King James Onlyists almost always find ways to read major theological significance into minor translational differences. One example of this is Isaiah 10:27, where the KJV translates a Hebrew word as “anointing” that most modern translations render as “fat”. By reading “anointing” as a messianic reference, King James Onlyists accuse modern translators of trying to remove the prophecy about Jesus and undermine the reader’s faith. This accusation is misplaced on multiple levels.

Isaiah 10:27: What’s the Issue?

The verse around which this argument centers reads:

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing,” (Isaiah 10:27, KJV).

“So it will be on that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of fatness,” (Isaiah 10:27, NASB).

The Hebrew term here generally means either oil or fat. The KJV itself acknowledges that the word can mean fat and even that Isaiah uses it that way, elsewhere speaking of “a feast of fat things,” (Isaiah 25:6) and a “valley of fat” (Isaiah 28:1, 4). The King James translators most often rendered it as oil or ointment. But, though the word is used quite frequently throughout the Old Testament, Isaiah 10:27 is the only place in the whole Bible where they translate the word as “anointing” or any form of “anoint” whatsoever. So, where did the KJV get its reading?

Fat, oil, or anointing in Isaiah 10:27

While KJVOs like to accuse modern translations of changing the verse from “anointing” to “fat,” one might just as well argue that modern translators were only changing it back. Earlier English Bibles from before the KJV frequently rendered the verse as “fatness,” such as the Coverdale Bible (1535), Matthew Bible (1537), and Great Bible (1539). These were perhaps following the lead of Martin Luther, whose German translation of the Bible reads “fette,” a plural form of the German word for “fat.” Earlier still, the 14th-century Wycliffe Bible translated it as “oil”.

It was not until the Geneva Bible (1560) that the term “anointing” was introduced. This is likely no accident since this reflects the understanding of the Genevan Reformers (“anointing” is the interpretation put forward by John Calvin in his commentary on Isaiah, though he acknowledges others in his day that understood it as “fat”.). The subsequent English translation known as the Bishop’s Bible seems to have agreed with the Geneva Bible on the basic meaning, though they used the word “unction.”

The KJV translators followed the Geneva. Later versions such as the NKJV and MEV struck a middle path between the “oil” and “anointing” versions, translating it as “anointing oil”, but most later translators have returned to the understanding that the straightforward sense of the word here is “fat.”

Why these varied translations and interpretations?

It is really no surprise that translators have had some disagreement about how to bring this passage meaningfully into English. The Hebrew idiom that Isaiah used in this verse has historically been a difficult one for translators and commentators alike. Even before the time of the New Testament, the Jewish translators behind the Greek Septuagint (LXX) just left the idiom out entirely and simply stated that the yoke would be broken:

“it shall come to pass in that day; that his yoke shall be taken from thy shoulder, and the terror of him from thee; his yoke shall be utterly destroyed from off thy shoulders.” (LXX, Charles Thompson Translation)¹https://studybible.info/Thomson/Isaiah%2010:27 (Accessed 09/27/2021)

The Babylon Talmud acknowledges that the Hebrew word can be read as either “fatness” or “oil”, and then attempts to offer an explanation based on the “oil” reading:

“It is stated with regard to the downfall of Assyria: ‘And it shall come to pass on that day, his burden shall be taken from on your shoulder, and his yoke from on your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed due to fatness [shamen]’ (Isaiah 10:27). Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: The yoke of Sennacherib was destroyed due to the oil [shemen] of Hezekiah that would burn in the synagogues and study halls when the Jewish people were engaged in Torah study at night.” (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 94b)²https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.10.27?lang=bi&with=Sanhedrin&lang2=en (Accessed 09/15/2021)

The idea that “because of the oil” means “because of the study of the Torah in the synagogues” is obviously a huge stretch (especially since synagogues had not yet been invented in Hezekiah’s day), which illustrates that the meaning of the idiom was not altogether clear to the Talmudic Rabbis. Rashi, the famed early medieval Jewish commentator, repeated the Talmudic understanding but also offered his own:

“The yoke of Sennacherib shall be destroyed because of Hezekiah, who was mild to his generation, as oil,” (Rashi’s commentary on Isaiah 10:27)³https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.10.27?lang=bi&with=Rashi&lang2=en (Accessed 09/27/2021)

Rashi was not the only one who saw the “oil” as referring to a person. But rather that one who is “mild as oil,” the Jewish translator behind the Targum (or Aramaic translation) of Isaiah seems to have taken it to mean one who is anointed by oil, i.e., the Messiah:

“And it shall come to pass at that time, that his dominion shall depart from you, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the nations shall be broken from before the Messiah.” (Targum Isaiah)⁴https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.10.27?lang=bi&with=Targum%20Jonathan%20on%20Isaiah&lang2=en (Accessed 09/27/2021)

It is known that the King James translators consulted the targums and medieval Jewish commentaries to help them understand difficult Hebrew words and phrases (which was a sensible and scholarly thing for them to do). This may have helped them decide to favor the reading of John Calvin and the Geneva Bible (i.e., “because of the anointing”) over against Martin Luther and Miles Coverdale’s rendering of “because of the fatness”. Yet, these latter translators (and their modern counterparts) are not without their own support. Other renowned commentators, like the 12th-century Ibn Ezra, explained this verse to mean:

“The yoke is broken when the neck has become very fat; it is a figurative expression for ‘Judah will become mighty.'” (Commentary of Ibn Ezra)⁵https://www.sefaria.org/Isaiah.10.27?lang=bi&with=Ibn%20Ezra&lang2=en (accessed 9/15/2021)

Thus, this debate has a long history. The source of these wide-ranging interpretations stems from the fact that idioms are always difficult to translate, and the ancient Israelite idiom “because of the fat/oil” is challenging for later readers to understand outside its original cultural context. Still, the consensus of all of our data is that the word itself literally means “fat” or “oil,” and that proposals that this refers to Hezekiah or even the Messiah are based on interpretations of what the “oil” might represent. The fact remains that the word itself is oil or fat, not anointing, which is why even the KJV never translates the word that way in any other context.

Conclusion

It is easy to understand why the King James Translators, John Calvin, and the Jewish Targumist wanted a clear, unambiguously messianic reading for this difficult Hebrew idiom in Isaiah 10:27. But, as far as literally translating what the Hebrew words actually say, “because of the fat” is a better translation. The straightforward image is one of God returning his blessing to His people so that they become like a well-fed ox who becomes so large he breaks out of his yoke. If there is a deeper messianic meaning here, it is the job of the reader or preacher to draw it out, not of the translator to insert it into the text. It may well be that the KJV offers a genuine explanation of the passage’s ultimate New Covenant meaning, but it is not a plain and literal translation of the words, and modern translators should not be faulted for simply translating and leaving exposition to the preacher.