In the video below, Dr. Tabor presents several examples of words used in the KJV that had a different meaning that the same word today. He shows how today’s understanding is wrong and does not reflect the “original” Greek text or meaning. Italised text below is from the transcript.
KJV uses of “hell” and “prevent”.
Tabor said the word “hell” in 1611 meant a hole in the ground; a pit. People in that time put potatoes in Hell; i.e. the pit or root cellar. The Hebrew word is Sheol. Grave is a better translation per Tabor.
He cited 1 Thessalonians 4:15 to show the prevent v. precede.
- KJV – 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
- NRSV – 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.
“Help Meet” vs. Fit to Him like a Glove
In Genesis 2, verse 18, when the Lord God, Yahweh or Jehovah, Elohim, the Lord God said, “it is not good that the man should be alone”. So this is the King James.
“It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help meet for him.“
Now that began to be taken as a thing. In other words, a woman is a help meet. You see it in Shakespeare. It means something fitting him, like hand in glove, that idea. Literally in Hebrew, it’s as one before him, side by side, meaning the masculine and the feminine version of what’s called the human race or the human being. And so earlier in chapter one, when God creates overall male and female, it says he created, let us make man, which is like humankind, not the male, but humankind, male and female, he created him, meaning it, the race, as we would say, or the species or the genus today.
So actually this originally meant I’ll make him a helper that fits him. And as you can see, the Revised Standard Version makes that pretty clear. I will make him a helper fit for him, or literally you could say fit to him.
Note that Shakespeare was a contemporary of King James and that the King was a supporter of the playwright. See this post at this site for comments about that fact and links.
Tabor points out that the evolution of the KJV was:
- Geneva Bible, 1560
- KJV, 1611
- NASB. 1971 – Removed the archaic words of the KJV using modern words that convey the correct meaning. The NASB was updated in 1977, 1995, and most recently in 2020.
- NKJV – 1982, a modernization of the King James Version of 1611, Removed the archaic words using modern words that convey the correct meaning today.
What are some English words that have changed in meaning since the translation of the KJV? At GotQuestions.org
