Shakespeare and the KJV
Some believe so. King James issued a new English translation of the Bible. The new translation was published in 1611. There are rumours of William Shakespeare helping with the final editing stages of the translation before its publication, though there is no definite historical proof of Shakespeare’s involvement. But there is a wordproof in the 1611 King James Version of the Bible.
Key Points
In 1610, the year of the final editing stages, Shakespeare would have been 46 years old (born April 15, 1564). Psalms 46 (approximately the middle of the Bible) has a unique subliminal message, or does it? Counting from the beginning of Psalm 46, the 46th word is shake. Counting from the end of Psalm 46, the 46th word is spear. Is it possible for these words to be a mere coincidence? Or is it true that on Shakespeare’s 46th birthday, while editing the King James Version of the Bible, he chose Psalm 46 and ensured that combining the 46th word from the beginning with the 46th word from the end would result in the phrase “Shake spear”?
There is no doubt that similar words existed in the original language, but did Shakespeare use these specific words (rather than other synonyms) and did he ensure that the word order was such that on his 46th birthday, the 46th words of Psalm 46 would be his name?
The Bible Break down by chapters and verses.
The Old Testament has 929 chapters; the New Testament has 260 chapters—a total of 1,189 chapters.
Psalm 118 is the chapter in the middle of the Bible (with a total of 594 chapters before it and 594 chapters after it).
The Old Testament has 23,214 verses; the New Testament has 7,959 verses—a total of 31,173 verses.
Bible Break down by Books
The Bible contains 66 books, 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament.
THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament contains 17 historical, 5 poetical, and 17 prophetic books.
Historical books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. The first 5 (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) are also known as the Pentateuch, Books of the Law, or Torah.
Poetical books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
Prophetic books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament contains 5 historical, 21 epistles, and 1 prophetic.
Historical books: 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and Acts.
Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.
Prophetic book: Revelations.
THE APOCRYPHA
Apocrypha: a collection of 15 Old Testament books that Protestants do not normally accept as part of the inspired canon. But the Roman Catholic Church considers 12 of these 15 books to be canonical. Nevertheless, whether these books are canonical or not, they still give us good historical and legendary records written between 200 B.C. to A.D. 150. The following are the 15 apocrypha books:
3 Historical: I Esdras, I Maccabees, II Maccabees.
7 Stories and Legends: Tobit, Judith, Additions to Esther, Prayer of Azariah, Suzanna (Daniel 13), Bel & the Dragon (Daniel 14), Prayer of Manasseh.
2 Poetical/didactic: Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus.
3 Prophetic: Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, II Esdras.
Author and Period
It took about 1,500 years and over 40 authors to complete the Bible. Authors were of numerous ranks in society: from religious prophets, philosophers and poets, to the uneducated peasants, shepherds, and fishermen, to the ruling class of kings and judges.
Translations and Versions
Go to Biblegateway to read the Bible in over 50 languages and over 100 versions.
