Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples’ bible

By Laurie Hennequin

Presentation of the author

This Bible is known as the first translation of the Bible from Latin into French, by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples. We will begin by looking at this translator of the Bible, who played an important role in Catholicism in the early 16th century.

Jacques Lefèvre, born in 1450, was a French Catholic theologian and humanist. During the first part of his life, he was a professor of arts and philosophy in Paris until 1507.

He was the defender of a number of reformist ideas and the source of many polemical writings. In 1520, he was appointed vicar and later bishop of Meaux, creating the Cénacle de Meaux by gathering other theologians around him, with the aim of improving the training of priests through preaching and popularising the Scriptures.

Jacques Lefèvre was one of those who defended the renewal of ecclesiastical studies and encouraged their criticism. He had already been singled out for these ideas, and it was his translation of the Vulgate version of the Bible, initially of the New Testament, that prompted new proceedings against him in 1523. This translation included around sixty corrections based on the Greek version of the Bible, as well as a recommendation to read the Holy Scriptures in the vulgar language. Jacques Lefèvre’s New Testament was burnt by court order.

In 1525, Jacques Lefèvre was dismissed from his post and the cenacle in Meaux was dissolved; he went into exile in Strasbourg. His complete version of the Bible was not printed until 1530, when he was appointed tutor to Prince Charles under François the First. He spent the last years of his life in Nérac in south-west France.

Context

This Bible was originally translated by Jacques Lefèvre to facilitate the work of preachers who preached the good word in French to the people. The translation is based on the Vulgate version, in Latin, translated by Saint-Jérôme in the 4th century, but with modifications based on the Greek text. This first translation of the Old Testament was published in Paris in 1523 and 1525, and its success was considerable, thanks to advances in printing. However, in 1526, this translation led to the Parliament banning all translations of the Scriptures into French. But thanks to the support of King François the First and Marguerite of Navarre, Jacques Lefèvre was able to pursue his translation, this time with the support of the doctors of the University of Louvain. Regularly revised, this translation served as a reference in France for almost a century.

At the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries, this translation took place in the context of a nascent humanism, which itself gave rise to the Reformation movement. At the same time as Jacques Lefèvre’s translation, Olivétan also translated from the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible.

Transcription and comparison with Olivétan’s bible

Given the proximity in time of the two translations of the Bible by Jacques Lefèvre d’Etaples and the Bible by Olivétan (1530 and 1535 respectively), it would be relevant to compare the translation of the two chapters (here chapter 17 of the Revelation), given that one is based on the Latin version and the other on the original Greek and Hebrew versions.

As we can see, there are many differences between the two versions, but they have almost no influence on the substance of the text. Most of the differences are to be found in the spelling of certain recurring words: et et &, veu et veues, roix et roys, etc. Some differences in syntax are also notable: in the Olivétan Bible we find greater use of capitals (‘Dieu’, ‘Roys’, etc.), and some words are spelt in a more modern way despite only five years’ difference between the two versions. A character that we find in Olivétan’s version but that is not present in Etaples’ version is the question mark. We can also see that Etaples’ translation contains more abbreviations than Olivétan’s version and that the verse structure may vary between the two versions. Olivétan’s version also seems more descriptive in that certain details are added, such as the description of the woman’s dress. Some of the words found in Etaples’ version are modified when we analyse Olivétan’s version: the word “prostitution” is replaced on several occasions by “paillardize”.

The Apocalypse : chapter 17

The Apocalypse, or Revelation, is the last book of the New Testament. The text, which is prophetic in nature, contains numerous allusions to the prophecies of the Old Testament. In this part of the Bible, the apocalypse is described as a great cataclysm before the return of Jesus Christ to Earth, illustrating the triumph of good over evil. Here, we will concentrate on chapter 17, of the 22 chapters of Revelation.

Here, chapter 17 breaks the chronology of Revelation. This chapter is a description of what made Babylon unworthy for divine clemency, in comparison with contemporary Rome. This chapter revolves around the symbolism of blasphemy and paganism. Babylon is depicted as an impure woman, sitting on a beast in the form of Roman power, in a desert, implying the absence of God. The prostitute illustrates the Roman Empire’s relations with other countries, based on its economic exploitation, benefiting a minority and neglecting the majority of the empire. It would then be the fate of the Roman Empire to fall as Babylon did.

The illustration

This chapter of the Revelation is illustrated by this image. We can recognise the woman riding the mystical seven-headed beast in a desert. The woman, adorned in regal finery, holds up a chalice filled with the blasphemies of the corrupt city of Babylon. The beast, representing renewed ancient Rome, is on the right of three kings who give it their power and authority. Beneath the beast are two people in a position of prayer, represented in opposition to the chosen ones who resist him.

Bibliography

The Oxford Bible Commentary

Translations of the Bible in Latin and French during the 16th century

The Reform and the Bible : the sola scriptura

Humanism and translation of the Bible in vernacular languages