
He had completed the translation of the New Testament within five years of his arrival in the Tamil area it was published in 1714, and by 1719, the year of his death, he had finished the Old Testament up to the Book of Ruth. He had a remarkable gift for languages and he was tireless in diligence and made rapid progress. The history of Bible translation into Tamil begins with the arrival of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg (German missionary) at the Danish settlement of Tranquebar in 1706.

Seventy years after Fabricius, at the invitation of Peter Percival a Saiva scholar, Arumuka Navalar, produced a "tentative" translation, which is known as the "Navalar version," and was largely rejected by Tamil Protestants.

Johann Philipp Fabricius, a German, revised Ziegenbalg's and others work to produce the standard Tamil version. The history of Bible translations into the Tamil language commences with the arrival of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg at Tranquebar in 1706. Tamil Bible printed in 1715 at Tharangambadi A page of Genesis in Ziegenbalg & Fabricius's version, 1723


