Lesson 5 Study Notes

Hello friends Bishop Lutie here with another one of my online lessons on the English Bible. I'm delighted to share the following information with you as I hand it off to my instructor for this lesson.

Let's continue with our online course on the history of the English Bible. We began with early efforts during the Middle Ages and then the production of a Greek New Testament by Erasmus. In the 14th century John Wycliffe hand writes an English Bible based upon the Latin Vulgate. Next there are the Tyndale, Coverdale, Geneva and Matthews Bibles that undergird the rapidly growing Protestant Reformation that has taken hold of Europe at the time.

That brings us to the twin Bibles of this lesson which includes both the Great Bible and the Bishop's Bible. The antecedents of these two Bibles had become powerful tools in the quiver that made an assault on the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformation came in various forms, the first of which was engineered by Martin Luther,

and his Ninety-Five Thesis on the Wall of Wittenberg. In England, the Reformation was the result of King Henry VIII's anger over not being given permission to divorce his wife in his pursuit of a male heir. Henry took the position that if only the head of the church in England and provide himself with a divorce. To further augment his argument for the king being the head of the church of England, Henry

proposed that Christians in England would distinguish themselves from Roman Catholicism by having an English translation that was available to the masses with the help of the newly invented printing press. To ensure that he would get the credit for this radical production of sacred scripture, King Henry began the process of authorizing certain biblical publications that could only be used in the practice of English Christianity. The first of the authorized English versions would be the Great Bible. Imagine the bustling corridors of history,

where the clashing ambitions of church and state intersect, birthing transformative moments that reshaped the spiritual landscape. In the 16th century, amidst the turbulent reign of King Henry VIII, one such moment unfolded—the creation of the Great Bible of 1539. This was no mere translation, it was a revolutionary act, a bold assertion of the crown's authority over the religious soul of the nation. The Great Bible was the first authorized edition of the Holy Scriptures in English, mandated

by none other than Henry VIII himself. This wasn't just a nod to the burgeoning English Reformation, it was an act of defiance against the ecclesiastical stranglehold of Rome. Crafted under the watchful eye of Thomas Cromwell, Henry's secretary and vicar general. This Bible was a beacon of the King's intent to sever the spiritual chains of his subjects from the Pope's dominion. The mastermind behind this sacred text was Miles Coverdale, whose task was as much political as it was spiritual.

Coverdale, operating under Cromwell's commission, drew heavily from the pioneering work of William Tyndale, whose English Bible had sent shock waves through the clerical establishment. Yet where Tyndale's translations had been condemned, his words deemed too inflammatory for the delicate ears of English bishops, Coverdale was instructed to tread more cautiously. He revised the objectionable elements, and where Tyndale's work was incomplete, Coverdale leaned on the Latin Vulgate and German translations. This decision, born of expediency, has been both critiqued and celebrated, for while it

made the text palatable to the Church of England, it also kept the translation rooted in the traditions that Reformers sought to transcend. The Great Bible was a colossal work, known for its physical size, earning it the moniker, the great Bible. But names have power and this Bible bore many. The King's Bible, for it was Henry's vision that brought it forth. The Cromwell Bible, as a testament to the man who directed its publication.

And the Chained Bible, symbolizing how these sacred words were anchored within church walls, accessible to all, yet immovable. Some called it Cranmer's Bible, though this title is a historical misnomer, as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer's contribution was largely ceremonial, a preface in the second edition, rather than a hand in the translation itself. Let's not overlook the historical tapestry from which this Bible emerged. Daring, 1525 New Testament, and his 1530 Pentateuch, works that challenged the orthodoxy of their

day with a vernacular that rattled the clergy and monarchy alike. His words were deemed too radical, too incendiary, leading to their prescription and his ultimate martyrdom. But his legacy was indelible, and by 1537 even the impatient King Henry had to acknowledge the necessity of an English Bible. Frustrated by the sluggish progress of a translation by diocesan bishops, Henry, through Cromwell, gave the nod to the Matthew Bible,

a text that carried Tyndale's torch forward, under the pseudonym of Thomas Matthew, a ruse to shield John Rogers, who completed the work, from the same fate as Tyndale. By 1538 the King's impatience had transformed into royal decree compelling every church to house a Bible, an English Bible. And so Coverdale's Great Bible was born, a text deeply influenced by Tyndale's vision, but carefully sculpted to align with the sensitivities of the English bishops. The failure to translate from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts left some

reformers unsatisfied, fueling the later creation of the Bishop's Bible. Yet the Great Bible stood as a monumental step, a bridge between the repressive past and a future where the word could be read and understood by all. In the annals of religious history, the Great Bible of 1539 stands as a testament to the complex interplay of power, faith, and language. A text born of compromise, but destined to be a cornerstone in the English Reformation, shaping the spiritual consciousness of a nation for generations to come.

In the grand tapestry of English religious history, emerges as a complex response to the evolving dynamics of faith, power, and interpretation. It was crafted to succeed the Great Bible of 1539, the pioneering authorized English translation, and to counter the influence of the Geneva Bible, a text that had found favor among the reformist zeal, but raised eyebrows within the established Church of England. Now the Geneva Bible, with its thorough Calvinist leanings, was much more than a mere translation.

It was a theological statement, particularly in its marginal notes, which bristled with the ideological fervor of Calvinism. These notes, with their critique of hierarchical church structures, were an affront to the high church faction within the Church of England, a faction that included most of the bishops of the realm. While many English clergy might have found common ground with Calvin on matters of doctrine, they were far less enamored with his vision of church governance.

Calvin's push for Presbyterianism, where the church would be led by lay elders rather than bishops, was seen as a threat to the ecclesiastical order, an order that was foundational to the Anglican identity. But the bishops were in a bind. The Great Bible of 1539, which still held the crown's legal endorsement for use in Anglican worship, was a flawed solution. Much of its Old Testament and Apocrypha had been translated from the Latin Vulgate, rather

than the more authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic texts. This left the bishops in a precarious position. They needed a Bible that could supplant the Geneva Bible's growing popularity while also addressing the shortcomings of the Great Bible. Their answer was the Bishop's Bible, a translation that sought to reclaim the narrative. First published in 1568, the Bishop's Bible was not merely a new translation, but a deliberate ecclesiastical statement. By 1572, the Bible underwent significant revisions, particularly in the New Testament, where the

language was tilted toward more traditional, ecclesiastical expressions. For example in 1 Corinthians 13, the term charity was introduced, a word choice meant to evoke the Church's long-standing theological tradition, distancing itself from the stark simplicity of the Geneva Bible. In the Old Testament, however, the translation faced challenges, particularly with the Psalms. The new translation of the Psalms, though innovative, proved difficult for congregational

singing, a vital aspect of Anglican worship. As a result, the Psalms from the Great Bible were printed alongside the new translation, a compromise that underscored the difficulty of balancing liturgical function with textual fidelity. The experiment with the new Psalms was short-lived. They were printed only once more, in 1585, before being abandoned altogether. Despite its royal warrant and its designation as the official Bible for church services,

what we might today call a pulpit Bible. The Bishop's Bible struggled to unseat the Geneva Bible in the hearts and homes of the English faithful. The Geneva Bible had carved out a space as the preferred domestic Bible, cherished for its clarity and theologically charged notes. The Bishop's Bible for all its ecclesiastical backing could not penetrate this personal domain, though it wasn't intended to.

Its purpose was to be the voice of the Church of England, resounding from the pulpit, reaffirming the authority of the bishops and the monarchy they served. In the end, the Bishop's Bible stands as a testament to the tensions and negotiations In the end, the Bishop's Bible stands as a testament to the tensions and negotiations that define the English Reformation, a Bible born of necessity, shaped by compromise, and marked by the enduring struggle between tradition and reform.

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Lesson 5, The Great Bible and Bishops Bible

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