In the history of Bible translations, the Geneva Bible occupies a special place. It preceded the KJV (King James Version) by 51 years. Considered the most influential Bible, which was also the primary Bible of 16th century Protestantism, the Geneva Bible found its users in Oliver Cromwell, William Shakespeare, John Bunyan, John Donne, and John Knox.
This
was the first English Bible that had its scriptures segregated into numbered
verses. Since its publication was an enormous achievement, owning the 1560 Geneva Bible is worth every dime you
spend to acquire it. But not everyone will find its steep price affordable.
For
them, a facsimile reproduction of the Geneva Bible will be worth considering.
This Bible was widely read throughout the 16th and 17th centuries and played a
large role in boosting the rate of scripture literacy among England’s public.
Things You Should Look For in the Geneva Bible Facsimile Reproduction
The
Geneva Bible had some unique features, knowing which will help you check and
ensure your facsimile reproduction too comes with them. To begin with, each
chapter of this Bible had numbered verses.
A key
factor behind the Geneva Bible’s popularity was its “study resources,” which
referred to the marginal notes. The translators of this Bible included these
notes to help the common people easily understand the Bible. These marginal
notes comprised almost 300,000 words, which was approximately one-third of the
text.
At
the time the Geneva Bible was published, Gothic Black letter-style typeface was
commonly used. However, the Geneva Bible deviated from the norm and used a
Roman-style typeface instead, which was easy to use for its readers.
The
original 1560 Geneva Bible had 30+ woodcut maps and
illustrations depicting Biblical views. Some of the notable among these were
the labeled images of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. The Geneva
Bible also had the Apocrypha.
When buying a facsimile reproduction of the Geneva Bible, you
should check if the copy has all these unique features that the original had,
thus ensuring your purchase is worth it.
Final Words
Keep
all these features in mind when shopping for the Geneva Bible’s facsimile to ensure you get an
authentic facsimile reproduction and not a cheap replica with missing pages and
features.