Description
Pastor John Rogers assembled in 1537 a volume that contained, for the first time as part of a complete Bible, all of William Tyndale’s translation work, the 1534 New Testament, the Pentateuch, and the nine historical books, ending with 2 Chronicles. Where there were gaps in Tyndale’s work, Rogers used that of Miles Coverdale (1535).
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer saw to it that the Matthew’s Bible was shown to King Henry VIII, who then licensed the complete Bible in English. Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s Viceregent for church affairs, subsequently en¬couraged bishops to order copies of the Matthew’s Bible for their churches. Such official sanction sparked tremendous demand for the book.