« | Numbers 36 |
1 And the chiefe fathers of the families of the chyldren of Geliad, the sonne of Machir, the sonne of Manasse, of the kinred of the sonnes of Ioseph, came foorth and spake before Moyses, and before the princes the chiefe fathers of the chyldren of Israel,
2 And sayd: The Lorde commaunded my Lorde to geue the land to inherite by lot to the chyldren of Israel: and my Lorde was commaunded by the Lord, to geue the inheritaunce of Zelaphead our brother, vnto his daughters.
3 If they be maryed to any of ye sonnes of the other tribes of the chyldren of Israel, then shall their inheritaunce be taken from the inheritaunce of our fathers, and shalbe put to the inheritaunce of the tribe which they are receaued into, and so shal it be taken from the lot of our inheritaunce.
4 And when the Iubilee of the children of Israel commeth, then shall their inheritaunce be put vnto the inheritaunce of the tribe wherinto they are receaued, and so shall their inheritaunce be taken away from the inheritaunce of the tribe of our fathers.
5 And Moyses commaunded the chyldren of Israel, according to the worde of the Lorde, saying: The tribe of the sonnes of Ioseph haue sayd well.
6 This therefore doth the Lorde commaunde the daughters of Zelaphead, saying: Let them be wyues, to whom they them selues thinke best: only to the familie of the tribe of their father shall they marry.
7 So shall not the inheritaunce of the children of Israel remoue from tribe to tribe: for euery one of the chyldren of Israel shall ioyne hym selfe to the inheritaunce of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And euery daughter that possesseth any inheritaunce in any tribe of the chyldre of Israel, shalbe wyfe vnto one of the kinred of the tribe of her father, that the chyldren of Israel may enioy euery man the inheritaunce of his father.
9 Neither ought the inheritaunce to go from one tribe to another: but euery one of the tribes of the chyldren of Israel shalbe ioyned to his owne inheritaunce.
10 And as the Lord commaunded Moyses, euen so dyd the daughters of Zelaphead:
11 For Mahela, Thirza, Hagla, Milcha, and Noa the daughters of Zelaphead, were maryed vnto their fathers brothers sonnes.
12 They were wyues vnto the families of the sonnes of Manasse the sonne of Ioseph, and so their inheritaunce remayned in the tribe of the kinred of their father.
13 These are the comaundementes and lawes whiche the Lorde commaunded by the hande of Moyses vnto the chyldren of Israel, in the fieldes of Moab, by Iordane [towarde] Iericho.
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.