thoughts on the Geneva Bible

[sisterAmy]

Hello~

I have a question for y'all. My husband and I have been doing some research into the newly re-printed Geneva Bible that was used and translated by the Reformers of the 1500- 1600's, pre King James. What are some of your thoughts on this Bible.

Thx~
Sister Amy and Bro Stan

[Brother Ben]

The Geneva was a faithful TR translation by the early Reformers. Here is an example of it.

Heb. 11:6 (Geneva) But without faith it is unpossible to please him: for he that cometh to God, must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him.

Heb. 11:6 (KJV) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Below is the introduction to an article written by a pastor friend. I will include the link for the entire article. Also on the page are links to all the books of the NT in the Geneva. Enjoy

...............begin article.............
Introduction to the Geneva Bible
Also Known as
The Pilgrim's Bible
Dr. William H. Noah and Dr. David L. Brown
Copyright 2001 & 2005

Overview
Despite being virtually unknown today, the Geneva Bible is most revolutionary of all English Bibles. It was born out of persecution and takes its name from the initial city of publication. When Mary I, also known as "Bloody Mary," took the throne in 1553, English Bibles were made illegal and heavy persecution broke-out against Protestants and proponents of English Scripture. Hundreds fled England and many of these exiles settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where they produced a new English Bible—the Geneva Bible.

The Geneva Bible was the first English version to be translated entirely from the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Though the text is principally just a revision of William Tyndale’s earlier work of 1534, Tyndale only translated the New Testament and the Old Testament through 2 Chronicles before he was imprisoned. The English refugees living in Geneva completed the translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to English for the first time. The work was led by William Whittingham.

When the Geneva translation of the New Testament appeared in 1557 and the entire Bible in 1560, it was innovative in both text and format, and quickly became the household Bible of English speaking people. It was the first English Bible to have modern verse divisions as well as modern chapter divisions. It was the first Bible to use italics to indicate words not in the original language and the first Bible to change the values of ancient coins into English pound sterling equivalents. It was also the first to use plain Roman type, which was more readable than the old Gothic type, and it was in a handy quarto size for easy use. With prologues before each book, extensive marginal notes, and a brief concordance, the Geneva Bible was in fact the first English "study Bible."

Between its first edition of 1560 and its last edition in 1644, 160 editions, totaling around a half million Bibles, were produced. And for the first time common people could not only understand the words in the Bible, they could actually own one. Its widespread use first solidified the English language among the common people, not the 1611 King James Bible as many assume. Actually, the King James Bible required decades to surpass the popularity of the Geneva and supplant it from the hearts of the English speaking world.

In fact, the Geneva Bible was the principal English Bible initially brought to American soil, making it the Bible that shaped early American life and impacted Colonial culture more than any other.

logosresourcepages.org/idx_geneva.htm

Having said this, I still think it profitable for the church to stay with the King James Version because it makes for unity of the brethren, and God, in His sovereignty, did cause the KJV to supass the Geneva in popularity and use and has kept it in the main stream to this very day.

Bro. Ben