Matthew Bible

The Matthew Bible, published in 1537 and generally attributed to John Rogers under the name "Thomas Matthew," was the first complete English Bible to draw on Tyndale's translations on a large scale and to receive a royal license. It presents the complete Bible, working from Hebrew and Greek as mediated through intermediate sources, and takes as its base text the work of Tyndale and Coverdale. Its guiding approach is that of Reformation vernacular translation, and it is best categorized as a compilation or revision rather than a fresh rendering, with Tyndale and Coverdale serving as its predecessor and base translations. Its distinctive character lies in its method of assembly: Tyndale is used wherever his work was available and Coverdale elsewhere, with the editorial work supplied by Rogers. As a licensed, composite text, it stands in the line of English Bibles that led toward the later authorized versions.