ΤΗΣ ΚΑΙΝΗΣ ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗΣ ΑΠΑΝΤΑ - [Post Incunable] [NOVI TESTAMENTI OMNIA] - 1531

From Manuscript to Print: The Bible Restored to Its Sources - The 1531 Greek Revision
This rare second Greek edition of the New Testament, printed by Johannes Bebel in Basel in 1531, belongs to the original core of the first scientifically revised Bibles based on ancient texts, following the methodological impulse inaugurated by Erasmus. It is a frontier work, where philology, Rhineland humanism, and the new Reformed theology converge in an attempt to restore the sacred text through Greek codices—and, as far as possible, through targeted comparisons with Aramaic and Semitic traditions. The volume testifies to a period in which returning to linguistic sources was not mere scholarship but a spiritual and intellectual project aimed at renewing the understanding of the Scriptures.
Initials marked with a red and yellow grid by a subsequent hand.
The specimen preserves the aesthetic strength of the editorial project: a portable, elegant, refined book intended for daily critical study.
Second edition of Bebel's Greek New Testament, revised in light of ancient texts and in continuity with the Erasmian philological revolution.
Market value
The earliest Basel editions of the Greek New Testament, stemming from the Erasmusian impulse and based on direct comparison with ancient manuscripts, are rare on the market. Copies of the second Bebel (1531), especially in contemporary binding and with good structural integrity, typically range from 4,000 to 6,500 euros. The presence of the complete text, the typographical quality, and the historical significance of the edition – among the first systematic attempts to establish the Greek text on a philological basis – maintain a strong collector's interest.

Physical description and condition
Elegant and unusual contemporary binding in blonde pigskin leather with green veins, blind impression on the boards, blind-embossed cuts, and handwritten title on the lower edge; green Moroccan patch on the spine, slight signs of use; traces of laces. Beautiful rubricated initials in red and yellow by a later hand. The engraved title page is missing and replaced by an antique reproduction; the preface is absent. The entire text is in Greek. An engraved woodcut printer's mark appears on the verso of the last leaf with the motto 'durum pacientia frango.' Large-quality woodcut initials. Some browning. Pages (2); 734; 2 unnumbered; (2).

Full title and author
Answers of the New Testament
New Testament, All
Basel, at Io. Bebelium, in June, Johannes Bebel, 1531.
Various Authors

Context and Significance
This second Basel edition of the Greek New Testament is not merely a reissue of the 1524 princeps but a direct testimony to the philological revolution initiated by Erasmus with his editions of the Greek text published between 1516 and 1527. Bebel, sharing the same humanist culture, continues Erasmus's method: consulting the most authoritative Greek manuscripts available, critically evaluating divergent readings, and comparing with Semitic traditions and the Vulgate to identify interpolations or misunderstandings. The octavo format responded to the need for portability, making the volume suitable for students, preachers, correctors, and theologians. In this sense, the second Bebel serves as a bridge between the philological laboratory of Basel and the new hermeneutics of the Reformation, for which returning to Greek and Aramaic was both a methodological and spiritual duty.

Biography of the Author
The New Testament does not have a single author, but this edition reflects the joint work of humanists, theologians, and Basel typographers engaged in restoring the text from original sources. Johannes Bebel (circa 1500–1550) was one of the key figures in Greek production in Basel. Active within the Reformed environment and in dialogue with Erasmus's innovations, he curated editions of the highest precision, contributing to the development of a critical canon that influenced universities and theological circles for decades.

Printing history and circulation
The first edition of the Greek New Testament edited by Bebel dates back to 1524; the present second edition of 1531 represents a technical and philological improvement. Basel, an editorial center equipped with exceptional correctors and Greek scholars, was the ideal place for printing complex Greek texts. These editions circulated widely in the German and Swiss territories, playing a primary role in the training of pastors, teachers, and students who required a text based on manuscripts and on Erasmus's new methodology of returning to the sources.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
VD16 B 4179
Adams B-1651
Basel bibliography of the 16th century
Studies on Greek printing and Erasmus's philology during the Renaissance.