Episode 5
Geneva: The First English Study Bible.
Audio • Season 1 • Episode 5 • Geneva: The First English Study Bible.
The artwork is the cover from an original copy of the Geneva Bible dated 1560.
The Geneva Bible is one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English, preceding the Douay Rheims Bible by 22 years, and the King James Version by 51 years. It was the primary Bible of 16th-century English Protestantism and was used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Donne and others.
It was one of the Bibles taken to America on the Mayflower and its frontispiece inspired Benjamin Franklin's design for the first Great Seal of the United States. Benjamin Franklin's design for the Great Seal of the United States featured a scene from the Exodus in the Bible. The design illustrated Moses parting the Red Sea with his staff, while Pharaoh and his chariots were submerged by the waters. Franklin's design also included the motto:- "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God."
The Music is I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art,
Sung by the Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, D.C. Author: Anonymous. Source: French, 1545; French Psalter, Strasbourg, 1545.
First published in 1560, the Geneva Bible was a groundbreaking work that represented a remarkable achievement in Renaissance scholarship, printing, and Reformation theology.
John Knox, a Scottish minister, theologian, and writer, played a crucial role in shaping the Church of Scotland. His work and ministry also contributed to developing the Puritan movement in Elizabethan England.
John Calvin spent much of his life as a minister in Geneva. His ideas, actions, and sermons greatly influenced the Protestant Reformation and transformed Geneva into Europe's intellectual capital.
Theodore Beza established the Academy of Geneva using Strasbourg's successful model. By the end of the sixteenth century, many distinguished Englishmen had made Geneva an essential place to study.
In 1545, John Bale published his book, "The Image of Both Churches," which provides a detailed commentary on the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Christian Bible.
