1597 Geneva Bible - Book of Judges Title Page Leaf

The Bible. That is the Holy Scriptures conteined in the Olde and Newe Testament, With profitable Annotations…

NOTE

The most widely circulated of the early English versions was the Geneva Bible.

A devout Roman Catholic, Queen Mary, took the throne on July 19, 1553. ‘Bloody’ Mary sought to return England to Catholicism and was not afraid to prosecute protestants in order to do it. An exodus to the continent resulted in a small settlement of exiles in Geneva, Switzerland.

William Whittingham and a group of fine scholars translated the text from the original Hebrew and Greek resulting in the Geneva Bible. Boasting wide margins, clear Roman font, and a smaller quarto size, the Geneva Bible was well received by the people.

With an average print run of 2,000 copies per edition, over 280,000 Geneva Bibles were printed between 1560 and 1644. Its phrases found an echo in Scripture quotations from Shakespeare to Bunyan, and it journeyed to America aboard the Mayflower.

According to Dr. David Daniell, once printing in England could begin in 1576, the Geneva Bible “became at once the Bible of the English people.” The first Bible with verse divisions and marginal notes to aid the reader, it was “intended to illuminate at every point. The influence of the Geneva Bible is incalculable.”

SHIPPING

All of our special Geneva Bible leaves will be protected between sheets of cardboard and shipped via USPS Priority Mail.

REFERENCES

Herbert 235; STC 2168.