The 1599 Geneva Bible

Dropped by my favorite second-hand bookshop the other day and when I came out I had expanded my inventory with a book on astrology, one on Norse grammar, a book on wild plants, and lastly, a reprint of the 1599 Geneva bible.

It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim's Progress. It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower

The Geneva is the Protestant bible and more than 150 were printed. The 1599 edition is more readable than the first edition, and shares most of it's content with the Oxford KJV, and it was also the first bible to be transladed in full from the Greek and Hebrew. Apparently it didn't include the Apocrypha, which is a clue as to this being the main bible of Martin Luther's protestants.

In 2006, Tolle Lege Press released a version of the 1599 Geneva Bible with modern spellings as part of their 1599 Geneva Bible restoration project. The original cross references were retained as well as the study notes by the Protestant Reformation leaders.[8] In addition, the Old English glossary was included in the updated version. The advisory board of the restoration project included several Protestant Christian leaders and scholars.

That would be the version I now have on my shelf, a CD was even included. Does anyone have experience with or know more about this bible?

Quotes from: en.wikipedia.org...

I don't know if you have knowledge of e-sword but I find it a really good program with a ton of bible versions encluding the Geneva .There are lots of bible helps and even has a CIA fact page for the globe . Its free to download and lots of free stuff but some things you will have to pay for if you want them .. it can be found here www.e-sword.net... a reply to: Utnapisjtim

a reply to: the2ofusr1

I was going to mention e-sword too, love it, use it all the time.

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

I believe it was the first "mainstream" Holy Bible and also the first Bible printed on the printing press. Aside from that I think it's just an old English version which was used along with other translations for comparison with King James translators when compiling the 1611 AV/KJV...

You are lucky to have such an amazing Book, keep it in good condition please

God bless

Also, I've never really read this Bible until now, and I must say I'm impressed. It seems to be a better translation than the KJV in several spots, which just makes me even more jealous of you!

a reply to: the2ofusr1

a reply to: Cinrad

Thanks for the tip. But I kinda like good old analogue books, I collect them. I have a dozen different bibles in several different languages, transcripts and translations of most any fragment they've unearthed that's bible-related. My huge Strong's and my Hebrew/Greek interlinear bible are gems. The newly added Geneva Bible-- somewhat flashy design for being such an old booke-- is also one I will appreciate, sure, but only for reference, for instance checking up a verse against KJV or ESV. It was one of the first bibles to come out of the lead foundries. Celebrated for it's accuracy given it's time of surfacing, it lost against the KJV that would come out a a few years later as for readability. When Shakespeare quotes he quotes the Geneva, it was to become the bible of the Protestant movement and was onboard the Mayflower.

originally posted by: godlover25
Also, I've never really read this Bible until now, and I must say I'm impressed. It seems to be a better translation than the KJV in several spots, which just makes me even more jealous of you!

The fact I gave 150 NOK or about 25 bucks or 15 quid for it should make you gnaw teeth and scream "Where is the love?" Complete in a box with a CD with searchable bible, lexicons and dictionaries and stuff I think. Do you know anything about the people behind this project? I understand the Tolle Lege Press is a group of some leading protestant scholars. Ring a bell?

Can you give the books included in this? i have old family Biblias ( lutheran) which texts are direct translations from 1642 there are many texts which were not included modern bible ( lutheran ) im curious which they left out from this translations.

originally posted by: dollukka
Can you give the books included in this? i have old family Biblias ( lutheran) which texts are direct translations from 1642 there are many texts which were not included modern bible ( lutheran ) im curious which they left out from this translations.

Like I said, it was the main Protestant ("Lutheran") bible, and only includes the "normal canon" and not the Catholic apocrypha. A good thing is that it is vastly referenced with lots of exegesis into the matter. It is concidered the first scholarly study bibles. Personally I prefer my ESV printed by Crossway which I bought on Amazon. The ESV is by far the best English translation out there if you ask me.

Have you looked up the story of Adam and Eve?
I believe that's the version where they "made themselves breeches".

originally posted by: DISRAELI
Have you looked up the story of Adam and Eve?
I believe that's the version where they "made themselves breeches".

Haha, yey, they DID make themselves breeches here. Wonder if they didn't have it already?!? Like did Adam have a bellybutton?

This is from traslation of 1642 lutheran bible, its called Biblia and Biblias didn´t change the texts in the books in it for several centuries as it was believed that the messages and texts in the Bible should not been questionized by making it easier to read. 1603 Karl IX of Sweden ordered Biblia to be translated into swedish and finnish.
Apocryphas were included in huge family Bibles ( untill the modern translations) but was left out in general purpose bibles. Apocryphas were part of old testament and not separated as a section of their own.

a reply to: dollukka

Like I said I have just about what they have unearthed and is available. Nag Hammadi, Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha Pseudepigrapha, Enoch the whole band-bus of prophets and Ur origin... This one only has the unsual protestant canon. You Finnish?

a reply to: godlover25
The first complete, printed Bible in English was the Coverdale Bible from 1535. (I'm not arguing with you, just to be clear. This one was not "mainstream". Just noting it for reference.)

Myles Coverdale worked with Tyndale, whose own (partial) bible was published a couple of years later.

There is a site that specializes in old, rare Bibles that actually has an original first edition, first printing 1535 Coverdale Bible for sale right now. If I had $445,000 I might be tempted...

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Yes i am "mostly" finnish from the mother´s side ( also bit swedish) from father´s side my grandparents roots are in Nuremberg Germany .

a reply to: dollukka

Kippis lady, I'm Norwegian meself

originally posted by: JustMike
a reply to: godlover25
The first complete, printed Bible in English was the Coverdale Bible from 1535.

How can this be when:

Gutenberg was the first European to use movable type printing, in around 1439.

?

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

The Geneva Bible was just a predecessor to the KJV of 1611. The Byzantine line of Greek manuscripts, along with the textual work of Erasmus, Stephanus, and Beza was the foundation of the New Testament found in a lot of the early English Bibles. Some of the earlier English Bibles, before the Geneva Bible, were the Tyndale Bible, Bishop's Bible, The Great Bible, and a couple of others. They seem to build upon each other, culminating in the King James Version of 1611. The modern Bibles of today, such as the RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV, etc... are based on a different line, or family, of Greek text for the New Testament. There is really only a 2 or 3 percent difference between both Greek text types, with no important doctrinal differences. KJV onlyists consider the modern versions to be corrupted. The ironic thing is that the Puritans, who used the Geneva Bible exclusively, felt the same way about the KJV.

Over the years I have collected many Bible not as a collector but just because they happen to be given to me. I would love a Geneva Bible! What year reprinting was it?

originally posted by: abeverage
Over the years I have collected many Bible not as a collector but just because they happen to be given to me. I would love a Geneva Bible! What year reprinting was it?

It would identical to this one here:

==> www.amazon.com...

According to that Amazon page it was issued by Tolle Lege Press in 2006. 15 quid was a bargain. All new out of the box.