How the Bible Came to Us

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How the Bible Came to Us

• The English Bible to 1611

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Introductory Remarks

• For more than nine hundred years (fourth to
  fourteenth centuries) English-speaking people did
  not have a Bible in their own language.
• A major reason for this was the 1000 year
  dominance of the Latin Vulgate as the
  authoritative translation in the church.
• Second, few had the skill or the time to render
  the Bible into English.
• Third, the church was reluctant, even
  antagonistic, towards having the Bible translated
  into English, fearing it would lose power and
  revenue.

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Some Historical Background

• The Romans conquered Britain in the early second
  century.
• By this time Christianity was well established in
  the Roman Empire...as was persecution of
  Christians.
• This persecution caused Christians to flee to the
  farthest reaches of the Empire.
• There is evidence that Christianity had reached
  England by at least the early fourth century.
• Constantines decree in 313 was a very
  significant change in direction, but Latin would
  remain the language of the church for centuries.
  Early on, only small portions of Scripture were
  translated into English from the Latin Vulgate.

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Some Historical Background

• When the French-speaking Normans conquered
  England in 1066, Old English culture was dealt a
  death blow.
• By the twelfth century the English language had
  virtually died out.
• But in the middle twelfth century, a new language
  a mixture of Norman and Old English came into
  being and Middle English was born.
• Still, for three more centuries, few Bible books
  were translated into English.

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The Wycliffe Bible(NT, 1380 Entire Bible, 1382)

• John Wycliffe (c. 1329-1384) was a brilliant
  English scholar, lecturer (at Oxford University),
  debater, and churchman.
• In time he grew concerned about the power and
  corruption in the established Church, and began
  to speak and write about this.
• Wycliffe was convinced that the people needed the
  Bible in their own language.
• His translation was from the Latin Vulgate. A
  second edition appeared in 1388.
• The hierarchy of the church condemned the Bible.
  Yet the threat of severe penalties for those
  found reading it had the reverse effect of
  arousing interest, in both the Bible and
  literacy.
• A number of Wycliffes associates were executed
  his bones were dug up and burned, and the ashes
  scattered in the River Swift.

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The Tyndale Bible(NT, 1526 OT Portions 1534)

• While opposition to translations into English
  remained strong, William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536)
  translated the NT into English in 1526.
• Tyndale taught at Oxford and Cambridge and became
  proficient in Greek.
• Tyndale was initially housed in London by a
  wealthy English cloth merchant as he began his
  work, but subsequently fled to Hamburg to finish
  it.
• His NT was printed in Worms, Germany, then
  smuggled into England in cotton bales or other
  containers.
• Cuthbert Tunstall, bishop of London and the man
  from whom Tyndale had sought permission to
  translate the Bible, sought to buy and destroy
  every copy he could...which actually helped
  Tyndale in his work through increased sales!
• His revised and corrected edition of 1534 was his
  best work.
• Tyndale was kidnapped from Antwerp and
  imprisoned near Brussels, Belgium.
• In addition to warmer clothing, he requested a
  copy of the Hebrew Bible and a Hebrew grammar and
  dictionary, in order to translate the OT.
• In 1536 he was found guilty of heresy and
  executed.

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Comparison between Wycliffes and Tyndales Bibles

• Tyndales Bible
• Translated from Greek and Hebrew.
• Printed
• Modern English
• Included marginal notes, about half of which were
  translated from Luthers Bible.

• Wycliffes Bible
• Translated from the Latin Vulgate
• Hand copied
• Middle English

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The Coverdale Bible(1535)

• Miles Coverdale (1488-1569) was an avid learner
  who, under the influence of the Reformation, left
  his order as an Augustinian friar.
• Coverdale developed his edition while in exile in
  Antwerp.
• Not proficient in the biblical languages, he
  consulted five earlier translations.
• Upon hearing of King Henry VIIIs amenability to
  an English translation, he dedicated the work to
  him.
• The king subsequently accepted the translation.
• Though it was re-printed twice, it never became
  an authorized English version.
• Coverdale also edited the Great Bible (1539),
  which was a revision of the Matthew Bible and so
  named because of its size (11 x 16.5).
• It was the first English Bible to be authorized
  for public use in churches.

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The Matthew Bible(1537)

• John Rogers studied at Cambridge, served as a
  rector in a London church, and helped smuggle
  Bibles into England.
• He took the pen name of Thomas Matthew and
  finished editing the OT portion of Tyndales
  Bible.
• By this time the Bible in English was gaining
  widespread popularity...but when England reverted
  to Roman Catholicism under Mary Tudor, Rogers was
  one of the first people to be burned at the stake
  in 1555.

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The Geneva Bible(1560)

• During the reign of Mary, Protestant fugitives
  fled to Geneva, which was a safe haven for
  biblical scholarship.
• William Wittingham, brother-in-law of Calvins
  wife and an instructor at All Souls College at
  Oxford, was one of these fugitives.
• Whittingham undertook a revision of the English
  Bible which came to be known as the Geneva Bible
  and which was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I, who
  favored Protestantism.
• This was a thorough revision of the Great Bible
  in the OT. The NT was primarily Tyndales
  version, with some revisions based on the Great
  Bible and Bezas Latin NT.
• The marginal notes were clearly Calvinistic and
  anti-Roman, and made a strong impact upon the
  people of England and Scotland...but this Bible
  was never authorized to be read in the churches
  of England.

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The Bishops Bible(1568)

• Recognizing the need for a new translation,
  Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, was
  asked to oversee a revision of the Great Bible.
• Bishops were also invited to participate, hence
  the name.
• This became the authorized version and was placed
  in all the churches.
• Its few footnotes were expressly
  non-controversial.

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The Douay-Rheims Bible(NT, 1582 OT, 1609-10)

• Driven by Protestant translations with the notes
  of Calvin and other Protestants, Roman Catholics
  needed an English translation with notes
  supporting its doctrine.
• William Allen, an Oxford fellow and devout Roman
  Catholic, along with Gregory Martin, a lecturer
  at St. Johns College, worked together to fill
  this need.
• This Bible sought to refute the false teachings
  of Protestantism, particularly in the marginal
  notes.
• It was based on the Latin Vulgate and not as good
  a translation as the Protestant versions, but
  served its purpose of getting the Bible into
  English for Roman Catholics.

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Next Time

• The Authorized Version of 1611