Day: September 25, 2024

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

“At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat” (Matthew 12:1 KJV).

Is “corn” a “mistranslation” here, as is frequently assumed?

In addition to the eight times “corn” appears in its New Testament, the Authorized Version has “corn” some 86 times in its Old Testament (for example, Genesis 27:28,37; Genesis 41:5,35,49,57; Genesis 42:1-3,5,19,25,26; Genesis 43:2; Genesis 44:2; Genesis 45:23; Genesis 47:14; Exodus 22:6; Leviticus 2:14,16; Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 11:14; Deuteronomy 12:17; Deuteronomy 33:28; Joshua 5:11,12; Judges 15:5; Ruth 2:2,14; 1 Samuel 17:17; 1 Samuel 25:18; 2 Samuel 17:19,28; 2 Kings 4:42; 2 Kings 18:32; et cetera).

Again, we remind ourselves of one of the plethora of complaints the whiners and disparagers of the King James Bible utter: “How can those translators suggest the Bible characters of northern Africa and the Middle East were familiar with ‘corn,’ a North American crop? Their choice of words is most unfortunate! The term should be rendered ‘grain!’” At this point, the scoffers seemed to have proved our Authorized Version is most inferior, and our translators but country bumpkins who could not distinguish between their continents and foods.

Yet, we must remember that English is a living language—its words and definitions change through time. However, older or classic English is static: it is dead, its terms and meanings fixed, thus far purer than what the Anglophone (English-speaking) world has today. To be sure we keep God’s timeless words intact, far better it would be for us to utilize a so-called “outdated,” “old-fashioned,” “archaic” system. We dare not change our Bible simply because some “scholars,” with limited linguistic capabilities, demand we should.

If we were to take The Oxford English Dictionary, for instance, and look into this authority on the English language, we would find the following entry for “corn:” “the grain of any cereal (edible) crop.” In other words, “corn” is general—though we use it almost exclusively for “maize” (a North American crop also known as “Indian corn”). Technically, wheat, rye, and barley are all types of corn (but they are not maize). See, we do not adjust the Bible to reflect our ignorance; we simply increase our meager understanding of our language….
















































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