The Old First “Staten-Bÿbel”

A States-Bible is the Dutch equivalent of the King James version. Ours was first published in 1621 by order of the Netherlands’ States-General (the Staten-General for which Staten Island is named)

Yesterday on our 364th Anniversary, we enjoyed the presence of Old First’s Staten-Bÿbel or States-Bible. 

One of the heirlooms of Old First’s history, it’s a massive book. Our copy was printed in the city of Dordrecht in 1737. A States-Bible is the Dutch equivalent of the King James version, and it was first published in 1621 by order of the Netherlands’ States-General (the Staten-General for which Staten Island is named).  Governments produced Bibles as a matter of course in the days before the separation of church and state.

Our Staten-Bÿbel is large, in folio size, and it was probably not a family Bible, as these were usually in smaller sizes. The main title page is missing, and there is no record in it of who owned it. It could well have been our church’s pulpit Bible, but there is no proof, so it must remain wishful conjecture. And yet our church would certainly have used a Bible just like it until we switched to English preaching in the early 1800’s.

It’s not in great shape (which severely reduces its cash value). The front cover is loose, the spine is gone, pages are missing, but the binding remains attached to the back cover. It has marvelous fold-out maps, geographical and historical essays, introductions to every book, and lavish notes in the margins of every page. The Dutch Reformed culture valued Bible-knowledge.