The Phrase Today
"It came to pass" is instantly recognizable in English as a biblical phrase, which gives it a double function: it can be used sincerely, to give a narrative the weight and solemnity of scriptural history, or ironically, to mock pomposity by applying the formula to trivial events. Both uses depend on the shared cultural knowledge that the phrase marks biblical register - it signals that a narrative considers itself significant.
Biblical Origin
The phrase is a characteristic feature of KJV translation, appearing hundreds of times across both Testaments. Genesis 4:3: "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering." Luke 2:1: "And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus." Acts 3:1: "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple." The Hebrew wayehi and Greek egeneto (both meaning "it happened" or "and it was") were translated with the more ceremonious "it came to pass" rather than the simpler "it happened," giving the KJV its characteristic solemn narrative rhythm.
Mark Twain and the Book of Mormon
Mark Twain famously skewered the phrase in Roughing It (1872), describing how often "it came to pass" appears in the Book of Mormon (which Twain mockingly offered to supply as a cure for insomnia). The phrase had by then become so strongly associated with a particular style of solemn, repetitive narrative that Twain could use it as shorthand for that entire mode. His critique drew attention to the phrase precisely because it was already universally recognizable as a marker of biblical-style narration.
The Rhythm of the KJV
The frequency of "it came to pass" in the KJV is partly a function of translation philosophy: the translators consistently rendered the Hebrew narrative connective wayehi with a formal English equivalent rather than absorbing it into modern narrative flow. This produced a distinctive cumulative rhythm - clause after clause connected by "and" and "it came to pass" - that shaped English prose style for centuries. The KJV's influence on prose rhythm was profound, and "it came to pass" is one of its most identifiable features.
Cross-Linguistic Reach
The translation decisions that produced "it came to pass" were made differently in other languages. The German Luther Bible uses Und es begab sich ("and it happened"), which has similarly become a recognizable marker of biblical register in German. French versions use Or il advint or Il arriva que - both formal but less distinctive than the English. The English phrase is notable for its particular combination of archaic grammar ("came to pass" for "happened") and ceremonious tone that has no exact equivalent in other languages' Bible translations.
Cultural Usage
The phrase is used in contemporary English for deliberate stylistic effect: to signal that a narrator is adopting a solemn, quasi-scriptural voice, either sincerely (in religious contexts, historical fiction, or formal addresses) or parodically (in comedy, satire, or mock-epic narration). Joseph Smith's use of the phrase throughout the Book of Mormon (1830) drew on it as a marker of biblical authenticity. Its survival in English despite archaism is a testament to the KJV's stylistic influence: certain phrases persist not because they are the most efficient way to communicate but because they carry cultural and aesthetic weight that more efficient alternatives lack.