25
votes
Accepted
Is there a much simplified version of the Old Testament?
Beginner learners of Hebrew might expect a more 1:1 ratio of English words for their translation, but they are unaware of many of the facts with regard to Hebrew word construction and grammar. Let us ...
- 3,995
23
votes
In Psalm 22:21 is the Bible speaking of "unicorns"?
Interestingly, despite there being several good answers here, no one has yet raised the possibility that the word ראם (re'em) refers to an animal known as the aurochs or urus (Bos primigenius). (Edit:...
- 4,191
20
votes
Is it appropriate to translate Galatians 3:21 as "If a law had been given"?
The OP questions the validity of the article "a" in English versions given the lack of a corresponding word in Greek. I will argue that "a law" is indeed an accurate translation.
There is no ...
- 26.1k
20
votes
Accepted
Why John 1:1 in (DRB)(Douay-Rheims Bible) is not literal translation from the Latin Vulgate?
Neither "And a god was the Word" nor: "And God was the Word" are correct translations for θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
To understand the implications of the last clause, you need to understand ...
- 3,177
15
votes
Accepted
Why does להבריאכם mean "to make yourselves fat" in 1 Samuel 2:29
The OP questions why translators take the root ברא (brʾ) here in the sense "to be fat" rather than the homonym "to create", which is more common in the Hebrew Bible. I see several good reasons.
The ...
- 26.1k
15
votes
Answer not a fool, or answer a fool?
I think the thing which is causing you to see a contradiction is the use of the imperative. Rephrase using conditionals:
If you answer a fool according to his folly, you risk becoming like him.
...
- 468
14
votes
Did eve say “I have created a man just as the LORD did!”?
When considering the NET translation one should always consider the footnotes.
4 tn Here is another sound play (paronomasia) on a name. The sound of the verb קָנִיתִי (qaniti, “I have created”) ...
- 3,697
13
votes
Is there a much simplified version of the Old Testament?
The other answers here are not wrong, but I think they're missing an important point, which is that the Hebrew of that verse is not what you say it is; you seem to have misunderstood your source, in a ...
- 233
11
votes
Does the postfixed χ in Jewish Greek transliterations simply denote the aleph, i.e. vs. other vowels?
For OP's question:
Is the chi (χ) used to indicate the kind of a vowel in the original Hebrew (namley the aleph א), a transliteration as it is from Hebrew in already Hebraic Greek?
The short ...
- 24.6k
11
votes
Answer not a fool, or answer a fool?
The contradiction is intended, and rhetorical—and present in the Hebrew. However, there may be a slight play on the use of the preposition כ which means "according to, like" as in "according to his ...
- 9,324
10
votes
Should the word 'satan' be left untranslated, merely be transliterated and left to the traditional connotations?
The lexical meaning of the noun שָׂטָן śāṭān in biblical Hebrew is "adversary" or the like. It occurs 27x in 23 verses in the Hebrew Bible. In most instances, it is clear this it is best translated by ...
- 24.6k
10
votes
Proverbs 18:22's grossly oversimplified, glib, nonchalant view about getting married
Here's a more positive way to look at Proverbs 18:22.
Proverbs 18 is an anthology of traditional sayings for a variety of different circumstances that are not elucidated in the text itself because at ...
9
votes
Accepted
Does the Hebrew tally these numbers?
Dan 12,12:
לְיָמִ֕ים אֶ֕לֶף שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵאֹ֖ות שְׁלֹשִׁ֥ים וַחֲמִשָּֽׁה׃
Literally: to days thousand three hundreds thirty and five
The KJV has “five and thirty” instead of “thirty and five” because ...
- 5,265
9
votes
What is the justification for the NASB translators capitalizing "Word" in 1 John 1:1?
I don't think it's a mistake in the NASB. The identity of ὁ λόγος ("the word") in 1 John 1:1 is puzzling and may have been intentionally ambiguous. To make matters more complicated, the syntax of vv. ...
- 26.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Why does the KJV add "desire" to Mark 11:24?
When looking at slightly odd renderings in the KJV (and there are some fascinating ones), it is worth checking on its influences for any clues.
And the case of Mark 11:24, along with its parallel in ...
- 24.6k
9
votes
Accepted
How should we understand Gen 31:24 in view of the context (i.e., Laban speaks to Jacob) and an apparent Hebrew language nuance?
The Hebrew phrase in question is מִטּוֹב עַד־רָע (metov ad ra), literally “from good to bad.”
According to Gesenius on מן...עד (min...ad),1
There are used in opposition to each other—(α) מִן אֶל … ...
- 10.6k
9
votes
Accepted
How does the Douay Rheims Bible translate שַׁדַּי as God of Jacob in Psalms 91:1?
The Douay-Rheims version is a translation of the Vulgate. The Vulgate to Psalms seems to have gone through multiple revisions. I looked through all the versions I could find easily and found these ...
- 3,710
8
votes
Does Granville Sharp's Rule indicate that “God” and “Savior” share a referent in Titus 2:13 and 2 Peter 1:1?
From the link posted by Paul Vargas, found here:
Our restatement of Sharp’s rule is believed to be true to the nature
of the language, and able to address all classes of exceptions that
...
- 255
8
votes
Accepted
James and Jacob are translated as the same name. What were the criteria followed for name translations?
Jacob
Jacob is a transliteration of the Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (formal transliteration: yaʿăqob). This labels only one person in the Hebrew Bible: the patriarch also known as Israel, the eponymous ancestor of ...
- 26.1k
8
votes
Why is 2 Peter 1:19 commonly translated with "day star" rather than "Lucifer"?
The Greek word"phosphoros" occurs only here in the New Testament. It can be translated as "Lucifer", light-bringer or light-bearer". As the name assigned to the planet Venus by the ancients, it can ...
- 126
8
votes
Accepted
Why does the LXX translate דֹּדֶ֖יךָ as μαστοί in Song of Songs 1:2?
The consonantal text, דדיך, can be read דַּדַּיִך, from דַּד "nipple" (Ezekiel 23:3,8,21). This was the reading used in translating דדיך as μαστοί σου.
The meaning "beloved" is consistently spelled ...
- 3,710
8
votes
Accepted
What does "revocalization" mean in Bible footnotes?
At the beginning the writing system for the Hebrew language only recorded the consonants. The vowels were remembered and passed on as oral tradition as one generation taught the next how to recite the ...
- 2,940
8
votes
What are the main Textual Differences between KJV and DRB?
The Douay-Rheims Bible is a translation into English from the Latin Vulgate, which dates to a translation from Hebrew (most of the Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament and some Old Testament ...
- 11.8k
8
votes
Accepted
How should intentionally repeated words in Hebrew be translated? (e.g. Gen 2:17, 45:10)
Repetitions in the Bible are quite frequent (over 220 times) and generally fall into two categories:
literal meaning of two things
An intensification. Sometimes this can also mean "every" (...
- 8,056
7
votes
What does Genesis 28:22 mean with the repeated word
In Genesis 28:22, the verb is used twice: the infinitive absolute, then the finite verb:
עַשֵּׂ֖ר אֲעַשְּׂרֶנּוּ
to tithe I will tithe it
This is, of course, an absurd translation. It is an ...
- 26.1k
7
votes
Accepted
In Genesis 11:1, what is the difference in Hebrew between the word "language" and the word "speech"?
Good question. The Hebrew for this verse is:
וַֽיְהִ֥י כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים׃
The word translated "language" is שָׂפָה sapha. This word appears to have a ...
- 1,544
7
votes
Accepted
What does the phrase "to cover his feet" refer to in 1 Samuel 24:3?
According to the BDB Lexicon the Hebrew translated to "cover his feet" by the KJV (literal translation of לְהָסֵ֣ךְ אֶת־רַגְלָ֑יו) is a euphemism for emptying the bowels:
Hiph. Impf. 3 ms. יָ֑סֶךְ ...
- 18.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Two N.T. verses in two different Greek Interlinears have differences that seem critically important so I ask for clarification
Here is the Greek text of the two verses you ask about:
1 John 4.14
καὶ ἡμεῖς τεθεάμεθα καὶ μαρτυροῦμεν ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ ἀπέσταλκεν τὸν υἱὸν σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου.
Luke 2.29-30
Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, ...
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