Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231175352
A. Graeme Auld
English translations over the last four centuries have been based more or less on the Masoretic text (MT) of the Hebrew Bible. But which of them more and which less, and have there been changing trends? As Adrian Schenker notes in his foreword (xii), “no translation gives a full and clear account of where it has selected which solutions [to textual difficulties].” This interesting research project looked for the evidence but often found it unclear whether handling a problematic text involved a conscious textcritical decision or an etymological or exegetical solution (123). Carried out at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the guidance of Emanuel Tov, it closely explored the textual basis of more than twenty main English-language translations from the King James Version (1611) to the Contemporary English Version (1995) and the New Living Translation (1996). The presentation of data predominates in earlier chapters and discussion in later ones, where we find helpful debates between leading scholars who were often involved in practical translation work as well as more theoretical debate. Daley comments tartly that “it is not surprising that more has been written on the prescriptive side than on the descriptive; for here, and often, fact-finding is in some respects more demanding than philosophy” (11). To redress the tendency, the larger part of this volume reviews “What text has been translated?” before exploring “What text should be translated?” Two of the ten chapters provide almost half of the content. Chapter 3 occupies
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Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231193001
Raymond de Hoop
In the “blessing” of Gen 49.3-4, Reuben is censured for having violated his father Jacob’s concubine Bilhah. In this rebuke, the Hebrew uses a rare word, פחז, in an additionally awkward comparison: “like water.” Over the centuries the word פחז appears to have been difficult to translate and therefore the simile “like water” is also difficult to understand. This is reflected in many Bible translations, but in the last decades a solution has been provided to solve this problem. In this contribution, the cultural significance of Reuben’s offence is discussed since it is not “just” a sexual offense. In addition, the meaning of the word פחז in the other biblical texts is analysed, followed by a discussion of the comparison “as water.” The discussion not only clarifies the text of Gen 49.4, but also the background of several other texts in the Bible.
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Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231189295
Doug Liao
Silence in Translation is a reworking of Dr. Anna Sui Hluan’s PhD dissertation in which she examines the key role that context plays in the interpretation of Scripture. She calls the reader’s attention not only to the contexts of the biblical text and those of the contemporary interpreter, but also to that of the translator. The book focuses on 1 Cor 14.34-35, attempting to answer two main questions: “What is the impact of these verses on Myanmar Christians’ views of the role of women in the church?” (9) and “what would a satisfactory contextual hermeneutic in Myanmar today look like in order to interpret passages that concern women today?” (10). While the book looks specifically at the context of Myanmar (where Dr. Hluan is a lecturer at the Myanmar Evangelical Graduate School of Theology), her work more broadly demonstrates the impact of translation on the interpretation of Scripture. The book is divided into three sections. The first (chapters 2 and 3) describes the Myanmar context, investigating the historical, religious, and political factors that have influenced both the concept of silence and the role of women in Myanmar culture. Hluan stresses the importance of “the contextual background of silence in Myanmar,” which she says “is inextricably linked to its hierarchical and patriarchal culture and the symbols that embody that cultural worldview” (75). Hluan then goes on to give a careful examination of 1 Cor 14.34-35 in the Burmese translation of Adoniram Judson, which she glosses as “Your wives should remain silent in the church. 1151412 TBT0010.1177/20516770231189295The Bible TranslatorBook Review book-review2023
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Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770221150806
Johannes Merz
Bible “transmediation”—the adaptation of biblical texts to different media—is a relatively recent conceptual innovation that needs to be distinguished from Bible translation. People often assume that Scripture-based media communicate well provided they contain translated biblical words. Yet media products often differ from verbal texts. I elaborate a conceptual framework for Bible transmediation in relation to translation that offers both a theoretical basis and a practical tool. The goal of Bible transmediation is to present biblical narratives in different media that allow prospective audiences to understand Scripture as accurately and as clearly as possible. Transmediation is successful when the meaning that specific audiences gain from media products corresponds well with the biblical meaning that Bible transmediators intend to communicate through transmediation.
{"title":"Bible Transmediation in Theory and Practice","authors":"Johannes Merz","doi":"10.1177/20516770221150806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770221150806","url":null,"abstract":"Bible “transmediation”—the adaptation of biblical texts to different media—is a relatively recent conceptual innovation that needs to be distinguished from Bible translation. People often assume that Scripture-based media communicate well provided they contain translated biblical words. Yet media products often differ from verbal texts. I elaborate a conceptual framework for Bible transmediation in relation to translation that offers both a theoretical basis and a practical tool. The goal of Bible transmediation is to present biblical narratives in different media that allow prospective audiences to understand Scripture as accurately and as clearly as possible. Transmediation is successful when the meaning that specific audiences gain from media products corresponds well with the biblical meaning that Bible transmediators intend to communicate through transmediation.","PeriodicalId":354951,"journal":{"name":"The Bible Translator","volume":"71 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135003074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231168320
John de Jong
Adoniram Judson, whose 1840 translation of the Bible is still the most widely used version in modern-day Myanmar, rejected James Chater’s 1812 translation of Matthew into Burmese. Comparing Chater’s work with Judson’s first attempt at translating Scripture, which was also the Gospel of Matthew, in 1817, reveals five main issues: (1) Judson’s translation is generally better executed than Chater’s; (2) the two translations are mostly different; (3) there are some places where it appears Judson was following Chater’s translation; (4) occasionally Chater provides a better translation than Judson; and (5) Judson uses more “polite” honorific and religious language than Chater. Judson’s work demonstrates more sophisticated exegesis and translation technique. Two factors contribute to this, the first being Judson’s superior education. The second is that Chater’s work stands in the Serampore/William Carey tradition of Bible translation and shares the weaknesses that have been identified in that approach.
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Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231186829
Cassidy J. Gossage
Most translations treat Genesis 37.2 as an assemblage of unrelated elements: Joseph’s shepherding, his status as a נער “youth, servant,” and his unfavorable reporting on his brothers are all atomistic elements that do little to develop the story’s plot. Instead, I suggest that verse 2’s second circumstantial clause, והוא נער את בני בלהה ואת בני זלפה נשׁי אביו “He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives,” is causal. Read this way, Genesis 37.2 describes the emerging familial conflict that defines the Joseph cycle.
{"title":"The Source of Familial Strife: A Note on Genesis 37.2","authors":"Cassidy J. Gossage","doi":"10.1177/20516770231186829","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770231186829","url":null,"abstract":"Most translations treat Genesis 37.2 as an assemblage of unrelated elements: Joseph’s shepherding, his status as a נער “youth, servant,” and his unfavorable reporting on his brothers are all atomistic elements that do little to develop the story’s plot. Instead, I suggest that verse 2’s second circumstantial clause, והוא נער את בני בלהה ואת בני זלפה נשׁי אביו “He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives,” is causal. Read this way, Genesis 37.2 describes the emerging familial conflict that defines the Joseph cycle.","PeriodicalId":354951,"journal":{"name":"The Bible Translator","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135003081","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231193607
Ryan Kristopher Giffin
A handful of Greek manuscripts of Phil 3.12 (including P46 and 06) attest to a remarkable variant reading known as the justification clause, which has Paul claiming he had not already been justified (Οὐχ … ἢ ἤδη δεδικαίωμαι). Some have viewed the reading as problematic within Paul’s discourse in Phil 3, while others have viewed it as fitting nicely within this literary context. These divergent views have been held by scholars who agree on the secondary nature of the reading. Which view is correct? The objective of this article is to address that question by way of a reading of Phil 3:2-21 and to explore the implications for the authenticity question. The author concludes that the reading is not problematic but harmonizes well with its surrounding discourse, and that this is a point in favor of the authenticity of the reading.
{"title":"How Well Does the Justification Clause of Philippians 3.12 Fit within Philippians 3.2-21? Contextual Coherence and the Question of Authenticity","authors":"Ryan Kristopher Giffin","doi":"10.1177/20516770231193607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770231193607","url":null,"abstract":"A handful of Greek manuscripts of Phil 3.12 (including P46 and 06) attest to a remarkable variant reading known as the justification clause, which has Paul claiming he had not already been justified (Οὐχ … ἢ ἤδη δεδικαίωμαι). Some have viewed the reading as problematic within Paul’s discourse in Phil 3, while others have viewed it as fitting nicely within this literary context. These divergent views have been held by scholars who agree on the secondary nature of the reading. Which view is correct? The objective of this article is to address that question by way of a reading of Phil 3:2-21 and to explore the implications for the authenticity question. The author concludes that the reading is not problematic but harmonizes well with its surrounding discourse, and that this is a point in favor of the authenticity of the reading.","PeriodicalId":354951,"journal":{"name":"The Bible Translator","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135003082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231193020
T. Desmond Alexander
In translating the MT of Exodus, we should be aware of the danger of allowing strongly embedded traditions to influence our rendering of specific Hebrew terms into English. Due to a now redundant sense of the English term “plague,” which previously meant a “strike” or “blow,” we should abandon its use to denote the miraculous events that are recorded in Exodus. For different reasons, we should also jettison references to an angelic destroyer and the Israelites departing as an army from the story of God’s redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
{"title":"Translation or Tradition: A Brief Survey of Some Translational Issues in the Book of Exodus","authors":"T. Desmond Alexander","doi":"10.1177/20516770231193020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770231193020","url":null,"abstract":"In translating the MT of Exodus, we should be aware of the danger of allowing strongly embedded traditions to influence our rendering of specific Hebrew terms into English. Due to a now redundant sense of the English term “plague,” which previously meant a “strike” or “blow,” we should abandon its use to denote the miraculous events that are recorded in Exodus. For different reasons, we should also jettison references to an angelic destroyer and the Israelites departing as an army from the story of God’s redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.","PeriodicalId":354951,"journal":{"name":"The Bible Translator","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135003080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/20516770231167164
Misheck Nyirenda
Two speeches in the book of Genesis, one by Reuben and the other by Judah, are made to secure the release of Benjamin from their father Jacob in Canaan. The first speech fails while the second succeeds. The aim of this article is to identify the sociocultural and literary reasons behind these outcomes. It also aims to suggest ways of translating these texts into African languages and for African audiences that do justice to the realities in the texts. Careful analysis of the words and rhetorical features of the speeches is conducted in the light of other narratives of Jacob, his wives, concubines, and offspring in the Hebrew Bible. This analysis informs the conclusions of the paper: Judah succeeded where Reuben had failed because of his personal standing in the clan and because of his precise use of facts and the persuasive power of his speeches.
{"title":"The Art of Persuasion: A Sociocultural and Literary Comparison of Two Speeches of Reuben and Judah in Genesis, with Suggestions for Translating for Africans","authors":"Misheck Nyirenda","doi":"10.1177/20516770231167164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20516770231167164","url":null,"abstract":"Two speeches in the book of Genesis, one by Reuben and the other by Judah, are made to secure the release of Benjamin from their father Jacob in Canaan. The first speech fails while the second succeeds. The aim of this article is to identify the sociocultural and literary reasons behind these outcomes. It also aims to suggest ways of translating these texts into African languages and for African audiences that do justice to the realities in the texts. Careful analysis of the words and rhetorical features of the speeches is conducted in the light of other narratives of Jacob, his wives, concubines, and offspring in the Hebrew Bible. This analysis informs the conclusions of the paper: Judah succeeded where Reuben had failed because of his personal standing in the clan and because of his precise use of facts and the persuasive power of his speeches.","PeriodicalId":354951,"journal":{"name":"The Bible Translator","volume":"86 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135003426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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