The Antwerp Polyglot Bible or Biblia Regia

By Nicole Ponce De La Torre

About the Antwerp Polyglot Bible

Also known as the Regia Bible, the Antwerp Polyglot Bible is considered the second great polyglot Bible in history. The project was promoted by the famous Flemish printer Cristóbal Plantin and presented to King Philip II of Spain, hence its name Regia. It was conceived with the aim of offering an improved version that would surpass the Complutense Polyglot Bible, published in Alcalá at the beginning of the 16th century, and, at the same time, as a response to the advance of Protestantism in the context of the Counter-Reformation promoted by the Council of Trent (1545-1563). In this regard, Cerdán (2019, p. 50) quotes Delen, who pointed out:

The need for such an edition was felt urgently as a reaction against the Reformation, as a ‘new weapon in defense of the faith.’ Already in 1514–1517, the famous Bible of Alcalá by Cardinal Jiménez de Cisneros had compiled the oldest biblical texts in Hebrew, Chaldean, Greek, and Latin. Plantin wished to do better and create a true masterpiece of typography, while at the same time a monument of theological and linguistic science. (my translation).

Philip II entrusted the supervision of the new Polyglot Bible to the distinguished Hebraist, philologist, and ecclesiastic Benito Arias Montano, royal chaplain and member of the Spanish delegation at the Council of Trent, where he had made a meritorious intervention. In the framework of this process, Montano not only acted as royal supervisor of the project, but also played a decisive role as editor in the design and content of the Polyglot, especially in the drafting of the biblical treatises that make up the final volume.

About the edition and printing

The printing of the Antwerp Polyglot Bible extended over four years (1568–1572) and resulted in eight volumes, distributed as follows:

• Volumes I–IV: Old Testament
• Volume V: New Testament
• Volumes VI–VIII: grammatical, philological, exegetical, historical works and dictionaries.
• 35 illustrations: copperplate engravings signed by Pieter van der Heiden along the eight volumes

The edition also incorporated the biblical text of the Complutensian Polyglot —with versions in Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin— together with the Aramaic Targum of Jonathan and the Syriac Peshitta version of the New Testament. It likewise included the Latin Bible of Santes Pagnino, corrected by Montano, and various technical treatises of a philological‑biblical nature, which made the work both a treasure of Hebraist philology and a reference point for later translations of Scripture.

About the problems of the New Polyglot Bible

Unfortunately, this editorial work subsequently brought to Arias Montano some serious problems with the Inquisition and various controversies. On the one hand, the inclusion of the Talmud and of the treatises of Sebastian Münster —used to comment on the Aramaic and Jewish texts— proved problematic, since they had been recently placed on the index of prohibited works. On the other hand, the extensive citation of rabbinic sources in the scientific apparatus, articles, and dictionaries, which exceeded the references to the Church Fathers, was considered Judaizing and distant from the tradition of the Vulgate.

In the end, Arias Montano obtained an acquittal from the Holy Tribunal, since it was deemed that the edition did not contravene doctrinal principles or canonical decrees. Thus, the distribution of the Antwerp Polyglot Bible was authorized within the Hispanic territories, although some copies circulated with censorship warnings.

About Joseph’s prophecies representation

The present edition does not contain illustrations within the biblical passages due to its very nature as a polyglot Bible. However, in the illustrations that accompany the title pages or section openings, there are some images drawn from the Judeo‑Christian tradition or containing elements related to certain biblical passages as shown below.

With regard to the story of Joseph, son of Jacob, the final narrative in Genesis, there is no illustration of it in the Antwerp Polyglot edition. What is noteworthy, however, are the subtle differences between the Latin texts of the edition, with the one on the “left” being the closest to the text of the Vulgate. A deeper analysis of both versions could allow us to identify whether these variants had an impact on the meaning and representation of the story of Joseph.

Representation of the story of Joseph in the Spanish Viceroyalty

While the Antwerp Polyglot Bible itself offers no visual representation of Joseph’s story within its pages, the figure of Jacob’s son did find a place in the artistic imagination of the Spanish Empire. In the Viceroyalties of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, posterior to the dissemination of the Polyglot, painters and engravers turned to the episode of Joseph’s prophecies before Pharaoh as a subject of theological and didactic resonance. These works, produced in colonial contexts, reveal how biblical narratives were translated into images that served both devotional and pedagogical purposes, when these were absent in the printed editions of the time.

Few images have been preserved, especially in American viceregal art, depicting the story of Joseph. A greater abundance can be found in European art of the period related to this passage. Nevertheless, in viceregal art we can observe how paintings produced in the Americas follow the European model, in which the representation—particularly of clothing—is not historically accurate but instead reflects, to a large extent, the fashions of the Renaissance Europe.

Bibliography

Biblioteca Histórica Marqués de Valdecilla. (n. d.). https://biblioteca.ucm.es/historica/Regia

Cerdán Mendoza, C. F. (2018). Biblia Políglota de Amberes (Biblia Regia) en la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú. Fénix: Revista de la Biblioteca Nacional del Perú., 47. ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348067944_Biblia_Poliglota_de_Amberes_Biblia_regia_en_la_Biblioteca_Nacional_del_Peru

De Nave, F. (1990). Cristóbal Plantino(1520-1589):Impresor del humanismo y de las ciencias (R. Merchán Guisado, Trad.). Biblioteca Nacional. https://sistemas.iibi.unam.mx/biblioteca/pavd/latpdf/LAT002561.pdf

Museo del Prado. Joseph explains Pharaoh’s dreams [Oil painting]. Museo Nacional del Prado. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/jose-explica-los-sueos-del-faraon/91f38a0d-a5e3-485f-86e1-2ac17f0fff79

Real Academia de la Historia. (n.d.). Benito Arias Montano. In Historia Hispánica. Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://historia-hispanica.rah.es/biografias/4410-benito-arias-montano

University of the Andes. (n.d.). ARCA: Archivos Visuales de Cultura Colonial [Digital database]. Retrieved December 4, 2025, from https://arcav1.uniandes.edu.co/artworks?page=6&topic=3