Begat: The King James Bible and the English Language

A non-religious book about the origins of idioms traced back to the King James Bible. The author distinguishes between those expressions that are merely quotations, and others that have been hijacked for secular use, often appearing in advertisements and movies.

The author also added appendices and indices to the back of the book.

The book was not boring, but intriguing, and kept my interest throughout. This one is a keeper, and will remain on my shelves. ( )

Begat is an interesting look at how the KJV and other Bible translations before it have influenced English vocabulary and idiom. However, as others have mentioned, this book is best read a few pages at a time. Good for those interested in the history of English and those texts that have influenced it.

David Crystal looks at how words and phrases from the King James Bible/Authorised Version have become part of the English language as words and idioms in their own right rather than as quotations.

Some you might think of come from other early translations or already existed in the language before King James commissioned the translation. Other "biblical" expressions are actually paraphrases.

Although I read this straight through, it might have been better just to read the prologues and the epilogue and then keep the rest to dip into every now and again. ( )

An overview of the way in which the KJV (and five or six of its predecessors) have influenced the idiomatic development of the English language. A book to dip into, rather than read through at a session, but one I found fascinating. Some excellent indexes make it particularly easy to explore the material brought together by Crystal.
I suspect I won't be the only reader who would like to add more examples of the way Biblical language has been used, and it would be good to see an expanded edition in due course.

Although the material and the analysis are very interesting, this feels too much like an annotated list to be entirely satisfying. Crystal is knowledgable and stylish but even he has trouble creating a pleasing narrative flow as he recounts the prevailing usage of phrases from the the KJV. ( )