What is the Geneva Bible?

The Geneva Bible is an early English translation of

the Bible. Its name comes from the fact it was first
published in Geneva in 1560. The work of Protestant
exiles from England and Scotland, the Geneva Bible
is well respected and was an important Bible in
Scotland and England before and even after the King
James Version was published in 1611. For some forty
years after the King James Version was published,
the Geneva Bible remained the most popular English
Translation of the Bible.

In 1553 Mary Tudor became Queen of England. As

Queen she was committed to eliminating Protestant
influences in England and restoring Roman
Catholicism as the official religion. Under her rule
there was a time of intense persecution of
Protestants known as the Marian Persecutions which
earned her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” She had
over 300 Protestant believers burned at the stake,
and many others fled to other countries rather than
face certain death for not supporting Roman
Catholicism.

During this time period several key English

Protestant leaders fled to Geneva, Switzerland, to
avoid the persecution in England. Among those were
Miles Coverdale, John Foxe, Thomas Sampson, and
William Whittingham. With the support of John Calvin
and the Scottish Reformer John Knox, these English
Reformers decided to publish an English Bible that
was not dependent upon the approval of English
royalty. Building upon earlier English translations
such as those done by William Tyndale and Myles
Coverdale, the Geneva Bible was the first English
translation in which all of the Old Testament was
translated directly from Hebrew manuscripts. Much
of the translation work was done by William
Whittingham, the brother-in-law of John Calvin.

In 1557 they published an English New Testament. A

few years later, in 1560, the first edition of the
Geneva Bible was published in Geneva, Switzerland
containing both the New and Old Testament along
with significant translation notes. This new English
Bible was dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I who had
been crowned Queen of England in 1558 after the
death of Queen Mary I. Under Queen Elizabeth, the
persecution of Protestants stopped and she began
leading England back towards Protestantism. This led
to later editions of the Geneva Bible being published
in England beginning in 1576. In all, over 150
editions were published with the 1644 version being
the latest.

Pre-dating the King James Version by 51 years, the

Geneva Bible was one of the earliest mass produced
English Bibles commonly available to the public. It
was the primary English Bible used by 16th century
English Protestant Reformers and was the Bible used
by such people as William Shakespeare, John Milton,
John Knox and John Bunyan.

Often considered as one of the earliest examples of a

study Bible, the Geneva Bible contained detailed
notes, verse citations that allowed cross referencing
of passages, and also study aids such as book
introductions, maps, and woodcut illustrations. It was
printed in at least three different sizes and was
reasonably affordable, costing less than a week’s
wages even for the lowest paid workers.

The annotations or notes in the Geneva Bible were

distinctly Calvinist and Puritan in character which
made it unpopular with some of the pro-government
Church of England leaders as well as King James I.
This led King James I to commission the new
translation that would become known as the
Authorized Version or the King James Bible.
Surprisingly, though, some of the Geneva notes were
found in a few editions of the King James Bible up to
the 1715 version. The Geneva Bible was also seen as
threats to Roman Catholicism as some of its notes,
written by Protestant Reformers during a time of
intense persecution by the Roman Catholic Church,
are distinctly anti-Roman Catholic.

Eventually the King James Version would replace the

Geneva Bible as the most popular English translation.
The Geneva Bible is a very important English
translation and was the primary Bible used by many
early settlers in America. In recent years it has
gained increasing popularity again, both because it is
an excellent translation and because of its well-
written study notes.