The Geneva Bible: 1560 Edition

The Bible of the Protestant Reformation

Sixteenth century English Protestant scholars were determined to make the scriptures understandable to common people, so that, as William Tyndale famously put it, “the boy that driveth the plough should know more of the scriptures” than the educated man.

However, Queen Mary’s (1553–1558) persecution of her Protestant subjects caused many to flee to the continent to avoid imprisonment or execution. Geneva, Switzerland soon became a center for Protestant biblical scholarship. It was there that a group of the movement’s leading lights gathered to undertake a fresh translation of the scriptures into English, beginning in 1556.

Published in 1560, the Geneva Bible’s popularity kept it in print until 1644—long after the advent of the Authorized Version (a.k.a. King James Version). It was an English Bible that met the needs of both clergy and laity. Perhaps the Geneva Bible’s greatest contribution was its commentary, which under girded the emerging practice of sermonizing and helped foster scripture literacy. The Geneva Bible was the first to feature many innovations in the field of Bible publishing:
• Text printed in readable roman type; 7 pt. type
• Smyth sewn
• Division of the text into numbered verses
• Italic type used for words not in the original languages
• Marks placed over the accented syllables to aid in pronouncing proper names
• Extensive textual and explanatory commentary placed in the margins
• Words/phrases displayed at the heads of pages to promote scripture memorization
• Maps and woodcuts illustrating biblical scenes included
• Sold in a variety of sizes so many people could afford a household Bible

The Geneva Bible accompanied English settlers voyaging to the new world. It is probable that the Geneva Bible came to America in 1607 and was used in the Jamestown colony. Thirteen years later the Pilgrims brought it with them on the Mayflower’s perilous voyage to religious freedom. The Geneva Bible stands as a landmark in the history of English Bible translation. Hendrickson’s facsimile reproduces one of the finest existing copies of the 1560 Geneva Bible. Using quality materials and crafted to last, Bible collectors and anyone interested in the history of the English Bible will treasure this volume.

1280 pages

Q. Does the Geneva Bible come with the Apochrypha?
A. Yes, like most Bibles printed before 1800, the Geneva Bible comes with the Apocrypha.

“Reprinted from the facsimile edition of the 1560 Geneva Bible that was published by the University of Wisconsin Press in 1969, this improved version is available in both genuine leather and in cloth covers. Lloyd E. Berry's Introduction to the 1969 UWP facsimile is included and provides a wealth of interesting historical background detail to the 1560 edition. It is followed by a useful bibliography which, although not exhaustive, points the reader to further sources of information about historical matters raised in the Introduction.

“To aid the mid-16th century reader the translators of this Bible provided a marginal commentary, both textual and explanatory, 'upon all the hard places'. While the Scripture text of the Geneva Bible can be found in print, on CD-ROM, and on the World Wide Web, this magnificent reproduction of the I560 edition allows the reader to truly appreciate in the original format what is perhaps the Geneva Bible's most historically significant feature—its marginal notes.

“By the end of the I6th century the Geneva Bible had become quite a different book from the edition of 1560. Thomson's notes on the NT (added I576), the two Calvinistic catechisms (added 1568, I579), and the Junius notes on Revelation (I599 editions onwards)—all reinforced the strong Calvinistic tone of the Geneva Bible, so much loathed by King James I. By contrast the notes of the 1560 edition were, according to Berry, largely exegetical than argumentative. B. F. Westcott reckoned the marginal commentary to be 'pure and vigorous in style, and, if slightly tinged with Calvinistic doctrine', it was 'on the whole neither unjust or illiberal'.

“Printed on good quality, gilt-edged paper, the leather edition is beautifully bound. The 1560 edition also contains twenty-six woodcuts and five maps. Readers should note that being a facsimile the spelling throughout is in the old English forms commonly used in the sixteenth century. This is a wonderful piece of English Bible history to be treasured.”

—Banner of Truth