AA.VV. - Bybel - 1748

THE GREAT BIBLE OF THE DUTCH ESTATES-GENERAL AMID CALVINISM, POWER, AND MONUMENTAL PRINTING
Imposing Dutch Protestant Bible printed in Gorinchem in 1748, a full expression of the religious and political culture of the United Provinces in the Golden Age of the Reformation. This monumental edition of the famous “Statenbijbel,” the official translation approved by the Dordrecht Synod (1618-1619), represents one of the fundamental instruments through which the Dutch Republic built its confessional and linguistic identity. The volume preserves the austere, solemn charm of the great domestic Calvinist Bibles: strong typographic characters, an apparatus of registers and concordances, heraldic engravings dedicated to the House of Orange-Nassau, and an extraordinary contemporaneous binding on wooden boards with dry irons and remnants of metal clasps. The presence of the large heraldic plates dedicated to Willem Carel Hendrik Friso connects the book to the political dimension of the Orangist monarchy, turning Scripture into a symbol of civil authority, dynastic continuity, and moral order. The copy, marked by ancient signs of use, marginal tears, and historical restorations, preserves the full material force of Bibles truly read and handed down through generations.
MARKET VALUE
The large Dutch Bibles of the eighteenth century, complete with heraldic plates and preserved in the original contemporaneous binding, show a steady but selective market. Comparable copies of the seventeenth-century Statenbijbel, especially in monumental folio with wooden boards and original irons, typically range from €1,000 to €3,000, with higher values for copies that are particularly complete, fresh, or of noble provenance. Copies that were actually used, yet still structurally and binding-wise intact, maintain strong interest among collectors of historic Bibles, Protestant culture, and Dutch typography.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary full brown leather binding on wooden boards, blind tooling on the boards with geometric compartments and floral irons, traces of the original metal clasps. Engraved and typographic title page, Dutch text in two columns, numerous registers, concordances, and exegetical apparatus. The large heraldic plate dedicated to the House of Orange-Nassau with motto “Je Maintiendrai,” rampant lions, crown and princely insignia, is present. Spine with pronounced ribs and signs of wear. Pages with watermarks, some browning, creases, tears and marginal restorations and signs of use, especially on the first leaves, consistent with the domestic and liturgical nature of the work. In ancient books with a multigenerational history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pages: 27nn; 684; 4nn; 302; 4nn; 344; 4nn; 154; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Bybel.
Te Gorinchem, by Nicolaas Goetzee, 1748.
AA.VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The “Statenbijbel” constitutes the fundamental biblical text of Dutch Protestantism. Its origin lies in the Dordrecht Synod’s decision to produce an official translation directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, capable of replacing earlier versions deemed imprecise or theologically uncertain. The result was a Bible that played a role in the Netherlands comparable to that of the King James Bible in the Anglophone world: not only a religious text but also a linguistic, cultural, and political foundation of the nation.
This 1748 edition testifies to the continuity of that project more than a century after Dordrecht. The dedication and heraldic plates connected to Willem IV of Orange-Nassau clearly show how the Bible was also a tool of political legitimization for the Orangist dynasty. The presence of princely heraldry, dynastic symbols, and the celebratory apparatus transforms the book into an object of representation as well as devotion.
The extremely dense typographic layout, with cross-references and marginal notes, reflects the Calvinist exegetical tradition: the sacred text must be studied, compared, and interpreted through systematic reading. Large domestic Dutch Bibles like this were often the central book of the home, handed down through generations, annotated, read aloud in public, and kept as a moral heritage of the family.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Editions of the Statenbijbel were numerous from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century, but the large folio impressions with heraldic apparatus and original bindings are today increasingly difficult to acquire in sound condition. Nicolaas Goetzee, civic printer of Gorinchem, worked in the wake of Dutch Protestant typography, characterized by high compositional quality and notable editorial clarity.
The edition reflects the Dutch taste of the late Enlightenment: page monumentalism, strong contrast between text and margins, sober but solemn ornamental devices, and visually impactful commemorative engravings. The diffusion of these Bibles contributed decisively to the linguistic unification of modern Dutch.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN: census of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century editions of the Statenbijbel.
WorldCat: editions of “Bybel dat is de gansche H. Schrift” printed in the Netherlands in the eighteenth century.
STCN – Short Title Catalogue Netherlands: records of eighteenth-century Statenbijbel editions.
Darlow & Moule, Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of Holy Scripture, sections on Dutch Protestant Bibles.
Herbert, Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of the English Bible and related Protestant vernacular Bibles.
Studies on the Synod of Dordrecht and the Dutch Reformed Church.