Was the KJV the first English Bible? | Rapp Report Daily 006 | Andrew Rappaport | SFE | Striving for Eternity

The King James Version and the Myth of the First English Bible

Welcome to the Rapid Bull, daily edition, where we provide a quick biblical interpretations and applications. This is a ministry of striving for eternity.

This week we're going to take a look at the King James Version of the Bible. Many people have the false understanding that the King James Version was the only English translation at its time. That's actually not true.

You see, in the 14th century, John Wycliffe completed the very first of the English translations of the scriptures. Only to be followed by the work of Coverdale in 1539, when he created what became known as the Great Bible.

The Geneva Bible and Its Historical Influence

And followed by the Geneva Bible, one of the most historically significant translations of the Bible into English. It preceded the King James Version by 51 years and was the primary Bible of the 16th century Protestantism.

It was used by William Shakespeare, Oliver Cromwell, John Knox, John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress. And it was the one that was brought over on the Mayflower. This was the version of the Bible used by many of the English dissenters and the soldiers of Cromwell's in the time of the English Civil War.

This was a widely used Bible and the Bible that was accepted at the time before Queen Mary. We're going to look at her in another podcast. The question is, what did the King James Bible originally include?

What the King James Bible Originally Included

Well, we're going to get into that tomorrow. If you'd like to find out more about English translations, check out our classes on the Striving for Eternity Academy School of Biblical Harmonetics.

This podcast is part of the Striving for Eternity ministry. For more content or to request a speaker or seminar to your church, go to strivingforeternity .org.