Was The Bible mistranslated?

Question

Ok, just out of curiosity is it true that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, and that their language didn't have vowels, making it hard to translate it. Could some of the words been mistranslated and taken way out of context because that's not what was originally intended?

Our religion teacher just through that fact out a few days ago and I'm wondering if it's true.

Answer 1

The lack of vowels makes it difficult for us to know pronounciations. It doesn't affect translation. Certain combinations of letters still mean certain things, regardless whether you know how to pronounce it.

The bigger problem comes from the fact that languages are not identical. Some Hebrew words refer to concepts that have no word in English and are often difficult for foreigners to even understand - and thus correctly describe. For example, some Bibles translate "sheol" into "hell," while other Bibles don't translate the word at all, admitting that there is no equivelent term in English. Very roughly it means something like "the common grave of mankind," although that really doesn't tell you anything either.

Answer 2

no, not really. just as you, being fluent in english, would be able to read english even if somebody took away the vowels, so can hebrew speakers easily read hebrew without the vowels. there are certain words that people aren't completely sure about, but even in those places, not knowing the exact rendering of a single word does not have much of an effect on the translation.

the actual problem with translations is not the vowels, but the process of translation. it is hard to translate a language like hebrew accurately into english. the bible is full of subtle wordplays and innuendoes that get completely lost in translation and so the full meaning of what the text is trying to say cannot be conveyed in a translation.

Answer 3

Yes; the Five Books of Moses were originally written in the Holy Tongue (Hebrew) and in addition to that, Moses translated those same Five Books into Seventy Languages so that all of the Nations would have the benefit of G-d's Wisdom. There has been many misguided attempts at Translation for evil purposes such as that of Egypt's King Ptolemy to remove G-d's wisdom from the Five Books. The most faithful modern Translation was accomplished by the famous Roman Convert Onkelos. There was subsequent to that two millennium of the Common Era where falsehood has been laid on the foundation of Truth.

Answer 4

It is very possible that some words and phrases may be mistranslated. It is also possible that some words or phrases may not have a translation in English. We also have to remember that the Bible went from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to English, so somethings may have been lost in translation.

And, I like to remind people that language changes over time, so some words do not mean the same thing today that they did when the translations were done. For example, the Bible says we are to fear God. When my King James Bible was produced, this meant to revere, to honor. The word fear has changed meaning.

In other cases, the translators picked the best word they could to get the message across, but today we take it literally, and don't quite understand. We need to remember that it is figurative.

When trying to do a comprehensive Bible study, you could use 2 or 3 different translations in order to compare. One translation that I am thinking of finding is the Jewish Old Testament. It is slightly different than the King James that I use, but sounds like a better translation.

Answer 5

Doctrinally speaking, the answer is no. Technically speaking, the answer is yes. First, the text of the Bible has been copied through thousands of years, and some copy mistakes have been made. But none of the copy mistakes have affected the crux of the message. Some Bible translation use a particular set of manuscripts, while others use another set - this can result in different translations because the original documents differ. There are also instances where the meaning of a Hebrew word is not clear and results in mistranslations. Recently, I encounter this example: Gen 4:26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then **began** men to call upon the name of the LORD. The Hebrew word that translates to "began" is châlal. According to Strong: A primitive root (compare H2470); properly to bore, that is, (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one’s word), to begin (as if by an opening-wedge); They decided to translates to "begin"; but the correct translation according Jewish tradition is: "profane". At that time, men profane the name of God (by calling idols their gods - i.e., idol worship).

Answer 6

The Bible wasn't mistranslated. The Bible was written in Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic. It was translated from those languages into English. Some of the words dont translate perfect into English. That doesn't mean it was mistranslated. For a perfect translation you need to read the Hebrew and Greek which aren't easy languages to learn.

Answer 7

Yes the Bible was originally written in Hebrew. I have an uncle who is a professor of Biblical studies back in Tennessee, and he's also very knowledgable of the hebrew language. He has told me before that many of the words in the Bible were lost in translation. By the way, he's a Church of Christ minister. Plus, I just personally believe with my own spiritual studies that the Bible has too many contradictions in it. Just my personal belief.

Answer 8

Most people who responded assumed that your statement about Hebrew not having vowels is true. A simple search at Wikipedia stated "

"Vowels
The Hebrew word for vowels is tnu'ot. The marks for these vowels are called Nikud. Israeli Hebrew has 6 vowel phonemes:

/a/ (as in "spa") - The vowels kamats (ָ) and patakh (ַ)
/e/ (as in "café") - The vowels segol (ֶ) and tsere (ֵ)
/i/ (as in "ski") - The vowel khirik (ִ)
/o/ (as in "go") - The vowel kholam (ֹ)
/u/ (as in "flu") - The vowels shuruk (וּ) and kubuts (ֻ)
/ə/ (as in "about") - The vowel shva na' (ְ)
Many Israeli speakers have merged /ə/ into /e/, reducing the vowel phonemes to 5.

In Biblical Hebrew, each vowel had three forms: short, long and interrupted (khataf)."

But I do admit that it is difficult to get the full meaning from a translation.

Answer 9

Of course. Even among the 20 or so English translations there are many different meanings conveyed. Which is right? Is any of them right? Also, there is always something lost when translated, because there are words that don't exist in other languages, so people have to improvise, and as we are only human, we don't always do a great job.

Answer 10

Yes, I've read some of the "original" Hebrew and Greek and there are some mistranslations, especially concerning "hell"