« | Genesis 38 | » |
1 About that tyme Iudas went downe from his brethren, and gate him to a man called Hirah of Adulam.
2 And there he saw ye daughter of a man called Sua, a Chanaanite: and he toke her, and went in to her.
3 And she conceaued, and bare a sonne, and called his name Er.
4 And she conceaued agayne, and bare a sonne, and called hym Onan.
5 And she conceaued agayne, and bare yet a sonne, whom she called Selah: & he was at Chezib whe she bare him.
6 And Iudas gaue Er his first borne sonne a wyfe, whose name was Thamar.
7 And Er Iudas first borne sonne was wicked in the syght of the Lorde, and the Lorde slewe hym.
8 And Iudas sayde vnto Onan: Go in to thy brothers wyfe, and marrie her, that thou mayest stirre vp seede vnto thy brother.
9 And when Onan perceaued that the seede shoulde not be his, therfore when he wet in to his brothers wyfe, he spylled it on the grounde, & gaue not seede vnto his brother.
10 And the thyng which he dyd, displeased the Lorde: wherfore he slewe hym also.
11 Then sayde Iudas to Thamar his daughter in lawe: Remayne a wydowe at thy fathers house, tyll Selah my sonne be growen. (For he sayde, lest peraduenture he dye also as his brethren dyd.) And Thamar went & dwelt in her fathers house.
12 And in processe of tyme, the daughter of Sua Iudas wyfe dyed: Then Iudas when he had left mournyng, went vnto his sheepe shearers to Thinmath, he and his friende Hirah of Adulam.
13 And one tolde Thamar, saying: beholde, thy father in lawe goeth vp to Thimnath to sheare his sheepe.
14 And she put her widowes garmentes of from her, and couered her with a vayle, and disguysed her selfe, and sate her downe in an open place, whiche is by the way syde to Thimnath, for because that she sawe Selah was growen, and she was not geuen vnto hym to wyfe.
15 When Iuda sawe her, he thought it had ben an harlot, because she had couered her face.
16 And he turned to her vnto the way, & sayde, Come I praye thee, let me lye with thee. (For he knewe not that it was his daughter in law.) And she answered: What wylt thou geue me for to lye with thee?
17 Then sayde he: I wyll sende thee a kyd from the flocke. She sayde: Then geue me a pledge tyll thou sende it.
18 He sayde: What pledge shall I geue thee? She sayde: Thy signet, thy bracelet, and thy staffe that is in thyne hande. And he gaue it her, and laye by her: and she was with chylde by hym.
19 And she gate her vp, and went, and put her vayle from her, and put on her wydowes rayment.
20 And Iudas sent the kyd by his friende Adulam, for to receaue his pledge againe from the womans hand: but he founde her not.
21 Then asked he the men of the same place, saying: where is the harlot that sate openly by ye wayes syde? They aunswered: There is no harlot here.
22 He came therfore to Iuda againe, and sayde vnto hym, I can not fynde her: and also the men of the place sayde, that there was no harlot there.
23 And Iuda sayde: Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: beholde, I sent the kyd, & thou hast not found her.
24 And it came to passe, after three monethes one tolde Iuda, saying: Thamar thy daughter in lawe hath played the harlot, and with playing the harlot is become great with chylde. And Iuda sayde: Bryng her foorth, that she may be brent.
25 And when they brought her foorth, she sent to her father in lawe, saying: By the man vnto whom these thynges [pertaine] am I with chylde: And saide also, Loke I pray thee whose are these, this seale, and this bracelet, and this staffe.
26 And Iuda acknowledged them, and saide: She hath ben more righteous then I, because I gaue her not Selah my sonne. And he lay with her no more.
27 But when the tyme was come that she shoulde be deliuered, beholde there was two twynnes in her wombe.
28 And when she trauayled, the [one] put out his hande, & the mydwyfe toke & bounde a red [threede] about it, saying: this is come out first.
29 And he plucked his hand backe againe, and beholde, his brother came out. And she sayde: Wherefore hast thou rent a rent vppon thee? and called his name Phares.
30 Afterward came out his brother, that had the red threede about his hande: and his name was called Zarah.
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.