The First English Bibles

1
The First English Bibles

• Early Manuscript Sources
• Ancient Hebrew Manuscripts MSS
• Uncertain origin none survive
• Septuagint (LXX, 70) 3rd to 1st century BC
• 72 scholars translated Ancient Hebrew MSS into
  Greek
• Greek Orthodox Church still uses these scriptures
• Masoretic Texts 150 BC thru AD 1425
• Hebrew manuscripts strict systematic copying by
  Jewish master-scribes
• Basis of modern Jewish scriptures
• Samaritan Pentateuch
• BC Samaritans had their own Hebrew MSS
• Roots to Pre-Captivity MSS?
• Note LXX is closer to Samaritan than to
  Masoretic

2

• St. Jerome (382-405) translates the Latin
  Vulgate AD 404
• OT based on Masoretic, and LXX
• NT from Greek manuscripts
• Vulgate means common, for common tongue
• Latin Vulgate remains official RCC Bible text
  today!
• The Church opposed new translations because
• They didnt need another version
• it undermined their authority
• it fostered faction and controversy
• Latin was the language of civilization

3

• Why no English version in AD 405 ?
• English did not exist!
• English formed from invaders
• Angles, Saxons, Jutes, 450
• Danes (Vikings) 800-900
• Normans (transplanted Vikings) in 1066
• Bible fragments translated into Old English
  starting lt900
• Middle English forms 1066- 1470
• John Wycliff, 1320-1384
• Oxford Doctor, church official
• Master of languages, doctrine
• Reformer during the two-Pope schism of 1378-1417

4

• 1 And Jhesus, seynge the puple, wente vp in to an
  hil and whanne he was set, hise disciplis camen
  to hym.
• 2 And he openyde his mouth, and tauyte hem, and
  seide,
• 3 Blessed ben pore men in spirit, for the kyngdom
  of heuenes is herne.
• 4 Blessid ben mylde men, for thei schulen welde
  the erthe.
• 5 Blessid ben thei that mornen, for thei schulen
  be coumfortid.
• 6 Blessid ben thei that hungren and thristen
  riytwisnesse, for thei schulen be fulfillid.
• 7 Blessid ben merciful men, for thei schulen gete
  merci.
• 8 Blessid ben thei that ben of clene herte, for
  thei schulen se God.
• 9 Blessid ben pesible men, for thei schulen be
  clepid Goddis children.
• 10 Blessid ben thei that suffren persecusioun for
  riytfulnesse, for the kingdam of heuenes is herne.

• Wyclif, disgusted with church politics, declares
• Authority of Scripture is greater than any Pope
  (a radical idea at the time)
• Wyclif privately translates the Latin Vulgate
  into Middle English (see left column)
• Wyclif Bible (1384) is the first complete
  version of the Bible in English
• All copies were manuscripts (no printing)
• Wyclifs fate
• Condemned as a heretic, 1378, and forced into
  retirement
• Finishes translation before his death, 1384
• Formally condemned in 1425, exhumed and burned

5

• Wyclifs impact
• Followers, the Lollards, begin to publicly read
  English scripture and preach throughout the
  country
• The Church reacts
• Lollardy condemned
• Many arrested, some burned
• All Wyclif Bibles that can be found are burned
• A few copies of Wyclifs Bible survive
• No serious attempts at English translation for
  140 years

6

• Two important people set the stage
• Johann Gutenburg, 1398-1468
• Invents moveable metal type press, 1450
• First ever mass media
• Publishes Gutenburg Bibles..(Latin Vulgate)
  1451
• Desiderius Erasmus 1466-1536
• Most famous scholar of his time
• Challenged church doctrine and corruption
• Greeks fleeing fall of Constantiople brought MSS
  of LXX and Greek NT manuscripts (the Byzantine
  Bible)
• Erasmus assembles Greek MSS into a complete Greek
  NT, called the Textus Receptus
• First edition, 1519
• Improved edition, 1522

7

• Martin Luther 1483-1546
• Posts famous 95 Theses in 1517
• Prot. Reformation ensues. A long story
• Translates the 1519 ed. Of Textus Receptus into
  German NT, 1522 (OT in 1534)
• William Tyndale 1484-1536
• Priest, scholar, pro-reformation
• Works in secret, to translate the improved 1522
  ed. Of Textus Receptus into early Modern English
• Tyndale masters Hebrew, to partially translate
  Masoretic into English OT
• Genesis thru 2 Chronicles, plus Jonah

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• Tyndale (continued)
• Publishes while in hiding, on the Continent
• New Testament 1526
• Pentateuch 1530
• Jonah 1531
• Revised NT, 1534
• Tyndales translation is so good, it forms the
  foundation for all subsequent Protestant English
  translations, up to King James
• 1536, Tyndale is betrayed to Henry VIIIs
  executioners, hunting him in Belgium
• He is strangled, Oct. 6, 1536, then burned
• His famous last words
• Oh Lord, open the King of Englands eyes

9

• 1535, Miles Coverdale (in hiding) completes OT
• Translates the rest of OT from Vulgate and
  Luthers German, combines with Tyndales NT and
  incomplete OT
• Creates Coverdale Bible, 1535, Antwerp
• First complete Bible (OT and NT) printed in
  English
• 1537, Henry VIII opens his eyes licenses
  printing of Matthews Bible (same as
  Coverdales Bible, with notes)
• Overseen by Tyndales friend, John Rogers
• First Bible legally printed in English
• Translation is Tyndale / Coverdale
• Includes margin notes by Tyndale

10

• 1539 Henry VIII commissions Great Bible to be
  read in the new Anglican Churches
• Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer,
  oversees the project (first Protestant head of
  English church)
• Miles Coverdale hired to oversee translation
• Essentially, a revision of Matthews Bible
• Eliminates margin notes.
• Continues in publication under Henrys son,
  Edward VI, 1547-1553
• The church in England becomes officially
  Anglican
• 1553, Catholic Bloody Mary I becomes queen (r.
  1553-1559)
• Bans, confiscates, and destroys all English
  Bibles, legal or not
• Executes
• Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas
  Cranmer
• Many Protestant/Anglican leaders nobles
• Anyone caught with any English Bible

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• 1553 Scholar William Whittingham, and translator
  Miles Coverdale.
• Flee England for the safety of John Calvins
  Protestant city Geneva
• Lead 5 translators to finish Tyndales Masoretic
  translation from 2 Chronicles, on. (not from
  German or Latin, as Coverdales 1535 Bible)
• Make minor revisions to Tyndale
• They Publish the Geneva Bible 1557-60
• Also called Breeches Bible from Gen. 2
• Also called Pilgrims Bible
• First English Bible entirely from Greek Hebrew
• First English Bible with chapters and verses
• Adds maps, notes, etc.
• Used by Shakespeare, Donne, Bunyan, Cromwell,
  etc.
• Brought to America on the Mayflower
• 80 to 90 of the wording is Tyndale!
• Hugely popular. last printing 1644

12

• 1558, Elizabeth I becomes queen (reigns
  1558-1603)
• Anglican church restored many Catholics flee to
  France
• Problem The Geneva Bible, with commentary, is
• Very Puritanical,
• Generally opposed to Anglican Church
  institutions,
• Strongly disliked by the Anglican Church
  officials
• Young Elizabeth I
• Commissions Archbishop Matthew Parker for a new
  translation replace the Great Bible for use in
  churches
• Parker and 17 Scholars labor on Greek and Hebrew
  texts
• Translators borrow heavily from Great Bible and
  Geneva (that is, Tyndale, Coverdale, and
  Whittingham)
• 1568, the Anglican Bishops Bible is published
• Designed to replace the Great Bible of 1539
• Used by clergy, and in services
• Quoted extensively in the Common Book of Prayer
• BUT. Never Replaces Geneva with the people.

13

• 1582, The Catholic Bible Douay-Rheims
• English Catholic scholars flee England, establish
  the English College at Douai, France
• In reaction to Anglican and Puritan translations,
  they create a pro-Catholic translation
• Led by Gregory Martin, Oxford Fellow
• Translated entirely from Latin Vulgate (like
  Wyclif)
• NT in 1582, published at Rheims
• OT in 1609, published at Douai
• Poorly received, not popular, until extensively
  revised by Richard Challoner in 1752 (with much
  influence from Tyndale, Geneva, etc.)

14

• 1603, James I becomes King of England
• He faces a problem
• The English church is splitting between the
  government-sanctioned Anglican church, and the
  popular Puritan movement
• The people like the Geneva Bible, but
• The Geneva Bible is too Puritanical for either
  church or government
• Anglican/Puritan friction is becoming worse
  leads to civil war in 1640s
• James calls a meeting between Anglican and
  Puritan leaders, 1604
• Puritan leader John Reynolds proposes a new
  translation, to eliminate biases of both the
  Bishops Bible, and the Geneva Bible
• "moved his majesty that there might be a new
  translation of the Bible, because those which
  were allowed in the reign of king Henry the
  Eighth and his son Edward the Sixth were
  corrupt and not answerable to the truth of the
  original. Wikipedia

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• King James Version
• King James's instructions made it clear that he
  wanted the resulting translation to contain a
  minimum of controversial notes ., and that he
  wanted the episcopal structure of the Established
  Church, and traditional beliefs about an ordained
  clergy to be reflected in the new translation.
  His order directed the translators to revise the
  Bishop's Bible, comparing other named English
  versions. Wikipedia
• 54 Scholars work in 6 committees at different
  colleges
• They started with Bishops Bible, using Tyndale,
  Coverdale, Matthews, and Geneva for references.
  (Bishops Bible is also mostly Tyndales
  translation)
• Worked from Masoretic for OT, Textus Receptus for
  NT
• Imported some words and phrases from Douay-Rheims
• Result King James version, first ed. published
  1611
• Approximately 80 unaltered from Tyndale
  Wikipedia
• Later editions 1629, 1638, 1762, 1769 (1769 is
  the most common version in use today)
• Eclipses Geneva in popularity, after Puritans
  fall from power, 1660

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• Conclusions
• One translator can make a HUGE impact
• The 72 Greeks formed a basis for translation ever
  since (over 2000 years)
• Jeromes translation was the ONLY western
  translation for 1000 years, and is still official
• Tyndales translation dominated English versions
  from 1530 until the 20th century
• Some translations are better, but none is
  perfect
• Many influenced by culture
• Many influenced by religious bias or politics
  (usually in commentary)
• Not all MSS agree a choice must be made
• Some people will always get upset about
  translation
• Tyndale, John Rogers, Thomas Cranmer, etc.,
  killed
• Coverdale and others forced to flee
• Literally 1000s of English Bibles burned or
  destroyed, in the name of the Lord by the
  Church, Henry VIII, and Mary I
• Many people today, oppose any translation since
  1611 KJV, just like the Catholic Church didnt
  want anything after Jerome
• Many of their arguments are similar dont rock
  the boat, its been good enough for 400/1000
  years, if you cant understand, then learn

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• Sources
• Ink Blood, Dead Sea Scrolls to the English
  Bible
• William H. Noah, Founder
• Craig B. Salazar, COO
• F. J. Rusty Maisel, Associate Curator
• David L. Brown, Associate Curator
• Wikipedia (online encyclopedia, various authors)
• History of the English-Speaking Peoples (Winston
  Churchill, 1955)
• St. Augustine (Garry Wills, 2000)