What are some reasons that make it unlikly Shakespear wrote the King James Bible?

Question

I want some good reasons for a paper to support the argument that Shakespear did not write/translate the king james bible. Nothing religious please. It would also be nice to have reasons i can source from somewhere else, so not just something you thought up.

thanks

Answer 1

First of all, there is no evidence that Shakespeare had the necessary knowledge of classic Greek or Hebrew (which basically wasn't a language that was around at his time). He would have had to have extensive skills in both to translate the Old (Hebrew) and New (Greek) Testaments from the original.

You may be interested in the site that gives a brief history of the King James version of the Bible: http://www.av1611.org/kjv/kjvhist.html

King James was the one commissioning those scholars who were to make the translation, and he was also VERY religious. He would hardly have looked to a playwright and actor to do the translation. He wouldn't have trusted anybody other than a true Biblical scholar that had a working knowledge of Greek and Hebrew.

Apparently the names of the translators are known, but you may have to purchase a book to find them (they probably wouldn't mean anything to us today, though). It was translated over a period of years in six (I believe) different groups. For Shakespeare to have been ONE of the translators (and he could only have been one of many, since it would have been an arduous task), he would have had to stop writing and acting. He couldn't have done both; it just wouldn't be possible.

Answer 2

Shakespeare was a very old man living in Stratford on Avon when the KJ Bible was being "translated" (in London)...and we KNOW all the people who worked on the translation, and he was NOT one of them. Google "KIng James Bible" and "Shakespeare" and I'm sure you'll find many sources. You might also try wikipedia for a good starting point.
Good luck!

Answer 3

Nothing religious? You've got to be kidding! The Bible IS religious.
As to your "argument", consider the dates that the King James Bible was translated; consider the dates of Shakespeare.

Answer 4

First Westminster Company, translating from Genesis to 2 Kings: Lancelot Andrewes, John Overall, Hadrian à Saravia, Richard Clarke, John Layfield, Robert Tighe, Francis Burleigh, Geoffrey King, Richard Thomson, William Bedwell; First Cambridge Company, translated from 1 Chronicles to the Song of Solomon: Edward Lively, John Richardson, Lawrence Chaderton, Francis Dillingham, Roger Andrewes, Thomas Harrison, Robert Spaulding, Andrew Bing; First Oxford Company, translated from Isaiah to Malachi: John Harding, John Rainolds (or Reynolds), Thomas Holland, Richard Kilby, Miles Smith, Richard Brett, Daniel Fairclough; Second Oxford Company, translated the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and the Book of Revelation: Thomas Ravis, George Abbot, Richard Eedes, Giles Tomson, Sir Henry Savile, John Peryn, Ralph Ravens, John Harmar; Second Westminster Company, translated the Epistles: William Barlow, John Spencer, Roger Fenton, Ralph Hutchinson, William Dakins, Michael Rabbet, Thomas Sanderson; Second Cambridge Company, translated the Apocrypha: John Duport, William Branthwaite, Jeremiah Radcliffe, Samuel Ward, Andrew Downes, John Bois, John Ward, John Aglionby, Leonard Hutten, Thomas Bilson, Richard Bancroft. That's everyone who translated according to Wikipedia. No Shakespeare. However, I have heard of that.