story of the english bible - randy broberg's blog · 22/08/2012 · from the preface to...
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Story of the English Bible
Randy Broberg
John Wycliffe c. 1330-1384
• most eminent Oxford theologian of his day.
• He saw the Bible as the codification of God’s law, which all Christians ought to live by. – Scriptures are the authority for every
Catholic tenet. They are the Law of Christ, the Law of God, the Word of God, the Book of Life—liber vitae.
– They are the immaculate law of the Lord, most true, most complete and most wholesome.
– All things necessary to belief for salvation are found in them.
• “This book is the whole truth
which every Christian should
study. It is the measure and
standard of all logic. Logic, as in
Oxford, changes very frequently,
yea, every twenty years, but the
Scriptures are yea, yea and nay,
nay. They never change. They
stand to eternity. All logic, all law,
all philosophy and all ethic are in
them. As for the philosophy of the
pagan world, only whatever it
offers that is in accord with the
Scriptures is true. “
1380-1384 Begins Translating
BibleInto English • Wycliffe translated Bible into English
• sent out preachers to take the message of the Bible to the people.
• 1408 Council of Oxford forbids translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular unless and until they were fully approved by Church authority
• 1409 Pope Alexander V publicly burns 200 of John Wycliffe's
Wycliffe’s Bible
The Gutenberg Bible, 1455
• The three-volume Latin text arguably represents the greatest single innovation in the history of communication technology, as well as a style of printing that existed almost unaltered until the twentieth century.
1516
Erasmus
Publishes
Greek New
Testament
• 1516 edition was a diaglot with the Greek text and his own Latin text.
From the preface to Erasmus
Greek New Testament
I wish that even the weakest
woman should read the Gospels –
should read the Epistles of Paul;
and I wish that they were
translated into all languages, so
that . . . the farmer should sing
portions of them to himself as he
follows the plow, that the weaver
should hum them to the tune of his
shuttle, that the traveler should
beguile with their stories the
tedium of his journey. All
communication of the Christian
should be of the Scriptures.
E R A S M U S
1516
1519
1522
1527
1535
S T E P H A N U S
1546
1549
1550
1551
B E Z A
1565 (1) 1582 (3)
1598 (5)
1604 (9)
9 editions
E L Z E V I R
1624 (1)
1633 (2)
7 editions
Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus
William Tyndale
1490-1536
• under the influence of Lollards.
• converted early to Lutheran doctrines.
• Studied at Oxford and Cambridge
Universities.
– Skilled in English, Greek, Hebrew,
Latin, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and some
German.
– Came under the influence of John Colet
and Erasmus.
• At Cambridge in the late 1510's or
early 1520's, he is spreading
Protestant principles in Cambridge with
a group of like minded students and
lecturers who met at the White Horse
Inn,
– scripture,was the final authority.
– attacked teaching salvation by works.
Tyndale On Need for
Bible in English
•"They say our tongue is too rude. It is not so. Greek and Hebrew go more easily into English than into Latin. Has not God made the English tongue as well as others? They suffer [allow] you to read in English of Robin Hood, Bevis of Hampton, Hercules, Troilus, and a thousand ribald or filthy tales. It is only the Scripture that is forbidden. It is therefore clearer than the sun that this forbiddal is not for love of your souls, which they care for as the fox doth for the geese."
Tyndale’s Bible,
1525-34
• translated Erasmus’s work
on the Christian Soldiers
hand book. In it Erasmus
writes that all men should
study the New Testament
and that it should be the
main text that the church
consults for issues in the
Christian life.
• forced to relocate to the
continent
To a Priest: "If God spare my
life, as many years pass, I will
cause a boy that drives the
plow to know more of the
Scriptures then you do,"
Tyndale’s Bible, 1525
• Tyndale's first translation of the NT from the Greek text of Erasmus
• Reflects Luther's NT of 1522 in rejecting "priest" for "elder," "church" for "congregation.“
• first printed in Cologne and Worms in 1525.
• Two editions were sent to England starting in 1526.
• 90% of Tyndale's words passed into the KJV
• Bishop of London began buying the books in order to burn them, and ended up being the main support of the early bible printing operation
William Tyndale died on October the
6th, 1536
• In Tyndale's later years he lived in Antwerp which was neutral territory.
• The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V kidnapped Tyndale and sentenced himto die.
• He stayed in a cell for about a year and a half until his execution
• He was strangled and then burned at the stake October 6, 1536 as he cried, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes!”
• One year later, Bibles were being sold legally in England.
Tyndale’s Legacy
“I call to God to record
against the day we shall
appear before our Lord
Jesus, to give a reckoning of
our doings, that I never
altered one syllable of God’s
Word against my conscience,
nor would I so alter it this day,
if all that is in the earth,
whether it be pleasure,
honour, or riches, might be
given me.” –
• In 1537 the Matthew’s Bible was
penned by John Rodgers who
wrote under the name of
Thomas Matthew.
• Rogers was a friend and
assistant to William Tyndale.
He had hand written
manuscripts that Tyndale gave
him prior to his martyrdom.
• King required all local churches
to have a copy of the Bible
available for all desiring to read.
• 2,000 marginal notes with
Protestant orientation.
Matthew’s Bible, 1537
• the first complete authorized printed
English bible
• used Tyndale's (1525) translation
along with Latin and German
versions.
• Henry VIII allowed the text to circulate
freely.
– First English bible to place books in
their present order.
• first to separate the Apocrypha
• Called the “Bug Bible” from Psalm
91:5 “Thou shalt not nede to be
afrayed for any bugges by night.”
Coverdale Bible
1535
Great Bible 1539
• called Great Bible
because it was a large
volume chained to the
reading desk in
churches.
• Published in 1539 three
years after Tyndale’s
martyrdom- this was
essentially Tyndale’s
TEXT!
• Sometimes called the
chain bible as it was
chained to the pulpit.
1550 Stephanus Greek
New Testament
• “One of the ten most important books ever printed”
• first printing of the scriptures to have the text separated into numbered verses…
• Produced by Robert Stephanus (a.k.a. Robert Etienne),
• primary Greek text used to translate the King James Version of 1611.
• first “critical apparatus”
• In 1553 Mary Tudor began to kill
many of those who had helped
translate of endorse the English
Translation.
– John Rodgers (the translator the
Matthew’s Bible)
– Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
• Others like Coverdale were forced to
flee to the continent.
Interestingly the Great Bible was left
in place
1553 “Bloody” Queen Mary
• Queen Elizabeth
reissued the decree
that all parishes had to
have a copy of the
Bible available for all
desiring to read it
Queen Elizabeth came to power
Geneva Bible 1560
• new translation of the Bible published in
Geneva (New Testament, 1557; Old
Testament, 1560) by a colony of Protestant
scholars in exile from England
– under the general direction of Miles
Coverdale and John Knox
– under the influence of John Calvin.
• brought back to England during Elizabeth's
reign.
• adds many reformed (espousing the theology
of John Calvin) notes and commentary.
• one of the main encouragers of the Puritan
movement.
Geneva Bible
Innovations
• The first English bible to use Stephanus’ verse divisions.
• The first English bible to use italics.
• The first English bible to remove the Apocrypha
• called the non Pauline letters the General Epistles instead of the Catholic Epistles.
• leaves out Paul’s name from the letter to the Hebrews explaining that we do not know who wrote that text, but that God ultimately penned it.
Geneva Bible In
English and In
French
Geneva Bible
Geneva Bible Page showing Explanatory Notes
Calvinist Influence
of Geneva Bible,
• Called “Breeches Bible”
for Genesis 3:7 “They
sewed figge tree leaves
together, and made
themselves breeches.”
• Bible quoted by William
Shakespeare.
• Bible brought to America
by the Pilgrims on the
Mayflower.
• Revision of the Great
Bible.
• Produced by 15 men
including 8 English
Episcopalian bishops
under Archbishop
Parker.
• It was more
supportive of
Episcopal belief
whereas the Geneva
was a Puritan type
bible.
• Never received
popular support and
failed to displace the
Geneva.
Bishops Bible 1568
1582/1610
Douay-Rheims
• The first English
language Bible ever
issued and authorized
by the Roman Catholic
Church.
• Translated from the
Latin Vulgate.
King James I (1603-1625) Anti-Puritan
"no bishop,
no king” • Elizabeth I died childless and
was succeeded by her cousin James VI of Scotland.
• He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.
• King of Scotland already
• Union - creation of “Britain”
• An open homosexual
• James had once signed the Negative Confession of 1581 favoring the Puritan position.
King James’ Hampton Court
Conference 1604 • meeting held at Hampton Court Palace,
near London, in January 1604, in response to the Millenary Petition.
• The conference was presided over by King James I and attended by the bishops and the Puritan leaders.
• Among the reforms discussed were changes in church government, changes in The Book of Common Prayer, and a new translation of the Bible.
• James rejected most of the Puritans' demands and was firm in his rejection of any change in the episcopal form of church government.
• King James Bible designed to suppress the Geneva Bible with its fully Protestant marginal notes.
• Translators: University scholars, bishops, and the
King
• 54 scholars were to be divided into 6 panels (we
only have 47 names); 2 groups met at Oxford, 2 at
Cambridge, and 2 at Westminster
• They were assigned the task of revising the
Bishops’ Bible; with Tyndale, Coverdale, and other
bibles used where their wording was good
• Three panels were to work on the Old Testament,
two panels on the New, and one panel to translate
the Apocrypha.
• 12 men, 2 from each panel were to review the text
before it was taken to printing.
• Techniques: Word-for-Word
• no commentary notes -- All commentary was limited
to elucidation of difficult Greek readings and
chapter summary titles.
• Deliberately archaic
KJV Translators
• As the A.V. was used over time
successive editions were needed
and from these we have some very
interesting misprinting that have
provided amusement for those
interested in the subject.
– “Wicked Bible” left out the word “not”
from the 7th commandment thus
encouraging adultery among the
nation of Israel.
– “Vinegar Bible” replaces Vineyard
with Vinegar in the chapter summary
of Luke 20.
– The Murderers Bible of 1795
commands that children first be “killed”
instead of “filled” in Mark 7.27.
– Printers Bible states in Psalm
119.161 that the printers have
persecuted the writer without cause
Later KJV
Editions