History of the English Bible: question eight

That is correct!

Matthew Parker was Archbishop of the Church of England from 1559-1575. For more information about the Bishops’ Bible and Matthew Parker, please see the links below.

Archbishop Matthew Parker

Further Reading/References
Matthew Parker, britannica.com (short article)
About Matthew Parker & The Parker Library, Parker Library

TIMELINE
1609 AD: The Douay Old Testament is added to the Rheims New Testament (of 1582) Making the First Complete English Catholic Bible; Translated from the Latin Vulgate (80 Books).
1611 AD: The King James Bible Printed; Originally with All 80 Books. The Apocrypha was Officially Removed in 1885 Leaving Only 66 Books.
1782 AD: Robert Aitken’s Bible; The First English Language Bible (KJV) Printed in America.
1885 AD: The “English Revised Version” Bible; The First Major English Revision of the KJV.
Timeline credit: greatsite.com

At last we come to the beloved King James Bible. The translators of the KJV produced a Bible that would be indispensably instrumental in the preaching and teaching of the gospel for centuries. Countless Christians have cherished this Bible, and it has been a central part of their walk with Christ.

Our quest finds us at the beginning of King James l reign. Early in his reign, he was met by Puritans who wanted a chance to address some of the issues that concerned them. In 1604, the Hampton Court Conference was held for that purpose. Things did not go terribly well for the Puritans; but a motion for a new Bible made by Dr. John Reynolds, a Puritan leader, was agreeable to the king. Like his predecessor Queen Elizabeth, King James was not favorable towards the Geneva Bible which was still enjoying popularity at that time. This was not because of the quality of the translation, but because of some of the marginal notes. For instance, he was not fond of the commentary that challenged the Divine Right of Kings.

Approximately 50 scholars worked on the project, and there was a lot of oversight and cross checking that took place. The translators of the KJV benefited from the work that was done before them. They had manuscripts in Hebrew and Greek including revisions of Erasmus’ Greek New Testament. They also employed previous English Bible versions in their work.

As mentioned in the previous question, The Bishops’ Bible was the main version that the translators of the KJV were directed to follow. Again, this was rule number one of a list of rules they were given for their translation work. Actually, two rules mentioned previous versions that should be adhered to under certain circumstances.

What other version was also to be used as a guide in translating the Kings James Bible?

A. The Tyndale Bible
B. The Thomas Matthew Bible (John Roger’s Bible)
C. The Geneva Bible
D. All of the above

Find Out! (then hit your back button to return)
King James’ Instructions to the Translators  (List of rules)