Chronological History of the Bible -  17th Century

 

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1601 - 1660

1601        "Silver Type" Greek Testament

1602        The “Straf Mich Gott” Bible, published in Herborn, Germany by J. Piscator, so named by a passage in Mark 8, 12; used in many parts of reformed South Germany.

1602        Bishop's Bible in Black Letter folio edition...basis of 1611 KJV

1602        First Irish New Testament;  Tiomna Nuadh ar Dtighearna agus ar Slanajghtheora Josa Criosd; translated by Huilliam O’Domhnuill (William Daniel), and published in Dublin and London by Atha Cliath. (worldcat, OCLC, cite both)

1607        First Diodati's Italian (Protestant) Bible

1609-10  First Catholic Old Testament printed in English at Douai.  (The N.T. was printed at Rheims in 1582); also known as the Rosin Bible for the following: “Is there no rosin in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” – Jer. Viii. 22.;  the same translation occurs in the Geneva version.   Roman Catholic exiles from England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth prepared the Douai version.  William Allen, a distinguished Roman Catholic dignitary under Queen Mary, is supposed to have been the chief translator, and would have been named Primate of England and Legate of Rome had the Spanish Armada succeeded in invading England.  History shows otherwise, the Spanish Armada was soundly defeated.

1611        King James Bible (first issue of First Edition called great "He" Bible;  second issue, great "She"  Bible)

1612        Ainsworth's Booke of Psalmes

1618        Gustavus Adolphus Bible

1620        First Standard Welsh Bible

1620         After more than 65 days at sea aboard the Mayflower, the Pilgrims land on the North American continent and establish The Plymouth Colony; Harvard University owns a copy of the Geneva Bible brought to the New World by the first Pilgrims.

1624        Elzevir's First Greek Testament

1625        First Cambridge Greek Testament

1628        Geneva Triglot

1629        First Revised King James Bible printed at Cambridge; a small folio, printed in Roman Letter, distinguished by a fine copper-plate title page; carefully revised KJV, in which the inordinate use of italics was introduced.

1631        The Wicked Bible - printed in London by  “Robert Barker and assigns of John Bill,” in Octavo;  Received it’s name from the word “not” having been omitted from the Seventh Commandment (adultery); the mistake was discovered before the printing was finished, and copies exist both with and without the mistake.  Many stories revolve around this edition regarding the number of copies still in existence, and most tend to embellish rather than clarify this famous mistake.

1632        Psalms in "Scots Metre"

1633        First complete King James Bible printed in Scotland; a Roman Letter octavo published in three editions of the same date, 1633.    

1635        Second Douai Old Testament (double black line around each page)

1635       Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel of Cambridge print two quarto KJV editions, one in Black Letter the other in Roman.

1636        King James' Psalter

1637        The Religious Bible – “Because she hath been religious against me, saith the Lord.” – Jer. iv. 17.  The word religious instead of rebellious is found in this Edinburgh 8vo.

1637        First Staats-General Dutch Bible

1638        Cambridge folio edition of the KJV, by Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel, in clear but smaller Roman type, hand-ruled with red lines; text was carefully revised by Dr. Goad, Dr. Ward, Mr. Boyse, and Mr. Mead, with most of the mistakes of the 1611 KJV corrected.  It is probably the best edition of King James’ Version ever published” according to J. R. Dore in Old Bibles, London, 1888, Second Edition.   

1640        Bay Psalm Book.  First book printed in U.S. (Massachusetts Bay Colony)

1642        First Complete Finnish Bible -  a folio, two columns to a page, illustrated with artistic woodcuts, with the title pages in neat baroque style copper engravings; translated by a committee, directly from the original languages, and compared with Luther’s translation.    

1642        Folio edition of the King James Version published at Amsterdam by Joost Broersz, dwelling in the Pijlsteegh, in the Druckerije.  The first of many editions (Canne’s Bibles) to originate from Amsterdam, with notes placed in order and/or a prologue written by John Canne, a prominent leader among the Brownists.             

1643        Soldier's (Cromwell) Pocket Bible

1645        Le Jay's Paris Triglot

1648        First Rumanian New Testament



1651-1699

1653        First Septuagint Printed in England

1655        Caedmon's Paraphrase of Genesis

1655-7    Walton's London Polyglot

1659        First Gaelic Psalter

1661        Athias Hebrew Bible

1661        John Eliot’s Indian New Testament [Wusku Wuttestamentum Nul] completed; (Cambridge) S. Green & M. Johnson. 4to;  the first New Testament printed in America; the first bible translated into the Algonkin” [Massachusetts or Mohican language] Indian language by the man known as “the Apostle to the Indians

1661        Leusden's Hebrew Bible

1663        Mamusse Wuneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God Naneeswe Nukkone Testament Kah Wonk Wusku Testament. (Cambridge) Samuel Green & Marmaduke Johnson; 4to; The First Bible printed in America. Eliot First Complete Indian Bible;  A few, perhaps 20 copies, were issued with an extra title page in English and with extra leaves of dedication to Charles II.  a copy sent to Charles II was received by the king “very gratiously.

1667        First French Port Royal Version

1671        Stjernhjelm's Polyglot Gospels

1675        First Oxford Greek Testament - edited by Dr. John Fell, Dean of Oxford.

1675        First Oxford King James Bible, issued in quarto, revised by Dr. John Fell, Dean of Oxford.  The Apocrypha is printed in smaller type than the rest of the Bible.

1678        First Old Testament in Yiddish

1679        First Romansch Bible

1681        First Portuguese New Testament (O Novo Testamento : Isto he Todos os Sacro Sanctos Livros e Escritos Evangelicos e Apostolicos do Novo Concerto de noßo Fiel Senhor Salvador e Redemptor Iesu Christo), Translated by João Ferreira d’Almeida, but printed and published in Amsterdam, by Someren. (Britannica).  Three copies listed in OCLC, all in Germany. (worldcat)

1685       The Finnish Bible, Second Edition.  A publication undertaken by Bishop John Gezelius Sr. and completed by Rector Henrik Florinus.  Smaller, so “that it could be carried along on all expeditions.”  Less impressive than the First Edition of 1642, and without illustrations.  The language had been improved both in form and exactness of expression, so that it has been said of this edition “that very few countries possessed as good a version of the Bible at this time.” (Bergroth, Suomen Kirkon Historia, I, page 394.)

1685        First Irish Old Testament is published in London.

1688        First Rumanian Bible

1690        First Complete Irish Bible

1691        Gaspar Karoli edition of the New Testament in Hungarian.

1696        First Tate & Brady Psalter



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