Right Words

To my knowledge, the King James Bible (KJB) is the only Bible that defines itself. I’m not aware of any version before or after it that enables a reader to find definitions of every word by comparison with words in the same verse or other verses in scripture. Works have been written on how the KJB defines itself (G.A. Riplinger’s The Language of the King James Bible, In Awe of Thy Word, and The Dictionary Inside the King James Bible; and Barry Goddard’s The King James Bible’s Built-In Dictionary), though this system was understood long before the modern era (see In Awe of Thy Word; page numbers forthcoming). Goddard also wrote on how modern versions destroy this system of self-definition by deviating from the KJB.

The purpose of this post is to provide a few quick examples of how this system works. We’re going to see how the KJB defines less familiar words like go to, bowels, and prophet with more familiar words, which is the essence of the KJB’s self-definition.

1. Go to. The first time we see this expression is in Gen. 11, where it’s used by men (vv. 3-4) and the LORD (vv. 6-7). But it shows up several other places in scripture, even as late as James 4-5. By comparing Exod. 3:10 (“come now therefore”) and Judg. 7:3 (“now therefore go to”), we see that go to = come, since “now therefore” is common to both verses, but what differs is come and go to, establishing these words as equivalents.
2. Prophet. The first use of this word is in Gen. 20:7, in reference to Abraham, though Abel, Enoch, and Noah all prophesied before Abraham (Luke 11:50-51; Jude 13-14; Gen. 9:25-27). But prophet isn’t actually defined until 1 Sam. 9:9, where the more familiar seer is used to define the less familiar prophet. Therefore, a prophet is one with supernatural sight, either of the past (1 Kings 22:19-22), present (22:23), or future (22:17, 24-25). Since only God has this type of sight, it distinguishes these men as speaking for God (22:28), as well as 100% accuracy (Deut. 18:22).
3. Bowels. This word is used numerous times in scripture, but the clearest self-definition, in my opinion, is found in Isaiah. 16:11, where the more familiar inward parts is used to define the less familiar bowels. By comparing the first part of the verse (“my bowels”) with the latter part (“mine inward parts”), we see that bowels = inward parts, since my/mine are common in both parts of the verse, but what differs is bowels and inward parts, establishing them as equivalents.

I hope that these quick examples have been helpful. As both Riplinger and Goddard show (and perhaps others), the entire Bible is filled with self-definition, and it’s a great joy to discover these definitions routinely as part of one’s personal study.