are trying to cling to a special authority over the bible? I think that God has the ability to translate his meaning correctly. The twisting of words using anciet Hebrew seems decieving to me. I just read a web site that twisted made into had made in Genesis to support an old earth. I think that it is a way for some to say that you still need them to read the Bible for you. I think that it is useful when comparing the Bible to other historic works, the meaning of an obsure word, or the location of a historic place, but that seems to go to far to me.
2007-02-19 17:50:04 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Even if one understands the language, you understand how it is taught to you. This isnt necessarily the same as how it was spoken in biblical times
2007-02-19 18:04:20 · update #1
I am Jewish and Hebrew is what the biggest portion of the Bible is written in...
One must understand the original meaning of the words to understand what was/ is being said...
To understand the message, one must understand the language/ source...
2007-02-19 17:53:04 · answer #1 · answered by Adyghe Ha'Yapheh-Phiyah 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
It is impossible to translate from one language into another without subtle changes in meaning. There are also changes that occur with time as the meaning of the words themselves change. A translation done hundreds of years ago is outdated.
Here is one example. In the King James Version, the English translation of Gospels, written in Greek, there is a line about fields of corn. Now at the time the KJV was written, pretty much any kind of grain was called corn. But today, we only call the new world maize plant of the Indians "corn." So a person today reading the Gospels coming across that, knowing what "corn" is and knowing it was not introduced to the Old World until after Columbus would pounce on that as a translation error. It was correct when it was done, but it is "wrong" now. That is one reason we need newer translations done, because English has changed.
On the flip side, the Hebrew and Aramaic that the Tanakh (Old Testament) was written in has not changed because until recently, those language were only used by the Jews for religious services. So if you really want to know what was originally written, using the original language makes sense.
However, if "close enough" is OK for you, then a translation is "good enough" for you as modern translations are about 95% accurate.
2007-02-20 03:35:08 · answer #2 · answered by forgivebutdonotforget911 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In order to properly understand the Bible you must understand the languages it was originally written in. Most of the Bible was written in Hebrew, the rest in Greek. I think that is part of hermeneutic study. Hermetical study is when you take into consideration all of the events going on at the time something was written: Where they at war?, Were they captives?, Were they looking for the Promised Land/did they find it?, etc... No one is twisting the Bible, it has more meaning in the original text.
2007-02-20 02:02:12 · answer #3 · answered by Julia B 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The translations are done by men, to support what men need the bible to say.
Case in point: until recently, during the story of the fall of man, god spoke to a group called the Elohim. The actual translation of this word (since its plural) is "pantheon" or "brethern"...both of which when used in the context of the passages imply that Yahweh spoke to other gods. It is a plural word. There are only 2 cultures on the planet that translate this word as anything other than plural (or its actual meanings)...the Hebrews and christians. It is only singular in Hebrew when referring to biblical scripture...otherwise its plural. Recently however, this word has been replaced in biblical translation with the word "us". This still implies other gods, but the faithful tend to say that it means he was talking to angels.
BTW-The bible's original language was both Hebrew (old testament) and Greek (new testament).
2007-02-20 01:56:47 · answer #4 · answered by Bill K Atheist Goodfella 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Sometimes the translation can not be translated to the proper word because either it was done wrong or the word does not exist. So many people look to original text to get the true meaning. A team of good translators or a good version of the bible should solve the problem.
2007-02-20 01:54:29 · answer #5 · answered by Ans2003 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
well, since ancient Hebrew was the language it was originally written in, I would expect scholars to delve into the original language for meaning. I don't have a problem with original language study or trying to understand more than I know. How do you know they "twisted" the meaning of the original Hebrew word? I don't know ancient Hebrew, do you? Read many different credentialed, well respected scholars and see if they agree to the meaning of the original word.
2007-02-20 01:56:08 · answer #6 · answered by wd 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I hate that. I hate when certain preachers are bible "scholars" and believe that because they know how to read hebrew and have seen copys of the transcripts they know that the bible was translated wrong, ect. I think God want the common people to read it, even now, why would he want everyone to have to learn another old language in order to understand him and worship him? I think he is Almighty enough to put his word the way he wants it, and not need scholars to help us out with it!
EDITED: I completly disagree with Angel Of Fire... Do you know what happens when the common people who dont have a chance at education cant read the bible? Things like what the catholics did to the protestants and the anabaptists!! They take the bible and tell everyon, yes well, it says this, or it says that.... God wants everyone to understand it, not just the people who can read 3 different languages!
2007-02-20 01:54:25 · answer #7 · answered by Bl3ss3dw1thL1f3 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Many of those who claim to be Hebrew and Greek scholars use it to gain an unfair advantage over regular people, who not only may never learn Greek or Hebrew, but don't even know how to check up on those who claim to.
Even those who claim to understand Hebrew today, know little about the actual usage and colloquilisms of the day, way back then, so are still prone to error.
The last guy to translate and interpret the scriptures, and who had access to all the ancient papyri and other original source documents, most of which are lost to us today, was St. Jerome, in the 4th century.
His translation, the Latin Vulgate of the Catholic Church, still holds up remarkably well today.
Of course, you'll need to learn Latin, in order to read it!
2007-02-20 03:04:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
??? Yom is not an obscure word by any stretch of the imagination. It is used over 1900 times in the Hebrew scriptures. Its meaning has always been understood to include spans of varying lengths of time. NOTHING in scripture, understood in context, supports Ussher's claim of a 4004 B.C. creation.
2007-02-20 01:54:44 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I don't know AND I don't Care
2007-02-20 01:58:15 · answer #10 · answered by doctorhector 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋