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William Shakespeare (artist unconfirmed).
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Note that 1564 = 34 x 46. Indeed, the King James Bible translators appear to have paid tribute to Shakespeare's 46th birthday with some wordplay of their own (exclusive to the King James translation of the Bible).
The 46th chapter of the Bible's great book of poetry provides the clue. Counting the 46th word of the 46th Psalm, and then the 46th word from the end (not including selah, which is a musical directive frequently used in Psalms) solves the riddle.
The 46th chapter of the Bible's great book of poetry provides the clue. Counting the 46th word of the 46th Psalm, and then the 46th word from the end (not including selah, which is a musical directive frequently used in Psalms) solves the riddle.
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Psalm 46
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God shall help her, and that right early. 6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved; he uttered his voice; the earth melted. |
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. 8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. 9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. |
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The image to the left is a scanned image of the 46th Psalm from the original King James Bible. Here you can see that the spelling of speare with a closing e provides the correct spelling of Shakespeare.
In the Hebrew Bible, certain peculiarities exist where certain letters are either abnormally large, small or raised compared to the other text. The first word in the Bible - Beresheit (In the beginning) is a good example. The first letter, Bet, is noticeably large. 
For a full list of such instances in the Hebrew Bible, see here. These peculiarities often point to deeper, hidden meaning within the text. What is evident from Psalm 46 is the first words of verses 3 and 4 are written in plain script compared to the elaborate calligraphy of the other 9 verses.
The first letters of the other 9 verses are G T G T T C H B T. Whilst the English alphabet has no tradition of gematria as such, there has long existed cipher codes of similar ilk. These codes were often used by Elizabethan poets and dramatists in Shakespeare's day and age. The Elizabethan alphabet consisted of 24 letters. J was written as I, and U and V were used interchangeably as can be seen from the title of the Book of Revelation in the original KJV. 
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The significance of the other opening letters to the Shakespeare theme of Psalm 46 can be seen from the simple cipher code of the Elizabethan alphabet.
Curiouser and curiouser, the rep digits also get a run in Psalm 46 :
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is an anagram of HERE WAS I, LIKE A PSALM.
- There are 111 words between shake and speare.
- Psalm 46 is the 666th chapter from the end of the King James Bible.
- Psalm 46 appears on the 666th page of printed text in the original King James Bible.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE is an anagram of HERE WAS I, LIKE A PSALM.
"Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear." Job 41:29
כקש נחשבו תותח וישחק לרעש כידון
90 600 424 814 366 420 = 2714
- 2714 = 59 x 46
Just to add to the intrigue, Shakespeare's 146th Sonnet has been compared with elements of the corresponding Psalm 146. Download an academic analysis here (requires registration), whilst the same author's thoughts on Shakespeare's connection with Psalm 46, in the form of an open letter to the bard, can also be downloaded here.
Measure for measure
Playing on its title, 'Measure for Measure' is taken from a bible passage playing on the 'Eye for an Eye' philosophy that says only by practicing forgiveness can you look to receive it. A popular theory is that Measure was written in honor of James I, as he often liked to go among his subjects disguised as one of them to gather a point of view not usually obtained by a king.
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Shakespeare wrote 37 plays in a prolific career. His first Jacobean play was Measure for Measure, dealing with the issues of mercy, justice and truth.. The title, which appears as a line of dialogue in the play, is usually thought to be a reference to the Bible, from Matthew 7:2
"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." The term Measure for Measure is intrinsic to the Jewish tradition. The Hebrew translation is Midah K'negged Midah, and is the way God metes out perfect justice. Although the term midah k'negged midah doesn't appear in the Bible, it's message is well known from Exodus 21:24-25 "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." |
In keeping with the 46th birthday theme, the gematria value of עין תחת עין שן תחת שן ("Eye for eye, tooth for tooth...") is 2576 = 56 x 46.
There is a well done site on Shakespeare and cipher codes here. Also see more examples of the cipher code in Elizabethan literature here.
"Peace be with you!" Measure for Measure 3.2
There is a well done site on Shakespeare and cipher codes here. Also see more examples of the cipher code in Elizabethan literature here.
"Peace be with you!" Measure for Measure 3.2
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