Hebrew Idioms In The King James Bible
HEBREW IDIOMS IN THE KING JAMES BIBLE
Many of the Semitic turns of phrase that have gained an accepted place in modern English can be traced directly to the King James Bible of the Old Testament. In his careful study of the way in which the King James Bible translated Hebrew idioms, William Rosenau concluded that:
The [King James Bible] is an almost literal translation of the Masoretic text, and is thus on every page replete with Hebrew idioms. The fact that Bible English has to a marvellous extent shaped our speech, giving peculiar connotations to many words and sanctioning strange constructions, is not any less patent. The [King James Bible] has been—it can be said without any fear of being charged with exaggeration—the most powerful factor in the history of English literature. Though the constructions encountered in the [King James Bible] are oftentimes so harsh that they seem almost barbarous, we should certainly have been the poorer without it.
Rosenau argued that the King James Bible possessed a penetrative force that could best be demonstrated by observing how its turns of phrase came to be absorbed, often unconsciously, within everyday English. Hebraic idioms that have crept into regular English usage include the following:
“to lick the dust” (Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 49:23; Micah 7:17)
“to fall flat on his face” (Numbers 22:31)
“a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14)
“to pour out one's heart” (Psalm 62:8; Lamentations 2:19)
“the land of the living” (Job 28:13; Psalm 27:13; Psalm 52:5;
Isaiah 38:11; Jeremiah 11:19; Ezekiel 32:23–27)
“under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:3 and at least twenty other
occurrences in this biblical book)
“sour grapes” (Ezekiel 18:2) “from time to time” (Ezekiel 4:10)
“pride goes before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18)
“the skin of my teeth” (Job 19:20)
“to stand in awe” (Psalm 4:4; Psalm 33:8)
“to put words in his mouth” (Exodus 4:15; Deuteronomy
18:18: 2 Samuel 14:3; 2 Samuel 14:19; Jeremiah 1:9)
“to go from strength to strength” (Psalm 84:7)
“like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7)
Other standard English phrases represent minor modifications or developments of Hebraic originals in the King James Bible, including:
“rise and shine” (a minor variant on “arise, shine” (Isaiah 60:1)
“to see the writing on the wall” (from Daniel 5:5)
“a fly in the ointment” (from Ecclesiastes 10:1)
“a drop in a bucket” (a slight variant on Isaiah 40:15)
It may, of course, be pointed out that some set phrases in English derive from the King James translation of the New Testament, often of passages in which the original Greek has been influenced by Semitic turns of phrase. Examples of such phrases that owe their origins to the King James New Testament include:
“the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13)
“a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
“to give up the ghost” (meaning “to die”: Mark 15:37; John 19:30)
“the powers that be” (Romans 13:1)
“and it came to pass” (Mark 1:9 and more than four hundred other passages)
“the scales fell from his eyes” (based on Acts 9:18)
A comparison of the King James Bible with the Geneva Bible suggests that the king's translators were much more likely to retain the Hebrew word order or structure, even when this resulted in a reading that did not sound quite right to English ears at the time. The passage of time, and increased exposure to their translation, has eliminated any awareness of its initial “strangeness,” and led to its phrases being accepted as “normal” or “standard” English. William Tyndale had argued that there was a natural affinity between English and Hebrew, so that the plowboy would not have any great difficulties with Semitic turns of phrase. Others were not so sure, perhaps feeling that Tyndale was somewhat optimistic about the linguistic abilities of plowboys—at least, the ones that they knew. John Selden (1584–1654), noted as a Hebrew scholar of considerable distinction, was the cause of considerable irritation for the Puritans assembled at the Westminster Assembly. The latter were in the habit of citing proof-texts from the Bible to make theological points. Selden dismissed the translations found in their “little pocket Bibles with gilt-leaves,” and suggested that they would do better to learn Greek or Hebrew and study the original texts. Selden was very doubtful whether the widespread use of Hebrew idioms would make sense to the unlearned. Translation required conversion of Hebrew idioms into real English, not Hebraized English. He expressed his concerns as follows in his Table Talk, published posthumously in 1689.
If I translate a French book into English, I turn it into English phrase and not into French English. “Il fait froid”: I say “it is cold,” not “it makes cold.” But the Bible is translated into English words rather than English phrases. The Hebraisms are kept and the phrase of that language is kept. As for example, “he uncovered her shame,” which is well enough so long as scholars have to do with it, but when it comes among the common people, Lord what gear do they make of it.
It is interesting to note that Selden's English makes perfect sense to modern readers until he lapses into the slang of the period. For the record, “gear” is here best translated as “nonsense.”