Commentary; Posted: 7/14/04

A biblical mystery: can you solve it?

Rev. John C. Blackford
Religion Columnist

People like mysteries. And the world is full of themóhistorical, scientific, fiction and the likeóand a large number remain unsolved.

There is a mystery in connection with the Bible for which we never have had a satisfactory answer. Many have noted that the writings of William Shakespeare sound like the Bible, and the Bible sounds like Shakespeare.

The mystery is this: did the foremost English literary figure of the early 17th century have a part in the translation of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, which was completed in 1611? Much research has been done on this question, but nothing to prove or disprove it has resulted.

There is one intriguing clue that might give the answer to this centuries-old mystery.

You will need a copy of the King James Version of the Bible because no other version will do. First, we need to know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 and was 46-years-old in 1610, the year before the completion of the KJV.

Did he work as a translator then, as it were, place his autograph in the translation by discretely putting his name in Psalm 46 of the Old Testament? What is the forty sixth word in this Psalm? What is the forty sixth word from the end of the Psalm? (See below for answers) Is this a colossal coincidence or is it a cleverly inserted literary fingerprint?

The Bible speaks of a number of mysteries, all in the New Testament, beginning with the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in St. Matthew 13, and including that of the resurrection of the body and of the fact that human marriage mirrors the relationship between Christ and his church. Then we are presented with this mystery about the translation of the Scriptures.

What do you think about the mystery of Psalm 46 and William Shakespeareís possible involvement? Do you have the answer?

(The forty sixth word in Psalm 46 is ìshakeî and the forty sixth word from the end is ìspear.î)

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