Have you ever gotten tangled up in the Second Person Singular Familiar found in the KJV?

You know, those pesky “thee’s,” “thou’s, “thy’s,” and  “thine’s.” (Ooops, I forgot to include “thyself.”)

       

Have you ever been bewildered by its “art’s,” “wert’s,” and “wilt’s”?

Those are some of the verb forms that go with those “thou’s.” 

Others include verbs that end in “-est,” such as in “wantest”; “-st,” such as in “wouldst,” and even the omitted ‘e’ as seen in “know’st.”

Thee, Thou, Thy, and Thine In the Bible

Behold!

Fear not.

Fear not those “thee’s,” “thou’s,” “thy’s,” and  “thine’s”!

Fear not the Second Person Singular Familiar.

(Or, for that matter, Second Person Plural Familiar – the “ye’s,” etc.)

English Second Person Singular Familiar:

Close Relationship

Once upon a time, English had a Second Person Singular Familiar which used “thee’s,” “thou’s,” “thy’s,” and “thine’s.”

Because the only place “thee,” “thou,” “thy,” and “thou” is seen today is in some Bibles, especially the KJV, many consider that these pronouns are to be used only with God – holy terms for a holy God.

 

However, the Second Person Singular Familiar pronouns, in other languages such as Spanish, indicate an intimate relationship, not a formal one.  

In those languages, a separate set of pronouns, Second Person Singular Formal, is used for relationships of special respect, such as between acquaintances, strangers, or social non-equals, such as master and servant, boss and employee.

The Second Person Singular Familiar pronouns, in such languages, are used in close relationships, such as parent-child, husband-wife, within the family, and between close friends.

         

Therefore, in my opinion, “thee’s,” “thou’s,” “thy’s,” and “thine’s,” as used in the Bible, do not indicate a formal approach to a distant God.

Rather, to me, they indicate a close, personal, relationship with the Divine.

English Second Person Singular Familiar:

Numerical Indication

Furthermore, Thou, as the Second Person Singular Familiar form, was utilized by William Tyndale in his early-1500s translation of the Bible into English.

      

(For more on the history of English translation of the Bible see Footnote.)

             

When referring  to God, Tyndale used the Second Person Singular in order to align with the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts which were written using the singular pronoun ascribed to God.

         

Tyndale

“…wanted to make it clear that God is being referred to in the singular: one God, not several.

That mattered more to him than the formal/ informal distinction. So he set the pattern, and it was preserved in the King James Bible (which borrowed heavily from Tyndale). God is the only lord you can use thou on.”

         

Tyndale, then, seems to be supporting the Shema:

⁴ “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

⁵ “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.                                                    Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NASB

          

‘The LORD’ is a translator substitution for YHVH³⁰⁶⁸, the Tetragrammaton, the Hebrew letters ‘yod, hay, vav, hay’ as written in the Hebrew Bible, the TaNaK, and used as ‘the proper name of the God of Israel.’

          

See Why I Use the Hebrew Name for God: YHVH – YeHoVaH.

Why I Use the Hebrew Name for God: YHVH – YeHoVaH

But What About the Use of the Plural?

Nevertheless, the plural form for ‘God’ was used in Genesis 1:1.

“In the beginning God” – the Hebrew word for God used is Elohim⁴³⁰  – Gods, gods, the plural of El⁴¹⁰ – God, god.

The Trinity?

This plurality may be meant as it reads – plural, as a foreshadowing of the Trinity.

Several prominent epithets of the Bible describe the Hebrew God in plural terms: Elohim, Adonai, and El Shaddai. Many Christian scholars, including the post-apostolic leaders and Augustine of Hippo, have seen the use of the plural and grammatically singular verb forms as support for the doctrine of the Trinity.[7]

The Royal ‘We’?

Or, the plurality may be meant as a sign of superiority or Lordship (like the royal ‘We’).

The earliest known use of this poetic device is somewhere in the 4th century AD, during the Byzantine period; nevertheless, scholars as Mircea Eliade,[8] Wilhelm Gesenius,[9] and Aaron Ember,[10] claim that Elohim is a form of majestic plural in the Torah.

          

Some history of the royal ‘We’:

The royal “we” is also referred to as the majestic plural or pluralis majestatis, in Latin. Despite its name, the royal “we” has been used by people other than royalty, though it is most often associated with kings and queens. …

The British monarch Henry II is credited with using the royal “we” first, referring to his connection with God, and the fact that he and God were acting in concert. Richard I often used the royal “we” to assert his rule by divine right, which is the belief that the king answered to no one but God. Others have been known to use the royal “we”, including politicians, popes and academics. 

What About the Singular ‘They’?

On a somewhat related concept, today there is a growing consensus to use the Singular ‘they’ when referring to groups of both sexes, or for someone whose sex is not designated. The formal English norm has been to use the masculine/ male pronouns – ‘he,’ etc.

         

For some time now, I, personally, have been using the Singular ‘They,’ ‘Them,’ and ‘Themself’ for person(s) of non-specified gender.

          

In addition, there is discussion re the pros and cons for using the Singular ‘They,’ etc., to refer to God in a non-masculine, non-gendered, transgendered, , gender-full, God-as-Three-In-One, God-as–He-Revealed–Himself, in lieu of the original Hebrew and Greek Masculine Singular Pronouns. 

 

Your Thoughts?

How about you?

What do you think?

 

Do you consider and address

• God as an intimate? (Second Person Singular Familiar)
• God as superior – the royal ‘we’?  (Second Person Plural Formal)
• God as One?  (Second Person Singular Familiar)
• God as the Three-In-One? (Second Person Plural Familiar)
• God as non-masculine, non-gendered, all-gendered, genderless?  (The Singular ‘They’)

          

Share your view in the Comments.

I’d love to hear how you think about God.

 

Blessings,

TLThomas

Footnote:

For More Regarding the Earliest English Language Bible:

 

John Wycliffe and colleagues under his direction translated the first English-language Bible (Middle English think Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales), circa 1382 – 1395.

The ‘Wycliffe Bible’ was translated from the Latin Vulgate.

          

The Vulgate is a translation by Jerome begun in 382AD from early Latin translations, while referencing the Greek New Testament, and working from the Hebrew originals for his Old Testament translation.

           

You can see the Second Person Familiar, as used in early Modern English, found in John Donne’s Sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” that I included in my post  Death: The Ultimate Rude Interruption.

It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!

           

Be a Berean!

¹⁰ The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.                                                       Acts 17:10,11 NASB

© 2022 TLThomas