This article is part of a series on the changing meaning of English words and its impact on the King James Only debate. To see the introduction to this series, click The King James Version and the changing use of words.
It is quite common for words to change in meaning over time. Not only do we invent some new words and stop using some old ones altogether, but perhaps more importantly, there are many words that we keep using but that change in their meaning. Words that used to mean one thing a few centuries ago may now mean something completely different to present-day English speakers. These changes can affect how we read older English writings without our even realizing it. We think we understand what we are reading because we seem to know the words, but those words mean something different to us today and so we misunderstand what the author was trying to say. There are many passages in the KJV like this. They were quite clear and straightforward to the original readers, but the changing meaning of words has subtly obscured their meaning today. For an example of this, let’s consider the word “enlargement.”
Then shall their enlargement arise
Today, to “enlarge” simply means to make something bigger. An “enlargement” is an increase in size. The word centers around the root “large.” What else could it mean? So, how are we to understand what we read what Mordecai says to Esther?
“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place…” (Esther 4:14, KJV).
It seems clear to us that God is promising not only to deliver Israel but also to make Israel larger or more numerous. It fits the context and coincides well with promises that God makes to Israel elsewhere. This even seems to be fulfilled later in the book! After God does indeed deliver the Jews we are told:
“…And many of the people of the land became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them,” (Esther 8:17).
Many people converted and “became Jews,” thus swelling the numbers of the Jewish population. Is that the enlargement promised in 4:14? While such an interpretation seems to make sense, it is rooted in a modern misreading. The word “enlargement” carried another meaning in the 17th century that has since fallen out of usage. While even then the word could mean growth or increase in size, it could also mean a release from bondage. We don’t use the word “enlargement” this way anymore. Indeed, it seems nonsensical to do so. But in 1611, this was a clear and normal usage of the word. Mordecai makes no mention in Esther 4 of Israel increasing in size. Instead, he speaks of their deliverance and release. Even before the KJV, note how the phrase was translated:
“…then shall the Jews have help and deliverance…” (Coverdale, Matthew Bible, Great Bible, Bishops Bible)
“…comfort and deliverance shall appear to the Jews…” (Geneva Bible).
Modern translators likewise express this as:
“…relief and deliverance will arise…” (NASB, see also ESV, NIV, NKJV, CSB).
Even a recent update of the KJV renders it:
“…then shall there arise respite and deliverance…” (King James Version 21st Century).
The KJV is not an outlier here. The King James translators were not trying to say something different than these other translators. They meant the very same thing that modern translators do today, they just expressed it in a word that no longer means today what it meant then. Thus, today, there is opportunity for confusion over language that was once clear and accessible. This is why translations need to be updated from time to time. Revising the wording to account for changes in the language does not alter the text. Indeed, leaving the words of a translation the same even after the meanings of those words change is more likely to alter one’s understanding of the text.
