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A review by emiged
Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language by David Crystal
2.0
Two hundred fifty-seven. That's how many idioms Mr. Crystal has identified as coming into common use in the English language expressly because of the King James Version of the Bible. The “skin of one's teeth,” “fire and brimstone,” “there's nothing new under the sun,” even “be very afraid” all have their roots in the KJV, arguably the most influential book ever published.
In coming up with the number two hundred fifty-seven, Mr. Crystal makes a distinction between idioms, which have general everyday usage and can apply to various situations, and quotations, which he defines as “expressions which are used only in settings where the religious application is relevant, maintaining their original biblical sense.” So, let's look at Psalms, for example. “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalms 23:1) is an extremely well-known phrase found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, but it is rarely, if ever, used out of the original context and therefore counts as a quotation, not included in the two hundred fifty-seven idioms mentioned above. However, “out of the mouth of babes” (Psalms 8:2) is spoken frequently when a child says something humorous, insightful or prescient.
Idioms in the Old Testament are dealt with in the order in which they appear, starting with Genesis (“let there be light”) and going through Malachi (“root nor branch”). After a brief interlude discussing some of the differences between the Old and New Testaments, Mr. Crystal picks up with a thematic approach to the New Testament, grouping similar topics of idioms together. With the aid of Google (and, I'm sure, other research methods), Mr. Crystal collects several examples of uses to which these idioms have been put, some incredibly clever and some groan-worthy. In the chapter “A Coat of Many Colours” he mentions the Broadway musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat;” the country song by Dolly Parton; a blog for bi-color, tri-color and solid-coated cats; and headlines on articles in biochemistry, publishing, fashion, politics and sociology, just to name a few.
Among the fascinating tidbits throughout the book are the additional translations that Mr. Crystal notes. He refers frequently to at least five other versions of the Bible: Wycliffe's, Tyndale's, the Geneva Bible, the Bishops' Bible, and the Douai-Rheims translation. He even includes an appendix comparing the translations of the 257 idioms across the six versions. It's sometimes difficult, Mr. Crystal points out, to pin the credit for making a particular phrase a common idiom on the KJV. Some of the phrases (like “my brother's keeper”) were in multiple translations, some (such as “sour grapes”) were already in common usage before the KJV was published and some (“no rest for the wicked,” for example) take a different form that what is actually found in any translation of the Bible.
Begat may be a bit heavy on linguistics and historical and grammatical minutiae for those not intrigued by the topic, but even so, it's a great reference to read a chapter or two at a time for curiosity's sake.
(On a related note, there's a delightful video at http://kingsenglish.info/ which takes you through 100 idiomatic phrases from the King James Bible – all mentioned in Begat – in three minutes!)
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.
In coming up with the number two hundred fifty-seven, Mr. Crystal makes a distinction between idioms, which have general everyday usage and can apply to various situations, and quotations, which he defines as “expressions which are used only in settings where the religious application is relevant, maintaining their original biblical sense.” So, let's look at Psalms, for example. “The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalms 23:1) is an extremely well-known phrase found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible, but it is rarely, if ever, used out of the original context and therefore counts as a quotation, not included in the two hundred fifty-seven idioms mentioned above. However, “out of the mouth of babes” (Psalms 8:2) is spoken frequently when a child says something humorous, insightful or prescient.
Idioms in the Old Testament are dealt with in the order in which they appear, starting with Genesis (“let there be light”) and going through Malachi (“root nor branch”). After a brief interlude discussing some of the differences between the Old and New Testaments, Mr. Crystal picks up with a thematic approach to the New Testament, grouping similar topics of idioms together. With the aid of Google (and, I'm sure, other research methods), Mr. Crystal collects several examples of uses to which these idioms have been put, some incredibly clever and some groan-worthy. In the chapter “A Coat of Many Colours” he mentions the Broadway musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat;” the country song by Dolly Parton; a blog for bi-color, tri-color and solid-coated cats; and headlines on articles in biochemistry, publishing, fashion, politics and sociology, just to name a few.
Among the fascinating tidbits throughout the book are the additional translations that Mr. Crystal notes. He refers frequently to at least five other versions of the Bible: Wycliffe's, Tyndale's, the Geneva Bible, the Bishops' Bible, and the Douai-Rheims translation. He even includes an appendix comparing the translations of the 257 idioms across the six versions. It's sometimes difficult, Mr. Crystal points out, to pin the credit for making a particular phrase a common idiom on the KJV. Some of the phrases (like “my brother's keeper”) were in multiple translations, some (such as “sour grapes”) were already in common usage before the KJV was published and some (“no rest for the wicked,” for example) take a different form that what is actually found in any translation of the Bible.
Begat may be a bit heavy on linguistics and historical and grammatical minutiae for those not intrigued by the topic, but even so, it's a great reference to read a chapter or two at a time for curiosity's sake.
(On a related note, there's a delightful video at http://kingsenglish.info/ which takes you through 100 idiomatic phrases from the King James Bible – all mentioned in Begat – in three minutes!)
For more book reviews, come visit my blog, Build Enough Bookshelves.