Poetry of the King James Version of the Bible

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

In this weeks lesson from Come Follow Me I was struck by the beauty of this verse:

1 Luke

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

[Traveler]

17 hours ago, Emmanuel Goldstein said:

In this weeks lesson from Come Follow Me I was struck by the beauty of this verse:

1 Luke

76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

I am not sure I have a good understanding of "dayspring".  I am inclined to think some artistic licence has been employed - I would like a more literal context - I love symbolism, when I have a handle on where the symbolism is going.

 

The Traveler

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

I am not sure I have a good understanding of "dayspring".  I am inclined to think some artistic licence has been employed - I would like a more literal context - I love symbolism, when I have a handle on where the symbolism is going.

 

The Traveler

It is used in Job 38 as well. My understanding is that it is like saying Dawn.

11 And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;

13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Traveler said:

I am not sure I have a good understanding of "dayspring".  I am inclined to think some artistic licence has been employed - I would like a more literal context

It is quite poetic here.  It is referring to a "manifestation from heaven".  But it couches that phrase in the metaphor of "morning light" or "rising sun".

Thus, when we receive revelation in a grand manner, it is as if the sun is rising and bringing us out of darkness.

[Traveler]

@Emmanuel Goldstein and @Carborendum

I have checked all the references and read all kinds of stuff on the internet and many other places - what bothers me is that the title of Lucifer carries the meaning of a "Son of the Morning" and the "Bringer of Light".  I believe that dayspring is intended to be a reference to the Messiah as the Son of G-d but it also appears to be connected to Lucifer - specifically before he fell and became Satan.

 

The Traveler

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Traveler said:

@Emmanuel Goldstein and @Carborendum

I have checked all the references and read all kinds of stuff on the internet and many other places - what bothers me is that the title of Lucifer carries the meaning of a "Son of the Morning" and the "Bringer of Light".  I believe that dayspring is intended to be a reference to the Messiah as the Son of G-d but it also appears to be connected to Lucifer - specifically before he fell and became Satan.

 

The Traveler

Remember that Jesus was also called "Morning Star" or "Son of the Morning."

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

6 hours ago, Traveler said:

@Emmanuel Goldstein and @Carborendum

I have checked all the references and read all kinds of stuff on the internet and many other places - what bothers me is that the title of Lucifer carries the meaning of a "Son of the Morning" and the "Bringer of Light".  I believe that dayspring is intended to be a reference to the Messiah as the Son of G-d but it also appears to be connected to Lucifer - specifically before he fell and became Satan.

 

The Traveler

Perhaps John took on the role that Lucifer would have, had he not fallen.

[MrShorty]

I'm still trying to decide if I see this as more poetic or not.

Dayspring appears to be an archaic synonym for "dawn" or "sunrise". Comparing to other Bible translations (Biblehub can conveniently show you a verse in a few dozen different translations on one page), it appears that most others use either dawn or sunrise.

Part of me wonders if it seems more poetic because of the novelty of using a word that I don't encounter anywhere else.

One interesting image that comes from dayspring is an image of water rather than sunlight starting the day. I don't know if that makes it more poetic or, again, just different.

In the end, I find all three words adequate for conveying the meaning of the verse (says someone who can't even begin to read the ancient Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic or whatever language Zechariah would have actually been using). Dawn or sunrise I understand without putting extra thought into. The archaic dayspring requires slightly more effort to draw out the meaning, which means that I am less likely to skip over the word.

I suppose we can (and probably will continue to) argue that there is something more poetic about 16th century English over our own. Part of me agrees with something Traveler said -- I would prefer to understand the words being used, even if that means less poetic, than struggle to understand the language even if it is high poetry. (I am reminded here of a Calvin and Hobbes comic discussing the difference between paintings as high art and comic strips as low art: https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2013/07/23/)

As much as that rambled without saying anything, I should probably pay you 2 cents for having to read it.