Table Of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Old Testament Era
3. New Testament Era

• Roman Rule (43-410 A.D.)
• Anglo-Saxon Rule (410-1066 A.D.)
• Norman Rule (1066-1154 A.D.)
• Plantagenet Dynasty (1154-1485 A.D.)
• Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603 A.D.)
• Stuart Monarchy (1603-1714 A.D.)
• Hanoverian Monarchy (1714-1901 A.D.)

Introduction

The timeline below is divided in two Eras: Old Testament and New Testament. The New Testament Era begins with the Roman Rule and ends with the Hanoverian Monarchy. Each historical Bible was listed regardless of the translation, whether printed or in manuscripts.

Old Testament Era

Creation~2000 B.C. The Word of God was orally handed down each generation (Genesis).

2,000-1,500 B.C. The Book of Job was written and is perhaps the oldest book of the Bible.

1,500 B.C. On Mount Sinai Moses received the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God, this was the first written Word (Exodus).

450 B.C. The Hebrew Bible manuscripts, which would later comprise the 39 Old Testament books, were written over about one thousand years.

New Testament Era

Roman Rule (43-410 A.D.)

45-100 A.D. The Greek New Testament manuscripts, which would later comprise the 27 New Testament books.

367 A.D. Athenasius the Bishop of Alexandria, identified the New Testament canon, listing the 27 books that are still in use today.

382–384 A.D. Saint Jerome translated the Greek New Testament manuscripts into Latin.

397 A.D. The Third Synod of Carthage, confirmed the New Testament canon, the 27 books that are still in use today.

390-405 A.D. Saint Jerome translated the Hebrew Bible manuscripts into Latin, completing the Latin Vulgate Bible manuscripts, which comprises the 39 Old Testament books, 27 New Testament books, and 14 Apocrypha books.

Anglo-Saxon Rule (410-1066 A.D.)

500 A.D. The Bible had been translated into over 500 languages.

600 A.D. The Roman Catholic Church restricted Scripture to Latin only.

680 A.D. Caedmon, a monk and the earliest English poet, did not translate the Old or New Testaments into Old English, but he did create poetry and songs from the books of the Bible and the stories told.

735 A.D. Saint Bede, an English monk, author, and scholar, translated parts of the Latin Vulgate Bible into Old English.

775 A.D. Celtic monks in Ireland transcribed (mostly) from the Latin Vulgate manuscripts, creating the Book of Kells, which comprises the prefatory material and Gospels.

Norman Rule (1066-1154 A.D.)

Plantagenet Dynasty (1154-1485 A.D.)

1205 A.D. Stephen Langton, a theology professor and an Archbishop of Canterbury later on, was the first to divide the Bible into chapters, which is still in use today.

1229 A.D. The Toulouse Council restricts lay people from owning Bible translations that are in their own tongue.

1240 A.D. Hugh, a French Dominican friar and cardinal of Saint Cher, was the second to divide the Bible into chapters. He improved upon Langton’s chapter system.

Circa 1325 A.D. Richard Rolle de Hampole, an English hermit, poet, and mystic, translated the Latin Vulgate Psalms into Middle English.

Circa 1330 A.D. Rabbi Solomon Ben Ismael was the first to divide the Hebrew Bible into chapters in the margins.

Circa 1382 A.D. John Wycliffe’s Bible was the first complete Bible translated from the Latin Vulgate Bible manuscripts into Middle English, comprising the 39 Old Testament books, 27 New Testament books, and various Apocryphal books. Wycliffe was called The Morning Star of the Reformation because he believed that lay people should be able to read the Bible in their own tongue.

1450 A.D. Johannes Gutenberg’s Bible was the first complete Bible, a Latin Vulgate Bible, ever printed, comprising the 73 books. Gutenberg, was the inventor of the printing press which utilized mass produced metal movable type. For the first time books can be mass produced and more quickly, instead in manuscripts, which was very time consuming and tedious.

Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603 A.D.)

1499 A.D. Archbishop Gennady’s Bible was the first complete Bible translated into Church Slavonic. Prior to this Bible only individual books and chapters were circulated, whatever was missing was translated from the Latin Vulgate Bible. The Bible was created partly in response to the Heresy of the Judaizers spreading in Russia.

1516 A.D. Desiderius Erasmus’ Greek New Testament was printed, which later became the Textus Receptus.

1517 A.D. Daniel Bomberg's Rabbinic Bible was the first Hebrew Bible (Masoretic text) printed to have incorporated chapter divisions.

1522 A.D. Martin Luther’s New Testament was the first New Testament printed in German, translated from Erasmus’ Greek New Testament.

1526 A.D. William Tyndale’s New Testament was the first New Testament printed in English. A year earlier, Tyndale had the first 21 chapters of Matthew printed in Cologne, Germany, but was forced to stop and flee due to persecution. The work was later completed in Worms, Germany.

1530 A.D. Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaple’s Bible was the first Bible printed in French.

1535 A.D. Myles Coverdale’s Bible was the first Bible printed in English, comprising the 39 Old Testament books, 27 New Testament books, and 14 Apocrypha books.

1536 A.D. Martin Luther’s Bible was the first Bible printed in German.

1537 A.D. John Rogers, under the pseudonym of Thomas Matthew to avoid persecution, had the Matthew’s Bible printed, it was the second Bible printed in English.

1539 A.D. Richard Taverner’s Bible was the third Bible printed in English. Shortly after, King Henry VIII ordered that the Great Bible be printed. This was the first English Bible authorized for use by the Church of England.

1546 A.D. The Trent Council declares the Latin Vulgate Bible as the official Latin Bible of the Catholic Church.

Stuart Monarchy (1603-1714 A.D.)

1609-1610 A.D. The Douay Old Testament was the first Catholic Old Testament printed in English. It was translated from the Latin Vulgate by a group of Catholic English Scholars while in exile in France, Douay, fleeing from persecution. The printing of the Douay Old Testament was delayed due to the lack of funding.

1611 A.D. King James I ordered that the King James Bible be printed. When King James I ascended to the throne, he sought unity and stability in both the church and state, but he recognized the need to consider the diversity of his constituents. This was the third and final English Bible authorized for use by the Church of England.

“The aim of those who produced King James's, or the Authorized, Version of the Bible was not to produce a new translation, but to make a good one better. It was a continuation, a refinement, a synthesis of all that had gone before. The greatest monument of English prose, no book has had greater influence on the English language or on the character of English-speaking people…” (Thomas, Alan G. Great Books and Book Collectors. Spring Books, 1988, p.110.)

1616 A.D. The first small folio King James Bible was printed in England. This was the first serious attempt at correcting typographical errors and updating orthography (capitalization and spelling). This principal edition little influenced succeeding folio editions of 1617, 1634, 1640.

During 1616 the final octavo Geneva New Testament and folio Geneva Bible was printed in England by Robert Barker. With the final quarto Geneva Bible printed in England by Robert Barker in 1615. The printing and distribution of the Geneva Bibles never actually ceased until 1644.

1628 A.D. The first King James New Testament was printed in Scotland.

1629 A.D. The first King James Bible was printed at Cambridge. Without formal authorization the scholars at the University of Cambridge produced a new edition of the 1611 King James Bible. This was the second serious attempt at correcting typographical errors and updating orthography (capitalization and spelling).

1633 A.D. The first King James Bible was printed in Scotland.

1638 A.D. The second King James Bible was printed at Cambridge. With formal authorization the scholars at the University of Cambridge produced a new edition of the 1611 King James Bible. This was the third serious attempt at correcting typographical errors and updating orthography (capitalization and spelling). This remained the standard text until 1762.

1640 A.D. The first English Bible, a Geneva Bible printed at Amsterdam, to deliberately omit the Apocrypha.

1644 A.D. The final Geneva Bible was printed at Amsterdam, surpassed by the popular King James Bible.

1647 A.D. The first English Bible with the imprint of the Company of Stationers was printed in England.

1649 A.D. The first King James Bible combined with the Geneva Bible marginal notes, was printed by the Company of Stationers.

1652 A.D. The first English Bible with a title page mentioning the Parliament was printed in England. The Epistle Dedicatory to King James I was also omitted. It was printed by John Field shortly before Oliver Cromwell’s protectorate. Field went on to serve as printer for the parliament, and later became the printer for the University of Cambridge in 1655. 

1663 A.D. The first complete Algonquin Bible translation by John Eliot was printed, making it the first Bible printed in America.

1675 A.D. The first English Bible was printed at Oxford by the Oxford University Press. 

1701 A.D. The first King James Bible edited by Bishop William Lloyd was printed in England. With formal authorization from the Convocation in 1699, Bishop William Lloyd oversaw the production of a new edition of the 1611 King James Bible. This was the fourth attempt, with some correcting of typographical errors and some updating orthography (capitalization and spelling).

It is unclear if there was a dissatisfaction with the state of the text for the Convocation in 1699 to request for an improved edition. David Norton notes that neither the Oxford folio or the London folio made much in significant changes. Scriverner notes that “except in regard to the dates, no principal edition so little influenced succeeding Bibles as this, notwithstanding the high auspices under which it came forth.” (Scrivener, Frederick Henry Ambrose. The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611). Franklin Classics, 1910, p. 27.)

Hanoverian Monarchy (1714-1901 A.D.)

1714 A.D. The first King James Bible was printed in Ireland. 

1761 A.D. The first English Bible with the imprint of Mark Baskett was printed in England. It is said that Mark Baskett printed the first English Bible in America in 1752.

1762 A.D. The first King James Bible edited by Dr. Francis Sawyer Paris was printed in England. With formal authorization, the scholars at the University of Cambridge produced a new edition of the 1611 King James Bible. This was the fifth serious attempt at correcting typographical errors and updating orthography (capitalization and spelling). 

1764 A.D. The first English Quaker Bible was printed by Dr. John Fothergill in England. Anthony Purver spent over 30 years preparing the Bible.

1769 A.D. The first King James Bible edited by Dr. Benjamin Blayney was printed in England. With formal authorization, the scholars at the University of Oxford produced a new edition of the 1611 King James Bible. This was the sixth serious attempt at correcting typographical errors and updating orthography (capitalization and spelling). Generally, to this day it remains the standard text.

1777 A.D. The first English New Testament was printed in America by Robert Aitken.

1782 A.D. The first English Bible was printed in America by Robert Aitken. It was the first and only Bible authorized by Congress.

1791 A.D. The first English Family Bible was printed in America by Isaac Collins. The first Illustrated Bible was printed in America by Isaiah Thomas.

1800 A.D. The largest Bible ever printed with movable type on a letterpress was printed in England. Containing 71 copper engraved plates on interleaved sheets and 104 large head and tail pieces by the most eminent English artists. The entire project cost Thomas Macklin over £30,000.

1808 A.D. The first complete English Bible translation of the Septuagint by Charles Thomson, was printed by a woman, Jane Aitken, the daughter of Robert Aitken.

1816 A.D. The American Bible Society’s first English Bible was printed in America. The goal of the American Bible Society was to mass produce and distribute Bibles at a low cost. 

1833 A.D. The first Noah Webster Bible was printed in America, five years after his famous 1828 Dictionary. This revision was a serious attempt at modernizing the American tongue, and was never accepted as the standard text.

1841 A.D. The English Hexapla New Testament was printed in Enlgand, comprising the 1380 Wycliffe, 1534 Tyndale, 1539 Great Bible, 1557 Geneva, 1582 Rheims, and 1611 King James.

1846 A.D. The Illuminated Bible was the most illustrated Bible printed in America. Robert E. Lee once owned a copy and it still sits on a parlor table at Arlington House.

1866 A.D. The first English Bible featuring over 241 illustrations by Gustave Doré was printed in England.

1876 A.D. The first complete English Bible translation by a woman, Julia Evelina Smith, was printed in America.