Biblical Interpretations - Ch 1

Translation

Transferring the message of one language into another language

Original Text (Autograph)

original documents of Scripture

Textual Criticism

technical discipline that compares the various copies of a biblical text in an effort to determine what was most likely the original text

Biblica Herbraica Stuttgartensia (BHS)

the standard critical text of the Old Testament

Nestle-Aland’s Novum Testamentum Graece

one of two standard critical texts of the New Testament

United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (GNT)

one of two standard critical texts of the New Testament

Vulgate

Latin translation of the Bible completed by Jerome in 400 AD

Wycliffe Bible

word-for-word translation of the Vulgate into English

(translated from Latin rather than from the original Hebrew and Greek)

William Tyndale

produced first English translation of New Testament that was based upon Greek text

Authorized Version of 1611 (King James Version)

translation based on the Greek and Hebrew texts that attempted to use the language of ordinary people while maintaining enough dignity to be used in church

Commissioned by King James I or England in order to satisfy the factions within the English Church

Obstacle 1 - Inferior Greek Text (Texts Receipts; few late manuscripts)

Obstacle 2 - Archaic language (“emeralds,” “leasing”, “I trow not”)

1769 edition is the one read today

Formal Approach

approach to translation that tries to stay as close as possible to the structure and words of the source language

word for word

NASB, ESV

Strength: See the original

Weakness: Stilted

Functional Approach

approach to translation that tries to express the meaning of the original text by offering a thought-for-thought translation

thought for thought

NLT, GNT

Strength: Clear

Weakness: May decide interpretation

Paraphrase

restatement or explanation of a particular English translation

Intuition

A work of literature by authors of high religious insight (says too little)

Dictation

God the sole author; writers and “typewriters” (says to much)

Illumination

The spirit gave writers heightened insight to understand and record revelation

Verbal

The spirit guided the writers to choose the very wordsDy

Dynamic

The spirit directs teh thoughts; the writer’s personality and style remain

The Path From God to the Modern Reader

Inspiration —> Original Text/Autographs —> Transmission —> Textual Criticism —> Translation —> Interpretation

Transmission

From autographs to copies

Autographs are lost but we have ~6,000 Greek NT manuscRIPts; teh Dead Sea Scrolls (1947) pushed OT evidence back ~1,000 years. Hand copying —> small scribal error, but no dispute about the vast majority of the Bible

Textual Criticism

Recovering the original text

Compares copies to find the most likely original; external evidence (age/quality of manuscripts) + internal evidence (copyist habits, author’s style). Results = critical editions

A high view of Scripture and textual criticism belong together

Translation

From the Critical Text into English

A committee moves meanings from the source language (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek) into the receptor language (English). Then comes interpretation

Vulgate

Jerome’s Lain translation of the whole Bible

400 AD

Wycliffe

NT 1380

First complete English Bible, from latin

Tyndale

First English NT from the Greek

1526

Coverdale

1535

First whole Bible printed in English

Matthew Bible

1537

Tyndale’s unfinished work completed by John Rogers

Great Bible

1539

First English Bible authorized for Church Use

Geneva Bible

1560

Bible of Shakespeare, the Puritans, the Pilgrims

Bishops Bible

1568

Revision of the Great Bible for the Churches

KJV Line

ERV (1881 - 85) —> ASV (1901) —> RSV —> NASB/NKJV/NRSV/ESV

Mediating

Formal + Functional

NIV, CSB

Approaches to Translating God’s Word

No two words are exactly alike

Vocabulary sizes differ between languages

Languages use syntax differently

Languages have different stylistic preferences

Paraphrase

Not a translation from the originals - a restatement of an English version. (Living Bible, Amplified)

Use as a commentary, not for study

Choosing a Translation

Use modern English

Based on the standard Hebrew/Greek text

Produced by a committee, not one person

Fit your purpose (devotion/children → functional study —> formal or middling: NASB, ESV, CSB, NIV)