The Geneva Bible of 1560

by Anonymous, William Tyndale (Translator)

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. It stands as a landmark in the history of English Bible translation. Perhaps its greatest contribution was its commentary, which under girded the emerging practice of sermonizing and helped foster scripture literacy.

Genres: Theology, Reference, Christian, Religion, Faith, Christianity

3120 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1560

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first ever study Bible. The King James version came out, in competition with the Geneva Bible in order to keep Christians from studying it themselves. I understand that the king (James) did not like what Calvin was stating in the margins about tyrannical governments. This was the Bible that the Pilgrims brought to our shores and influenced the founding of the greatest gentile nation, in the history, of mankind. Also, an excellent Bible with Calvin's commentaries.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and as lovely as the King James 1611 edition!! In many respects this is my favourite old version. It has a wealth of helpful notes in the margins. The Puritans and others aboard the Mayflower to Plymouth, MA had this version with them.

I have carried this version to meetings with me, along with my King James Version, even though it is nearly two inches thick! This and other old translations goes with me within the Kindle also. :):) That makes it handy to carry instead of the volumes I'd be lugging about 631 feet southwards to the Mennonite meetinghouse I attend! An excellent achievement long before the Douay/Rheims version of 1609—1610 and the King James version of 1611.

A wonderful version, and delightful to have on hand. This is a piece of history, since the Puritans and Pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower with this version! A very wonderful translation and easy to read after you adjust to the spellings, which had no standard to go by in those days, thus many things were spelled as they sounded to the authors and translators! Still, another masterpiece! Worth a spot on your shelf!

[Zachary Kreft · Rating 5 out of 5]

A facsimile (think high-quality photo copy) of the Geneva Bible, published in 1560, three years into the reign of Elizabeth I. It was begun during the reign of her sister Mary, a Catholic, and so had to be produced in a protestant country on the continent, hence it's the Geneva Bible. It came 34 years after William Tyndale's New Testament (the first complete translation of the New Testament from the Greek into English) and 51 years before the King James version. This is actually one of my favorite study Bibles because its notes are so intelligent and interesting, in a way not common in modern Bibles.

Its importance comes largely from its place in the history of the Bible in English. Following Tyndale, most English translations are revisions of previous translations, and so this one stands between Tyndale and King James. This is also the Bible of Shakespeare and the Bible carried by the puritans aboard the Mayflower to the New World.

Early printed books are also beautiful in ways modern books aren't, and this is a particularly good example. The typeface varies enough from modern fonts that it can take a little getting used to. It also uses old fashioned spellings and abbreviations.

One final point in favor of this edition is that its foreignness and the slightly greater difficulty we have reading it force us to read it more slowly, thereby increasing the time we spend on it and the thought we give it.

[K.C. Herbel · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I recommend reading the Bible, I would recommend finding another version of the holy book besides this one. It was not user friendly on my kindle and I gave up reading it to return to a hard copy I keep in my office.
I will say that this version is insightfully translated, in the parts I read.

[William Sariego · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible historic work, I wanted this for my collection. Reading it, however is quite difficult. Scripture itself is readable, despite the Old English, which isn't that difficult to follow. The marginal notes however, and even the book introductions are quite small and require young eyes or a magnifying glass!

[Andrea Mitchell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I have not read the entire book the part that I did read was very interesting. To be honest one line in particular caught my attention and it was talking about a "green herb". Was he implying cannabis or what? I don't understand why God was so mad at the people that he put here. If he created these people in his own light then why get so angry that almost everyone must die. What gives you that much power just because you have it. I feel like that was extreme over kill and then after killing everyone for him to say okay I won't ever do it again like he acted like a woman on her period, how one minute you curse the land and wipe everything off and the next you ur like okay it's all over and better. Go be fruitful and multiply, to me that is very scary and crazy. Also I wonder how he would view the world now and it makes me wonder how the books will be of this lifetime.(170)

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Old Testament passages can be rather dry in modern translations, but sound so much more epic in 16th century English. The New Testament epistles, however, become harder to follow.
In the facsimile edition, there were only a few spots where the main text was missing a letter or two. A bit more often, the smaller font of the marginal commentary took longer to decipher.
Some of the commentary is amusingly outdated (e.g., from Luke XV:8 a drachma is "some what more in value then fyue pence of olde sterling money"--thanks, that's helpful. . .). Much of it is useful in seeing Christ through all of scripture. Then there are the comments that show obvious denominational bias--much vehemency against the Pope in particular, especially in Revelation.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who are interested in reading the same Bible used by the Pilgrims and first Americans (among others) then this is a very interesting protestant Bible. Don't let the old english get in the way...you will be surprised how quickly it becomes a non-issue for all but the most elusive words. Historical and a great companion for serious study.

[Covenant Presbyterian Springfield Ohio]

Call Number: 220.5 GEN (2 copies)

Given in memory of Lucile KIRKBRIDE by her family.

Reference.

[Aaron Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must have on the shelf. Predating the KJ version by many years. It was this bible which came to Colonies and had the most influence on the thinking of its founders.

[Craig Bolton]

The Geneva Bible: A Facsimile of the 1560 Edition by Lloyd E. Berry (2007)