English Geneva Bible - Bible of the Protestant Reformation

The Geneva Bible, although largely forgotten today, was the most widely read and influential English Bible during the 16th and 17th centuries. This text was among the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower. Mary I, who reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 1553 until her death in 1558, earned the sobriquet "Bloody Mary" due to her executions of Protestants. Her persecution led to the Marian Exile, which drove 800 English scholars to the European continent, where a number of them gathered in Geneva, Switzerland.

In Geneva, a team of scholars led by William Whittingham, and assisted by Miles Coverdale, Christopher Goodman, Anthony Gilby, John Knox, and Thomas Sampson, produced the Geneva Bible. This superb translation was based on Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, as well as a revision of William Tyndale's New Testament, which had first appeared in 1526. The Geneva Bible New Testament was published in 1557, with the complete Bible appearing in 1560.

The Geneva Bible became the Bible of choice for many of the greatest writers and thinkers of that time, including William Shakespeare, John Bunyan, and John Milton, who all used this version in their writings. It was the product of the best Protestant scholars of the day and represented a significant advancement in biblical translation and interpretation.

Despite its widespread popularity and influence, the Geneva Bible is largely forgotten today, overshadowed by the King James Version, which eventually supplanted it. However, the Geneva Bible's enduring legacy can be seen in its impact on the English language, literature, and the course of religious history during a pivotal period in the development of Protestantism.

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