The Geneva Bible was a Protestant translation of the Bible into English. It has also been known as the Breeches Bible, after its rendering of Genesis 3:7, "Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knewe that they were naked, and they sewed figge tree leaues together, and made them selues breeches." The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. ... A number of Old English Bible translations were prepared in mediaeval England, translations of parts of the Bible into the Old English language. ... The age of Middle English was not a fertile time for Bible translations but saw the first major translation that of John Wyclif. ... Early Modern English Bible translations are those translations of the Bible which were made between about 1500 and 1800, the period of Early Modern English. ... There are many attempts to translate the Bible into modern English which is defined as the form of English in use after 1800. ... Jewish English Bible translations are modern English Bible translations that include the books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) according to the masoretic text, and according to the traditional division and order of Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim. ... There are other translation projects which are worthy of note which are not easily classified in the other groups: Anchor Bible Series - The Anchor Bible is a translation treating the Bible merely as a historical text; each book is translated by a different scholar, with extensive critical commentary. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Bible has been translated into many languages. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos, the book) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing (and overlapping) canons... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of...

This was the Bible read by William Shakespeare, by John Donne, and by John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress. It was the Bible that was brought to America on the Mayflower and used by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... John Donne John Donne (pronounced Dun; 1572 – March 31, 1631) was a Jacobean metaphysical poet. ... John Bunyan. ... The Pilgrims Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come by John Bunyan (published 1678) is an allegorical novel. ... Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall (1882) The Mayflower was the ship which transported the Pilgrims from Plymouth, England to North Virginia (which later became part of the United States of America) in 1620, leaving Plymouth on September 6 and dropping anchor near Cape Cod on November 11 (both... Unfinished portrait miniature of Oliver Cromwell by Samuel Cooper, 1657. ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ...

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. The Bishops Bible was an English translation of the Holy Bible produced under the authority of the established Church of England in 1568. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Elizabeth I (7 September 1533–24 March 1603) was Queen of England, Queen of France (in name only), and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. ...

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 by John Calvin and Theodore Beza. Among these scholars was William Whittingham, who supervised the translation in collaboration with Miles 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 in 1557, while Gilby oversaw the Old. The first full edition of this Bible appeared in 1560. It was revised substantially in 1576 and again in 1599, with over 150 editions coming out by 1644. Mary Tudor is the name of both Mary I of England and her fathers sister, Mary Tudor (queen consort of France). ... Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German: //, Italian: Ginevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland, and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was an important French Christian theologian during the Protestant Reformation and is the namesake of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... William Whittingham (c. ... Myles Coverdale (also Miles Coverdale) (c1488 - January 20, 1568) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English. ... William Cole (c. ... A nonconformist is an English or Welsh Protestant of any non-Anglican denomination, chiefly advocating religious liberty. ... The vestments controversy arose in the English Reformation, ostensibly concerning vestments, but more fundamentally concerned with English Protestant identity, doctrine, and various church practices. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... Events May 5 - Peace of Beaulieu or Peace of Monsieur (after Monsieur, the Duc dAnjou, brother of the King, who negotiated it). ... Events The Jesuit educational plan known as the Ratio Studiorum is issued (January 8). ...

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.) Hebrew (עִבְרִית, ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from St Dunstan-in-the-West Church London William Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tindale) (circa 1484 - October 6, 1536) was a 16th century divine and scholar who translated the Bible into the Early Modern English of his day. ... Myles Coverdale (also Miles Coverdale) (c1488 - January 20, 1568) was a 16th-century Bible translator who produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible into English. ...

The Geneva Bible was the first English bible to use verse numbers and 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 1565 and 1589/1598 Greek and Latin edition of the Bible. Beginning in 1598 Franciscus Junius' notes on Revelation were added, replacing the original notes deriving from John Bale and Heinrich Bullinger. Bale's The Image of bothe 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. A gloss is a note made in the margins or between the lines of a book, in which the meaning of the text in its original language is explained in another language. ... Laurence Tomson (1539-1608) revised both the text and the annotations of the New Testament of the Geneva Bible. ... Events The pencil is first documented by Conrad Gesner March 1 - the city of Rio de Janeiro is founded April 27 - Cebu City is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines. ... Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ... Franciscus Junius (May 1, 1545–October 13, 1602), also known as Francis Junius, Franz Junius, and François du Jon, was a Huguenot scholar and theologian, and the father of Franciscus Junius the younger. ... John Bale (21 November 1495 - November, 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, Bishop of Ossory. ... Heinrich Bullinger Heinrich Bullinger (July 18, 1504 - September 17, 1575) was a Swiss reformer, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Zurich church. ... William Tyndale, just before being burnt at the stake, cries out Lord, ope the King of Englands eies in this woodcut from an early edition of Foxes Book of Martyrs. ...

The annotations (which are a necessary and integral part of the text) 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 Authorised Version or King James Bible to replace it. The Geneva Bible also motivated the production of 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. Calvinism is a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian life and thought, articulated by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Calvin and his interpretation of Scripture. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... James VI of Scotland/James I of England and Ireland (Charles James Stuart) (June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland and was the first to style himself King of Great Britain. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The Douai Bible, also known as the Rheims-Douai Bible or Douay-Rheims Bible, was a Roman Catholic translation of the Holy Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. ... Throughout English history, Recusancy was generally synonymous with nonconformism. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... The term English Civil War (or Wars) refers to the series of armed conflicts and political machinations which took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651. ...

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, due to the fact that 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, if any, was present at these signings. (Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA being the location of both of the signings).

The frontispiece to the 1560 edition of the Geneva Bible; the illustration depicts the Israelites before the Red Sea.

To compare the Geneva Bible with the King James, here is Revelation 6: 12-17 in both versions (with spelling modernised). The differences have been italicised in the King James extract: Image File history File links Genevabible. ... Image File history File links Genevabible. ... In architecture, a frontispiece constitutes the elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building; especially when the main entrance is the chief face of the building, rather than being kept behind columns or a portico. ... Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... Location of the Red Sea Image:Red Seaimage. ...

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?

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?

It is striking how close the two versions are to each other, one might think that the King James Version is a revision of the Geneva. 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)

ŃÁĴÒĤÁŃ==External links== Facsimilies

• A Digital Facsimilie by The DCL
• A Digital Facsimilie by Reactor-Core

Text

• Geneva Bible Footnotes
• Geneva Bible Text
• Modern Spelling Geneva Bible with Footnotes for the Gospels

Articles

• The Geneva Bible of 1560: article by Bruce Metzger originally printed in Theology Today