The Geneva Bible — Annotated History & Bibliography

Produced by English Protestant exiles in Geneva, the Geneva Bible became the most read English Bible of the late 16th century. It introduced reader-focused innovations (Roman type, numbered verses, extensive notes and helps) and shaped devotion, preaching, and literature across the English-speaking world.

First NT: 1557 Complete Bible: 1560 Nickname: “Breeches Bible” Popular with Puritans & Pilgrims
Read the Geneva Bible

At-a-Glance Timeline

  • 1557 — William Whittingham publishes a Geneva New Testament with modern verse divisions.
  • 1560 — Complete Geneva Bible printed in Geneva; compact, study-oriented format with Roman type, numbered verses, maps, and marginal notes.
  • 1570s — English and Scottish printings begin (England in the 1570s; Scotland’s first national printing in 1579, the Bassandyne/Arbuthnot edition).
  • 1576 — Tomson New Testament: Laurence Tomson revises the NT on Beza’s text; from the late 1580s this largely replaces the 1560 NT in Geneva Bibles.
  • 1599 — Many editions incorporate Franciscus Junius’s influential notes on Revelation.
  • 1604–1611 — King James I initiates a new translation; the 1611 “Authorized Version” (KJV) appears, in part responding to Geneva’s politically sharp marginalia.
  • 1616–1630s — Printing in England ceases; later Archbishop Laud restricts imports. Despite this, Amsterdam editions (often bearing older London imprints) circulate widely.
Why “Breeches”? Genesis 3:7 reads that Adam and Eve “made themselves breeches,” a famous rendering that gave the Geneva Bible its enduring nickname.

Key Features & Innovations

  • Roman type for readability (replacing heavy blackletter).
  • Numbered verses throughout (first complete English Bible to do so).
  • Italics to mark supplied words for clarity in English.
  • Marginal notes & cross-references from Reformation scholarship (Calvin/Beza tradition).
  • Helps for readers: book synopses, chapter summaries, page headers, and maps.
  • Portable formats (quarto, octavo) encouraged home and family use.

Influence

The Geneva Bible was the household Bible of many Elizabethan and early Stuart Protestants; it crossed the Atlantic with Puritan settlers and was read by major writers (often cited as a Bible of Shakespeare and Bunyan). Its phrasing and helps strongly shaped the study habits later assumed by English readers—and many of its renderings echoed into the 1611 King James Bible.

Primary Sources & Facsimiles (Annotated)

  • The Geneva Bible: A Facsimile of the 1560 Edition (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969).
    Standard photographic facsimile of the first complete Geneva Bible; includes maps, notes, and the early study-Bible apparatus. Essential for verifying text and paratext of 1560.
  • Laurence Tomson, ed., The New Testament (1576).
    Tomson’s revision on Beza’s Greek text and Latin notes; from the late 1580s this NT commonly replaces the 1560 NT in many Geneva printings (key for 1587–1602/9 states).
  • Franciscus Junius, Notes on Revelation (in English, 1596; in Geneva editions by 1599).
    Highly influential apocalyptic commentary frequently bound into later Geneva Bibles; frames many 17th-century readings of Revelation.

Secondary Studies (Annotated)

  • Britannica, “Geneva Bible”.
    Reliable overview of the exilic origins (1557 NT; 1560 complete), editorial leadership, and the “Breeches” nickname; good first stop for concise facts.
  • Harvard Divinity School Library, “The Geneva Bible”.
    Curated exhibit notes the reader-helps (Roman type, verse numbers), cultural reach (Shakespeare, Bunyan, Cromwell), and early British print history (1570s–1579).
  • Michael Marlowe, “The Geneva Bible” (Bible-Researcher.com).
    Focused notes on Tomson’s NT (1576) supplanting the 1560 NT in later printings and on Beza/Junius materials—useful for bibliographic states and contents.
  • T. Furniss, “Reading the Geneva Bible”.
    Academic discussion of format and reader use; underscores first full English Bible with numbered verses and the study-aids that shaped private reading.
  • Dunham Bible Museum (HBU), “From Geneva: The First English Study Bible”.
    Museum overview on features (Roman type, italics for supplied words) and on the 1599 incorporation of Junius’s Revelation notes; also summarizes later restrictions on printing/import.
  • M. S. Betteridge, “The Bitter Notes: The Geneva Bible and Its Annotations”.
    Classic article on the politics of the marginal notes and why they troubled royal and episcopal authorities into the KJV era.

Citation (suggested)

“Geneva Bible (1560): Annotated History & Bibliography,” Living Word Bibles, accessed .