It was Shakespeare who first used the word “beyond” in a general “outside the domain of”, as opposed to its original meaning of “at a great distance”. This use can be found in Julius Caesar, 1601: I could not have dreamed that death would feed their sorrow. Oh me! His courage was incredible. In The Tempest, 1610, he also extended the use to the meaning of “incredible” which is the “beyond” of “beyond faith”: none of Shakespeare`s works contain the phrase “beyond faith”; We will have to wait a few years for that. John Gower`s translation of Ovid`s Latin poem Festivalls (Publius Ovidius Naso) from 1616 contains the first example of “incomprehensible” that I can find in printed form: If you know of a sentence you wish you had listed here, please use our online form to suggest a sentence. If you have a question about idioms, ask us in our phrase forum. Outside the realm of what is generally considered credible.