Archaic Words In The KJB (Part 1)

This will be the beginning of blog posts concerning the supposed “archaic words” in the King James Bible. After I’m done with all of them, I’ll probably put all the info into a video or something similar. Each installment will deal with a few words at a time. The point of this is to show how you don’t even need an old dictionary to find definitions of words in the KJB. First, I’m going to rely on what I consider the biggest archaic words list anybody has made against the KJB: http://www.bible.ca/b-kjv-only.htm#archaic

It’s kind of weird how it starts out by saying, “Below are 484 examples of how the KJV uses outdated language“, and then it says, “419 Archaic terms!”. 484 isn’t 419, just in case you’re wondering. Regardless, let’s dig in:

1. Abject
Psalm 35:15 in the KJB says, “But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:”. You can see by the parallel structure of this verse, “the abjects” are the same as “they” in the verse. Who are “they”? Well, you can read the entire Psalm for yourself and easily determine the “they” are men who hate David and persecute and slander him. Thus, simply by looking at the KJB, “abjects” are men who persecute and slander others — they are evil. Is this what the word means in English, though? According to the New English Dictionary (Volume 2, p. 20), “Abject” is “3. Down in spirit or hope; low in regard or estimation, degraded, mean-spirited despicable.“ The KJB defines for itself the meaning of “abject”. Also, The Amplified Bible (2015) has “abject” in Isaiah 47:1, showing this “archaic word” is still being used in modern Bibles.

2. Adamant
Zechariah 7:12 KJB reads, “Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.” Thus, from this we know an “adamant” is a stone. Ezekiel 3:9 KJB gives further details, “As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” So now we also know an adamant is harder than flint. In other words, it’s a very hard stone. The 1828 Webster Dictionary confirms this is correct, “A very hard or impenetrable stone; a name given to the diamond and other substances of extreme hardness. The name has often been given to the load stone; but in modern mineralogy, it has no technical signification.“ In other words, it can mean simply a stone in general that’s very hard. Exactly as the KJB has it. The New King James Version (1982) has “adamant” in Ezekiel 3:9 (I guess they forgot to “update” that “archaic” word).

3. Agone
1 Samuel 30:13 KJB says, “And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me, because three days agone I fell sick.“ Just read that last part to yourself out loud. It will quickly become apparent that “agone” means “ago”. Three days agone, three days ago. That’s how it seemed to me, at least before looking at any dictionary. But the dictionaries do agree with me. 1828 Webster defines “Agone” as “Ago; past; since.” The Word of Yah Bible (1993) has “agone” in 1 Samuel 30:13. That’s only a few years ago, folks.