Tracing Back the Word "Easter"

This post is not about whether or not we should use the word 'Easter' in place of 'Pascha' or 'Resurrection Sunday'; rather, I wanted to see how far back we could trace the word 'Easter' in translations of the Bible. We see the word "Easter" in Acts 12:4 in the KJV (much to the chagrin of some people), but is that the earliest it appears? Certainly not! For my source text, I elected to use Matthew 26:17-19, since the 'passover words' occur several times there (though not in the KJV).

William Tyndale used 'easter' in a number of places in his 1526 NT translation [his first translation], while at the same time using 'passover' in others. Tyndale apparently used 'passover' and 'easter' interchangeably, with no hinted difference in proposed meaning, and the two can sometimes show up right next to each-other in the text. In the given passage [Mt. 26:17-19] he simply uses easter. His later editions show more polish here than this first edition.

Next we have the same passage in the 1385 Wycliffe Bible, early version. The Middle-English New Testament, based on the Latin Vulgate, uses "paske" [Pascha], which is no surprise because that Greek word remained untranslated in both the Vulgate and the old Vetus Latina. (It's also the word many of us use today in reference to the day of the resurrection.)

The earliest the word 'Easter' actually shows up is in the Anglo-Saxon gospels! Here, we can see 'eastron', 'eastro', and 'easter'. The Old English Gospels used as reference include the Lindisfarne & Wessex Gospels . All three versions I've discussed can be seen side-by-side below.

I have not done any more research into this, but one can conclude that Tyndale used 'Easter' due to its cultural recognizability, and it gave his translation's vocabulary variety. How did it slip into the King James Version though? Likely due to the fact that the passage in Acts occurs after the resurrection, and Christ's fulfillment of the law.

For my reference text, I used The Gothic and Anglo-Saxon Gospels in Parallel Columns with Wycliffe and Tyndale by Henry Bosworth (I shortened the title a tad). You can read the whole passage of Matthew 26, as well as the rest of the gospels in his book here here.

Goodbye Holy Week 2015

       With the close of Holy Week, we say goodbye to the oldest Christian festival for another year. Pascha/Easter/Passover - coupled with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday - happens to be one of my favourite holidays of the year (the others being Christmas and Thanksgiving), and it's always a bit sad leaving it all behind. I suppose I get refreshed and nostalgic during holiday seasons, and this one is no different. Fellowship & worship alongside the church, revitalized devotions, excellent sermons, tasty food, and relaxing family time always accompany Holy Week, and as I reflect on the past and the upcoming year, I can't wait to see what traditions I begin in my own family in the future. Yeshua is risen, and He shall return in the fullness of time.