This digital primary source is a 1455 incunabulum of the Biblia (Gutenberg Bible) held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, featuring the complete Vulgate text and early typographic production.
This digital primary source is a 1455 incunabulum of the Biblia (Gutenberg Bible) held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, featuring the complete Vulgate text and early typographic production.
Biblia (Gutenberg Bible)
This digital primary source is a 1455 incunabulum of the Biblia (Gutenberg Bible) held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, featuring the complete Vulgate text and early typographic production.
Additional link
Document
Drucker der 42zeiligen Bibel (GW 4201) (Johann Gutenberg)
1455
Public Domain
12/06/2025
Latin transcription (with abbreviations expanded for clarity)
Incipit liber breuis qui vocatur Genesis.
In principio creavit Deus caelum et terram.
Terra autem erat inanis et vacua, et tenebrae erant super faciem abyssi, et Spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.
Dixitque Deus: Fiat lux. Et facta est lux. Et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona; et divisit lucem a tenebris.
Appellavitque lucem diem, et tenebras noctem. Factum est vespere et mane dies unus.
Dixit quoque Deus: Fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum, et dividat aquas ab aquis.
Et fecit Deus firmamentum, divisitque aquas quae erant sub firmamento ab his quae erant super firmamentum.
Et factum est ita. Vocavitque Deus firmamentum caelum. Et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus.
English translation
Here begins the brief book which is called Genesis.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the waters.
And God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and He divided the light from the darkness.
And He called the light “day”, and the darkness “night”. And there was evening and there was morning — the first day.
And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
And God made the firmament, and He divided the waters that were under the firmament from those that were above the firmament.
And it was so. And God called the firmament “heaven”. And there was evening and there was morning — the second day.