WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR & THE PSALMS

By 1610, a committee of learned clerical scholars had been at work for six years on a new translation of the Bible, commissioned by King James I to replace the Geneva Bible. The king was not fond of this translation as he found the marginal notes unacceptably anti-monarchist. The chairman of this band of scholars was none other than the Solicitor-General, Sir Francis Bacon, and he submitted their work to the bishops and theologians for their approval, then to the Privy Council, and finally to the King himself before its final publication in 1611 as the 'Authorised Version of the Holy Bible'. But certain sections were also farmed out to appropriate experts for a final coat of paint. In the case of the Psalms, which is all poetry, these experts were poets. And who could be a better choice than the two leading poet-playwrights of the day, namely William Shakespear and Ben Jonson.

Believe it or not, there are some people who believe that the Bible is riddled with codes and cyphers. These people dissect the bible, counting words, counting how many times each word is used and where. And one of them has discovered that, in Psalm 46 of the Authorised Version, the psalm that starts 'God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.', the 46th. word from the beginning, which occurs in verse 3, is 'shake'. And if you start at the end and count the words backwards (ignoring the word 'Selah', which is not really a word of the text but a standard Hebrew musical notation and which occurs also at the end of verse 3) the 46th. word is 'spear' in verse 9. Put the two together and you get 'shakespear'. Nothing really spectacular, is it. It could be pure coincidence. But now add a couple more items. William Shakespear was the head of a committee with 46 members. And in 1610, when this work was being done, he was 46 years old. And he was also a writer who liked word play and verbal games, and it would not be past him to pull such a trick, knowing that it was very unlikely that anyone would notice, but he could read Psalm 46 knowing that he had added his name to it.

It makes you think, doesn't it.

BILL HUTCHINGS