Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Meaning Change Since 1611 (KJV)

{{_ The spelling would not be the same, but the meaning has not changed.}}

Not changed, of course, in the sense that "Jesus Christ [is] the same, yesterday, today and forever". And in the sense, that the same Spirit indwells and guides believers.

But the English language has changed (and the King James Version language was archaic when it was written).

And the understanding of the Greek has changed with the nineteenth century discovery of the oldest New Testament manuscript copies, and the discovery of many contemporary Greek writings.

An advantage that King James' men had is that their living conditions were much, much, closer to those of the writers of scripture than ours are.

Too often we look at the figurative use of "walk" as behavior in general.

I believe that the meaning to those who lived before generally available mechanical transportation was more "habitual, willed behavior". The stuff we do by automobile or bus today.