So I'm going through the book of Genesis in the old Valera Spanish Bible printed in 1602 and written in old Spanish with the old Spanish spelling where the "s" is an "f" and the "c" is a "z" and the "v" is a "u," etc. And what I decided to do was not only read the text again, but I decided I'd read the notes in the margin as well. This has really helped me to see what Reina and Valera actually believed about some things. And, boy, do they really seem supersticious, and messed up on their doctrine! This is really no surpise, as they were both Catholics before they were saved. And, obviously, they kept some of the doctrine they had learned from that church. But you would think they would have learned some more by translating the Bible, and they would have adopted sound doctrine. Sadly, they did not. Below, I give just a few of the heresies I found in their thinking and teaching by reading the footnotes...
THE ADDING OF THE CHURCH IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS
On the first page of Valera's edition we find the words: "Primero Libro de Moysen Llamado Comunmente Genesis."
Right below this, and before the text itself of Genesis begins, we read the following strange commentary: "En el cual cuenta Moysen el principio del mundo, y de la Iglesia de Dios, su doctrina, religion, progreso y su admirable gobierno por espacio de dos mil tecientos y sesenta y ocho años, que hay hasta la muerte de Joseph."
Notice what this is saying! Valera says that Genesis speaks of the CHURCH (la Iglesia de Dios), and it doctrine, religion, and progress, and its admirable government up until the death of Joseph! What???
I've read the book of Genesis through time and again, and I'VE NEVER, EVER, FOUND THE CHURCH MENTIONED in it one time! Nor do we find the doctrine, religion, progress, and governance of the church mentioned either!
Oh, you might say that we can find the church in type in Genesis, but even then you are stretching it. And you'll be hard pressed to find the doctrine, religion, progress, and governance of the church in type in the book of Genesis as well.
This is a very strange commentary by Valera. And I looked up the same in the old 1569, and it's not there. That means this was added by Valera alone.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SINS
Catholicism gives many types of sin. It tries to make some sins worse then others. We see this type of "classifying" sin in the notes of Valera when we read in a footnote about the fall of Adam and Eve:
"Adam no fue engañado sino la mujer fue engañado en la rebelion. La serpiente pecó contra el Espíritu Santo de una malicia obstinada: y asi su pecado no le fue perdonado asi pecaron los Fariseos. Eva pecó de ignorancia, como Pablo, 1 Tim. 1:13, que es pecado contra el hijo: asi alcanzaron misericordia. Adam pecó de flaquez o, como Pedro, cuando negó a Christo, que es pecado contra el Padre: y fueles perdonado. A estos tres generos de pecados se ha de veduz ir todos los pecados que despúes cometieron."
MAKING ADAM OBEDIENTE TO EVE
In the same above context, Valera has God saying the following to Adam, "Y porque obedeciste a la voz de tu mujer, y comiste del arbol de que te mandé diciendo, No comerás del, Maldita será la tierra pro amor de ti: con dolor comerás de ella todoos los dias de tu vida." (Gen. 3:17)
Notice the Valera reads that Adam "obeyed" the voice of his wife. It is almost as if she forced him to submit to her and obey her. And because of this in context the next verses makes it look like the reason God told Eve she must be in obedience to her husband is because of her forcing to make him obey her.
This is very different in the King James. In the KJV we are told that Adam "harkened" to the voice of his wife. That is he listened to her, and he decided himself to do what she suggested, which was to eat of the fruit. As a type of Christ, Adam of his own free will chose to die with Eve, just as Jesus chose to freely give his life for the church. It was out of love that they wanted to die for their brides. It was not out of obeying their brides. The church did not tell Jesus to die. Jesus knew the only way to save the church was to die for it, so he did so.
When you know the Spanish "machismo" and the Hispanic attitude towards women, you gain some insight into why Valera's note and reading of the text tries to make Eve out to be the bad one, who tried to gain authority over Adam, even while they were in the Garden of Eve. Hispanic men want to be in charge, and they pride themselves on being the boss, and putting the woman under subjection. And I see in the text the reason they changed "harkened" to "obeyed" was to show the contrast and importance of a woman to obey a man and not vice versa.
THE GIANTS MADE ONLY INTO MEN OF SEDUCTION INSTEAD OF MEN OF TALL
STATURE
In Genesis chapter six, Valera propagates the ridiculous theory that even many modern day Fundamentalits erroneously teach. That is that the "sons of God" are only "the sons of Seth" and the "daughters of men" are only women from the line of Cain.
Valera's note says exactly: "Quiere decir los descendientes de Seth...quiere decir las descendientes de Cain..."
And the "mating" which the text speaks of, Valera says is the marrying of the lineage of Seth to the lineage of Cain. We read his words: "Primera corrupción del siglo, Perversion del Matrimonio."
And he finished by stating that those who were born were those who were the children of those mixture of Seth's Children with Cain's Children.
His note in Spanish is: "Los que nacieron de aquellos matrimonios arriba."
Finally, instead of believing the Bible fact that the sons of God were fallen angels which mated with the daughters of men, which produced GIANTS like Goliath was, Valera believes the following: "Violentos, tyranos, giantes como los otros. Origén de la nobleza en el mundo."
This is too funny. Valera says they were just men who were giant in their sins who were well known, and that they were the first "nobility" in the world. If this be the case, then does that mean the queen of England is from the line of Cain???
The truth is there is a spiritual and physical degregation here by fallen angels who mate with the daugthers of men and produce GIANTS, which the Bible tells us have six fingers and six toes. The Bible has much to say about these giants (called Anakims) and their offspring. It also gives us the origin of where the demons come from. (A topic we won't go into now. For more on this, go to my blood on "Where do demons come from?")
THE SOUL IS IN THE BLOOD
This is a strange teaching. But in Genesis 9 we read the following in verse five: "Porque ciertamente vuestra sangre que es vuestras almas..."
This literally says, "Because certainly our blood, that is our souls..."
This is very different than the King James which tells us the LIFE of the flesh is in the blood. It is not the life of the soul. The Soul is spiritual, while the Life is physical.
Valera's note shows he doesn't quite buy into this entirely, when he writes: "La sangre se dice ser el anima de la carne; porque en ella residen los espiritus vitales senticious."
Now this is just weird! But notice he says: "it is said to be..." (The words: "se dice ser"). This shows Valera didn't necesarily buy into this teaching. But how weird. Who would believe that in your blood resides the vital spirits of your being?
Strange. Yet, the 1865 Spanish Bible does just as bad as retaining the Valera read in other verses in which it claims the life of the soul is in the blood. (Lev. 17:11), instead of the correct reading of the King James: "The life of the FLESH is in the blood."
IN SUMMARY
So we see in just the first eight chapters of Genesis that Valera was messed up on his doctrine according to his footnotes. As most people know, Valera was a CALVINIST, who adhered adamantly to CALVINISM, a horrible doctrine if there ever was one. Because of this, it's easy to see how Valera was easily deceived into believing things that others taught instead of simply believing the word of God.
Valera did a great job revising the 1569 Spanish Bible of Cassiodoro de Reina. But when it comes to the footnotes he added, I would advise not to follow them too closely. It is interesting though to read them and to gain insight into the man and what he thought and believed.
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