Today I was surprised by a facsimile of the King James Version, 1611. I wonder if the faculties of Mequon, Bethany, St. Louis, and Ft. Wayne would run screaming out the door if I brought it by in a solemn procession. The decaying and merging ELCA seminary faculties would say, "What's this?"
I am delighted with the 1611, and I am getting some old NIVs (before "all are justified" Romans 3).
Tomorrow starts "I AM" and my KJV library revealed how important that is in the 1611. The four Hebrew letters for LORD are pointed (vowel points) on purpose because the Name is sacred.
Wise guys said back in the 1960s, "Earlier translators did not know that it did not mean or even make sense as Jehovah." The author of this book said the KJV kept the lettering and style as LORD to keep it matching the original - called the Tetragrammaton (for four letters). He went on to say "No one knows the original Name."
Which is better, "Guide me now, O Thou great Jehovah" or "Guide me now, O Thou great Redeemer?" I think the modernized version is weaker, and it has to concede to "Thou" because - "Guide me now, O You great Redeemer" is ridiculous.
Getting back to I AM - its importance is especially clear when Exodus 3 predicts John 8.
I asked the OT graduate class to count how many times Abraham is named in John 8 and Romans 4. Maybe some OJ fanatics will someday note the significance too, and it all concerns I AM.
