Reformation Bibles

 A.C.Pike

Introduction

Below is a list of Greek New Testament Texts and Bibles that were prepared and produced throughout the Protestant Reformation. 

Greek Text

The Greek New Testament Texts.

1) Erasmus of 1519, 1522, 1527, & 1535.

2) Robert Estienne (Stephanus) of 1546, 1549, 1550, & 1551.

3) Theodore Beza - nine editions from 1565 to 1604.

$) Elzevir of 1624, 1633 & 1641.

Reformation Bibles

The Protestant Bibles.

1) Tyndale Bible of 1534.

2) Coverdale Bible of 1535.

3) Matthew's Bible of 1537.

4) The Great Bible of 1539.

5) Taverner of 1539. 

6) The Geneva Bible of 1560 & 1599.

7) Bishop's Bible of 1568 revisions of 1572 & 1602.

8) The King James Bible of 1611 (and several other additions). 

9) The King James Bible of 1769.

Out of all of these different Bibles, the best known and the most widely used of them is the 1769 King James Bible. 

The King James Bible

 The King James Bible is also known as the 'Authorised Version', because it was commissioned (authorised) by King James the 1st of England.

The King James Bible itself went through several revisions from the period of 1604 to 1611. 

It's Old Testament is based upon the Masoretic Hebrew Text. This is a Hebrew Text that was produced by the Masoretic Jews from the period of the 7th to the 10th centuries. 

It's New Testament is based mainly upon Beza's Greek Text. However, other Greek Texts and the third edition of the Bishop's Bible of 1602 were also consulted. 

The King James Bible of 1611 (as did the Matthews Bible of 1537, the Great Bible of 1549, the Geneva Bible of 1560, and the Bishop's Bible of 1568) contained what is known as the 'Apocrypha.' This is a collection of 14 interim books between the Old and New Testaments. *

King James Bible 1769

It is this edition of the King James Bible that we use today. This version is used by street preachers and pastors in churches, as well as Christians engaging in personal studies of the Scriptures. 

Conclusion

God willing, I hope to do a more in-depth study about the Textus Receptus and the Authorised Version of the Bible.

Notes

The Catholic church used Jerome's Fourth Century version of the Latin Vulgate. It is in this work that the Apocrypha can be found. The Hebrew Masoretic Text did not contain the Apocrypha. It should be noted that the Protestant Churches disagreed with the Catholic church on a number of issues. One of them was the inclusion of the Apocrypha. King James the 1st of England did not agree with it's usage (Book 1:13 Basilion Doron). This is why it was placed in-between the two Testaments. 

I believe that all 66 books of the Protestant Bible (as in the 1769 AV/KJV Bible) is the full canon of Scripture. *

The Wycliff'e Bible of 1382 (Revisions 1388 & 1396) was a pre-Reformation Bible. It was based upon the Latin Vulgate.