I find delightful the study of changes in the English language, and especially regarding words of the Bible. As I continued to study the 1611 printing of the Bible, I found F. H. A. Scrivener calling attention to the use of “moe” in the 1611 Bible (which had previously escaped me). Scrivener calls it the “quaint” word for “more.”
The several editors, especially those of 1762 and 1769...got rid of the quaint old moe for more (spelt mo in the Bible of 1638)... (The Authorized Edition of the English Bible (1611), Its Subsequent Reprints and Modern Representatives, London: Cambridge University Press, 1884, p. 104)
I searched and found “moe” used in some twenty-nine instances, maybe moe. It was a legitimate form of the word, though perhaps “quaint” at the time of the 1611 translation – at least “quaint” by the time Scrivener wrote in 1884. Perhaps the typesetters preferred it when the line space was crowded? Or, maybe it was a carry-over from the 1602 Bishop’s Bible? (I found one place where the KJV had “moe” where the Bishops did not, and another place where the KJV had “moe” and the Bishops had “mo”.)
The use of “moe” was not exclusive, and the word “more” was used moe than “moe.”
2 Samuel 2:28
Numbers 22:15 is my favorite, the verse that uses “moe” and “more.”
And Balak sent yet againe Princes, moe, and more honourable then they.
Even if the spelling is out of style, the pronunciation of “more” with a long “o” and no “r” – mō – is not uncommon in these parts.
Numbers 22:15
Another still common word in 1611 that was updated is “fet”. It means to bring or bring back, and in modern printings appears as “fetched.”
2 Samuel 11:27
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