As our series marches through the hallowed halls of 1611 scholarship, we arrive at the 2nd Westminster Company, the fiery heart of Puritan precision tackling Ruth through Malachi—the historical books, Psalms, prophets, and wisdom literature. Meeting in the shadow of Westminster’s towers, these 9 men blended Puritan reformers with Anglican stalwarts, their zeal for biblical purity rivaling Knox’s Scotland. No wild radicals here—just scholarly lions, fiercely episcopal yet Scripture-hungry, ensuring every oracle and lament endured the legendary 14 revisions for diamond-cut clarity.

The Warrior Scholars: Degrees, Devotion, and Depth

**John Rainolds **, the Puritan patriarch, ignited the project at Hampton Court Conference 1604. Oxford Corpus Christi alum , he authored Sex Bibiliorum on the Hexapla and crushed Jesuit debater John Hart. Once a Catholic convert, Rainolds returned Protestant, his conversion fueling Ruth’s redemption arcs. Died mid-project—hero’s exit.

**Thomas Holland **, Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford , was Hebrew’s high priest; Queen Elizabeth quizzed him on obscure verses. His Analecta Sacra unpacked prophets like thunder.

**Richard Brett **, Prebendary of Lincoln , penned A Commentary on Romans—his Psalter insights dripped pastoral gold.

**Daniel Fairclough **, Puritan divine , served plague-stricken parishes, mirroring Job’s trials in translation.

**John Spenser **, Dean of Norwich , bridged companies with Greek finesse.

**Giles Thomson **, shadowy scholar; **William Thorne **, Bishop of Worcester , Hebraist par excellence. **Leonard Hutten **, Archdeacon of Bath , and **Thomas Sanderson **, Prebendary of Lincoln , rounded the nine.

Tales from the Trenches: Debates, Devotion, and Divine Fire

Imagine Rainolds, blind in later years, dictating Isaiah’s visions—his voice booming like Elijah. Anecdote: At Hampton Court, he begged James for one pure translation; the king quipped, “Rainolds, you’ll sit chief!” Holland, Elizabeth’s favorite, once expounded Habakkuk to her Majesty en route to Tilbury. The plague of 1603 scattered them to country rectories, where Thorne translated amid sermons, Psalms flowing like manna. Fairclough survived London’s horrors, his Ruth notes laced with grace amid grief. Their Puritan fire tempered Anglican polish: “The Lord is my shepherd”  sings with experiential depth.

Legacy: Prophetic Thunder in English Robes

From Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer to Malachi’s forerunner, this company’s prophecies armed the Puritans—and Cromwell—yet graced cathedrals worldwide. Rainolds’ grave in Corpus bears: “Here lieth he whose labours brought forth the Bible.” Reviewed 14-fold under Bancroft, their words pierce souls eternal.

Next: 1st Oxford – The Bear-Slayers and Visionaries. The chorus swells. Soli Deo Gloria. 

In the grand endeavor of translating the King James Bible—the most influential English version of Holy Writ—the work of the 54 principal translators often takes center stage. Yet behind these scholarly titans stood a vigilant cadre of overseers, ecclesiastical overseers appointed by Archbishop Richard Bancroft to ensure doctrinal unity, fidelity to tradition, and adherence to King James I’s vision. These men did not wield the pen in day-to-day translation but served as final arbiters, harmonizing the labors of six companies across Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge. Their role was pivotal: reviewing drafts, enforcing the 15 Apostolic Rules, and polishing the text through relentless revision. As biographer Alexander McClure notes in his 1858 Annals of the English Bible, every verse passed through 14 revisions—twice per company , plus two final polishes by Bancroft’s circle at Stationers’ Hall in 1609-1610—yielding a text of unparalleled precision.

The Companies Under Oversight: A Scholarly Symphony

The translators were divided into six companies of 7-12 men each, roughly balanced between High Church Anglicans  and Puritans . Here’s the overview:

– **1st Westminster Company **: Lancelot Andrewes , John Overall , Hadrian Saravia , Richard Clarke, John Layfield, Robert Tighe, Francis Burleigh, John King, Richard Thompson, William Bedwell , George King, and Richard Harmer. Focused on Genesis to 2 Kings.

– **2nd Westminster Company **: John Rainolds , Thomas Holland , Richard Brett, Daniel Fairclough, John Spenser , Giles Thomson, William Thorne , Leonard Hutten , and Thomas Sanderson . Ruth to Malachi.

– **1st Oxford Company **: John Reynolds , George Abbot , John Harding, John Peryn, Humphrey Hodson, John Harmer , Thomas Sanderson , Thomas Rippington, Richard King, and Richard Fisher. Isaiah to Malachi.

– **2nd Oxford Company **: Leonard Hutten , John Spenser , Ralph Ravens , John Fenton, Thomas Tedder, William Kilby , Laurence Thomson, and John Day . Gospels, Acts, Revelation.

– **1st Cambridge Company **: Joseph Meade , Roger Fenton , Michael Rabbet, Thomas Sanderson , John Richardson, John Wilkinson, Robert Ward, William Covarie, and Anthony Burgesse. Pentateuch.

– **2nd Cambridge Company **: John Branthwaite , Andrew Bing , John Spenser , John Harrison, Edward Lively , Roger Andrews , and Tobias Norris. Pauline Epistles.

Affiliations leaned two-thirds Anglican establishment, one-third Puritan moderates—no extremists—ensuring the translation bridged divides. Many held multiple degrees  and authored tomes in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic, even Arabic and Syriac.

Anecdotes from the Trenches: Humanity Amid Scholarship

These overseers weren’t ivory-tower ghosts. Richard Bancroft , the chief architect, was a firebrand: Cambridge-trained , he grilled Gunpowder Plot conspirators and penned anti-Puritan tracts, yet charmed James I into authorizing the project at Hampton Court 1604. Legend says he personally struck through “Congregation” for “Church” in rule 3. George Abbot , overseer and translator, boasted a BA/MA from Balliol , BD , DD ; his bear-killing feat at Paris Garden made him a folk hero, but his conscience drove the translation’s moral gravity. Lancelot Andrewes , polyglot dean , prayed nightly in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin—his Preces Privatae influenced kings. These men met amid plague scares, poring over Bishops’ Bible texts by candlelight, debating till dawn.

The 15 Rules of Perfection: Bancroft’s Blueprint

Bancroft’s 15 Rules  were the sacred code:

1. Let the Bishops’ Bible be the textual base.

2. Authorized names retained .

3. “Church,” not “Congregation.”

4. Original languages consulted when Bishops’ Bible varies.

5. No private word changes; majority rules.

6. Originals primary if words differ.

7. No varied translations for one word unless needed.

8. Italics for supplied words.

9. NT proper nouns uniform.

10. Decalogue numbering per Geneva/Church.

11. Marginal Hebrew/Greek notes if uncertain.

12. Passages noted if disputed.

13. Experts consulted for hard Hebrew words.

14. Company votes; ties to overseers.

15. Final committee revisions before printing.

These rules birthed a Bible reviewed 14 times per verse: company draft/review , subcommittee , full body , two final overseer passes—sheer rigor. The result? A text so pure it stands eternal.

In this series, we’ll dive deeper into each company’s luminaries. The overseers set the stage; the translators delivered the symphony. To God be the glory—in 1611 English.

Next: 1st Westminster

Welcome back to our series illuminating the scholarly giants behind the 1611 King James Bible. If Part 1 introduced the overseers—those vigilant guardians like Richard Bancroft who enforced the sacred 15 Rules—we now plunge into the 1st Westminster Company, the powerhouse crew tasked with Genesis through 2 Kings, the foundational bedrock of Scripture. Convening in the ancient halls of Westminster Abbey amid the clatter of Parliament nearby, these 12 men  brought unmatched erudition to the task. High Church loyalists to the bone, they championed episcopacy and liturgical beauty, yet their work pulses with prophetic fire. Every verse here endured the famed 14 reviews, emerging crystalline.

The Dream Team: Pedigrees and Passions

**Lancelot Andrewes **, the undisputed maestro, was Dean of Westminster and later Bishop of Chichester, Ely, Peterborough, and Winchester. A Cambridge prodigy , he mastered 12 languages—Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Syriac, Chaldean, Arabic, and more. His Preces Privatae  moved monarchs like Charles I; John Donne called him “the best preacher in England.” Andrewes led revisions, his prayers infusing Genesis’s grandeur. Anecdote: He once debated Jesuits in six tongues, silencing them—fit for Babel’s tower.

**John Overall **, Dean of St. Paul’s and Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge , was a logic titan whose Summa grappled with predestination. Puritan-leaning yet episcopal, he anchored doctrinal debates.

**Hadrian Saravia **, the Huguenot refugee from Arras, fled Spanish Inquisition for England. BA/MA Cambridge , he authored De Officiis Sacerdotis defending bishops. Queen Elizabeth dubbed him her “best foreign scholar”; his patristic depth shaped Exodus’s priestly rites.

**William Bedwell **, the Orientalist wizard, pioneered Arabic studies . He decoded the Mishnah and Samaritan Pentateuch, gifting his library to Oxford. Bedwell’s Hebraisms lit Leviticus like menorah flames.

Rounding out: John Layfield ; Robert Tighe ; Richard Clarke and Francis Burleigh ; John King ; Richard Thompson and George King ; Richard Harmer .

Anecdotes from the Abbey: Sweat, Scholarship, and the Supernatural

Picture them: Andrewes, frail but fierce, pacing cloisters reciting Hebrew psalms. Legend holds he rose at 4 a.m. for devotions in original tongues. Bedwell, eccentric hermit, lived in an almskeeper’s cell piled with manuscripts, once trekking to Hebrew rabbis in Amsterdam. The company faced plague interruptions , yet reconvened, their debates echoing like thunder over Sinai. One tale: Saravia, homesick for Flanders, wept translating the plagues—his exile mirrored Israel’s.

Their Anglican fervor shone in retaining “bishop” , yet Puritan precision honed prophecies . High Church polish met evangelical zeal, birthing Genesis’s cosmic sweep: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Legacy: Foundations Forged in Fire

This company’s output—over a third of the OT—underpinned revivals from Whitefield to Spurgeon. Andrewes preached James I’s coronation; their words crowned his reign. Reviewed 14 times under Bancroft’s eye, these verses stand unassailable.

Next: 2nd Westminster – Puritan Powerhouse. Stay tuned—the symphony builds. Soli Deo Gloria.