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The Statenvertaling or Statenbijbel (Dutch for States Bible) is the first Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 translation from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 languages to the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

, ordered by the government of the Protestant Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 first published in 1637.

The first complete Dutch Bible was printed in Antwerp in 1526 by Jacob van Liesveldt. This translation and other existing Dutch Bibles were merely translations of other translations. Furthermore, the translation from Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

 was widely used, but it had a Lutheran interpretation. At the Synod of Dort
Synod of Dort
The Synod of Dort was a National Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618-1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy initiated by the rise of Arminianism. The first meeting was on November 13, 1618, and the final meeting, the 154th, was on May 9, 1619...

 in 1618/19, it was therefore deemed necessary to have a new translation, accurately based on the original languages in imitation of the King James Bible from 1611. The synod requested the States-General of the Netherlands
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...

 to commission it.

In 1626 the States-General accepted the request from the Synod and the translation started. It was completed in 1635 and authorized by the States-General in 1637. From then until 1657 half-a-million copies were printed. This translation remained authoritative in Protestant churches well into the 20th century.

The source material for the Old Testament of the Statenvertaling was the Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...

. The New Testament was translated from the Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and for most other...

.

Guidelines for translation

The Statenvertaling was written with specific guidelines for translation established by the Synod during its 8th session on November 20, 1618. The four main instructions to the translators were:
  1. That they always carefully adhere to the original text, and that the manner of writing of the original languages be preserved, as much as the clarity and properties of Dutch speech permit. But in case where the Hebrew or Greek manner of speech was harder than could remain in the text, that they note this in the margin.
  2. That they add as few words as possible to complete the meaning of a sentence if it is not expressed fully, and that these words be distinguished from the text with a different font and placed between brackets.
  3. That they formulate a short and clear summary for each book and chapter and write this in the margin at the respective locations in the Holy Scriptures.
  4. That they add a brief explanation providing insight to the translation of unclear passages; but the addition of lessons learnt is neither necessary nor advisable.

Apocryphal books

Regarding the Biblical apocrypha
Biblical apocrypha
The word "apocrypha" is today often used to refer to the collection of ancient books printed in some editions of the Bible in a separate section between the Old and New Testaments...

, the synod decided to translate these books but not to make them part of the canon. They were placed after the books of the New Testament and preceded with a "warning for the reader".

Translation of God's name

In the Hebrew Bible, God's name is written with the four consonants JHWH (as seen on the very top of the title page in Hebrew characters), and would not be pronounced by the Jews. During the 12th session the synod decided to translate God's name with "HEERE" ("LORD"). In the margin where God's name first appears, the following note is given :

The translators

The translators and overseers were appointed during the 13th session on 26 November 1618. Translators were Johann Bogermann
Johann Bogermann
thumb|200px|right|Johann BogermanJohann Bogerman was a Frisian Protestant divine.He was born in Uplewert , the son of a preacher. From 1591 onwards, he studied in Franeker, Heidelberg, Geneva, Zürich, Lausanne, Oxford and Cambridge. In 1599, he became pastor in Sneek, 1603 in Enkhuizen and 1604 in...

, Willem Baudartius
Willem Baudartius
Willem Baudaert or Baudartius , born Willem Baudart, was a Dutch theologian...

, and Gerson Bucerus for the Old Testament, and Jakobus Rolandus, Herman Faukelius, and Petrus Cornelisz for the New Testament and apocrypha.

Herman Faukelius and Petrus Cornelisz died before they could start on the translation and were therefore replaced by Festus Hommius
Festus Hommius
-Life:He was born into a noted Frisian family. He studied from 1593 at the University of Franeker under Sibrandus Lubbertus, travelled in 1595 to the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle and completed his studies from 1596 at the University of Leiden. Around 1597 Hommius became preacher of Warmond,...

 and Antonius Walaeus
Antonius Walaeus
Antonius Walaeus was a Dutch Calvinist minister, theologian, and academic.-Early life:...

.

Its influence

Besides its influence in religious matters, the Statenvertaling also had a large effect on the Dutch language and politics. The language, choice of words, and expressions used in the Bible formed the basis of the accepted form of standardized Dutch, which formulated in the 17th century. It acted as a cultural unification of the Netherlands.

Because of its influence, the Statenbijbel has been included in the "Canon of the Netherlands". This canon is a list of 50 required subjects which should not be omitted from history classes in the Netherlands.

External links

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