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word for word. even if it doesn't sound right in English. Doesn't a word in Hebrew or Greek mean a word in English. Are there words in Hebrew or Greek that just don't exist in the English language. like what?

2007-06-02 05:03:04 · 25 answers · asked by Lee Edward 1 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

25 answers

if you get an amplified Bible, you will see that Greek and Hebrew words have many similar meanings in English.

2007-06-02 05:08:46 · answer #1 · answered by Hannah's Grandpa 7 · 1 0

Unfortunately, that's not how it works. Human language SHAPES human thought. So each language literally makes people think in different terms. That's why Spanish is considered a 'romantic' language, and English is more of a 'technical' language.
In fact, there are several words that are 'close' to the meaning of any particular word in Hebrew, but there IS no one-to-one correlation. With Greek, it's the other way around. Greek is a VERY technical language, so English only catches a part of it.
So trying to get a word-for-word translation is in practice impossible. The King James came close 400 years ago. And if you notice, there ISN'T a whole lot of difference between translations. So in reality, this is a non-issue. But it's useful for atheists to complain about.

2007-06-02 05:21:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

It's not like translating Spanish to English, per say. The languages are structured very differently. In the Greek, to give an example, there are four words for the word "love". Each being specific and different. In English, we have only the word "love" and rely on context to further define the word. When translating, you cannot add context, and must translate all four Greek words for love to only one English word. Some Greek words would require up to 32 English words to fully translate the full meaning, and even then...

What you are looking for is a interlinier translation of the Bible. Something like this...

http://www.logos.com/products/details/1905

2007-06-02 05:31:33 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I can speak modern greek, and there are words and phrases that cannot be translated into a single english word, other than in a phrase. In greek, 'To be' is a single word used in the context of the what is 'to be', thus it is impossible to translate without knowing what it is you are trying to convey. The bible is written in hebrew which is just as confusing.

The grammer, spelling, and structure of the texts are completely different than what english is. To translate it word for word is very difficult and will not make much sense. Also, there is NO punctuation in the hebrew texts, that was added in the medieval days.

And I geuss most importantly most translators are employed by churches or academics to be either get the message of the text, or to get a more literal translation. Either way, you cannot go word for word, its just the way the languages are.

If your interested in the bible, then learn ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek, then you can know what they say for yourself.

2007-06-02 05:16:52 · answer #4 · answered by carabatzis_2000 3 · 0 0

I am afraid it is not that simple, otherwise it would have been done.
There are some versions that make a stab at it.
I might suggest the Rotherham's "The Emphasized Bible", or Young's Literal Translation. The best work I have see for the New Testament is Kenneth Wuest's Expanded Translation of the New Testament. You can also buy an interlinear Bible that attempts to give a word by word translation.
The other alternative: learn Greek and Hebrew.

2007-06-02 05:12:12 · answer #5 · answered by wefmeister 7 · 0 0

Yes there are. Thats why there is the problem in the first place. The best way we have to do it is by looking up each word and getting as close a translation as possible. The translators of the time tried their best to do this, but there are differences of opinion among experts as to the intended meaning and context of words and phrases. Additionally, the Hebrew words were often written leaving out vowels, . An example of this would be the word YHWH. Many translate it as Yahweh, and others Jehova.

2007-06-02 05:10:29 · answer #6 · answered by rico3151 6 · 0 0

I get your point but there is no easy method to translate the Bible. It takes work. I should know. I have degrees in Christian Theology and Pastoral Counseling.

I have some 30 reference works dealing with Hebrew, Greek, King James, etc. Let's not forget the Aramaic that Jesus often used. I have only scratched the surface.

You should also keep in mind that the Bible is an Middle Eastern book. The figures of speech and idioms are wholly Middle Eastern. This is yet another area of translation.

So you see, Bible study is a lifelong endeavor.

Jim DeSantis
http://answersplus.info/a/Teach

2007-06-02 05:12:58 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Words are developed around particular cultures. There are a lot of concepts in Greek that the Hebrews did not have a word for, which provides for horrible translation and is one reason why an intermingling with Greek culture helped develop the canon of the early church.

2007-06-02 05:12:22 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

A lot of Hebrew and Greek words have multiple meanings in English. That's what gives it so many different versions.

2007-06-02 05:08:57 · answer #9 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 0 0

First of all, if you go to just about any synagogue (or at least a website about Jewish theology), you can probably find a book with a copy of the the Bible written with the Hebrew text on one side of the page and the translation on the opposite side. If you want Greek texts, I don't know.

If you want original texts regarding Christianity, please note that the Christian Bible has changed over time. If you are interested in learning about that, I'd recommend reading the book "Misquoting Jesus."

Also note that some things just don't translate at all, such as figures of speech and expressions. In addition, there are many different versions of the Bible that tell each story slightly differently.

In short, if you want the hebrew text, find a local rabbi and he'll have a copy that you could look at. (Don't worry about the rabbi trying to convert you or ignoring you because of your faith. Most people are just happy to share their religious teachings with you.)

2007-06-02 05:17:43 · answer #10 · answered by x 5 · 0 0

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