Question 1

What does "Almighty" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Almighty" means "all-powerful." The sufficiency and sustenance. El Shaddai appeared to the patriarchs in moments of barrenness and impossibility -- God was not just powerful but all-sufficient, the one who provides when there is no provision. Pantokrator meant the one who holds all things together, moment by moment. Almighty was not about force but about sustaining everything that exists.

Question 2

Why did the word "Almighty" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Hebrew El Shaddai (possibly 'God of the Mountain' or 'the All-Sufficient One' or 'the Breasted One who nourishes') and Greek Pantokrator ('the one who holds all things together') were reduced to 'really powerful.' The specific images were lost to vague superlative. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by still used but vague (~1800).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Almighty"?

Accepted Answer

"Almighty" was replaced by: "all-powerful" (though this abstract superlative; el shaddai may have evoked the nurturing, sustaining, mountain-like sufficiency of god); "omnipotent" (though this philosophical term; shaddai was experiential -- the god who was enough when nothing else was); "supreme" (though this ranking word; almighty was about sustaining, holding, and nourishing all of reality).

What Does “Almighty” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost

Related KJV Words