« | Genesis 23 | » |
1 Sara was an hudreth and seuen and twentie yere olde (so long liued she.)
2 And Sara dyed in Ciriath arba, the same is Hebron, in the lande of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourne for Sara, and to weepe for her.
3 And Abraham stoode vp fro the sight of his corse, and talked with the sonnes of Heth, saying:
4 I am a straunger and a foriner amongest you: geue me a possession to bury in with you, that I may bury my corse out of my sight.
5 And the chyldren of Heth aunswered Abraham, saying vnto hym:
6 Heare vs my Lorde, thou art a prince of God amongest vs, in the chiefest of our sepulchres bury thy dead: none of vs shall forbyd thee his sepulchre, but thou mayest bury thy dead [therin.]
7 Abraham stoode vp and bowed hym selfe before the people of the lande, that is, the chyldren of Heth.
8 And he communed with them, saying: If it be your mynde that I shal bury my dead out of my sight, heare me, and speake for me to Ephron the sonne of Sohar,
9 That he may geue me the caue of Machpelah, whiche he hath in the ende of his fielde: but for as much money as it is worth shall he geue it me, for a possession to bury in amongest you.
10 (For Ephron dwelleth amongest the chyldren of Heth) and Ephron the Hethite aunswered Abraham in the audience of the chyldren of Heth, and of all that went in at the gates of his citie, saying:
11 Not so my Lord, heare me: the fielde geue I thee, and the caue that therin is geue I thee also, in the presence of the sonnes of my people geue I it thee, burye thy dead.
12 And Abraham bowed him selfe before the people of the lande.
13 And spake vnto Ephron in the audience of the people of the countrey, saying: yf thou wylt [geue it] then I pray thee heare me, I wyll geue syluer for the fielde, take it of me, and I will bury my dead therin.
14 Ephron aunswered Abraham, saying vnto hym:
15 My Lord, hearken vnto me, the lande is worth foure hundred sicles of siluer, what is that betwixt thee and me? bury therfore thy dead.
16 And Abraham hearkened vnto Ephron, and wayed him the siluer which he had sayde in the aundience of the sonnes of Heth, euen foure hundred syluer sicles of currant money amongest marchauntes.
17 And the fielde of Ephron in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, eue the fielde and the caue that was therein, and all the trees that were in the fielde, and that were in al the borders rounde about, was made sure
18 Unto Abraham for a possession in the sight of the chyldren of Heth, before all that went in at the gates of the citie.
19 After this dyd Abraham bury Sara his wyfe in the double caue of the fielde that lyeth before Mamre, the same is Hebron in the land of Chanaan.
20 And so both the fielde & the caue that is therein, was made vnto Abraham a sure possession to bury in, by the sonnes of Heth.
The Bishop’s Bible (BB)
The Bishop’s Bible (BB) is a significant English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1568 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was commissioned by the Church of England as a revision of the Great Bible and as a response to the Geneva Bible, which was popular among the Puritans but contained marginal notes that were considered politically and theologically contentious by the Anglican establishment. The primary goal of the Bishop’ s Bible was to create a translation that would be more acceptable to the ecclesiastical authorities and suitable for use in Anglican churches.
One of the distinguishing features of the Bishop’s Bible is its effort to maintain a high level of accuracy and scholarly integrity while also ensuring that the language used was dignified and appropriate for public reading. The translation was undertaken by a team of bishops and other scholars, hence its name. The translators aimed to preserve the poetic and literary qualities of the original texts, drawing on previous translations such as the Tyndale Bible, the Coverdale Bible, and the Great Bible, while also incorporating their scholarly insights and linguistic refinements.
The Bishop’s Bible was notable for its large, folio format, which was designed to be read from the pulpit. It included extensive marginal notes, though these were more restrained and less controversial than those found in the Geneva Bible. The translation also featured elaborate illustrations and maps, as well as a comprehensive introduction and various prefaces that provided context and guidance for readers. Despite its grandeur and scholarly merit, the Bishop’s Bible did not achieve the widespread popularity of the Geneva Bible among the general populace.
Although the Bishop’s Bible played an essential role in the religious and cultural life of Elizabethan England, it was eventually overshadowed by the King James Version (KJV), which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. The KJV drew heavily on the Bishop’ s Bible, as well as other earlier translations, but ultimately surpassed it in both scholarly rigor and literary quality. Nonetheless, the Bishop’s Bible remains an important milestone in the history of English Bible translations, reflecting the theological and political currents of its time and contributing to the development of subsequent translations.