''The Matthew Bible'', also known as ''Matthew's Version'', was first published in 1537 by John Rogers, under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

"Thomas Matthew". It combined the New Testament of

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

, and as much of the Old Testament as he had been able to translate before being captured and put to death.

Myles Coverdale Myles Coverdale, first name also spelt Miles (1488 – 20 January 1569), was an English ecclesiastical reformer chiefly known as a Bible translator, preacher and, briefly, Bishop of Exeter (1551–1553). In 1535, Coverdale produced the first ...

translated chiefly from German and Latin sources and completed the Old Testament and Biblical apocrypha, except for the

Prayer of Manasseh The Prayer of Manasses, also known as the Prayer of Manasseh is a short work of 15 verses recording a penitential prayer attributed to king Manasseh of Judah. Its canonicity is disputed. The majority of scholars believe that the Prayer of Manass ...

, which was Rogers', into the Coverdale Bible. It is thus a vital link in the main sequence of English Bible translations.

Translation

The Matthew Bible was the combined work of three individuals, working from numerous sources in at least five different languages. The entire New Testament (first published in 1526, later revised, 1534 and 1535), the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...

and in David Daniell's view, the Book of Joshua,

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, and First and Second Chronicles, were the work of

. Tyndale worked directly from the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, occasionally consulting the

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

and

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

’s

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

version, and he used

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

's Bible for the prefaces, marginal notes and the biblical text. The use of the pseudonym "Thomas Matthew" resulted possibly from the need to conceal from Henry VIII the participation of Tyndale in the translation. A theory exists from Dr. Harding that indicates the name ''Thomas Matthew'', which in Greek means "A twin to the original gift from God", may have been chosen to indicate that the largest contributing author was indeed William Tyndale and that his writings were preserved by Coverdale and Rogers. The remaining books of the Old Testament and the

Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

were the work of John Rogers and

. Coverdale originally translated primarily from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Latin sources and in the Matthew Bible they used the original language texts to translate. Historians often tend to treat Coverdale and Tyndale like competitors in a race to complete the monumental and arduous task of translating the biblical text. One is often credited to the exclusion of the other. In reality they knew each other and occasionally worked together. Contemporary historian John Foxe states that they were in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

translating the Pentateuch together as early as 1529. The

was the work of John Rogers. Rogers translated from a French Bible printed two years earlier (in 1535). Rogers compiled the completed work and added the preface, some marginal notes, a calendar and an almanac. Of the three translators, two met with martyrdom. Tyndale was strangled to death and his body burned on 6 October 1536 in

Vilvoorde Vilvoorde (, french: Vilvorde ; historically known as ''Filford'' in English) is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the city of Vilvoorde proper with its two outlying quarters of Koningslo ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. John Rogers was "tested by fire" on 4 February 1555 at Smithfield, England; the first to meet this fate under Mary I of England. Myles Coverdale was employed by

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

to work on the

Great Bible The Great Bible of 1539 was the first authorised edition of the Bible in English, authorised by King Henry VIII of England to be read aloud in the church services of the Church of England. The Great Bible was prepared by Myles Coverdale, worki ...

of 1539, the first officially authorized English translation of the Bible. Time and extensive scholastic scrutiny have judged Tyndale the most gifted of the three translators. Dr. Westcott (in his ''History of the English Bible'') states that "The history of our English Bible begins with the work of Tyndale and not with that of Wycliffe." The quality of his translations has also stood the test of time, coming relatively intact even into modern versions of the Bible. A. S. Herbert, Bible cataloguer, says of the Matthew Bible, "this version, which welds together the best work of Tyndale and Coverdale, is generally considered to be the real primary version of our English Bible", upon which later editions were based, including the Geneva Bible and

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

. Professor David Daniell recounts that, "New Testament scholars Jon Nielson and

Royal Skousen Royal Jon Skousen (; born August 5, 1945) is a retired professor of linguistics and English at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he is editor of the Book of Mormon Critical Text Project. He is "the leading expert on the textual history of th ...

observed that previous estimates of Tyndale's contribution to the KJV 'have run from a high of up to 90% (Westcott) to a low of 18% (Butterworth)'. By a statistically accurate and appropriate method of sampling, based on eighteen portions of the Bible, they concluded that for the New Testament Tyndale's contribution is about 83% of the text, and in the Old Testament 76%. Thus the Matthew Bible, though largely unrecognized, significantly shaped and influenced English Bible versions in the centuries that followed its first appearance.

Printing

John Strype John Strype (1 November 1643 – 11 December 1737) was an English clergyman, historian and biographer from London. He became a merchant when settling in Petticoat Lane. In his twenties, he became perpetual curate of Theydon Bois, Essex and lat ...

wrote in 1694 that the 1537 Matthew Bible was printed by

Richard Grafton Richard Grafton (c. 1506/7 or 1511 – 1573) was King's Printer under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was a member of the Grocers' Company and MP for Coventry elected 1562-63. Under Henry VIII With Edward Whitchurch, a member of the Haberdashe ...

, in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. Later editions were printed in London; the last of four appeared in 1551. Two editions of the Matthew Bible were published in 1549. One was a reprint of the 1537 first edition, and was printed by Thomas Raynalde and William Hyll (Herbert #75). The other was printed by John Daye and William Seres, and made extensive changes to the notes of the original Matthew Bible, included copious commentaries on the book of Revelation based on the book ''Image of Two Churches'' by contemporary

John Bale John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...

. Van Meteren's son, Emanuel, stated in an affidavit dated 28 May 1609 that his father was "a furtherer of reformed religion, and he that caused the first Bible at his costes to be Englisshed by Mr Myles Coverdal in Andwarp, the w’h his father, with Mr Edward Whytchurch, printed both in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

." Coverdale was employed as a translator by

Jacobus van Meteren Sir Jacobus van Meteren (1519-1555) was the financier and printer of early English versions of the Bible. He was involved in the printing of an edition of Tyndale's New Testament in 1535 (Herbert #15). The Coverdale Bible of 1535 (Herbert #18) ...

. Rogers began assisting the work around 1535, and married J. van Meteren's niece Adriana in the same year that the Matthew Bible was first published (1537). Rogers was living in London again at the time of the second printing of the Matthew Bible in 1549.

Literature

;Bible editions 1. ''The Matthew's Bible. 1537 edition acsimile'. Peabody, Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 2009,
2. ''The Tyndale Bible, Thomas Matthew, 1549 acsimile'. Greydon Press, USA, 2003, . Sold as a facsimile of ''Matthew's Version'', it is in fact Becke's 1549 edition of the Matthew Bible but contains preliminary pages from Raynalde and Hyll's 1549 version, and even a copy of the title page from the 1549 Great Bible.
3. ''New Matthew Bible'': World's first project working with the Matthew Bible scriptures to publish the Matthew Bible in modern spelling with language and grammar minimally updated
"New Matthew Bible Project"
with a target publication date of 2020.
4. ''The Matthew Bible: Modern Spelling Edition
"The Matthew Bible: Modern Spelling Edition"
This Bible uses modern font and spelling (without changing the original wording). It includes modern verse divisions.

Notes

References (general)

* *

External links

Online version of Sir Frederic G. Kenyon’s article
in ''

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible ''Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible'' was a five-volume Biblical encyclopaedia published 1898–1904. First edition The full title was ''A Dictionary of the Bible, dealing with the Language, Literature and Contents, including the Biblical Theology ...

'', 1909. *
Books Fatal to Their Authors
', by P. H. Ditchfield, 1894.
"New Matthew Bible Project"
Retrieved on June 17, 2010. Contains numerous articles discussing translation and theological issues and comparing translations of the Matthew Bible with later versions based upon it.
"The Matthew Bible: Modern Spelling Edition"
Retrieved on December 24, 2013. This site offers comparisons and also answers questions about the original Matthew Bible and the modern spelling reprint.
"The Matthew Bible Podcast"
Retrieved on November 27, 2018. This site contains podcasts and audio readings of The Matthew Bible. Additionally, the podcast discusses questions surrounding The Matthew Bible's history and future. {{English Bible translation navbox 1537 books 1537 in England Early printed Bibles 16th-century Christian texts Bible translations into English

Translation

Printing

Literature

Notes

References (general)

See also

External links