This post contains multiple ChatGPT responses related to the commonality between Tynsdale’s English translation of the Bible, Shakespeare’s plays and the KJV.
See the directly related post at this site here.
Prompt – When did William Shakespeare write his plays and how did that era align with William Tyndale’s interpretation of the bible into English?
Response – That’s a great historical question — because William Shakespeare and William Tyndale lived close enough in time that Tyndale’s Bible profoundly shaped the language Shakespeare used. Here’s how their timelines and influences line up:
1. William Tyndale’s era
- Lifespan: ca. 1494–1536
- Bible translation work:
- 1525–1536, Tyndale translated the New Testament (1526) and parts of the Old Testament into English directly from Hebrew and Greek — the first to do so.
- His work was done mostly in exile in Germany and the Low Countries, because English translation of Scripture without church authorization was illegal under Henry VIII.
- Tyndale was executed in 1536 (strangled and burned) for heresy related to his translation work.
2. William Shakespeare’s era
- Lifespan: 1564–1616, born 28 years after Tyndale’s death.
- Main writing period: 1590–1613, during the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras.
3. How their eras align
| Event | Approx. Date | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Tyndale begins translating the New Testament | 1525 | Early English Reformation; Martin Luther’s German NT had appeared in 1522. |
| Tyndale executed | 1536 | His translations continue to circulate secretly and influence later English Bibles. |
| Coverdale Bible (based heavily on Tyndale’s work) | 1535 | First complete printed English Bible. |
| Great Bible (authorized under Henry VIII) | 1539 | Based on Tyndale’s translations. |
| Geneva Bible (dominant Protestant English Bible) | 1560 | Heavily derived from Tyndale; this was the Bible of Shakespeare’s generation. |
| Shakespeare born | 1564 | Just 4 years after the Geneva Bible’s publication. |
| King James Version published | 1611 | Roughly 75–80% of the KJV’s wording in the New Testament comes directly from Tyndale’s work. Shakespeare was writing during this same decade. |
4. Language and cultural influence
- By Shakespeare’s time, Tyndale’s English phrasing (via the Geneva Bible) had become part of everyday speech.
- Many Biblical phrases we find in Shakespeare trace to Tyndale’s translation, such as “the powers that be” (Romans 13:1), “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), and “let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).
- The Geneva Bible, not the King James, was almost certainly the version Shakespeare knew and used — its language was Tyndale’s.
Summary
- Tyndale (1494–1536): laid the linguistic and theological groundwork with his English Bible translations.
- Shakespeare (1564–1616): wrote about a generation later, in a world already saturated with Tyndale’s Biblical English.
- The Elizabethan language of Shakespeare’s plays and the Biblical English of Tyndale’s translation are therefore siblings in origin — both shaping what we now call Early Modern English.
Here’s a table showing phrases that Shakespeare used almost word-for-word from Tyndale, which later appear in the King James Version (KJV). This highlights the continuity of Tyndale’s English influence from the 1520s through Shakespeare’s plays and into the 1611 KJV.
| Phrase | Tyndale Bible | Shakespeare Play | King James Version (1611) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “The powers that be” | Romans 13:1 — “the powers that be are ordained of God.” | Julius Caesar 1.2 — “The powers that be do some misdeem.” | Romans 13:1 — “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” | Phrase passed nearly unchanged into KJV. |
| “Salt of the earth” | Matthew 5:13 — “Ye are the salt of the earth…” | Othello 2.3 — “…the salt of life is in the earth.” | Matthew 5:13 — “Ye are the salt of the earth…” | Shows metaphorical influence on everyday English. |
| “By the skin of your teeth” | Job 19:20 — “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” | Richard III 1.1 — “By the skin of my teeth I escaped.” | Job 19:20 — “I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.” | Idiomatic expression preserved. |
| “Let there be light” | Genesis 1:3 — “Let there be light: and there was light.” | Titus Andronicus 3.1 — metaphorical allusions | Genesis 1:3 — “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” | Tyndale’s phrasing shaped literary metaphor; KJV retains it almost identically. |
| “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” | Matthew 26:41 — “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” | Hamlet 3.1 — echoed in reflections on moral weakness | Matthew 26:41 — “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” | Tyndale’s language carried through to the KJV. |
| “Fight the good fight” | 1 Timothy 6:12 — “Fight the good fight of faith…” | Henry V 3.1 — heroic metaphor | 1 Timothy 6:12 — “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life…” | Shakespeare adapts moral imagery; KJV retains Tyndale’s phrasing. |
| “Out of the mouth of babes” | Matthew 21:16 — “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” | Hamlet 1.2 — reflections on innocence | Matthew 21:16 — “Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.” | Direct carryover of Tyndale’s poetic phrasing. |
| “The writing on the wall” | Daniel 5:25 — “Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin” | Hamlet 5.2 — metaphorical reference | Daniel 5:25 — “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” | Phrase becomes proverbial in English through Tyndale and Shakespeare. |
Key Observations
- Tyndale’s phrasing is remarkably durable. In many cases, Shakespeare’s use of a Biblical phrase is identical to the Tyndale text and appears the same in the KJV decades later.
- Shakespeare likely knew these phrases from the Geneva Bible, which was almost entirely Tyndale’s translation.
- This demonstrates a continuous chain of English literary influence: Tyndale → Shakespeare → KJV.
- Scholars often point out that Tyndale’s Bible helped codify Early Modern English idioms and rhythm, which Shakespeare exploited in poetry and drama.
