Audio • Season 1 • Episode 5 • (New) Series 1 Episode 5 Part One. Geneva — The Bible of the Exiles.

The artwork is the cover from an original copy of the Geneva Bible dated 1560.

First published in 1560, the Geneva Bible became one of the most historically significant English translations of Scripture. It appeared twenty-two years before the Rheims New Testament and fifty-one years before the King James Bible.

The Geneva Bible became the most widely read English Protestant Bible of the late sixteenth century. Its language was known to writers and religious figures including William Shakespeare, John Knox and John Donne, although they also encountered other English translations. Copies of the Geneva Bible were later carried across the Atlantic by English settlers, helping to establish its influence in North America.

The Music is I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art. Sung by the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. Author: Anonymous. Source: French, 1545; French Psalter, Strasbourg, 1545.

The full text of the hymn appears in the epilogue.

Notes:

First published in 1560, the Geneva Bible was a groundbreaking work that represented a remarkable achievement in Renaissance scholarship, printing, and Reformation theology.

Part One tells the story of the English Protestant exiles who fled the reign of Queen Mary and attempted to rebuild their religious community in continental Europe.

It follows their disputes in Frankfurt, their journey to Geneva, and the work of William Whittingham and his companions as they created a Bible designed not only to be read, but to be studied and understood by ordinary people.

© 20 26 The Rise of the Protestants., Author, Shaughan Holt.

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Series 1.

Episode 5.

Part 1.

Geneva — The Bible of the Exiles.

The date is the 30th of May, 15 60.

In Geneva, William Whittingham, an English Protestant driven from his homeland, stood before the city council.

In his hands was a remarkable book—the register of Geneva’s small English congregation.

He had come on behalf of the English men, women and children, who had found refuge there during the reign of Queen Mary.

Whittingham started, by thanking the council for the kindness and protection, they had received in Geneva.

With England back under Protestant rule, the exiles were getting ready to return home.

Before leaving, Whittingham asked the council to provide a written record of how the congregation had behaved during their time in Geneva.

He also handed over the register of the English congregation.

This register, known as the "Livre des Anglois", or Book of the English, had been carefully prepared, with separate sections for members, elections, baptisms, marriages and burials.

And yet, despite its careful preparation, most of its pages stood blank and silent.

The register had 149 numbered pages, but only twelve had any writing.

It had been prepared, for a congregation that expected its life in Geneva to continue.

Instead, it became the brief chronicle of a refugee church, whose life there, spanned just four and a half years.

The council gave the English an honourable discharge, and provided the testimonial Whittingham had requested.

In return, the councillors asked that the exiles remember Geneva in their prayers—and that when strangers came to England, they should treat them with the same kindness, they had received.

The register remained in the city’s care, preserved as a lasting memorial to their fleeting community.

Seven weeks earlier, another remarkable book, had appeared from Rowland Hall’s printing press in Geneva.

It carried no translator’s name.

It had not been commissioned by an English monarch, or authorised for use by the Church of England.

It was the work of religious refugees, and It was the Geneva Bible.

The Marian Exiles.

To understand how this Bible came to be made, we need to go back to the summer of 15 53.

In July that year, Mary Tudor became Queen of England.

Mary, a devoted Catholic, was determined to reverse the religious changes, begun under her father, Henry the Eighth, and taken much further under her half-brother, Edward the Sixth.

As a result, the Protestant reforms introduced during Edward’s reign were gradually dismantled.

The Latin Mass returned, papal authority was recognised again, and the laws against heresy were brought back.

For England’s committed Protestants, Mary's accession created a dangerous and uncertain future.

Some remained in England and attempted to practise their religion discreetly.

Others kept preaching or publishing Protestant ideas, even as the risks for them increased.

Several hundred English Protestants fled into exile.

After crossing the Channel, they found refuge in Protestant communities across continental Europe.

Some travelled to Strasbourg, Zürich, Basel, Emden, Wesel and other cities.

One of the most important exile communities formed in Frankfurt.

The city’s magistrates, allowed the English Protestants to use a church, that had already been given to a French-speaking Reformed group.

However, the offer came with an important condition.

The English exiles were expected to follow a form of worship consistent with that of the French congregation, with whom they would share the church building.

This created an immediate difficulty.

While the English exiles were united in their opposition to the restoration of Catholicism, they were deeply divided, over how far the Reformation should go.

The Dispute at Frankfurt.

One group wanted to keep using the English Book of Common Prayer, the same one used under Edward VI.

Although it was Protestant, the Prayer Book kept a formal style of worship, with set prayers, responses, ceremonies, and a clear order for each service.

Other exiles preferred a simpler form of worship, closer to that practised by Reformed churches in continental Europe.

They believed that the English Church had retained Catholic traditions, without a clear basis in Scripture.

Leading supporters of further reform, included John Knox and William Whittingham.

Knox was a Scottish preacher who had spent several years in England, during the reign of Edward VI.

While Whittingham was an English scholar and religious exile, who would later become closely associated with the translation of the Geneva Bible.

Knox and Whittingham made a Latin summary of the English Prayer Book and sent it to John Calvin in Geneva for his opinion.

Calvin’s reply was critical.

Although he did not condemn everything in the Prayer Book, he believed it contained unnecessary ceremonies left over from the old religion.

His answer, gave more support to those who wanted a simpler and more fully Reformed service.

The disagreement became increasingly bitter.

People tried to create a compromise form of worship, but neither side was happy with the results.

When several well-known English exiles who supported the Prayer Book, arrived in Frankfurt, the balance shifted against Knox and his followers.

Soon, the dispute would go beyond just prayers and ceremonies.

In March 15 55, some members of the congregation, presented the Frankfurt magistrates with extracts from one of Knox’s published works.

In this work, Knox attacked Mary Tudor, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Philip of Spain.

The magistrates feared that allowing him to remain, might place the city in a dangerous political position.

Knox was not tried or given an official sentence.

Instead, the magistrates ordered him to leave Frankfurt.

On 26 March 15 55, after giving his last sermon to his supporters, John Knox left the city and went to Geneva.

Geneva.

By the mid-15 00s, Geneva had become a leading centre of the Reformed Protestant movement.

John Calvin helped build a disciplined religious community there, focused on preaching, education, and the careful study of Scripture.

The city had also become a place of refuge.

Protestants escaping persecution in France, Italy, England and other places began to settle in Geneva.

They brought different languages, skills and religious traditions, adding to Geneva’s growing community of Protestant refugees.

Geneva was also home to scholars working in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, supported by a growing community of printers and booksellers.

Its presses produced Bibles, commentaries, sermons and other religious works, for readers throughout Europe.

For English Protestants, seeking safety and further reform, Geneva offered, what Frankfurt could no longer provide.

It gave them the chance to start their own congregation.

On the 10th of June, 15 55, Calvin appeared before the Geneva council, to speak on behalf of a group of English Protestants who had been exiled for their religious beliefs.

Most of the group was still in Frankfurt, preparing to leave.

He explained that they wished to settle in Geneva, and asked the council to provide them with a place of worship.

In September, William Whittingham wrote to Calvin, explaining that their furniture had been sent ahead, and that the exiles intended to follow as soon as possible.

They left Frankfurt on the 22nd of September, and arrived in Geneva about three weeks later.

On the 13th of October, 15 55, twenty-seven English refugees arrived in Geneva.

They were not just ministers and scholars.

They were also husbands and wives, sons and daughters, carrying their belongings and hoping to rebuild the religious community they had started in Frankfurt.

Other English refugees were already living in Geneva, and the new arrivals soon joined them.

On 1 November, they formally constituted themselves as an English church.

The event was recorded in their register in just a few words: “The Church was erected on 1 November 15 55.”

Since John Knox was not there, Christopher Goodman and Anthony Gilby were chosen to preach and lead the sacraments.

Knox returned to Geneva, and became the congregation’s minister the following year.

The council later allowed the English to use Notre-Dame-la-Neuve, a church near the Cathedral of Saint Pierre.

However, just like in Frankfurt, they did not have the building all to themselves, sharing it with a group of Italian, Protestant refugees.

From 25 November, the council divided the weekday services between the two congregations.

The English were allocated Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with their preaching beginning at nine o’clock.

The Italians were allocated Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

A pulpit and benches were provided, and the English were given a bell, to call their congregation to worship.

In a borrowed church, allocated to them just three days each week, choosing their own ministers and elders, the English exiles began forming a new religious community.

They baptised their children, held weddings, and buried those who passed away during their years in exile.

They followed a simpler Reformed style of worship, while continuing their study of Scripture.

The congregation would last only a few years.

Yet during those years, some ministers and scholars began working on a small English New Testament.

Published in 15 57, that book, would become the first stage in the creation of the Geneva Bible.

Whittingham’s Small Book.

The year is 15 57.

The English exiles did not begin by attempting to translate the whole Bible.

Their first project, was a revised English New Testament.

It was a remarkably small book.

As an octavo, it measured about five inches by three and could easily fit in one hand.

This was quite different from the large Bibles made for churches.

This book could be carried, read in private, and now studied at home.

The New Testament was printed in Geneva by Conrad Badius, a scholar, printer and satirical playwright, who came from one of Europe’s most distinguished printing families.

On the final page, the date of publication was clearly recorded.

In modern spelling, it read: “Printed by Conrad Badius, 15 57, this 10th of June.”

But the book did not mention the name of its translator anywhere.

For centuries, it has been closely associated with William Whittingham.

A manuscript account of his life, describes a group of learn-ed Englishmen in Geneva, meeting together, to examine the existing English translations of the New Testament.

Other exiles may have also reviewed the work and helped with it.

Still, the evidence in the New Testament points directly to Whittingham.

In his address to the reader, the translator often wrote in the first person, with words such as:

“I have divided the text.”

“I have sometimes interpreted it.”

“I have set it in such letters.”

These words, came from a single individual describing his own work, not from a group speaking together.

Because of this, the 15 57 New Testament, is usually seen as Whittingham’s own achievement, though he may have drawn on the knowledge of others in the English congregation.

However, Whittingham was not starting from scratch.

He drew heavily upon William Tyndale' English New Testament, comparing it with earlier English translations and checking it against the Greek text.

His aim was not to replace Tyndale’ work, but to revise and improve it, making it easier for ordinary readers to understand.

The finished work, included several features, that later became well known in the Geneva Bible.

It was printed in a clear roman type, instead of the heavier blackletter, which was common in earlier English Bibles.

When the translator, supplied words to make the English meaning clearer, these were printed in a different style, allowing readers to distinguish them from words represented directly in the original Greek text.

Most importantly, each verse was given its own number and started on a new line.

Numbered verses were not Whittingham’s invention.

They had already been used in Greek, Latin, and French editions of the Scriptures.

However, this was the first English New Testament to use numbered verses throughout.

Whittingham also added short notes, and more than 800 cross-references, to help readers find related passages in Scripture.

Even the Book's title page carried a message.

The woodcut on the title page, showed Time, depicted as an old winged figure with a scythe,- leading Truth out of a cave.

Around the image were the words: “God by time restoreth truth, and maketh her victorious.”

This image was especially meaningful during Queen Mary’s reign, since her motto said, that truth was the daughter of time.

Whether Whittingham intended this as a deliberate challenge to the queen, cannot be proved.

Nevertheless, this English New Testament, created by religious exiles, presented the recovery of truth as something that could not be held back for ever.

Only one edition of the English Scriptures was published during Mary’s five-year reign.

This was that book.

Whittingham’s small New Testament, was not yet the Geneva Bible.

The translation would be revised again, and the major work of preparing the Old Testament still lay ahead.

Nevertheless, the main principles had now been established: clear roman type, numbered verses, cross-references, explanatory notes, and a book designed for personal reading.

However, the groundwork for the Geneva Bible was now in place.

Completing the Geneva Bible.

As it turned out, Whittingham’s New Testament was only the beginning.

The English exiles now turned their attention to the far greater task of preparing a complete Bible.

This meant translating and revising the Old Testament, doing more work on the New Testament, and preparing thousands of notes, summaries, and cross-references.

Later, in their address to the reader, the translators described the true scale of their labour.

In slightly modernised spelling, they wrote:

“For God knoweth with what fear and trembling we have been, for the space of two years and more, day and night, occupied herein.”

Their work would continue through a period of dramatic change in England.

On 17 November 15 58, Queen Mary the First, died.

Her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth became Queen, giving exiles new hope that they could return home safely.

Soon after, members of the English congregation started leaving Geneva.

John Knox returned to Scotland, Christopher Goodman later followed him, while Miles Coverdale also made his way back to England.

William Whittingham and Anthony Gilby, however, remained in Geneva.

The English Bible they had helped to create was still unfinished.

Exactly who took part in the translation cannot be established with certainty.

Later reports listed Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Thomas Sampson, John Knox, and a few others.

However, some of these men had left Geneva before the Bible was completed, while others cannot be securely connected with the work.

The two scholars most securely connected with the project until its completion were William Whittingham and Anthony Gilby, although several others may also have contributed.

We cannot know precisely how much Whittingham contributed, but his earlier New Testament, his scholarship, and his leading position within the congregation, suggest that he played a central role.

The translators did not aim to replace all the earlier work.

Much of their English was based on the work of William Tyndale, whose translations had shaped every major English Bible produced since the 15 20s.

They also used translations by Miles Coverdale, along with those from the Matthew Bible and the Great Bible.

The translators compared these earlier English versions with the original Hebrew and Greek texts, as well as Latin, French and other European translations available in Geneva.

The Geneva Bible was therefore not a completely new translation, produced without any reference to its predecessors.

It was an extensive and careful revision of the English biblical tradition, tested against the original languages, and informed by the biblical scholarship and European translations available in Geneva.

However the project would also need its own printing press.

In December 15 58, two members of the English congregation, John Bodley and William Williams, established a printing house in Geneva, placing the English printer Rowland Hall in charge.

Hall’s name later appeared on the finished Bible's title page, but the translators remained anonymous.

The work was finally finished in the spring of 15 60.

Both the dedication to Queen Elizabeth and the address to the reader, were dated 10 April 15 60.

In modern spelling, the title page began with the words, -“The Bible and Holy Scriptures, contained in the Old and New Testament.”

And below it, appeared the name of the printer and the place of the publication, - “At Geneva, Printed by Rowland Hall, 15 60”.

No English monarch had commissioned it.

No bishop had supervised it.

It carried no royal authorisation, and it was never formally approved for use in the churches of England.

It was a Bible created by religious exiles, working in a foreign city, and printed, through the efforts of members of their own refugee congregation.

And yet, - it would go on to be read, in countless English and Scottish homes.

A Bible Made for the Reader.

The Geneva Bible was remarkable not only for its translation, but also for how it presented the Scriptures.

It was the first complete English Bible, to use numbered verses throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

This made individual passages, much easier to locate, compare and discuss.

English-speaking congregations, families and groups of readers could now refer easily to the same numbered passage, anywhere in the complete Bible.

The 15 60 edition, was also the first complete English Bible, printed in a clear roman type, rather than the heavier blackletter, used in the earlier English Bibles.

To modern readers, its pages look much more familiar than those of earlier English Bibles.

Sometimes, words had to be supplied to make the meaning clear in English, even though they had no exact equivalent in the Hebrew or Greek text.

These words were printed in italics, allowing readers to see, what the translators had added for clarity.

Again, the Geneva translators did not invent this convention, but they presented it, in a form later adopted by the translators of the King James Bible.

Every book in the Geneva Bible began with an introduction, explaining what it was about and why it was written.

Each chapter included a summary, and readers could use maps, tables, and cross-references to track people, places and events in the Bible.

The author explained challenging words and passages in the margins.

The original edition was printed in quarto format.

A quarto ,was produced by folding a large printed sheet twice, to create 4 leaves, or eight printed pages, before the sheets were gathered and bound.

The 15 60 Geneva Bible, was smaller and easier to use, than the large folio Bibles made for church lecterns.

Some of those larger Bibles were even chained to the furniture.

However, the original quarto was still substantial, - and relatively expensive.

It was not a small Bible that every ordinary labourer could carry in his pocket.

However, its reputation for portability grew, as later editions appeared in smaller octavo and duodecimo formats, which were easier to hold, transport, and use at home.

Its biblical text was normally arranged in two columns, surrounded by summaries, cross-references and explanatory notes.

This meant the Bible was not just meant to be read aloud in church.

Instead, it encouraged people to read, compare, question, and talk about the Scriptures on their own.

For this reason, the Geneva Bible is often described as the first English study Bible.

However, this label needs some explanation.

Some earlier Bibles already included helpful notes, and the Geneva translators did not create every feature themselves.

But what they did, was to combine numbered verses, introductions, summaries, cross-references, maps, tables and extensive marginal notes in one complete English Bible.

No previous English Bible, had ever brought all these features together, on such a scale.

The book assumed that its reader might be sitting at home, without a priest or minister beside them, and would need help understanding the text.

This principle lay at the heart of the Geneva Bible.

It was intended to be more than just a translation of Scripture.

It was also a guide to reading and interpreting it.

And in the margins, surrounding the biblical text, the exiles placed thousands of notes, that would make the Geneva Bible both celebrated—and deeply controversial.

Those notes, and what they actually said, are where our story will continue.

Epilogue:

Congregational singing Capitol Hill Baptist Church - Washington, D.C.

Text: John Calvin

Tune: TOULON

I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,

My only trust and Saviour of my heart,

Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;

I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,

Reigning omnipotent in every place;

So come, O King, and our whole being sway;

Shine on us with the light of Thy pure day.

Thou art the life, by which alone we live,

And all our substance and our strength receive;

Sustain us by Thy faith and by Thy power,

And give us strength in every trying hour.

Our hope is in no other save in Thee;

Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;

Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,

That in Thy strength we evermore endure.