivetan-Ostervald Bible by Curtis Gibson, p. 2). Also printed in Geneva was a 1556 reprint of the Spanish New Testament translated by Juan Perez de Pineda and a revised edition of the Diotati Italian Bible in 1562. Between then and 1665, five of the seven Italian Bibles came from Geneva. Geneva was the home of Theodore Beza, one of the prominent Protestant scholars of the day and an editor of the Greek Received New Testament. Beza, who took John Calvin's place in Geneva in 1564, published editions of the Received Text in 1565, 1582, 1588-9, and 1598. Beza was the first rector of the Academy of Geneva, which was inaugurated on June 5, 1555. The Geneva Bible in English was chiefly the work of WILLIAM WHITTINGHAM, with assistance from others. Whittingham was a graduate of Oxford (Brasenose College, All Souls, and Christ Church) and had traveled widely in Europe. He moved to Geneva in 1555, a little over a year after Queen Mary took the throne, and became the pastor of the English congregation of about 100 members. He married Catharine Chauvin, the sister of John Calvin. (Calvinus is the Latin form of the French name Chauvin.) Whittingham returned to England after the publication of the Geneva Bible and was the author of several metrical versions of the Psalms that are still sung in Anglican congregations. In 1563 he was appointed dean at Durham. He was persecuted by "traditionalists" in the Church of England unto the time of his death. He was repeatedly tried in ecclesiastical courts for non-conformity. He died in 1579 at age 65 and was buried in the cathedral at Durham (Cathedral Church of Christ and St. Mary the Virgin). "He was an eminently pious and powerful preacher, and an ornament to religion and learning, to which he greatly contributed by his publications, and chiefly by his agency in the revision of the English Bible" (Alexander McClure, Translators Revived: Biographical Notes of the KJV Translators, 1855). Whittingham was aided by other English exiles, including Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilbey, Thomas Sampson, William Cole, William Kette (or Kethe), John Baron, John Pullain, John Bodley. It is even possible that John Knox assisted in the project, as he was pastor of the English-speaking congregation in Geneva off and on from September 1556 until January 1559. Anthony Gilbey, born in Lincolnshire, was educated at Christ's Church College, Cambridge, and skilled in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He was noted "for a flaming zeal against the errors and abominations of papistry, and all the remnants and patches of it retained in the Church of England" (McClure, Translators Revived). Gilbey fled to Europe during Queen Mary's reign and returned after the accession of Elizabeth. Thomas Samson (1517-1589), Oxford educated, "was a stout Protestant and puritan, and a very great scholar" (McClure). He was appointed Dean of Winchester in 1552 and after the accession of Queen Mary he escaped England "with great difficulty." After he returned to his homeland he turned down an offer to be the bishop of Norwick because of "conscientious scruples." Instead, in 1560 he became Dean of Christ Church at Oxford University and was considered was of the greatest linguists in the nation. A letter written by men associated with the college to solicit his appointment said: "After well considering all the learned men in the land, they found none to be compared to him for singular learning and great piety, having the praise of all men. And it is very doubtful whether there is a better man, a greater linguist, a more complete scholar, a more profound divine." In 1564 Samson was arrested under Queen Elizabeth, deprived of his office, and charged with non-conformity. In 1570 he was made Prebendary of Pancras in St. Paul's Cathedral. He died in 1589 at the age of seventy-two. Prior to moving to Geneva, Christopher Goodman was Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford. The Geneva New Testament was published in 1557; the entire Bible in 1560. It was funded by the English congregation in Geneva. A prominent member who provided substantial money was John Bodley, "whose son Thomas would later found the Bodleian Library at Oxford" (Daniell, The Bible in English, p. 294). The Geneva Bible was often printed in small sizes that were convenient for missionary work. The Geneva New Testament was the same size (octavo) as the little Tyndale New Testament. The page layout was uncluttered and attractive. (1) It was printed in clear Roman type instead of the heavy Gothic Black Letter that had been used commonly in Bibles before that. (2) The type was ruled off with red lines and surrounded by wide margins on the sides and at the bottom. (3) The headings across the top of each page told the reader at a glance what book he was reading. (4) Each chapter was preceded by a summary of its content. The Geneva Bible contained many notes, explaining the text, teaching Protestant doctrine, and, in some cases, condemning Roman Catholicism. There is an average of two notes per page. Consider some examples. The notes on Revelation exhibit the erroneous allegorical method of interpretation. Jeremiah 44:17: "It seemeth that the Papists gathered of this place their Salve Regina, and Regina caeli laetare, calling the virgin Mary Queen of Heaven, and so of the blessed virgin and mother of a Saviour Christ made an idol: for here the Prophet condemneth this idolatry." Revelation 9:3: "Locusts are false teachers, heretics, and worldly subtle Prelates, with Monks, Friars, Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Doctors, Bachelors, and Masters which forsake Christ to maintain their false doctrine." Revelation 16:2: "This was like the sixth plague of Egypt, which was sores and boils or pocks: and this reigneth commonly among Canons, monks, friars, nuns, priests, and such filthy vermin which bear the mark of the beast." Revelation 16:13: "[The unclean spirits like frogs are] a strong number of the great devil the pope's ambassadors, which are ever crying and croaking like frogs and come out of Antichrist's mouth, because they should speak nothing but lies and use all manner of crafty deceit to maintain their rich Euphrates against the true Christians." Following are some of the notes from Revelation 17 in the 1560 edition: "...Christ Jesus who will take vengeance on this Romish harlot." "The Beast signifies an ancient Rome; The woman that sits thereon, the New Rome which is the Papistry, whose cruelty and blood shedding is declared by scarlet and full of idolatries, superstitions and contempt for the true God." "This woman is the Antichrist, that is, the pope with the whole body of his filthy creatures, as is expounded in verse 18." There were many pictures, including interesting drawings of Solomon's temple, and even maps. The 1560 Geneva was called the "Breeches Bible" because it said Adam and Eve made themselves "breeches" in Genesis 3:7. In fact, the Geneva translators must have borrowed this from the Wycliffe Bible. The Geneva Bible was a milestone in many important ways: The Geneva contains, for the first time in an English Bible, the entire Old Testament translated from Hebrew. William Tyndale had completed Genesis through 2 Chronicles and Jonah (as far as we know) before his arrest and martyrdom. The rest of the Old Testament was translated in the Coverdale, Matthew's, and Bishops Bibles from Latin and German rather than Hebrew. Speaking of Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilbey, and the others who produced the Geneva Old Testament, David Daniell says: "They were, it is now clear, exceptional Hebrew scholars. They were the first to use at first hand the Hebrew commentary of David Kimshi, followed in those readings in many places in KJV. They had also a remarkable, almost Tyndalian, grasp of English, the knowledge to use available helps in at least five languages (Aramaic, Latin, Greek, German and French); and the ability to work fast" (Daniell, The Bible in English, pp. 314, 15). The Geneva was the first entire English Bible to contain verse divisions throughout. Before this, the English Bibles had been divided into chapters and paragraphs. In the verse divisions, the Geneva translators followed the Stephanus' Greek New Testament of 1551 and the Latin Bible of 1555, which was the first entire Bible in any language to contain verse divisions. For the first time in English, words not in the Greek but thought necessary to carry the meaning in English are printed in ITALIC. The Geneva quickly became the most popular English Bible and wielded a powerful influence for almost 100 years, until its popularity waned in favor of the King James Version. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, more than two-thirds of the 138 editions of the Bible printed in England were the Geneva. The Geneva was the Bible carried to America by the first settlers from England in the early 17th century. THE SUPERIORITY OF THE KING JAMES BIBLE OVER ITS PREDECESSORS, THE TYNDALE AND THE GENEVA The Tyndale Bible and the Geneva Bible were beautiful English translations, but the King James Bible is a significant improvement over them. Benson Bobrick observes: "In a cumulative way, all the virtues of the various translations which preceded it were gathered up. Tyndale had coined words and phrases like 'peace maker,' 'passover,' 'long-suffering,' 'scapegoat,' 'the Lord's Anointed,' 'flowing with milk and honey,' 'filthy lucre,' 'the salt of the earth,' and 'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Coverdale, 'tender mercies,' 'respect of persons,' 'lovingkindness,' 'pride of life,' 'enter thou into the joy of the Lord,' 'the valley of the shadow of death'; the Geneva Bible, 'Vanity of vanities,' 'except a man be born again,' "smite them hip and thigh,' remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,' 'Solomon in all his glory,' 'a little leaven leaventh the whole lump,' and other unforgettable turn of phrase. Š From the Bishops' Bible came: 'the voice of one crying in the wilderness,' 'less than the least of all the saints,' 'Sufficient unto the day, is the evil thereof,' and 'Rend your hearts and not your garments.' And from the Second Wycliffe version came 'gave up the ghost,' 'well striken in age,' 'held his peace,' 'three score and ten,' 'strait is the gate and narrow the way,' and 'a well of water springing up into everlasting life.'" (Bobrick, Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired, 2002, p. 258) Consider Genesis 1:1-2 Tyndale: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the water. Geneva: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters." KJV: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Here the Geneva is an improvement over the Tyndale, and with only a few slight modifications the KJV translators, in turn, improve the Geneva. "These are slight and marvellous changes. Some are almost purely rhythmic. ... The commas after 'heaven' and in the second verse are signs to pause in the reading of it, and the colon after 'deep' marks a slightly longer rest. In these slightest of ways, Andrewes [the head of the KJV committee that translated the Pentateuch] introduces two new qualities to add to Tyndale's: an aural fluency and the sense of ease which comes from that; and, allied to that ease, a pace of deliberate and magisterial slowness, no hurry here, pausing in its hugeness, those bass colours in the vocabulary matched by a heavy, soft drumming of the rhythm. It is as solemn and orderly as the beginning of a steady and majestic march" (Adam Nicholson, God's Secretaries, pp. 193, 194). Consider Psalm 23:6 Geneva: "Doubtless kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall remain a long season in the house of the Lord." KJV: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." The King James translators dramatically heightened the poetry and readability of this verse with a few simple changes. Consider Psalm 121:1 Geneva: "I will lift mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence my help shall come." KJV: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Again, there is a dramatic improvement in this verse with the slightest of modifications. Consider the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 Tyndale: "O our father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy will be fulfilled, as well in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, even as we forgive our trespassers. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and power, and the glory for ever. Amen." KJV: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Consider Matthew 11:28-30 Tyndale: "Come unto me all ye that labour and are laden and I will ease you. Take my yoke on you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." KJV: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Consider Mark 14:4 Tyndale: "When he was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, even as he sat at meat, there came a woman with an alabaster box of ointment, called narde, that was pure and costly, and she brake the box and poured it on his head. There were some that disdained in themselves, and said: what needed this waste of ointment? For it might have been sold for more than two hundred pense, and been given unto the poor. And they grudged against her." KJV: "And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her." "Tyndale is flat and only half accurate. 'What needed this waste of ointment?' is a lumpen sentence compared with 'Why was this waste of the ointment made?' Tyndale's version does not embrace the strange ambiguity of making something by wasting it which the Jacobean sentence conveys with economy, accuracy and its own form of resonant elegance. The King James Version steps beyond the question of liberalism verses gracefulness. It has plumbed and searched for the essence of the meaning and in that way is an exercise in passionate exactness. It doesn't choose between the clear and the rich but makes its elucidation into a kind of richness. IT IS A SLEIGHT OF HAND, BUT THIS IS THE CENTRAL PARADOX OF THE TRANSLATION: THE RICHNESS OF THE WORDS SOMEHOW REPRESENTS A SUBSTANCE THAT GOES BEYOND MERE WORDS AND THAT IS ITS TRIUMPH" (Nicholson, p. 197). Consider Luke 22:20 Tyndale: "... This is the cup, the new testament, in my blood, which shall for you be shed." KJV: "... This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you." By a simple rearrangement of the words, the KJV improves the sound dramatically. Consider John 3:16 Tyndale: "For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only son, that none that believe in him, should perish: but should have everlasting life." Geneva: "For God so loveth the world, that he hath given his only begotten Son: that none that believe in him, should perish, but have everlasting life." KJV: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." Here the KJV not only follows the Greek more precisely than its predecessors, it also improves the English in small but perceptible ways. |
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