The 1663 Eliot Bible: The First Bible Printed in America

" A leaf from John Eliot’s Algonquin (Native American “Indian” language) Bible. These leaves are three-and-a-half centuries old. Many people are shocked to discover that the first Bible printed in America was not English… or any other European language.

In fact, English and European language Bibles would not be printed in America until a century later! Eliot’s Bible did much more than bring the Gospel to the pagan natives who were worshiping creation rather than the Creator… it gave them literacy, as they did not have a written language of their own until this Bible was printed for them.

The main reason why there were no English language Bibles printed in America until the late 1700’s, is because they were more cheaply and easily imported from England up until the embargo of the Revolutionary War. But the kind of Bible John Eliot needed for his missionary outreach to the Native American “Indians” was certainly not to be found in England, or anywhere else. It had to be created on the spot." 

Read more here: http://www.greatsite.com/ancient-rare-bible-leaves/eliot-1663-leaf.html

From the Library of Congress:  https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm036.html

About John Eliot: http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/164.html

Related post from another blog :  Samson Occom, the Presbyterian Mohegan