Psa 119:130 (KJV)<\/p>\n
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
These passages emphasize not merely themes or ideas, but the individual words themselves. Among these words is one that appears only twice in the entire King James Bible \u2014 a word that shapes the very definition of faith: evidence.<\/p>\n
This article argues that the KJB\u2019s use of the word evidence in Hebrews 11:1 is both historically consistent and theologically intentional, rooted in the first biblical appearance in Jeremiah 32. Through this connection, the KJB translators preserved a profound doctrinal thread that earlier English translations had already established. One such word is found in the very definition of \u201cfaith\u201d itself. For we are told that \u201cfaith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God\u201d. It\u2019s no surprise that this simple word is used by God to help \u201cincrease our faith \u201c.<\/p>\n
EVIDENCE<\/p>\n
The definition of the word itself seems quite \u201cregular\u201d.<\/p>\n
EV’IDENCE, n. [L. evidentia, from video, to see.]<\/p>\n
1. That which elucidates and enables the mind to see truth; proof arising from our own perceptions by the senses, or from the testimony of others, or from inductions of reason. Our senses furnish evidence of the existence of matter, of solidity, of color, of heat and cold, of a difference in the qualities of bodies, of figure, &c. The declarations of a witness furnish evidence of facts to a court and jury; and reasoning, or the deductions of the mind from facts or arguments, furnish evidence of truth or falsehood.<\/p>\n
The KJB translators could have used other words besides evidence. They could have \u201cbucked\u201d the trend that earlier translations like the Bishop Bible<\/strong> or the Geneva Bible<\/strong> used. But they didn\u2019t. They could have used Tyndale\u2019s translation. All these translations used the same Greek manuscripts.<\/p>\n Comparison of Early English Translations<\/strong><\/p>\n The KJB translators retained the Geneva\/Bishop wording rather than Tyndale\u2019s. This continuity suggests deliberate preservation of ecclesiastical vocabulary familiar to English-speaking believers.<\/p>\n Besides the spelling not meeting our modern spell checker\u2019s standards (oh the headaches of copying and pasting the kings English into a modern word processor) Tyndale used completely different words for \u201csubstance\u201d and \u201cevidence\u201d. But why did he? Because He had a few words to choose from. The Greek word for evidence is.<\/p>\n \u03b5\u0313\u0301\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2<\/p>\n elegchos<\/p>\n el’-eng-khos<\/p>\n From G1651; proof, conviction: – evidence, reproof.<\/p>\n Two words, proof and conviction. In a modern thesaurus I\u2019m confident that \u201ccertainty\u201d might be among the list of words as well.<\/p>\n So why did the KJB translators use \u201cevidence\u201d? The answer is twofold.<\/p>\n First, they wanted to keep with what the people of God had used the last several decades found in both its predecessors, the Bishop<\/strong> and Geneva<\/strong> Bible.<\/p>\n But the second reason, which I believe is the most compelling reason, is the \u201cfirst mention\u201d of the word \u201cevidence\u201d itself.<\/p>\n The Law of First Mention is the hermeneutical principle that the first time a word, name, concept, or theme appears in Scripture, that appearance establishes its foundational <\/strong>theological meaning \u2014 a meaning that is then carried forward, developed, and deepened throughout the rest of the biblical canon. This principle is not merely a man-made interpretive convention; it reflects the divine authorship of Scripture. Because one God authored all 66 books, He may be expected to have introduced key theological concepts deliberately at their first occurrence, establishing a semantic and theological foundation for all that follows.<\/p>\n The King James Bible carefully honors this principle through consistent, theologically sensitive translation choices. Modern versions frequently disrupt it by rendering the same Hebrew or Greek word with different English words in different contexts \u2014 sometimes for stylistic variety, sometimes due to translational philosophy \u2014 fracturing the theological threads that God wove into the fabric of Scripture.<\/p>\n \u2014 Genesis 6:8 (KJV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n This is the first occurrence of the word “grace” in the entire Bible, and its theological significance cannot be overstated. Noah did not earn God’s rescue \u2014 he found grace<\/em>. The doctrine of grace \u2014 unmerited divine favor bestowed upon undeserving sinners \u2014 is established here at the very outset of redemptive history. The Hebrew word chen<\/em> (\u05d7\u05b5\u05df) means favour, kindness, grace \u2014 and the KJB translates it consistently and accurately as “grace” in this foundational passage.<\/p>\n The significance of this translation extends to the New Testament, where the Greek word charis<\/em> \u2014 the direct conceptual equivalent of chen<\/em> \u2014 is likewise rendered “grace” throughout the KJB. This creates an unbroken theological chain from Genesis 6:8 to the epistles of Paul: grace saves, grace sustains, grace glorifies. The KJB’s consistent rendering preserves this thread intact.<\/p>\n Modern versions that render “grace” as “favor” (using American spelling), or that vary their translation of charis<\/em> across the New Testament, sever these connections. The reader of a modern version may not perceive that what Noah found in Genesis 6 is the same principle by which every sinner is saved in Ephesians 2:8 \u2014 but the reader of the KJB sees it plainly.<\/p>\n \u2014 Jeremiah 32:10 (KJV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n (Jeremiah 32:14, KJV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Heb 11:1\u00a0<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Only in the KJV will you find this unique sequencing of this word and its usage. All modern translation departs from the use of the word \u201cevidence\u201d and confuses what the \u201cSpirit of Truth\u201d is teaching; John 16:13. Therefore breaking the chain and removing the ability to apply the command of \u201ccomparing spiritual things with spiritual\u201d and studying to show ourselves unashamed workman.<\/p>\n Jeremiah is in prison for his prophecies against Jerusalem and its people. He had repeatedly warned the people to submit to the Babylonian king, or they would be killed by the Babylonian army. That the remnant would be carried away to Babylon for seventy years. Because of the word of God, the king had him thrown into jail. While in jail God commanded him to redeem a piece of property: being a near kinsman it was his right to redeem; v 8. This would be \u201cevidence\u201d of God\u2019s promises. That he had not forgotten about his people nor his land.<\/p>\n The evidence, being the piece of property, was bought. The witnesses saw the exchange of money, according to the law. It was written on parchment and sealed in an earthen vessel for a future generation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thus, the first biblical use of evidence is tied directly to redemption, promise, future restoration<\/strong>, and faith<\/strong> in what is not yet seen.<\/p>\n Typological Parallels Between Jeremiah 32 and Hebrews 11:1<\/strong><\/p>\n The theological richness of this connection becomes clear when viewed typologically:<\/p>\n 1. The Kinsman Redeemer<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeremiah, as nearest kinsman, redeems the land. Christ, our Kinsman Redeemer, purchased us with His own blood.<\/p>\n 2. The Price of Redemption<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeremiah pays seventeen shekels of silver. Believers are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.<\/p>\n 3. Witnessed and Recorded<\/strong><\/p>\n Jeremiah\u2019s purchase is witnessed, written, and sealed. Christ\u2019s sacrifice is witnessed by Jew and Gentile, recorded in Scripture, and fulfills all the sacrificial laws:<\/p>\n\n
The Law of First Mention \u2014 A Hermeneutical Key<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n One of the most important principles of biblical interpretation is the Law of First Mention. The KJB’s consistent application of this principle is powerful evidence of its translational purity and theological intentionality.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n 1 Defining the Law of First Mention<\/h3>\n
Example \u2014 “Grace”: First Mention in Genesis 6:8 (KJV)<\/h3>\n
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\n “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”<\/em><\/p>\n Example \u2014 “Evidence”: First Mention in Jeremiah 32:10 (KJV)<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n ” And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances<\/em><\/p>\n \n\n
\n \u201cAnd I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Jeremiah 32:10, KJV) \u201cSo I took the evidence of the purchase\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Jeremiah 32:11, KJV) \u201cAnd I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch\u2026\u201d<\/em> (Jeremiah 32:12, KJV) \u201cTake these evidences\u2026 and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\n
\n \u201cNow faith is the substance of things hoped for, the <\/em>evidence <\/em><\/strong>of things not seen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \n\n
\n ![](\"http:\/\/themastersgoods.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/word-image-579-1.png\")
<\/td>\n\n \n\n
\n Which things also we speak, not in the <\/em>words<\/em><\/strong> which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; <\/em>comparing <\/em><\/strong>spiritual things with spiritual.\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 1 Cor 2:13 (KJV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n\n
\n I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 Hosea 12:10 (KJV)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n