2 Week The What, Why And How Of The Bible

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The What, Why and Which of the Bible Hermeneutics week 2 Dr. Samuel Lamerson

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Transcript of 2 Week The What, Why And How Of The Bible

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The What, Why and Which of the Bible

Hermeneutics week 2

Dr. Samuel Lamerson

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Overview of this class1.What is the

Bible?2.What is the

Bible about?3.How should

one choose a translation?

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What is the Bible?A. It is God breathed:“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ” (2 Timothy 3:16, NKJV)

B. It is authoritativeThe authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it

ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the author thereof; and therefore it is to be believed, because it is the word of God. (WCF, I/iv, emphasis supplied).

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What is the B ible? (cont.)All Scripture is the word of GodNote the patter n of the NT.When God is speaking the NT often call it

Scripture:“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou

shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. ” (Matthew 4:7, KJV)

This the Lord speaking in Deut. 6

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What is the Bible?Places where the Scripture is speaking but the

NT quotes it as if it is God.“Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee

out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ” (Genesis 12:1–3, KJV)

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What is The Bible?Yet later in the NT the text is ascribed to the

Scripture.

“For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. ” (Romans 9:17, KJV)

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What is the Bible?Therefore we must all agree to obey the text when we understand what it means.

This understanding what it means is the difficult part for many Christians

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2. What is the Bible About?In Three Words: EXILE and Redemption

Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden.

The Children of Israel were exiled from the land

All people are in exile from God until they meet Christ.

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What is the best version to read?I will not answer this question in the way that

you would like.I will give you some of the problems with

translation and show you the strengths and weaknesses of various translations.

Keep in mind that translation is not an easy task, thus all translations differ.

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Translation Theory

Traddutore, traditore!

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Translation BloopersSign in a Bucharest hotel lobby: "The lift is being

fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable”

Sign in a Jordanian tailor's shop: Because is big rush, we will execute customers in strict rotation."

Beneath a Japanese tailor's shop: "Ladies will have fits upstairs.”

Sign I saw in Korea “Food, Wine and Bear.”

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Translation Bloopers

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Translation Bloopers

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Translation Bloopers

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Translation Bloopers

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Translation Bloopers

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Translation Models“It is impossible not to lose something

when you translate an extended text from one language to another” (Carson, ILD,

58).

Usually something not in the donor text is added as well! (e.g., separate forms for

“we inclusive/exclusive” in some languages; differing temporal reference

systems, etc.)

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Translation Models

“There is always some loss in the communication process, for sources

and receptors never have identical linguistic and cultural backgrounds….

The translator’s task, however, is to keep such loss at a minimum” (de

Waard & Nida, FOLA, 42)

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Translation ModelsUnhelpful categories

“Literal” (because most who use this term assume that it equals “more accurate,

superior, faithful, exact”; besides, just what does “literal” mean?)

“Word-for-word” and “phrase-for-phrase” and “thought-for-thought” (cf. Carson, ILD, 70)

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Translation ModelsInterpretive (all translation is interpretive, even formal equivalent ones)

“Every reading of a text by a finite being is an interpretation of it…. translation is never a mechanical task…. Translators must understand the donor text, or think they do, before rendering it into the receptor text” (Carson, ILD, 72).

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Theoretical modelsFormal equivalent: a translation that seeks to translate

from one language to another using the same grammatical and syntactical forms as the donor

language whenever possible.

“Consistent execution of formal equivalence is impossible, and if one opts for the axiom ‘as formal as

possible,’ one frequently ends up with a translation that actually distorts much of the meaning in the donor

text” (Carson, ILD, 70).

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Theoretical modelsFunctional equivalent: a translation that seeks to represent adequately and accurately in good receptor-language grammar, style, and idiom that which the words and constructions in the donor language conveyed to the original recipients.

“The closest natural equivalent in the receptor language, both in meaning and style” (NET preface, 7 n.4)

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Theoretical modelsDynamic equivalence: “The quality of a

translation in which the message of the original text has been so transported into the receptor language that the response of the receptor is essentially like that of the original receptors”

(Eugene Nida, The Theory and Practice of Translation, 202).

It seeks to make the same impact without regard to the form of the original language.

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Theoretical models

Paraphrase: A simplified summary of the meaning found in the donor language. “A

paraphrase tells the reader what the passage means, whereas a literal translation tells what

the passage says” (Metzger, 148).

Practical continuum

More formal

More functional

“No translation is exclusively formal; none entirely avoids formal features” (Carson, ILD,

69).

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Range of contemporary translations

Range of contemporary translations

More Functional Paraphrase

Young’s GNB/ CEV Phillips

Cottonpatch

Living

RV/ ASV NASB

KJV NRSV/ ESV

NIV

More Formal

NETtxt NETn NKJV

RSV NLT

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Cultural issues in translation

“White as snow” in Irian Jyra = “make dirty” (black people sitting around a fire and get white ash on them = dirty!)

“Stand at the door and knock” in some cultures implies a thief! (Only a thief knocks to see if anyone is home before robbing the house; a friend will shout, not knock.)

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Cultural issues “Nurse a baby” in Australia = hold a baby (not:

breastfeed)

“Heart” in its biblical sense is equivalent to “gall bladder” in some Philippine tribes and “liver” in many

African contexts.

“Son of man” in Kouykon Indian dialect of Alaska and Canada = “son of any man” = “bastard, illegitimate

son”—not an appropriate translation as a title for Jesus Christ!

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Inclusive LanguageWe should not automatically assume that any “agenda” that seems to come through in a translation must be a

translator’s bias.

It may well be a reflection of the Bible’s agenda—which is often different from various politically-correct agendas in

contemporary Western culture.

Our task is to accurately represent the original whether we like what it says or not.

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Inclusive LanguageMust distinguish between:

“Gender neutral” translation and

“Inclusive language”

Gender neutral attempts to eliminate any reference to gender, whether of God or people (e.g., “God our heavenly parent”).

Inclusive language seeks to use terms that are as inclusive in the receptor language as in the donor language.

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Inclusive LanguageLegitimacy of individual choices depends on the extent to

which the languages overlap.

To what extent has English changed in the last 50 years?

Has what began as a political agenda become more generally “mainstream”?

It doesn’t matter if you like the changes, but it does matter what contemporary language means.

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Inclusive LanguageWe do not have a commission to reform

language or to impose grammatical preferences on our audience.

We do have a commission to communicate accurately and clearly the truth of the gospel.

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Inclusive LanguageWould you approve of missionaries going to the

Philippines and insisting on changing the Tagalog language to suit their preferences when preaching the

gospel?

Or would you expect that person to communicate in fluent Tagalog?

Is it helpful to offend people in your proclamation of the gospel? (Other than by the offense of the gospel itself?)

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Inclusive LanguageThe contemporary “flap” re. the NIV’s revisions was blown out of proportion by a “watchdog” group who allowed their agenda to blind them to genuine cultural issues.

Their reaction is understandable since they have taken as their social mission the opposition of any and all forms of the feminist agenda.

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Inclusive LanguageContemporary English language usage has changed

—for better or worse.

Our job is now (as always) is to communicate in the language of the people.

No translation should impede the understanding of God’s word.

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Misc. issuesPurpose of a given translation:

Judge on the basis of their stated purpose. There is no one translation that is best for all purposes. Note

the contrasting purposes of: GNB, NIV, NKJV.

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Use of italicsTraditionally italics have been used to indicate supplied words, but contemporary use is to indicate emphasis.

How do you decide what words are essential and what words are optional? (A very difficult decision at times!)

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Use of italicsThe KJV, in John 1:18, has “the glory of the only

begotten of the Father,” leaving the reader to figure out who the only begotten is. Since the context is

very clear that the reference is to the Son, other translations have supplied it for clarity.

Note the the NET Bible always appends a f.n. when it explicitly supplies the referent.

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Use of italicsSome portray the KJV as the model in its use of italics to indicate words supplied, but its more generous use of italics (by contrast with the NIV’s more restrained use of half brackets) is sometimes overdone; e.g., 1 Cor. 14:2 supplies unknown—an illegitimate addition that is not implied in the context.

“For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no

man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. ” (1 Corinthians 14:2,

KJV)

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Basic ResourcesSee these (for the most part) introductgory level texts:

D. A. Carson. The Inclusive Language Debate: A Plea for Realism. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

Gordon Fee and Mark Strauss. How to Choose a Translation for All It’s Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.

Jan de Waard and Eugene Nida. From One Language to Another: Functional Equivalence in Bible Translation. Nashville: Nelson, 1986.

Jack Lewis. The English Bible: From KJV to NIV. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981.

Bruce Metzger, “Theories of the Translation Process.” BibSac 150 (1993):140–50.

Mark Strauss. Distorting Scripture? The Challenge of Bible Translation and Gender Accuracy. Downer’s Grove: IVP, 1998.