Protestant Reformers G
Protestant Reformers G includes links to three editions of the Geneva Bible, which was first published in 1560, in Geneva, Switzerland. The following quote is from a note included on the online copy of the 1st edition.
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The Geneva Bible was first printed in Geneva, Switzerland, by refugees from England, fleeing the persecution of Protestants by Roman Catholic Queen "Bloody" Mary. Many copies were smuggled back into England at great personal risk. In later years, when Protestant-friendly Queen Elizabeth took the throne, printing of the Geneva Bible moved back to England. The Geneva Bible was produced by John Calvin, John Knox, Myles Coverdale, John Foxe, and other Reformers. It is the version that William Shakespeare quotes from hundreds of times in his plays, and the first English Bible to offer plain roman-style type in some of its early printings. The Geneva Bible was the first Bible taken to America, brought over on the Mayflower ... it is the Bible upon which early America and its government was founded. . . . It was also the first English Bible to break the chapters of scripture into numbered verses, and it was the first true "Study Bible" offering extensive commentary notes in the margins. It was so accurate and popular, that a half-century later, when the King James Bible came out ... it retained more than 90% of the exact wording of the Geneva Bible. |
This Bible was also significant because it was, for the first time mechanically printed. Being mass produced, it was directly made available to the general public. Its study guide, maps, tables, indexed, and illustrations provided a Bible that could be used by the common person.
It is interesting to note that the persecution suffered under Queen Mary brought many Biblical scholars together in Geneva allowing them to become involved in this new translation under the guidance of William Whittingham, who completed and published the New Testament in 1557, followed by the complete Bible in 1560. In the end, over 150 editions were issued! It would be over 50 years until the Geneva Bible would be replaced in popularity by the King James Version of the Bible.
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