Good catch

Posted by Bob on March 16, 2007

In Reply to: "give up the ghost" posted by RRC on March 16, 2007

: : According to the website "give up the ghost" comes from the King James version of the Bible, but I found the phrase used in the third act of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, which predates the King James Bible by more than 10 years. Where did Shakespeare get the prhase? Or was it original to him and then used in the Bible?

: The site says that the phrase occurs many time in the Bible then gives an example from the KJV.
: It does not say that the KJV is the source. Here's John 19:30 from the Wycliffe translation:
: 30 Therfor whanne Jhesus hadde `takun the vynegre, he seid, It is endid. And `whanne his heed was bowid doun, `he yaf vp the goost.
: This is from about 1380 which predates Shakespeare considerably.

Nice bit of research. I would have granted the correction, since I tend to forget there were English translations before the KJV. Someone once said the KJV was "the only great work of art created by a committee."