I have wanted a copy of The Geneva Bible for some time. Caroline and I spent quite a bit of time in November learning more about the Pilgrims and reading what they wrote in their own words. It seemed natural to want to read the actual Bible they used. So this year I made it my number one Christmas gift request!

Although there are a number of updated translations available in an easier to read format and/or updated English, I wanted the facsimile copy of the 1560 edition used by the Puritans, John Bunyan, etc. Called “The Bible of the Protestant Reformation,” it is the Bible brought over on the Mayflower. I also wanted to read a much earlier version of the Bible that did not see everything through many of the theological lenses pushed on Christians today and over the past two hundred years. So I was thrilled to receive The Geneva Bible 1560 Edition for Christmas!

It is a big book so I don’t think I’ll carry it with me to church. (Although you never know! LOL!)

If you want to read more about the Geneva Bible and how it compares to other early versions, this is a helpful overview: Geneva Bible. Here is an intro:

 The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the King James translation by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism and was the Bible used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne, and John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress (1678). It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower (Pilgrim Hall Museum and Dr. Jiang have collected several bibles of Mayflower passengers). The Geneva Bible was used by many English Dissenters, and it was still respected by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers at the time of the English Civil War, in the booklet “Cromwell’s Soldiers’ Pocket Bible”.

This version of the Holy Bible is significant because, for the very first time, a mechanically printed, mass-produced Bible was made available directly to the general public which came with a variety of scriptural study guides and aids (collectively called an apparatus), which included verse citations that allow the reader to cross-reference one verse with numerous relevant verses in the rest of the Bible, introductions to each book of the Bible that acted to summarize all of the material that each book would cover, maps, tables, woodcut illustrations, indices, as well as other included features — all of which would eventually lead to the reputation of the Geneva Bible as history’s very first study Bible.

As I said above, this is a facsimile copy so each page is an exact copy of the original in the Early Modern English. It has not been newly typeset or changed.

It is said one of the Geneva Bible’s greatest contributions was the extensive note system which you can see on every page. These pages in Joshua have just a few. Other pages are simply filled to the brim with notes.

It also includes numerous maps, diagrams, etc. which was a fantastic tool at that time for readers.

Incredible details!

Another map from Genesis.

It also includes the Apocrypha, but not the Book of Enoch.

There is some tiny type so I purchased a folding magnifying glass with light to make those parts easier to read.

For Christians who love history and the Bible, The Geneva Bible 1560 Edition would be a great addition to your family library!