Who coined "at play in the fields of the Lord"?

August 16, 2013 8:13 AM

Where does the phrase "at play in the field[s]of the Lord" originally come from? I've seen Ray Bradbury quote it, and it's title of a book by Peter Matthiessen and a couple different movies, and it's used in various articles here and there. I assume it comes from something older.
posted by shivohum to Writing & Language (4 answers total)

At work or "laboring" in the fields of the Lord is from the Bible. I'm not sure who modified it to "at play" but it was clearly a play on that phrase.
posted by Sophie1 at 8:53 AM on August 16, 2013

A search of both GoogleBooks and Archive.org turns up no instance of "at play in the field [or fields] of the Lord" prior to Matthiessen in 1965. That doesn't mean there isn't an example, but I can't find it. Other places to search?
posted by thomas j wise at 9:05 AM on August 16, 2013

Best answer: I don't think "fields of the lord" is a phrase you'll find in any English-language Bible, but I've seen it used to refer to the fields of Christ's parable in Matthew 13:24-30. Pretty sure Matthieson coined the "at play" variant.
posted by BurntHombre at 9:06 AM on August 16, 2013

Confirming burnthombre, a search across a whole slew of English translations doesn't turn up the phrase or any obvious variations I tried. BurntHombre's suggestion that it refers to the parable makes sense, as the Mattiessen novel deals with similar themes (missionary work, good and evil).
posted by Wretch729 at 9:54 AM on August 16, 2013