Abstract
The prefaces which Calvin wrote for the Bible translation of Olivétan (1535) conform to the general custom during the Reformation to translate the Bible into the vernacular and to publish these translations simultaneously with interpretation aids. In the preface published in the Olivétan Bible and preceding the New Testament translation, Calvin wants to indicate to the reader (in this case the heathen) the correct way to approach the Bible.Although no captions or headings are included, the preface is structured very precisely, thus also presenting Calvin’s systematic kind of exposition.
In order to show the heathen the way to salvation, Calvin indicates a way via prehistory (Gen. 1-11; Rom. 1-2; Acts 14 and 17), the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) to the New Testament witness about Christ. The focus and goal of this path are the fulfilment of the law. Clearly the most noticeable result of the analysis of this preface is the “system of corresponding doctrines” found between creation and salvation. This specific approach of Calvin is a key to understanding his later theology.
In the second part of the preface Calvin explains the main Biblical concepts of “Testament”, “Evangelium” and “Messiah”. Regarding this his view corresponds to Luther’s writing, “De captivitate Babylonica ...” (1520), and is perhaps dependent on it.
The third part of the preface contains admonitions to Christians who are persecuted to assure them of their salvation. Admonitions to kings, princes, rulers, bishops and pastors are also included.
Copyright information
- Ownership of copyright in terms of the Work remains with the authors.
- The authors retain the non-exclusive right to do anything they wish with the Work, provided attribution is given to the place and detail of original publication, as set out in the official citation of the Work published in the journal. The retained right specifically includes the right to post the Work on the authors’ or their institutions’ websites or institutional repositories.
Publication and user license
- The authors grant the title owner and the publisher an irrevocable license and first right and perpetual subsequent right to (a) publish, reproduce, distribute, display and store the Work in any form/medium, (b) to translate the Work into other languages, create adaptations, summaries or extracts of the Work or other derivative works based on the Work and exercise all of the rights set forth in (a) above in such translations, adaptations, summaries, extracts and derivative works, (c) to license others to do any or all of the above, and (d) to register the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for the Definitive Work.
- The authors acknowledge and accept the user licence under which the Work will be published as set out in https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (Creative Commons Attribution License South Africa)
- The undersigned warrant that they have the authority to license these publication rights and that no portion of the copyright to the Work has been assigned or licensed previously to any other party.
Disclaimer: The publisher, editors and title owner accept no responsibility for any statement made or opinion expressed by any other person in this Work. Consequently, they will not be liable for any loss or damage sustained by any reader as a result of his or her action upon any statement or opinion in this Work.
In cases where a manuscript is NOT accepted for publication by the editorial board, the portions of this agreement regarding the publishing licensing shall be null and void and the authors will be free to submit this manuscript to any other publication for first publication.
Our copyright policies are author-friendly and protect the rights of our authors and publishing partners.