KJV: "Gave up the ghost" --No better than a typo?

Dale · Dec 14, 2020

In the King James Bible, the phrase "gave up the ghost" means that someone died and the spirit went out of them. The phrase is used twelve times in the KJV. With a couple of variations, the phrase appears five times in the Old Testament, four times in the Gospels and three times in Acts. It does not appear in the NIV. I don't believe it appears in any modern translation.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19: 30 KJV

The following quote from an article in The Guardian, a well respected British newspaper, treats "gave up the ghost" as no better than a typographical error.

The 10 worst typos in the Bible
David Shariatmadari

Quote

‘Holy ghost’
This tricky word illustrates some of the pitfalls of biblical translation. The Greek word pneuma means breath or spirit (think ‘pneumatic’), but in the King James version it is mistranslated as “ghost” (although one sense of “ghost” is of course spirit, it was used to mean “supernatural being” from as early as the 14th century, and would have been an appropriate translation for the Greek word phantasma). Not only does this make the concept of the holy spirit a bit confusing. It also gives us the bizarre phrase “he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46) which would be better translated as “he breathed his last”.

End Quote

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The 10 worst typos in the Bible

Dale · Dec 14, 2020

What about translation from the Hebrew in the Old Testament?

Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good
old age, an old man, and full [of years;] and was gathered to his people.
Genesis 25:8 KJV

The Hebrew word "gava" means "breathed out" or "expired." The KJV translators added the concept of ghost or spirit, as though Abraham "breathed out" his ghost instead of exhaling air.

<< Here is how the King James Version translates the Hebrew in Gen 25:8

Hebrew: [Abraham] [gava] [muwth] [towb] [seybah]

English: “[Then Abraham] [gave up the ghost], [and died] [in a good] [old age]”

If the first three Hebrews words were to be translated in a rigid literal fashion, the text would read as follows, “Abraham (Abraham) expired/breathed out (gava) and died (muwth).”

What we see is that the translators have chosen to take the Hebrew word gava and translate it into the phrase “gave up the ghost.” The translational assumption that is being made is that the ‘content’ of what is being expired is some sort of; spirit, soul, ghost, or rationality. The problem is that this idea must be read into the text and is not actually present in the original Hebrew scripture. >>

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Giving Up The Ghost - Afterlife | Conditional Immortality

Dale · Dec 14, 2020

Another look at a New Testament verse where the KJV uses "gave up the ghost":

John Gill's commentary naturally starts with the King James Bible since that was virtually the only translation in use at that time. In his commentary on Mark 15:37, Gill does let us know that the primary meaning here is that the life of Jesus in the body "finished," came to a conclusion.

Mark 15:37
Ver. 37. And Jesus cried with a loud voice,.... A second time, and said the
words which are in Lu 23:46 and in Joh 19:30
and gave up the ghost. The Syriac version renders it, "and finished": his life,
his days, his race, his ministry, and the work which was given him to do; See
Gill on "Mt 27:50".

Dale · Dec 14, 2020

Here is a full list of all the verses I've been able to locate where the KJV uses "gave up the ghost" or a similar phrase.

Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good
old age, an old man, and full [of years;] and was gathered to his people. Genesis 25:8 KJV

And these [are] the years of the life of Ishmael, an
hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people. Genesis 25:17 KJV

And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, [being] old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Genesis 35:29 KJV

Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! Job 10:18 KJV

The "I" in the following quote from the Lamentations of Jeremiah
is a female personification of Jerusalem.

The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against
his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. I called for my lovers, [but] they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. Lamentations 1:18-19 KJV

And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. Mark 15:37 KJV

And when the centurion, which stood over
against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. Mark 15:39 KJV

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he
said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Luke 23:46 KJV

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:30 KJV

And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came
on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried [him] out, and buried [him.] Acts 5:5-6 KJV

Then fell she [Sapphira] down straightway
at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying [her] forth, buried [her] by her husband. Acts 5:10 KJV

And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, [saying, It is] the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Acts 12:21-23 KJV

JSRG · Dec 14, 2020

Dale said:
In the King James Bible, the phrase "gave up the ghost" means that someone died and the spirit went out of them. The phrase is used twelve times in the KJV. With a couple of variations, the phrase appears five times in the Old Testament, four times in the Gospels and three times in Acts. It does not appear in the NIV. I don't believe it appears in any modern translation.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19: 30 KJV

The following quote from an article in The Guardian, a well respected British newspaper, treats "gave up the ghost" as no better than a typographical error.

The 10 worst typos in the Bible
David Shariatmadari

Quote

‘Holy ghost’
This tricky word illustrates some of the pitfalls of biblical translation. The Greek word pneuma means breath or spirit (think ‘pneumatic’), but in the King James version it is mistranslated as “ghost” (although one sense of “ghost” is of course spirit, it was used to mean “supernatural being” from as early as the 14th century, and would have been an appropriate translation for the Greek word phantasma). Not only does this make the concept of the holy spirit a bit confusing. It also gives us the bizarre phrase “he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46) which would be better translated as “he breathed his last”.

End Quote

Link
The 10 worst typos in the Bible

Not a typo or a mistranslation, though it is a case of word shift meaning that a word or expression that meant one thing in the 17th century has different connotations in modern times.

Nowadays, "ghost" is normally taken to refer only to a supernatural deceased being. But back in the days of the KJV, it had a more expansive meaning. For example, here is one of the meanings that the Oxford English Dictionary gives for "ghost":

"The soul or spirit, as the principle of life; also ghost of life. Obsolete except in phrase to give up (earlier to give, give away, yield up) the (one's) ghost: to breathe one's last, expire, die."

So as we can see, "ghost" could be used to mean soul or spirit back then, but that meaning (as noted by the statement of "Obsolete") is no longer used today. This is why the KJV uses "Holy Ghost" but later translations usually render it as "Holy Spirit" to better fit with what the terms ghost and spirit mean nowadays.

The quoted article implies that the King James Version was what introduced the phrase "gave up the ghost". But that's not true! "Gave up the ghost" and similar expressions existed in English for centuries prior to the KJV--it was simply making use of an expression that was familiar back then (not so much now). Here are some pre-KJV examples of such, again courtesy of the Oxford English dictionary:

c1305 St. Lucy 171 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 106 Wiþ þe laste word heo ȝaf þe gost.
a1425 (▸c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xxvii. 50 Jhesus eftsoone criede with a greet voyce and ȝaf vp the goost.
c1510 T. More tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe J. Picus in Wks. 8/2 He might ere he gaue vp ye goste, receiue his full draught of loue and compassion.
1574 J. Higgins 1st Pt. Mirour for Magistrates Albanacte lxviii He gasped thryse, and gaue away the ghost.
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales vi. x. 136 Being fallen downe and yeelding vp his ghost.

Obviously, you'll see different spellings here because they're so old (including letters we don't even use anymore!), but you can see the phrase "gave up the ghost" and variants thereof was around centuries prior to the King James Version. It was simply making use of an expression that has since fallen out of favor and thus can appear more confusing to a modern person.

Quid est Veritas? · Dec 15, 2020

Ghost is actually just the English variant of a wider Germanic word. My native Afrikaans has Gees, in which the Holy Ghost is rendered 'die Heilige Gees', the word meaning broadly something like Spirit in English. "Hy het die gees gegee" or he gave up the spirit/ghost is a common Afrikaans expression. This goes back to common Netherlandic West-Germanic, which also played a part in English. The phrase giving up the ghost has roots going back to Old English.

While the word ghost has become obscured in English, the common root was geistaz in the West Germanic proto-tongue, which essentially meant life or spirit or breath, so not a bad analogue for the Biblical OT ruach or NT pneuma in that sense.

This is a sense in which multiple meanings of one word get differentiated over time, meanings change, metaphors get added or fall away. Spirit itself is a good example, where you can be spirited in excitement, drink spirits (that raise the spirit), have a spirit, etc. English just came to abandon senses of ghost and Spirit accrued many of them.

Aussie Pete · Dec 15, 2020

Dale said:
In the King James Bible, the phrase "gave up the ghost" means that someone died and the spirit went out of them. The phrase is used twelve times in the KJV. With a couple of variations, the phrase appears five times in the Old Testament, four times in the Gospels and three times in Acts. It does not appear in the NIV. I don't believe it appears in any modern translation.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19: 30 KJV

The following quote from an article in The Guardian, a well respected British newspaper, treats "gave up the ghost" as no better than a typographical error.

The 10 worst typos in the Bible
David Shariatmadari

Quote

‘Holy ghost’
This tricky word illustrates some of the pitfalls of biblical translation. The Greek word pneuma means breath or spirit (think ‘pneumatic’), but in the King James version it is mistranslated as “ghost” (although one sense of “ghost” is of course spirit, it was used to mean “supernatural being” from as early as the 14th century, and would have been an appropriate translation for the Greek word phantasma). Not only does this make the concept of the holy spirit a bit confusing. It also gives us the bizarre phrase “he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46) which would be better translated as “he breathed his last”.

End Quote

Link
The 10 worst typos in the Bible

Language has changed a lot since 1611. Calling "ghost" a typo shows ignorance at best and mockery at worst. Another example is the word "conversation". It was used in the sense of the way of life, not just talk, in the days when the KJV was translated. I can't get the link to work, so I won't comment on that. However, it is also ignorance to assume that the KJV is "the" Bible. There are dozens of translations. About the only one I don't use is the KJV.

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KJV: "Gave up the ghost" --No better than a typo?

Dale

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JSRG

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Quid est Veritas?

In Memoriam to CS Lewis

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Aussie Pete

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