Chap. iii. The cha racter of the Genevan revision. New Latin § 6. THE GENEVAN BIBLE. The foundations of the English Bible were laid by exiles in a strange country; and exiles contributed the most important revision which it underwent before the final settlement of the received text. Under the in- 3 fluence of Calvin, Geneva had become the seat of a society of devoted Biblical students, and the results of their labours were made available for the review of the English version by the Marian persecution. The more conservative party among the refugees might have scrupled to use them without reserve, but no such feeling could hold back the seceders from Frankfurt. For the first time the task of emendation was undertaken by men who were ready to press it to the uttermost. They spoke of their position as providential, and in looking back upon the later results of their Bible we can thankfully acknowledge that it was so. They enjoyed, as they say in their preface, many advantages over earlier labourers whose renderings 'required greatly 'to be perused and reformed.' 'Not,' they add, 'that we 'vindicate anything to ourselves above the least of our 'brethren, for God knoweth with what fear and trembling 'we have been now (April 1560) for the space of two 'years and more day and night occupied herein, but 'being earnestly desired......and seeing the great oppor'tunity and occasions which God presented unto us in 'this Church, by reason of so many and godly men 'and such diversity of translations in divers tongues, 'we undertook this great and wonderful work, which 'our God according to his divine providence hath directed 'to a most prosperous end.' Some important versions indeed had been published in, addition to those which have been noticed already Chap. iii. as accessible to the first translators. Leo Juda, who had contributed greatly to the German Bible of Zurich, laboured for many years at a new Latin Version of the Leo Juda. Old Testament. This was left unfinished at his death (1542), but the work was completed by T. Bibliander and C. Pellican. P. Cholin added a translation of the Apocrypha: R. Gualther revised Erasmus' Latin New Testament; and the whole Bible, thus finished, was printed in 1544. The version is vigorous, aiming rather at an intelligible sense, than at a literal rendering of the words of the original. Castalio (Chateillon) carried Castalio. this freedom to a far greater length, and in his singularly elegant version (1551) endeavoured to make the Hebrew writers speak in purely classical Latin. In spite of Beza's vehement assaults Castalio exercised some effect on later Protestant versions; but the New Testament of his great adversary (1556) exercised a far more powerful influence than either of these complete Bibles. Beza made some use of the various readings of Greek Beza. Manuscripts which had been collected in a convenient form by Stephens in his Greek Testament of 1550 (ed. regia); but as yet, in spite of the great advances which › had been made in scholarship, the true principles of Greek criticism were wholly unknown, and the text which served as the basis of translation was as faulty as before. These Latin versions, especially Beza's New Testament, contributed important help to the English revisers; but it was of still greater moment that they were associated at Geneva with a group of scholars who were already engaged in the work of correcting the French Version of Olivetan. As early as 1545 Calvin cursorily revised this Bible, chiefly, as it is said, in points of style and expression. In 1551 he went over the work again Revision of the French Version. Chap. iii. General character of Version of the Old Testament. more thoroughly; and again in 1558. The edition of 1551 contained a new version of the Psalter by L. Budé and of the Apocrypha by Beza. But these successive revisions were confessedly provisional, and it was not till 1588 that the version appeared which, bearing the name 'of the venerable company of pastors at Geneva,' remained for a long time the standard Bible of the French protestants1. Thus the English exiles found themselves surrounded the Genevan by those who were engaged in a task similar to their own. They started indeed with a far better foundation than the French revisers, and their labours shew no impatient desire for change. In the historical books they preserved in the main the old rendering, altering here and there an antiquated word or a long periphrasis. In the Hagiographa, the Prophets, and the poetic books of the Apocrypha, the changes were necessarily far more numerous. An analysis of the new readings in a few representative passages will place the general character of the revision in a clear light. 1 Kings ii. (GREAT BIBLE.) 5 And in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask what thou wilt that I may give it thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, when he walked 1 For these details I am indebted to Le Long, as I have been unable to obtain access to the editions of 1545 and 1551. 2 A revised Italian version of the Bible appeared also at Geneva in 1562. 3 A small sign will shew the scholar's instinct, and this is found in the spelling and accentuation of the Hebrew names which is characteristic of the edition of 1560 as Iaakób, Izhák, Rebekah, Joshúa, Zebulún, Abimé lech, &c. Mr Aldis Wright called my attention to this significant peculiarity. 4 The text of the Great Bible is taken from the edition of 1550, which the revisers were most likely to use. The words altered in the Genevan version are italicized: those substi tuted for them are given afterwards. Internal before thee in truth, in righteousness, and in plainness Chap. iii. of heart with thee. And thou hast kept for him this great mercy, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his seat, as it is come to pass this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, it is thou that hast made 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people, which IO And this pleased the Lord well that Solomon had 5 and: om. So Pagninus, French 1556. visusque Münster. autem Leo Juda. (1) 5 thou...it (so M.): I shall give. Postula quod dem tibi J. (2) 6 in (M. J.) and in P. Fr. (3) S · plainness: uprightness rectitudine P. M. J. d'vn cœur droit enuers toy Fr. (4) that thou (ut M. J.): and P. (5) -it...pass: appeareth (in ital.) il appert Fr. (secundum diem hanc P. ut est dies hæc M. ut hæc dies de- 7 it...that: thou tu m'as fait regner Fr. (similarly P. M. J.) (8) young: a young child. puer parvus P. M. J. un petit -wot: know. (10) Chap. iii. Job xix. 8 and verily...they: even a great people which...popul Of these thirteen changes one seems to come from the French (7), two are different readings adopted from Pagninus (1, 3), seven are renderings closer to the Hebrew, chiefly from Pagninus (2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12), and three are simply linguistic changes (6, 10, 13). In a passage from Job there is on the other hand considerable originality. (GREAT BIBLE). 23 O that my words were now written: O that they were put in a book. 24 Would God they were graven with an iron. pen in lead or in stone to continue. 25 For I am sure that my Redeemer liveth, and that I shall rise out of the earth in the latter day: 26 That I shall be clothed again with this skin, and see God in my flesh. 27 Yea I myself shall behold him, not with other, but with these same eyes. 28 My reins are consumed within me: Did not ye say: Why doth he suffer persecution? Is there found an occasion in me? 23 put: written even describerentur. P. exarentur J. (1) 24 Would...were (utinam P.): and stiloque J. (2) 25 That I...day: and he shall stand the last on the earth. (novissimus resurget de pulvere. M. alternative rendering). (4) |