Find solution
Did William Shakespeare help make the KJV bible?

Did William Shakespeare help make the KJV bible?

  • http://bestfunfacts.com/bible.html. In 1610, the year of the final editing stages, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old (born April 1564). Psalms 46 (approximately the middle of the Bible) has a unique subliminal message, or does it?? Counting from the beginning of Psalm 46, the 46th word is shake. Counting from the end of Psalm 46, the 46th word is spear. Is it possible for these words to be a mere coincident? Or is it true that on Shakespeare’s 46th birthday, while editing the King James Version of the Bible, he chose Psalm 46, and made sure that combining the 46th word from the beginning and the 46th word from the end will read “Shake spear”? While I am inclined to accept that this is just a bit of misplaced pattern recognition, I am interested in what the scholarly evidence actually supports.

  • Answer:

    TL;DR: The claim has dubious origins and no solid proof I have seen this claim repeated by http://www.light-of-truth.com/666/KJV.html, but not by literature experts. In fact, from a literature standpoint, it is a pretty ludicrous claim, since http://shakespeareauthorship.com/, let alone the King James version of the Bible. The claim in itself is not supported by any facts. So what if Shakespeare was 46 at the time? Why would he use his age to secretly sign a translation—and, by the way, why would he do the translation at all? Are the words shake and spear actually a literal transaltion of the original words? Does it mean that he was also the original hebrew author of the Bible? It is well known who the authors were: The translators were scholarly men who were experts in the biblical languages, and they were convinced of the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. —http://www.allabouttruth.org/king-james-bible.htm Finally, the translation process http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html for accuracy. This alone is a good indicator that a single author would not be able to insert terms at will in the translation. Fifteen general rules were advanced for the guidance of the translators: [...] 8 . Every particular Man of each Company, to take the same Chapter or Chapters, and having translated or amended them severally by himself, where he thinketh good, all to meet together, confer what they have done, and agree for their Parts what shall stand.

JasonR at Skeptics Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

It's not true, simply because the numbers are off. We can count the words ourselves. http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Psalms-Chapter-46/: 1 [To1 the2 chiefe3 Musician4 for5 the6 sonnes7 of8 Korah9, a10 song11 vpon12 Alamoth13.] God14 is15 our16 refuge17 and18 strength19: a20 very21 present22 helpe23 in24 trouble25. 2 Therfore26 will27 not28 we29 feare30, though31 the32 earth33 be34 remoued35: and36 though37 the38 mountaines39 be40 caried41 into42 the43 midst44 of45 the46 ... Now it might be reasonable to exclude the parenthesized text, in which case we come to: 1 [To the chiefe Musician for the sonnes of Korah, a song vpon Alamoth.] God1 is2 our3 refuge4 and5 strength6: a7 very8 present9 helpe10 in11 trouble12. 2 Therfore13 will14 not15 we16 feare17, though18 the19 earth20 be21 remoued22: and23 though24 the25 mountaines26 be27 caried28 into29 the30 midst31 of32 the33 sea34. 3 Though35 the36 waters37 thereof38 roare39, and40 be41 troubled42, though43 the44 mountaines45 shake46 … But counting from the end: … the speare-47 in-46 sunder-45, he-44 burneth-43 the-42 chariot-41 in-40 the-39 fire-38. 10 Be-37 stil-36, and-35 know-34 that-33 I-32 am-31 God-30: I-29 will-28 bee-27 exalted-26 among-25 the-24 heathen-23, I-22 will-21 be-20 exalted-19 in-18 the-17 earth-16. 11 The-15 Lord-14 of-13 hosts-12 is-11 with-10 vs-9; the-8 God-7 of-6 Iacob-5 is-4 our-3 refuge-2. Selah-1. Now I'm no numerologist, but I'm pretty sure 47 != 46. Of course if we discount the last word, Selah, then speare is the 46th word... but why should we skip the last word? It's still a word.

Flimzy

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.