What's in a Version? - Henry E Neufeld

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concern in these verses is to whether we understand the mind of the Christian to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, or whether the reference is to us setting our minds on the Spirit. Those who emphasize free will tend to prefer the translation of the NRSV, while those for whom free will is less important will often prefer the NIV.

      2: Creating and Preserving the Bible

      What is the Bible?

      I can't go into great detail in discussing the nature of the Bible in this book. That is a subject in itself. But there are some important basics we need to examine. We don’t have to agree on all of these issues, but it will help us understand translations, if we are aware of them.

      The Bible is the fundamental document of the Christian faith. It is our main resource when we discuss issues between various denominations. We may differ on how we approach it, we may question one aspect or another. Some of us see it as historically and scientifically inerrant, some do not. Some see it as an absolute compendium of doctrine; others as a book of experience from which we can get doctrine. But in spite of the differences, when we begin to argue or discuss amongst ourselves, someone will surely start to quote the Bible.

      It is because all of us take the Bible so seriously that we consider it important that it be translated accurately. If we didn't care so much, we wouldn't spend so much effort, either in translating or in discussing. Christians with different views generally can agree on the need for accurate Bible translation.

      Let me present a few things which I think Christians can agree on in general about the Bible and which will form a basis for discussing translation.

       The Bible is a collection of books, written over a long period of time. The languages in which they were written were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. The accompanying chart shows the languages in which the books of the Bible were written.

Section Original Language
Ezra 4:8 - 6:18; 7:12-26; Daniel 2:4-7:28; Jeremiah 10:11; Genesis 31:47 (two words) Aramaic
Rest of Old Testament Hebrew
New Testament Greek

       While the words of much of the scripture are very well preserved we do not have the exact words of the autographs - the original manuscripts which the authors themselves wrote - so we do not have the exact original words.

       The Bible should be made available to Christians everywhere in language they can understand.

      In addition, while some might disagree, I think it is of critical importance that we understand that it is the message which will be preserved over time and not the individual words. I will present many examples of the difficulty of expressing a thought clearly in a new language. The message, however, is preserved.

      Study or Read?

      Many people approach the Bible as a book to be studied slowly, sort of like a physics text. You don't read it for pleasure; you work it through line by line. But the Bible contains much that was written for enjoyment, such as poetry and stories. Among the possibilities in selecting a Bible translation is to find one which you can read rapidly as you would read a novel.

      This is not to say that study is not important. Reading rapidly gives one an overview of the topic. Reading particular passages in detail, looking at notes, at other translations and at commentaries can be helpful. But understanding is important in all cases.

      The books of the Bible were originally written, or spoken, in the language of the common people. Hebrew is not a specialized religious language. It was the common language of daily life and commerce among the Israelites. It is closely related to other languages spoken in the area, such as Moabite or Phoenician. The Greek of the New Testament is not the dialect of Plato and Aristotle, but that of the common people of the first century CE, the language they would use in their letters and common documents. In just this way, the language of a modern translation should be that which is commonly understood by its intended readers.

      I will examine each of these areas in the chapters that follow, but the key question I want to answer is: How can you select the best version to use? In other words, how does all this affect me?

      Authoring the Bible

      Sometimes when asked who is the author of the Bible, Christians say “God.” And there is certainly some truth in that. After all, we have the familiar text:

       16 Everything in the Scriptures is God ’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17 The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds. – 2 Timothy 3:16 (CEV)

      We accept that as true, but we also can observe the scriptures as they are, and they don’t look like they were written by a single author (see Appendix E). This is because God uses spokesmen, the prophets and apostles, and most likely some other authors who actually wrote the books that we now have in the Bible. These different books each reflect the personality of the individual author or authors, the historical situation in which they were written, and in some cases signs of editing and use of sources. Just as this book in many cases reflects material I have learned by reading other people’s books, so the Bible writers used material that others had written.

Something Extra: This is as good a time as any to being comparing translations. The text above, taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) reads: 16  All scripture is inspired by God and is  useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. – 2 Timothy 3:16 In the first phrase we have “is God’s Word” in the CEV but “inspired by God” in the second. Even more literal in this case (though the NIV is normally less literal or formal than the NRSV) is the NIV’s “God-breathed.” The question is what will the reader understand by what is written? Church people are used to the term “inspired” even though they may disagree on the precise meaning. For many, it will be easier to understand something “being God’s Word” than either inspired or “God-breathed.” Since we don’t usually speak of words being “breathed” some people may find it difficult to understand what it means. This shows some of the differences between a dynamic equivalence version (the CEV) and a formal equivalence version (the NRSV).

      Some examples include 2 Kings 11:41 where we are told that the rest of Solomon’s acts are written in the “Book of the Acts of Solomon” suggesting that the book of Kings includes a limited amount of information taken from that source, and providing us with a reference. There are a many, many instances of such references, especially in the books of Samuel and Kings. The book of Proverbs also refers explicitly to collections.

      But in the ancient world footnoting and bibliographies were not common practice and authors could use sources with or without indicating that they were used. Most scholars believe that the synoptic gospels use one another and certain other sources in creating their text.

For further study: The following pamphlets are available from Energion Publications: Understanding the Search for the Historical Jesus What is Biblical Criticism? What is Form Criticism? What is Redaction

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