Book Minute

The Bible of the Bear. Really? Published in 1569 by Casiodoro de Reina, this Spanish version of the Bible had an illustration on the title page showing a bear trying to reach some honey. Because of typos and printing errors, it was widely criticized and quickly revised in 1602 by Cipriano de Valera. It has been revised many times, as recently as 2011. The Reina-Valera Bible is as central to the perception of the Bible by Protestants in Spanish as the Geneva Bible and the King James Version is in English.

Casiodoro de Reina was a Lutheran theologian, and his translation was the first complete Bible to be printed in Spanish. Interestingly, it was first published in Basel, Switzerland. The Reina-Valera Bible today has become the common Bible of millions of Spanish-speaking Protestants around the world.